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Rates for editing - help please!
Auteur du fil: Karen Hallez
Karen Hallez
Karen Hallez  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 11:26
anglais vers français
+ ...
Sep 30, 2019

Hi
I have been asked to quote for a post editing job where the source document has been written in English by a French native. It's a very literal translation from French into English and some sentences wouldn't make much sense to an English person reading them.

The document is 30 pages (4660 words). Should I charge by word, by page or by time spent? What are the going rates for this sort of work in EUR?

All help/feedback appreciated.

Thank you
 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 10:26
danois vers anglais
+ ...
(Deleted – had overlooked post editing) Sep 30, 2019



[Edited at 2019-09-30 17:15 GMT]

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Armorel Young
Armorel Young  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:26
allemand vers anglais
No fixed rate for post-editing Sep 30, 2019

There can never be a fixed rate for proofreading and/or post-editing - the quality of the documents varies hugely, so you always need to see the document and quote on a case-by-case basis.

As for the method of quoting, I normally quote by the hour, but it doesn't matter how you quote if the end result is that you earn the amount that you think is right for the project. For example, if you look at it and decide that it is likely to take you ten hours and you charge £30 per hour, you... See more
There can never be a fixed rate for proofreading and/or post-editing - the quality of the documents varies hugely, so you always need to see the document and quote on a case-by-case basis.

As for the method of quoting, I normally quote by the hour, but it doesn't matter how you quote if the end result is that you earn the amount that you think is right for the project. For example, if you look at it and decide that it is likely to take you ten hours and you charge £30 per hour, you could quote for 10 hours at £30 or you could quote it as 30 pages @ £10 per page or 4660 words at 6.5 pence per word and achieve more or less the same result.

My preferred method is to charge for the exact number of hours taken once I have done the job and so have an exact time measurement. Understandably, though, many clients want a price in advance - although you may be able to quote them an estimated range or a maximum price and then charge for the actual time taken (provided, of course, it is within that range or below that maximum). ▲ Collapse


Sheila Wilson
Carolina Finley
Philip Lees
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Espagne
Local time: 10:26
Membre (2007)
anglais
+ ...
Are posters addressing the right question? Sep 30, 2019

Karen Hallez wrote:
I have been asked to quote for a post editing job where the source document has been written in English by a French native.

It's a very literal translation from French into English and some sentences wouldn't make much sense to an English person reading them.

Do you actually have a source text in French? I think that's what the others have assumed -- a text for comparison with the English, checking that everything has been included and nothing added, and then polishing the inelegant phrasing. That could certainly take longer than translating from scratch if it's really poor.

Or do you just have an English source text to work with? That will obviously take a good while too, but how long is even more difficult to estimate. Some ESL speakers write very faulty but quickly fixed sentences. As you've lived in France you must be well aware of the mistakes that French speakers are prone to making. With others, you get the feeling that their writing in their own language is probably very muddled, and their English texts are quite indecipherable. Sometimes you can give alternative solutions ("did you mean x, or perhaps y?") but often all you can do is query phrase after phrase for further action. Then there would need to be a Round Two.
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 03:26
néerlandais vers anglais
+ ...
How to charge Sep 30, 2019

I have done similar jobs and it is difficult and time-consuming. I would definitely suggest proofreading your own work after is done because you are bound to miss things the first time around. I would suggest charging per word and charging generously.
 


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Rates for editing - help please!







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