| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | 600 Euro project, I am not sure I should accept it Thread poster: Martin Wenzel
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mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 17:16
Spanish to English
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| Clarification ... | Nov 28, 2007 |
Giulia TAPPI wrote:
I normally work at 0,17, and occasionally at 0,20 € per word,
and might enter in some of the categories you mentioned,
but will not set my normal output at 6.000 words per day.
And that's precisely why so many translators end up complaining about low incomes. I fail to see how anyone can expect to feed themselves - let alone raise a family - doing 3,000 words per 24 hours which many people here seem to think is the 'norm'.
Giulia TAPPI added:
And will not trust a translator doing overnight 10.000 words.
We are all human beings and night is meant to sleep.
Actually that's not what I wrote - I mentioned '6,000 words overnight'. That's a normal day's work done 'overnight for a European client' which, since I'm anything between 3 and 7 hours 'offset' from Europe, depending on the time of year, means a job sent at 17 hours GMT+2 (Swiss summer time, for example) can be done in the late afternoon/evening here and be waiting in the client's in-tray next morning. At no extra charge to the client.
10,000 words a day, whether overnight or in normal hours, of course implies extra hours on that day, and as I mentioned previously that should be feasible on an 'occasional basis'.
MediaMatrix
| | | | mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 17:16
Spanish to English
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| Confused? - No way! | Nov 28, 2007 |
Viktoria Gimbe wrote: mediamatrix wrote:
- They can be relied upon to deliver a minimum of 6,000 words of print-ready translation per day, and can handle up to 10,000 words per day on an occasional basis. ... I am afraid you are either confusing a translator with MT, or I have absolutely no clue about translation. Or some other bit I am not aware of...
Maybe the 'other bit you're not aware of' is that my observations in this thread are based on over 30 years' experience in this business, both in-house and freelance.
Confusion can, I think, be ruled out here ...
MediaMatrix
| | | | Adieu 
Ukrainian to English
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6 000 words is a pretty light load, although it is still much higher than the industry average. I've done *25 000* words (yes, words, as in 125 000 symbols without spaces) in 24h before. And, once or twice, I've managed 75k words in under 100 hours. Admittedly, it was pretty simple stuff and a favour for an old client, but it is doable. The first 6k words or so are an acclimatation period of sorts to a specific subject matter and further work on the same subject over the next week or so goes muc... See more 6 000 words is a pretty light load, although it is still much higher than the industry average. I've done *25 000* words (yes, words, as in 125 000 symbols without spaces) in 24h before. And, once or twice, I've managed 75k words in under 100 hours. Admittedly, it was pretty simple stuff and a favour for an old client, but it is doable. The first 6k words or so are an acclimatation period of sorts to a specific subject matter and further work on the same subject over the next week or so goes much, much faster.
...A couple days after that were dedicated to sleep and watching footie on the tele with beer in hand, though!
I'd rather do 20 k words in 24h and then relax for the rest of the week, instead of doing several thousand per day. I didn't become a translator to work daily, after all! Whatever would be the point of that?!
P.S. No CATs used. Ever. I object to them on ethical grounds. Wouldn't want to start a flame war, but I firmly believe that they impair quality.
[Redaguota 2007-11-29 04:38] ▲ Collapse
| | | | mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 17:16
Spanish to English
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| Ouffff! I am not alone, after all! | Nov 29, 2007 |
IreneN wrote:
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There is nothing impossible in producing close to 10K words within 24-36 hours with the well-known subject ... but it sure is impossible to do it 24/7/365.
Adieu wrote:
6 000 words is a pretty light load, although it is still much higher than the industry average.
Thanks for those comments - I was beginning to feel somewhat isolated here .
The point I am trying to get across is that the productivity targets regarded by many translators as 'the norm', or 'reasonable', or 'as much as can be achieved without compromising quality' are way below what a substantial number of translators can and do achieve on a regular basis.
I bet anyone using this site could write a 6,000-word essay describing their childhood, in their mother tongue, in less than 8 hours. So why so many experienced translators in this community cannot translate 6,000 words in a full working day escapes me! Unless, that is, they are working out of their depth as regards the subject-matter or don't know their source language.
MediaMatrix
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mediamatrix wrote:
I bet anyone using this site could write a 6,000-word essay describing their childhood, in their mother tongue, in less than 8 hours. So why so many experienced translators in this community cannot translate 6,000 words in a full working day escapes me! Unless, that is, they are working out of their depth as regards the subject-matter or don't know their source language.
It's quite possible. I translated my own book at a faster rate than that.
The problem with translation occurs when you get poorly written text, and have to stop every time wondering "Whaddaheck does this guy mean here?".
Another setback is when you know enough about the subject matter to have written about it better, and you have to exert great discipline (which somewhat reduces your translating horsepower) to refrain from adding comments and bits of your own knowledge that might significantly improve the content, not to mention correcting blatant misconceptions and obvious misquotes.
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:16
English to Latvian
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| no 6000 words for me | Nov 29, 2007 |
I bet anyone using this site could write a 6,000-word essay describing their childhood, in their mother tongue, in less than 8 hours.
I could write 6000 words but I couldn't sell it for a good money. Normally if one is a reporter writing an in-depth article, then he is lucky if he can write 1000 words per day. It is no different for many translations. It may be normal to translate 6000 words in some special circumstances, for example, if you are working in a very specialized area but I prefer some diversity.
And no all-nighters anymore for me. I was doing them now and then when I was younger but now one sleepless night disrupts my sleep patterns and afterwards make me feel miserable whole week so that the extra money simply is not worth it.
So why so many experienced translators in this community cannot translate 6,000 words in a full working day escapes me! Unless, that is, they are working out of their depth as regards the subject-matter or don't know their source language.
Maybe they want to concentrate on the quality, not quantity. With the quality I don't mean simply the quality of the translation but the value of the text. If a reporter is paid, let's say $1 or $2 per word, then we can assume that he produces text of this value. And there are many translations that add even greater added value to the original text than that.
I think that translation profession should get away from counting words but concentrate on the value that is added. The word count is quite meaningless figure because it has little relevance to translator's actual efforts especially when TM matches are involved as it oftentimes is a complete travesty, especially in my native language where even 100% matches in most cases often require complete rewrite. I believe that billing by hour is a fairer system in all cases.
[Edited at 2007-11-29 19:51]
| | | | | Just a bit of scientific approach.. | Nov 29, 2007 |
mediamatrix wrote: Viktoria Gimbe wrote: mediamatrix wrote:
- They can be relied upon to deliver a minimum of 6,000 words of print-ready translation per day, and can handle up to 10,000 words per day on an occasional basis. ... I am afraid you are either confusing a translator with MT, or I have absolutely no clue about translation. Or some other bit I am not aware of... Maybe the 'other bit you're not aware of' is that my observations in this thread are based on over 30 years' experience in this business, both in-house and freelance. Confusion can, I think, be ruled out here ... MediaMatrix
Repeating the same or almost the same 6K words every day - yes. Employing one hundred translators each knowing a set of different 6,000 words, you could operate with a 600K words dictionary, that is enough for the field like IT and communication. Did you happen to translate surgery reports or studies ?
| | | | | Welcome in "1Kwords/hour Club" ;) | Dec 2, 2007 |
mediamatrix wrote: Thanks for those comments - I was beginning to feel somewhat isolated here .
Some day a client agree with me a translation, polish-italian, technical. The final "ok" was at 18.00.
- So at 18.00 I started translating.
- The next day, at 12.00 i give the translation.
- It was a total of 9.943 words (target text).
I was also able to sleep 5 hours this night And i went to restaurant for the dinner Just 10k overnight, so, just walking, not running
So, i used 18 hours time: 9,5 hours translating, 1,5 hour eating, 5 hours sleeping, and 2 hours checking the translation
It was heavy, but also funny I like this job, because of this possibilities...
Daniele
PS: For GENNADY: when I wrote the post the first time, I forgotten the sentence "and 2 hours checking the translation". I remember that I had time to 15.00, so I awaked at 10.00 (after 5 hours sleeping) and at 12.00 all was already finished... Surely, sometings similar can be done SOMETIMES, not regularly.. it's a kind of "extreme sport for translators"
[Edited at 2007-12-03 23:23]
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| Science, science... | Dec 3, 2007 |
Daniele Martoglio wrote: mediamatrix wrote: Thanks for those comments - I was beginning to feel somewhat isolated here . So, i used 18 hours time: 9,5 hours translating, 1,5 hour eating, 5 hours sleeping It was heavy, but also funny I like this job, because of this possibilities... Daniele
Daniele, your message about coffee in Poland I've enjoyed it a lot, it is real masterpiece ! But in this case, I am afraid you should have slept for 7 hours not 5.
With Best Regards
Gennady
| | | | Assem Mazloum
Germany
Local time: 23:16
Member (2007)
English to Arabic
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hi,
try to get escrow payment even if for small portions of the whole project, also you can deliver the project in portions and get paid for each.
[Edited at 2008-02-23 03:45]
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mediamatrix wrote:
- They can be relied upon to deliver a minimum of 6,000 words of print-ready translation per day, and can handle up to 10,000 words per day on an occasional basis.
MediaMatrix
Nobody can be "relied upon" to deliver a minimum of any significant number of words of print-ready translation per day. I was mostly agreeing with you until I reached this sentence and it became clear that you're just showing off. People make mistakes. Even the best people make mistakes. If you translate 10,000 words a day, you make more mistakes (in % terms) than you make if you translate 6,000 words a day.
What you say about dictionaries is true to an extent but every once in a while you can get a term or two that will take up a good chunk of time to research properly. I doubt even you are so sure of yourself as to suggest you know every word used in any one field of human knowledge in two languages without exception.
The "extra services at no cost" point is an interesting one. On the one hand, it is, undoubtedly, true that by providing extra services to your clients you increase your perceived value and may be able to charge more for your other services. On the other hand, if you spend time providing services free of charge you're a) dragging down your rate per hour, which is what matters at the end of the day, and b) eating into the time you've set aside for your minimum of gazillion words a day.
Overall, however you do make some fairly good points. Specifically, I too can translate 10,000 words a day in certain fields on certain days. However, as mentioned by others above, I tend to then take a day or two off, so the net result is not quite as stunning as it might seem.
It is true that specialising, being professional and building long-term relationships with your clients will go a long way towards helping you generate more income.
Then again, the thought of translating only internal banking regulations for the next 30 years is so depressing that I don't look at a life that involves translating your "minimum" in broadcast engineering, or indeed in ANY FIELD, including some of my favourite ones, which are, objectively, considerably more interesting, with any degree of envy.
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