The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/271849
As a new freelance translator, my most pressing needs are to find clients and to work out what to charge them. So Luke Spear's The Translation Sales Handbook, badged as 'A roadmap to better sales, better clients' looked promising. I wasn't entirely disappointed. The interviews with a dozen successful translators are lively and illuminating, not least about the sheer variety of career paths for translators. And I picked up a few potentially useful scraps of information. CIOL members will wholeheartedly agree with the key theme of the first section, 'Sales and marketing overhaul', that translators' rates should be high enough to reflect the value of our skills. The proposal that we should aim to charge for a whole project, or at least by the day or hour, rather than by the word, also seems sensible, though the idea that we should call ourselves 'language consultants' may be a step too far. There is little sense that clients may have a clear idea of their translation needs or the market rate. The handbook is stronger on working out what to charge to earn a living wage, including a rates calculator, available through a web link. Sections on 'website construction and Tools for growth' are technical and very detailed, with links to sites and software covering everything from CAT tools to typing speeds, encryption and the author's favourite computer. There are two full pages on how to construct a secure password. The text sometimes jumps to general advice, eg, on copywriting and the principles of good design. Some sections, such as those on text editing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), require a level of IT literacy beyond mine. Like the rest of the text, the summary 'road map' and sample translation brief have a rather homemade feel. Overall, the handbook is a helpful input to research rather than a model to be followed. Jo Durning, Student Member The Translation Sales Handbook Luke Spear 2012, 126 pp (45,000 words); Digital book, available at lukespear.co.uk. £25 28 The Linguist FEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.uk REVIEWS The article by a recent translation graduate charting her 'First Steps' in the industry (TL51,6) got me thinking about my own career path, which would provide a sort of 'next steps'. It seems to me that the first years are the hardest, as you try to get your foot in the door and find a place in the industry. After graduating in Modern Languages (French and Italian) from the University of Birmingham, I spent a year teaching English in Nancy, but soon started thinking about the possibility of becoming a translator. I was lucky enough to be accepted on a training scheme at the Council of the European Union in Brussels. The 50 trainees were split between many of the Council's departments, from agricultural policy to the press office. I found myself in the Council's translation service, an entire building devoted to translating documents into the EU's 23 working languages. I was working in a team of 25 English translators – some had been with the translation service since the UK joined the EU in 1972! There was a wealth of knowledge and experience that I couldn't wait to take advantage of. More importantly, I wanted to see if the day-to-day work of a translator was how I'd imagined. I left the Council armed with five months' experience, but the prospect of job hunting was daunting. I had heard that the translation industry was very competitive and I knew that having an MA would give me an advantage, but after 18 months of working life the thought of returning home as a poor student was less than appealing. I decided to stay on in Brussels, which seemed a good place to look for translation work, and applied for a distance learning course at the University of Birmingham, which meant I could attend lectures virtually and submit assignments by email. A short time later, I applied for a translator position with the Belgian civil service, based in Brussels. One very stressful interview in French and a translation test later, and they offered me the job. However, when they requested a copy of my Master's certificate, I knew something was amiss. I had translated my CV from English and found the word for Next steps: a career in Brussels BA to be licence. It hadn't occurred to me that it might mean something different in Belgian French, but a quick internet investigation revealed that it means MA in Belgium. Thankfully they offered me the job anyway, and so my career in translation had begun thanks to a translation error! In 2010, the EU's rotating Presidency came to Belgium, which meant that they would be 'in charge' of business at the Council of the EU for six months. The EU's main working language is English, so Belgium's State Secretary for Transport requested an English translator to help prepare for their Presidency. I found myself working in the Cabinet of the State Secretary, preparing speeches and conference documents. It was a frenetic pace of work, with sometimes very little time to get my translations done. A year later, I was asked to transfer to the Belgian Ministry for Transport, where I was to work in their translation service. So here I am, nearly two years on, translating government documents from French and Dutch into English (I have been learning Dutch since arriving in Belgium). As the only English translator, I am responsible for managing my own terminology database and translation memory. I have also just completed my Master's in Translation Studies, finally giving me that licence level that I should have had to start with. The question now is, what next? Do I stay where I am or go in search of a new challenge? Annika Thornton MCIL COUNCIL HQ The courtyard of the Justus Lipsius building © E UROPEAN U NION , 2013