How much do I charge? Thread poster: maischa
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maischa
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:14
English to German
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I am just starting out in translation. To be kept on file at a translation agency, I need to tell them my minimum charge per word (British currency) and my daily average output. I have no idea. Unfortunately,we did not learn these things at university.
How much do I charge per 1000 words?
I would be grateful for some advice.
| | | | Juan Jacob 
Mexico
Local time: 12:14
French to Spanish
+ ...
| Very strange, indeed. | May 31, 2004 |
1. You've started a translation and you didn't set an arrangement with your client? Very unusual.
2. You've started a translation and you don't know how much you'll charge? More unusual.
My suggestion is: stop it all, you'll get in very big trouble.
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 20:14
English to German
+ ...
| Misunderstanding, | May 31, 2004 |
Juan,
Maischa wrote:
I am just starting out in translation.
Ralf
| | | | | Daily average output | May 31, 2004 |
Personally I started out with a daily average output of 2200 words a day. Output depends very much on the difficulty of the text and the formatting, but I think if you give this amount, you can't go far wrong, you might sometimes have to work harder to produce this amount, and sometimes you will find it a cinch, but all in all you should be free from the risk of not handing your work in on time.
Being in Mexico, I cannot however advise you rates.
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Juan Jacob
Mexico
Local time: 12:14
French to Spanish
+ ...
Yeap, IN translation. Please, apologize my misunderstanding.
I withdraw my comments.
But... haven't you a clue how much to charge?
Well, let's hear the collegues.
Luck to you.
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:14
Flemish to English
+ ...
| Rates are personal | May 31, 2004 |
Rates are personal, not country-bound. Whether you live on the South-Pole, in the UK or the heart of Africa does not matter.
It are your rates, your price-range (minimum/maxium)and it is up to you to negotiate. However, to give you an idea for the UK the usual price-range for agencies is between £50-60/1000 words.
No, they don't teach you that at school, for at most T&I-schools, professors (linguists) are employees paid on a monthly basis by the school's authority or the university.... See more Rates are personal, not country-bound. Whether you live on the South-Pole, in the UK or the heart of Africa does not matter.
It are your rates, your price-range (minimum/maxium)and it is up to you to negotiate. However, to give you an idea for the UK the usual price-range for agencies is between £50-60/1000 words.
No, they don't teach you that at school, for at most T&I-schools, professors (linguists) are employees paid on a monthly basis by the school's authority or the university. They live in an ivory tower and most of them have no connection with the outside freelance or business world. ▲ Collapse
| | | | awilliams
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:14
Italian to English
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I seem to remember that the ITI www.iti.org.uk sell a rates and salaries survey. Might be worth checking out.
A couple of other things:
Don't set your rates too low and don't undersell yourself.
Do a search for 'rates' in the forums as this topic has come up time and time again and there is some useful information in past threads.
Good luck!
[Edited at 2004-05-31 18:45]
| | | | | Full-time or part-time translator? | May 31, 2004 |
I agree with Lesley's comments, but when you have to establish a number of words/day, you should also consider whether you are going to devote all your time to translations or you have other activities (a job, for instance) and just will use part of your time to translate.
Think about it!
Good luck,
David
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sylvie malich (X)
Germany
Local time: 20:14
German to English
Dear Maischa,
The easy part is finding out how much you can translate a day. Take a sample translation in your expertise and translate as much as you can in an hour or two. Then proofread and revise it to perfection. Make a note of how long it took.
Now consider how many hours a day you would like to work and calculate.
The rates part, simplified, varies ccording to your experience and your living expenses.
There are a number of rate tables on various trans... See more Dear Maischa,
The easy part is finding out how much you can translate a day. Take a sample translation in your expertise and translate as much as you can in an hour or two. Then proofread and revise it to perfection. Make a note of how long it took.
Now consider how many hours a day you would like to work and calculate.
The rates part, simplified, varies ccording to your experience and your living expenses.
There are a number of rate tables on various translator resources websites, according to country for instance, where you can get a range of what's being charged out there.
Start from there. Everybody in this business started out as a beginner. Good luck to you.
sylvie
[Edited at 2004-05-31 20:32] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Be nice, but be firm... | Jun 1, 2004 |
...once you've established your price - and Sylvie's suggestion above seems like an excellent starting point.
Remember that when it comes to paying your rent and buying the Camembert, you won't be able to negotiate the price for the apartment or the cheese, either.
Cheers,
johanna
[Edited at 2004-06-01 20:24]
| | | | maischa
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:14
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | A Big Thank You To Everyone | Jun 1, 2004 |
I would like to thank everybody for their suggestions and advice on my questions about financial matters. It is very much appreciated and I have learned a lot from all of you.
Once again, Thank you Maischa
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