translate from spanish to english: You Must Read This: How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

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When we started our business many moons ago, relativelylittle information on how to run a translation business was available. We onlywish that Corinne McKay’s classic “How to succeed as a freelance translator”was available back then, but it came out in 2006, after we’d already made manybeginners’ mistakes. The new generation of translatorsand interpreters are in the lucky position of having many books at theirdisposal, and there’s no doubt that Corinne’s book, now in its second edition,is the best book on the market.
Full disclosure: we are very good friends withCorinne, especially Judy, but we were fans and attended her seminars longbefore Judy had the pleasure of meeting Corinne at the ATA conference inSeattle in 2005. However, if the book weren’t any good, we would certainly tellyou. As you might have guessed, it’s a fantastic book. The first edition sold morethan 4,500 copies around the world, and we have no doubt that the secondedition will outsell the first.
We reviewed the first edition a few years ago. The title ofthat blog post was “The bible for freelance translators” and that continues tohold true. The long-awaited second edition, which many, including us, pesteredCorinne about writing for quite a while, was released to rave reviews lastAugust. You may ask yourselves why it took us so long to review a book that weare clearly very fond of. The answer is that Judy had committed to doing anoriginal, not-before-published review of the book for Translation Ireland, andwe had to come up with two different reviews. Here it is.
This book should be required reading at every university orcollege that teaches any class related to translation. At the very least, itshould be essential reading for every aspiring and established linguist. Wealways continue learning from others, and to say we’ve learned a few thingsfrom Corinne’s book is an understatement – there’s a wealth of information fromwhich linguists at all levels can benefit. Corinne's writing, known to many throughher outstanding blog, Thoughts onTranslation, is clear and precise. She’s perhaps one of the most giftedwriters in the industry, and her ability to communicate oftentimes complexmaterial in an easy-to-understand manner is unsurpassed. There’s no pretense orpurposefully difficult writing here – you are very much reading a book by theapproachable, highly successful and laid-back Coloradan translator next door.After reading the book, you might be tempted to knock on Corinne’s door to grabsome coffee to continue the conversation.
It might be a sign of the times that the amount of e-mails about how to get started in the industry we receive haveincreased exponentially. We aren’t able to give individual advice to everyonewho asks – we’d spend all day answering e-mail – but we always recommendCorinne’s book. Her smart, 200-page book will tell you everything you need toknow about the industry. It will tell you how rewarding of a profession thisis, but readers will also learn about the challenges of building a business andthat there’s no magic button to press (or wand to wave) that will make you a successfultranslator. It’s all hard work, but Corinne has made it easier for you bycompiling all the information that would take you months to compile elsewhere.If there were any true secrets to being successful in our business, Corinnewould surely detail them in her book. In the absence of real secrets, she’swritten a book that tells you everything you need to know to get set up forsuccess. The book assumes that you have the language skills necessary to becomea translator.
The fully updated second version of the book might be evenbetter than the first edition. It’s a bit longer with an additional chapter,has a redesigned cover and it’s beautifullylaid-out. Our well-thumbed first edition has been sitting on our bookshelvesfor years, and now we had to put a “display only” sticker on the new edition.We take the book to industry events from our local translator and interpreterassociations, but we want to make sure the copies don’t walk off – after all,they are our prized autographed copies.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the book’s highlights:

Table ofcontents and index. They make it easy to find what’s in every chapter, andthey make this book a fantastic reference source. Say you are looking for “rushcharge” because a customer just asked you, on a Friday, to translate a documentthat’s due Monday morning. You go to the index and quickly find out that informationon that topic can be found on both pages 30 and 150. It’s the print equivalentof ctrl + F, with the difference that you are holding a gorgeously bound book inyour hand.
The 10 chapters start off with a great overview of the translation business.Section 1.5, which gives you brief description of the kinds of work that’savailable for linguists, is a fantastic tool to help you decide what kind of workis right for you. Chapter 2 (Launchingyour freelance translation business) contains everything you need to knowabout getting started. From advice on how to set up your home computer to howto polish your rÃ©sumÃ© for translation agencies, this chapter will make yourearly business decisions infinitely easier. Our favorite section here is thehandy start-up checklist.
Chapter 3 (Yourfirst year as a freelance translator) will give you a reality check aboutwhat to expect in your first year. This chapter contains a plan in four stages,including what every new freelancer should do in their first year.
Chapter 8 (Translationand technology) is a brand-new chapter, and it provides solid guidance for linguistswho are not sure what to make of translation environment tools, also known ascomputer-assisted translation software and translation memory software. Thechapter starts out with a good overview of the role of technology in ourindustry in the 21^st century. The bottom line is that it’s here tostay and that you should embrace it. This chapter will teach you how not to beafraid of technology and will give you a much-needed introduction into all theavailable tools. Do you need speech recognition software? How much does Tradoscost? Are free tools available? Should I invest in one of the proprietary tools?
Chapter 9 (Rates,contracts and terms of service) answers many of the questions thatbeginning translators have, such as setting your translation rates (no specificrate recommendations are made, as the author respects the ruling antitrust legislationon the topic), how to research your customers, how to deal with internationalpayments, questions you should ask before accepting a project, how to word your terms of service, etc. It’s agoldmine of information, and we have quoted from this chapter more than any otherchapter. This chapter also includes valuable information on how to deal withadversity. We particularly like the section on non-payment, which all of uswill have to face at some point. The book includes dunning letters that you canuse to remind your clients that you are expecting payment. The author evenincludes a sample invoice on page 164 – she really does make it easy for herreaders.

A few months ago, Corinne invested the time and energynecessary to make this book available on the Kindle, which is a fantastic addition. Her book was originally published by Lulu.com, and while it’s alsoavailable on Amazon and a number of other outlets, please consider supportingLulu by purchasing the book on their site. This smart book will make a greatgift for any translator – beginning or not. It will give you all theadvice you need to get started in the industry or to have a more structuredapproach in your business. If this book is not the bible for freelancetranslators, we don’t know what is.
We are sometimes surprised howlittle newcomers are willing to invest when starting in the business. Weusually recommend five or six books, and many times, we are asked to narrow itdown to one. If you only have $19.95 to spare to start or re-start your translation career, then we suggestyou spend it on purchasing "How to succeed as a freelance translator". Nexttime you see Corinne at a conference, bring your copy and have her sign it. Itmight have collector’s value at some point – we are betting on that and keepingour copies safe and pristine. Happy reading!

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