What are the formatting rates in Word?
Thread poster: Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
Dec 3, 2018

Hello, I recently passed a test for MS word formatting for an agency- and they would like to know the rate for my services.
They gave me 4 categories of;
Live source with template,
Live source without template,
Dead source with template,
Dead source without template, per page.
I'm unfamiliar with these terms, since I'm actually a newcomer myself.
What do they mean and what's the usual rate for this?
Any advises and replies will be greatly appreciat
... See more
Hello, I recently passed a test for MS word formatting for an agency- and they would like to know the rate for my services.
They gave me 4 categories of;
Live source with template,
Live source without template,
Dead source with template,
Dead source without template, per page.
I'm unfamiliar with these terms, since I'm actually a newcomer myself.
What do they mean and what's the usual rate for this?
Any advises and replies will be greatly appreciated.
Collapse


 
Dylan J Hartmann
Dylan J Hartmann  Identity Verified
Australia
Member (2014)
Thai to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
It's completely up to you. Dec 3, 2018

Pick an amount of money that you would like to earn per hour and either do the following:

a) ask for that amount as a 'per hour' rate
b) work out how many pages you can complete in an hour, divide your amount from 'a' above by that number, and set that as a 'per page' rate.

eg. If you can complete 10 pages in an hour and your target rate is $60

60/10 = 6

This means, you might ask for $6/page for one of the types of DTP below.


 
Dylan J Hartmann
Dylan J Hartmann  Identity Verified
Australia
Member (2014)
Thai to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
Definitions Dec 3, 2018

DTP = desktop processing
Live source = PDF (or other) file that you can select and copy the text from
Dead source = PDF (or other) file that has been scanned and which you cannot select the text from

With a template means all you'll have to do is fill in the missing data (such as within a table) but you shouldn't have to do formatting.

Without a template means you have to recreate the whole page.


 
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you very much Dec 3, 2018

I've understood that it's very sensitive to ask about standard rates, but I was completely lost and tried to get even a glimpse- and you've done me great favor by suggesting the method. Thank you very much.

Also for the term's explanation- cheers, you saved my day.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
Member (2008)
Italian to English
no additional charge Dec 3, 2018

Myungkyu Kim wrote:

Hello, I recently passed a test for MS word formatting for an agency- and they would like to know the rate for my services.
They gave me 4 categories of;
Live source with template,
Live source without template,
Dead source with template,
Dead source without template, per page.
I'm unfamiliar with these terms, since I'm actually a newcomer myself.
What do they mean and what's the usual rate for this?
Any advises and replies will be greatly appreciated.



I don't understand how you would charge extra simply for producing a translation in MSWord that is formatted exactly in the same way as the original, since nothing difficult is involved. You simply translate a copy of the .doc file.

That, of course, is, not the case if you're supplied a PDF. But you only mentioned MSWord.

[Edited at 2018-12-03 13:25 GMT]


 
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
My apologies Dec 3, 2018

Tom in London wrote:

Myungkyu Kim wrote:

Hello, I recently passed a test for MS word formatting for an agency- and they would like to know the rate for my services.
They gave me 4 categories of;
Live source with template,
Live source without template,
Dead source with template,
Dead source without template, per page.
I'm unfamiliar with these terms, since I'm actually a newcomer myself.
What do they mean and what's the usual rate for this?
Any advises and replies will be greatly appreciated.



I don't understand how you would charge extra simply for producing a translation in MSWord that is formatted exactly in the same way as the original, since nothing difficult is involved.

That, of course, is, not the case if you're supplied a PDF. But you only mentioned MSWord.


No, it's like receiving a PDF file from the client and reproducing it in MS Word file, without any translations in this case.
My apologies for not providing the info correctly.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 11:44
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I would charge an hourly rate Dec 3, 2018

You are probably taking on the work I prefer to leave to agencies and clients.
It is always much quicker and more efficient for someone who regularly does the job and knows the routines and techniques, but it varies a great deal how much work needs to be done from one page to another, for instance.

I think an hourly rate is really the only fair way to charge. If the agency insists on an agreement, then you will have to work something out, but don't undersell yourself!


Tom in London
 
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Dec 3, 2018

Christine Andersen wrote:

You are probably taking on the work I prefer to leave to agencies and clients.
It is always much quicker and more efficient for someone who regularly does the job and knows the routines and techniques, but it varies a great deal how much work needs to be done from one page to another, for instance.

I think an hourly rate is really the only fair way to charge. If the agency insists on an agreement, then you will have to work something out, but don't undersell yourself!


Thank you for suggestion, I'll try that.


 
IrinaN
IrinaN
United States
Local time: 05:44
English to Russian
+ ...
Are they about to hire you as a formatter only? Dec 3, 2018

Then the standard rate in the US for a formatter is $18-20/hr for an in-house person with some benefits, and $25 for a good freelancer. Your money will be in volumes because there will be no "simple" or "complex" jobs, only the time spent will vary - it could be anything between 30 min and 3 hours per page. Never agree to a fixed pay by page and ensure proper deadlines after you see the entire! job.

Try to practice with random but fairly complex "live" and "dead" PDF files and see
... See more
Then the standard rate in the US for a formatter is $18-20/hr for an in-house person with some benefits, and $25 for a good freelancer. Your money will be in volumes because there will be no "simple" or "complex" jobs, only the time spent will vary - it could be anything between 30 min and 3 hours per page. Never agree to a fixed pay by page and ensure proper deadlines after you see the entire! job.

Try to practice with random but fairly complex "live" and "dead" PDF files and see how much time you need in reality.

Good luck!
Irina
Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
Member (2008)
Italian to English
abbbby Dec 3, 2018

Myungkyu Kim wrote:

No, it's like receiving a PDF file from the client and reproducing it in MS Word file, without any translations in this case.
My apologies for not providing the info correctly.


In most cases your client can easily do this for you by running the file through a PDF converter such as ABBBY.

After all, you're a translator, not a DTP operative.

It's up to your client to do the conversion, unless they can't or won't do it themselves, in which case yes, you should charge them a fee - that is, if you really want to start messing with stuff that has nothing to do with translation...!

The amount you charge for that task should also take account of the money you won't be making from translation work that you won't be able to do because you'll be busy with the DTP work and may have to say "no" to other clients.

[Edited at 2018-12-03 14:52 GMT]


 
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
that is true Dec 3, 2018

Tom in London wrote:

Myungkyu Kim wrote:

No, it's like receiving a PDF file from the client and reproducing it in MS Word file, without any translations in this case.
My apologies for not providing the info correctly.


In most cases your client can easily do this for you by running the file through a PDF converter such as ABBBY.

After all, you're a translator, not a DTP operative.

It's up to your client to do the conversion, unless they can't or won't do it themselves, in which case yes, you should charge them a fee - that is, if you really want to start messing with stuff that has nothing to do with translation...!

The amount you charge for that task should also take account of the money you won't be making from translation work that you won't be able to do because you'll be busy with the DTP work and may have to say "no" to other clients.

[Edited at 2018-12-03 14:52 GMT]


True, thank you Tom... might have to consider it.


 
Inga Petkelyte
Inga Petkelyte  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 10:44
Lithuanian to Portuguese
+ ...
Not difficult but time consuming Dec 4, 2018

Tom in London wrote:

I don't understand how you would charge extra simply for producing a translation in MSWord that is formatted exactly in the same way as the original, since nothing difficult is involved. You simply translate a copy of the .doc file.


I've been doing a translation recently, 180 pages, all Police documents.
So surely it is not difficult to reproduce a page with:
- 3 to 4 different font sizes;
- 2 to 3 different fonts:
- various words in upper case, in lower case, in bold, in Italics, underlined - ALL in the same sentence, various sentences per page;
- alignment variations;
- spacing variations;
- text width variations;
- small tables, columns, etc.
And all that in one page, almost all pages.

So it's not about being difficult but about taking lots of extra time.


 
Myungkyu Kim
Myungkyu Kim
South Korea
Local time: 19:44
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Appreciate your reply Dec 4, 2018

IrinaN wrote:

Then the standard rate in the US for a formatter is $18-20/hr for an in-house person with some benefits, and $25 for a good freelancer. Your money will be in volumes because there will be no "simple" or "complex" jobs, only the time spent will vary - it could be anything between 30 min and 3 hours per page. Never agree to a fixed pay by page and ensure proper deadlines after you see the entire! job.

Try to practice with random but fairly complex "live" and "dead" PDF files and see how much time you need in reality.

Good luck!
Irina


Thank you very much!


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Garbage in, garbage out Dec 4, 2018

Inga Petkelyte wrote:

I've been doing a translation recently, 180 pages, all Police documents.
So surely it is not difficult to reproduce a page with:
- 3 to 4 different font sizes;
- 2 to 3 different fonts:
- various words in upper case, in lower case, in bold, in Italics, underlined - ALL in the same sentence, various sentences per page;
- alignment variations;
- spacing variations;
- text width variations;
- small tables, columns, etc.
And all that in one page, almost all pages.

So it's not about being difficult but about taking lots of extra time.


I always reproduce exactly what I get. So if there are multiple fonts, my translation uses the same multiple fonts. If the character spacing is erratic, it is erratic in my translation. If there are parts in italics, or underlined, bold etc. they appear exactly the same in my translation. It doesn't take me any extra time because I'm simply translating a copy of the original Word file.

Besides, whoever wrote the original document may have good reasons for incorporating all those sections in different fonts, italics etc. and it is not up to me to change those decisions.


IrinaN
 


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What are the formatting rates in Word?







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