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how much do you usually charge to translate an 18,365 word project?
Thread poster: Ana Talos
Richard Purdom
Richard Purdom  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:58
Dutch to English
+ ...
Scam Jul 13, 2020

What you should normally charge for 18,365 words? 18,365 x your word rate.
Don't 'proofread' your own work.
Trados is excellent, I use memoq. You'll need a good CAT to get anywhere these days, so invest the time and money to learn how to use one.

This offer is a scam, more red flags than a Soviet parade in the 1970s.
Even the author's name is written wrongly in your name, presumably by someone incapable of even making the effort to copy/paste.

Thank Go
... See more
What you should normally charge for 18,365 words? 18,365 x your word rate.
Don't 'proofread' your own work.
Trados is excellent, I use memoq. You'll need a good CAT to get anywhere these days, so invest the time and money to learn how to use one.

This offer is a scam, more red flags than a Soviet parade in the 1970s.
Even the author's name is written wrongly in your name, presumably by someone incapable of even making the effort to copy/paste.

Thank God you posted here before you got ripped off!
Collapse


Ana Talos
Liviu-Lee Roth
Daniel Jeory
 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
So how much do you / would you charge to translate a 80,000 word document? Jul 13, 2020

Kevin Fulton wrote:

Ana Talos wrote:

p.s. so full time minimum pay for 2 weeks?
so around $12x80hours?


You should value your work at a much higher rate. Here in the Midwest, grocery store clerks make $12-14/hour, and in the case of Costco, full-time employees also get access to health insurance.


ok.
so my original question was How much do you usually charge to translate an 18,000 word project?
What do you/ would you charge then?


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Ana Jul 13, 2020

Ana Talos wrote:
[Going back to the original question,] "How much do you usually charge to translate an 18,000 word project?"


I have a standard "usual rate" for US and North-Western EU clients that is the same as the rate that is listed on my ProZ.com profile page. My rate for Eastern and Southern EU clients and Middle Eastern clients is lower, and my rate for Indian and Chinese clients is even lower. So, it would depend on the location of the client. I typically don't do translations for private persons (I'm a business translator), so if this turned out to be a private person, I would probably pass him on to a colleague or recommend to him an agency. My rate for translating 20 000 words is the same as my rate for translating 10 000 words or 5 000 words or 1000 words.


Jorge Payan
 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Samuel Jul 13, 2020

Samuel Murray wrote:

Let us know what payment method the client proposes.


Thanks Samuel. I will let you know. So far he hasn't wrote back.


If you have nothing better to do, I suggest no less than 5c per word. That would be $12 per hour if you translate 250 words per hour. Or 7c per word, which is $17 per hour. Some people might say (as some have already) that that is "less than what industry X pays", but there is no rule that translation has to pay more than waitressing. If this is your skill, and if you can live off $12 per hour, then do what makes you happy.


that sounds good. It would be around $900.

A long project is not a bad way to break into using a CAT tool. And if you're new to CAT tools, it may take a while before you start getting or seeing benefits from using CAT tools. But you're right: Trados is expensive. If you want a cheap CAT tool, try OmegaT (offline) or Wordfast Anywhere (online).


Thank you so much for these two. I knew of Wrodfast and OmegaT I would have to get used to. The Lokalise I liked just because it sugests translations but the translations are not always correct. I think the Omega is the best choice because it's free and I would have to come up with every single translated line. I thought it would be even easier to use paper and pen, that way I would take it with me anywhere I go. I was surprised Trados does not come up with dictionary suggestions in each language and translated suggestions. For that price I thought it would.


 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks Jul 13, 2020

Michael Newton wrote:

Insist that the client give you their phone number so you can discuss the project. You must call them, not the other way around. That way you can trace the call (Nigeria, Poland, Mongolia). When I get a dodgy request like this, I always insist on a telephone conversation. The "client" disappears.


yeah, he hasn't emailed back yet.


 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Tina Jul 13, 2020

Tina Vonhof wrote:

Hi Ana, welcome to the forum.

Others have already commented on the job offer that looks like a scam but I would like to make some other suggestions:

If you want to learn a CAT tool, I would take your time to do that before using it under the pressure of finishing an actual job. Also, take a little time to find out what the going rates are in your language combination. Read the forums about scams and become familiar with what some of the red flags are.

In your profile, replace the list of objectives with a list of your own experience, the types of jobs you have done in the past, so that serious clients can see what you have to offer. Presumably the jobs you have done in the past correspond with some of the specializations you mention at the top.


Thank you Tina
I tried to edit my profile, but I find it difficult to find the button that would allow me to change that "list of professional objectives" into a "list of my own experience." I'll play around on my proz profile but I've spent more than 2 hours playing with it and I can't find the button that allows me to edit it. So I just left it the way I first made it when I first signed up on it.
Yes, I'm mostly interested in literature/theory type of things. Not so much in agriculture farming.
The closest I could come to edit that objectives into experience is a little square that asked me to "I choose not to enter profile objectives." So I checked it until I figure out a way to add experience instead of objectives.


 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Richard Jul 13, 2020

Richard Purdom wrote:

What you should normally charge for 18,365 words? 18,365 x your word rate.
Don't 'proofread' your own work.
Trados is excellent, I use memoq. You'll need a good CAT to get anywhere these days, so invest the time and money to learn how to use one.

This offer is a scam, more red flags than a Soviet parade in the 1970s.
Even the author's name is written wrongly in your name, presumably by someone incapable of even making the effort to copy/paste.

Thank God you posted here before you got ripped off!


Thanks for telling me.
I am downloading memoq to try it. I will compare it to Omega


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
How CAT tools work Jul 14, 2020

Ana Talos wrote:
I was surprised Trados does not come up with dictionary suggestions in each language and translated suggestions. For that price I thought it would.


In 99% of cases, a CAT tool can only make suggestions from your own previous translations or from previous translations shared with you by a colleague or a client. Some CAT tools can connect to an outside public translation memory, but you'll usually get very few suggestions, and the suggestions may not be useful anyway. Some CAT tools an also give you machine translated suggestions, but usually you have to pay for machine translation access separately (a few online tools may offer machine translation included in their price). Similarly, very few CAT tools come bundled with dictionaries, so if you want suggestions from a dictionary, you have to create or get or buy it separately from other vendors (and you must make sure that the dictionary you buy can work with your CAT tool). A CAT tool is basically a type of document editor.

Ana Talos wrote:
I find it difficult to find the button that would allow me to change that "List of professional objectives" into a "List of my own experience."


There is no such option. You either have to choose not to display the objectives or you have to choose from the list of objectives given by ProZ.com. In my opinion, it's a half-baked feature. If you want to list your own experiences, you can do so in the bio section at the bottom of the profile page.

[Edited at 2020-07-14 07:37 GMT]


Liviu-Lee Roth
Jorge Payan
Ana Talos
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 03:58
Dutch to English
+ ...
Edit profile Jul 14, 2020

Ana Talos wrote:
Thank you Tina
I tried to edit my profile, but I find it difficult to find the button that would allow me to change that "list of professional objectives" into a "list of my own experience." I'll play around on my proz profile but I've spent more than 2 hours playing with it and I can't find the button that allows me to edit it. So I just left it the way I first made it when I first signed up on it.
Yes, I'm mostly interested in literature/theory type of things. Not so much in agriculture farming.
The closest I could come to edit that objectives into experience is a little square that asked me to "I choose not to enter profile objectives." So I checked it until I figure out a way to add experience instead of objectives.


I have seen this same list of objectives now on four different profiles. I don't know who came up with it first but obviously this list is doing the rounds. All the more reason for you to make your profile your own.

Once you're logged in, you can click on your picture at the top right of the page. Ignore the drop-down menu and go directly to your profile itself. You will see 'edit' icons for almost every item there, and at the top of your bio it says 'edit' in red letters. When you click on that, you will be taken to another page where you can edit your bio. You can do this as often as you like. Note that there is an option to use Word features such as bold etc.

Good luck!


Ana Talos
 
Jeff Whittaker
Jeff Whittaker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:58
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
At least U.S. $3,000.00 Jul 14, 2020

The bare minimum would be U.S. 0.16 per word or $2,880, more if it requires formatting or specialty knowledge.
Agencies typically charge clients anywhere from .20 to .30 per word, so the client gets a discount by hiring you directly.

Ana Talos wrote:

someone wants me to translate and proofread their project which is about 18,000 words. What should I charge for this?
I was going to use trados but it's so expensive and I tried it and it's not that great.
Should I use this instead? https://lokalise.com/
I heard of it but I don't remember where. It's similar to trados but this one aids in the translation. Trados does not aid at all.

ana

p.s. I also don't know much about the man who wants to hire me, except his email address which comes up as having no results when I do a google search. Should he also have a phone number or a more legitimate contact info?

[Edited at 2020-07-12 21:10 GMT]


 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 05:58
Romanian to English
+ ...
Sometimes I wonder .... Jul 14, 2020

LegalTranslatr2 wrote:

The bare minimum would be U.S. 0.16 per word or $2,880, more if it requires formatting or specialty knowledge.
Agencies typically charge clients anywhere from .20 to .30 per word, so the client gets a discount by hiring you directly.

Ana Talos wrote:

someone wants me to translate and proofread their project which is about 18,000 words. What should I charge for this?
I was going to use trados but it's so expensive and I tried it and it's not that great.
Should I use this instead? https://lokalise.com/
I heard of it but I don't remember where. It's similar to trados but this one aids in the translation. Trados does not aid at all.

ana

p.s. I also don't know much about the man who wants to hire me, except his email address which comes up as having no results when I do a google search. Should he also have a phone number or a more legitimate contact info?

[Edited at 2020-07-12 21:10 GMT]



This "offer" is 100% scam and many of our colleagues give answers to the secondary issue, the payment.
This is the reason I asked the moderators to move this thread to SCAMS

lee


Grace Anderson
Kevin Fulton
Ana Talos
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Tina, re: the list Jul 15, 2020

Tina Vonhof wrote:
I have seen this same list of objectives now on four different profiles. I don't know who came up with it first but obviously this list is doing the rounds.


This list is a new feature in ProZ.com. It is not a list that gets copied by people manually, and it does not form part of the "Bio" section. It's a silly list, if you ask me, but apparently some HR departments like seeing something called "professional objectives" on a profile page. You should be able to edit the list by visiting https://www.proz.com/settings/history?eid_s=0000#objectives (replace 0000 with your member number).


 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thank Jul 16, 2020

Tina Vonhof wrote:

Ana Talos wrote:
Thank you Tina
I tried to edit my profile, but I find it difficult to find the button that would allow me to change that "list of professional objectives" into a "list of my own experience." I'll play around on my proz profile but I've spent more than 2 hours playing with it and I can't find the button that allows me to edit it. So I just left it the way I first made it when I first signed up on it.
Yes, I'm mostly interested in literature/theory type of things. Not so much in agriculture farming.
The closest I could come to edit that objectives into experience is a little square that asked me to "I choose not to enter profile objectives." So I checked it until I figure out a way to add experience instead of objectives.


I have seen this same list of objectives now on four different profiles. I don't know who came up with it first but obviously this list is doing the rounds. All the more reason for you to make your profile your own.

Once you're logged in, you can click on your picture at the top right of the page. Ignore the drop-down menu and go directly to your profile itself. You will see 'edit' icons for almost every item there, and at the top of your bio it says 'edit' in red letters. When you click on that, you will be taken to another page where you can edit your bio. You can do this as often as you like. Note that there is an option to use Word features such as bold etc.

Good luck!






Thanks Tina

I'll go there more often to edit it and play around with the buttons.


 
Ana Talos
Ana Talos
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks Jul 16, 2020

Samuel Murray wrote:

In 99% of cases, a CAT tool can only make suggestions from your own previous translations or from previous translations shared with you by a colleague or a client. Some CAT tools can connect to an outside public translation memory, but you'll usually get very few suggestions, and the suggestions may not be useful anyway. Some CAT tools an also give you machine translated suggestions, but usually you have to pay for machine translation access separately (a few online tools may offer machine translation included in their price). Similarly, very few CAT tools come bundled with dictionaries, so if you want suggestions from a dictionary, you have to create or get or buy it separately from other vendors (and you must make sure that the dictionary you buy can work with your CAT tool). A CAT tool is basically a type of document editor.



good to know.
I usually always translated using word for word with pen and paper or using word or google drive and was surprised to find out that these programs don't aid with suggested translations.
What I do like about them is that they break the sections off and you can see both side by side. That is the only useful thing, I think.

[Edited at 2020-07-16 03:42 GMT]


 
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