Client wants to send a project piece by piece. Thread poster: Hardy Moreno
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Hello everybody:
First of all I hope I chose the right type of topic. I apologize if I did not. I'm wondering if anyone has had a client send them pieces of a project, for example 2 or 3 articles at a time of an entire newsletter to translate.
The client wants the information to be translated 2 or 3 articles at a time, then they will send more, etc., until the entire newsletter is finished. They want the translate information to be sent as it is translated. I hope ... See more Hello everybody:
First of all I hope I chose the right type of topic. I apologize if I did not. I'm wondering if anyone has had a client send them pieces of a project, for example 2 or 3 articles at a time of an entire newsletter to translate.
The client wants the information to be translated 2 or 3 articles at a time, then they will send more, etc., until the entire newsletter is finished. They want the translate information to be sent as it is translated. I hope I'm making sense.
How do you handle this when you might prefer to receive everything at once? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicole Schnell 
United States
Local time: 22:40
English to German
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In memoriam | Treat each article as a stand-alone piece | Jan 6, 2012 |
Because that's how it is supposed to be. Newsletters, magazines and the like are a compilation of different articles by different authors and written in different styles, depending on their respective topic. I would be concerned if a brochure that requires one consistent style would be delivered in bits and pieces but with your newsletter this is not the case.
I translate magazines and newsletters on a regular basis, and I receive the articles individually and I deliver them indivi... See more Because that's how it is supposed to be. Newsletters, magazines and the like are a compilation of different articles by different authors and written in different styles, depending on their respective topic. I would be concerned if a brochure that requires one consistent style would be delivered in bits and pieces but with your newsletter this is not the case.
I translate magazines and newsletters on a regular basis, and I receive the articles individually and I deliver them individually. ▲ Collapse
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 01:40
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| What is your concern? | Jan 7, 2012 |
Did you want to use your minimum rate for each group of articles, or what else?
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In fact it is far easier to fit in articles as they come from various contributors, than to have to translate the whole magazine in a rush before their deadline, which may be very close to the printer's deadline.
I usually agree with the client that we will add the total number of words up on a single invoice - it saves time. Over the years I have done this with several clients and different magazines. They are generally good clients who come again regularly if they like your style.... See more In fact it is far easier to fit in articles as they come from various contributors, than to have to translate the whole magazine in a rush before their deadline, which may be very close to the printer's deadline.
I usually agree with the client that we will add the total number of words up on a single invoice - it saves time. Over the years I have done this with several clients and different magazines. They are generally good clients who come again regularly if they like your style. I get to know them and find the articles interesting, so it is well worth making a little extra effort to keep them happy. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 07:40
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| I have no objection, but... | Jan 7, 2012 |
Hardy Moreno wrote:
The client wants the information to be translated 2 or 3 articles at a time, then they will send more, etc., until the entire newsletter is finished. They want the translate information to be sent as it is translated.
Well, I don't mind if a client does this, but the client should understand that I may not be able to deliver each set of articles equally fast, because I may have other work to balance it with. If, however, the client sends all the articles at once, then I can deliver them relatively quicker because I'm able to plan the schedule better.
If the client wants to receive files every now and then (not all of them at the end), then the client can still send all of them at first, and then tell me to deliver them set by set.
If I send files to the client, then I can't change those translations later. For example, if after translating several articles I discover that I had misinterpreted something in an earlier article, or that there is a better translation for something that I had previously translated, then I can't "fix" it if I had already sent it.
Another reason why I prefer not to send files one by one is that I may wish to do the proofreading or quality checking for all files at the same time. It is easier (and faster) for me to do a large chunk of proofreading instead of proofreading each small file after I've translated it. I'm also slightly less likely to catch errors if I'm forced to proofread directly after I've translated (which is what I would have to do if the client wants the files delivered in sets).
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 22:40
English to German
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In memoriam
Samuel Murray wrote:
Well, I don't mind if a client does this, but the client should understand that I may not be able to deliver each set of articles equally fast, because I may have other work to balance it with. If, however, the client sends all the articles at once, then I can deliver them relatively quicker because I'm able to plan the schedule better.
Sending articles in sets is actually necessary for a lean overall project management because in 99% of all cases each article is sent to an in-house reviewer at the end client's respective department or branch office. It doesn't make sense to collect all translations and THEN sending them to five or more different addresses. It's a waste of time. Also, not all original articles might be available at the same time because they are submitted by various contributors. In a nutshell - trying to "bundle" such projects might create unnecessary rush for the translator.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 07:40
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Nicole Schnell wrote:
Sending articles in sets is actually necessary for a lean overall project management because in 99% of all cases each article is sent to an in-house reviewer at the end client's respective department or branch office.
Yes, it depends on whether the total number of articles are already available or not. If the client has a process (e.g. write article, review article, translate article, review translation) then it would make sense to send the articles to the translator one by one (or in sets).
I happen to work on a project at this time in which many of the client's files are ready to be translated (I know this for a fact, but don't ask how), but the client doesn't want to send those to me, because the client wants to ensure staggered delivery. The effect of this is that I often have to squeeze the client's files into my schedule into slots that I would have preferred not to... and since some slots are non-negotiable, the client also suffers, because some files simply cannot be delivered at the client's preferred deadline (though I always let the client know this, of course).
| | | | Hardy Moreno
Local time: 00:40
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | How would you persuade your client to send the whole job? | Jan 7, 2012 |
First of all, I appreciate each and everyone's input on this. There's certainly a lot to think about.
Part of the problem is that this same client used to have an employee who would send me the text of the newsletter in one fell swoop on a Thursday or Friday and I would have it all translated to them by Monday morning when they would come in to work.
Now there's a new person who wants to send me several e-mails at a time with pieces of the entire newsletter. The new... See more First of all, I appreciate each and everyone's input on this. There's certainly a lot to think about.
Part of the problem is that this same client used to have an employee who would send me the text of the newsletter in one fell swoop on a Thursday or Friday and I would have it all translated to them by Monday morning when they would come in to work.
Now there's a new person who wants to send me several e-mails at a time with pieces of the entire newsletter. The newsletter isn't very big. Therefore, the comments made about translating "pieces of a magazine as opposed to the whole thing at once", doesn't really apply to this situation.
Now, instead of receiving text only, this new person is sending PDFs of 2 or 3 articles at a time.
Someone asked me if my concern was: "Did you want to use your minimum rate for each group of articles, or what else?"
Well, with this client I was always honoring a particular rate because they were sending me text only and because they were sending me frequent work. Now I feel as if I'm going to have to be stuck to my computer more to check my e-mails, keep them in order, keep a file pending, etc., etc. Because of this, I feel like I should charge them more because their convenience now becomes my inconvenience.
I, too, as Samuel mentioned, prefer to receive everything in one fell swoop because, as he mentioned it's easier, faster, and proofreading is easier, etc.
I want to insist on receiving the entire newsletter at the end because it's what's easiest for me and it's how I can justify my lowest rate to this client. If that's what you wanted to do, what would you mention to your client to persuade them to send the whole newsletter?
TIA ▲ Collapse
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| Happens all the time | Jan 7, 2012 |
My office regularly translates a number of customer and corporate magazines, and the copy is not only sent to us in stages, but also resent with edits several days or even weeks later, as the writers very often change their mind about things from the time of the first translation to the final copy that goes to the printers.
At the end of the process, which can span several weeks, our agency customer sends us a global PO for the original wordcounts and for any updates processed along... See more My office regularly translates a number of customer and corporate magazines, and the copy is not only sent to us in stages, but also resent with edits several days or even weeks later, as the writers very often change their mind about things from the time of the first translation to the final copy that goes to the printers.
At the end of the process, which can span several weeks, our agency customer sends us a global PO for the original wordcounts and for any updates processed along the way, and everybody is happy.
However, if this is a new customer for you, I'd request a PO for the pieces available for translation and a new PO for each of the pieces as they are sent. Just for your peace of mind! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | In such cases insist on regular payments | Jan 8, 2012 |
Usually under such circumstances, I send in a bill for every 3000 words or so. In that way these bills get processed and I receive checks regularly.
It is just quid pro quo.
Even if the client sends all the files together, I deliver the jobs in lots and for each lot I send an invoice. It will not do to wait for all the work to be finished before sending an invoice. It may take months to do so.
Regards,
N. Raghavan
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 13:40
Chinese to English
| If you can explain it to us... | Jan 8, 2012 |
Why can't you explain it to the client?
As with all forum posts of the "how do I talk to my client?" type, the answer is generally, say to your client what you've just said to us. You're not being unreasonable.
Dear client,
I translate for you at a low rate, because I like you, and because you've always made my life easier. I translate for you at **.**, when I charge my other clients **.**. Recently, you've stopped making my life easier. I'm sorry to say th... See more Why can't you explain it to the client?
As with all forum posts of the "how do I talk to my client?" type, the answer is generally, say to your client what you've just said to us. You're not being unreasonable.
Dear client,
I translate for you at a low rate, because I like you, and because you've always made my life easier. I translate for you at **.**, when I charge my other clients **.**. Recently, you've stopped making my life easier. I'm sorry to say that as a result, I will have to charge you my regular rate in future. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Hardy Moreno
Local time: 00:40
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for your replies - conclusion | Jan 10, 2012 |
I wish to thank everyone for their fine and sincere comments. Sometimes we all need to be told straight up what to do or at the very least we need to see how others handle different situations.
I came to the conclusion that because many other translators don't mind receiving pieces of work for a project, I could be that flexible, too. I'll just treat each piece as a separate job, and change my rate to a higher one. By doing so, everyone gets what they want.
I've alr... See more I wish to thank everyone for their fine and sincere comments. Sometimes we all need to be told straight up what to do or at the very least we need to see how others handle different situations.
I came to the conclusion that because many other translators don't mind receiving pieces of work for a project, I could be that flexible, too. I'll just treat each piece as a separate job, and change my rate to a higher one. By doing so, everyone gets what they want.
I've already translated one of the short pieces and it wasn't so bad. I'll just keep track of the bill, keep adding items to it, and send it at the end of the project. If the manager doesn't complain at the cost, it's more money in my pocket. If he does complain, I'll explain, "Hey, you make things easy, I charge less, you make things more difficult, I'll charge more.
As for telling them exactly what I've communicated here as someone pointed out (which I appreciated), I did that at the very beginning, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Looks like I'm going to be making more money this year...cha ching!!!
Regards,
Hardy ▲ Collapse
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