How much to charge?
Thread poster: clairetransl (X)
clairetransl (X)
clairetransl (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:46
French to English
+ ...
Jan 13, 2013

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through the forum all day (it's incredibly useful!) but haven't found the answer to The Rates Question

Obviously rates depend on many factors, but I'm hoping that someone will be able to give me an idea of how much to charge.

A bit of background...I'm a native English speaker and am proficient in French and Spanish. I did languages at A Level (French, German an
... See more
Hi everyone,

I've been reading through the forum all day (it's incredibly useful!) but haven't found the answer to The Rates Question

Obviously rates depend on many factors, but I'm hoping that someone will be able to give me an idea of how much to charge.

A bit of background...I'm a native English speaker and am proficient in French and Spanish. I did languages at A Level (French, German and English), a degree in French and Spanish and then a Master's degree in Translation. I've spent a significant amount of time living and working in both France and Spain. I did a lot of translation for both degrees - my MA dissertation was an annotated translation of a short story - but I have little paid translation experience. I have done a few pro-bono translations for various charities and NGOs. I've been working as an English teacher, both in the UK and abroad, for the last 5 years and have also worked in the hotel/tourism industry, using my languages in one way or another.

How much should I charge, given that I do have 'qualifications' and related experience, but little direct translation experience? I don't want to set my rates too high and not get work, but I don't want to go too low and damage the industry either. What would be a sensible rate per word or per thousand words, in GBP or euros?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Catherine Gilsenan
Catherine Gilsenan
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:46
French to English
+ ...
Rates Jan 13, 2013

Well, my languages are the same as yours. And you're right, rates do depend on a number of factors, but I thought to start with I could tell you what my situation is, and hope it helps you a little.

Firstly, you can consult the Chartered Institute of Linguists website, or the ITI website to check out what rates translators are charging and in what circumstance.

When I first started in translation, I tended to go for the lower rates, then gradually raise them as I becam
... See more
Well, my languages are the same as yours. And you're right, rates do depend on a number of factors, but I thought to start with I could tell you what my situation is, and hope it helps you a little.

Firstly, you can consult the Chartered Institute of Linguists website, or the ITI website to check out what rates translators are charging and in what circumstance.

When I first started in translation, I tended to go for the lower rates, then gradually raise them as I became more experienced. I now charge £70 per 1,000 words (or 90 Euros, or 120 US Dollars) (i.e. 0.07 GBP, 0.09 Euros, 0.12 US dollars per word). This is also given the fact that I specialise in legal texts.

You do find, however, that you can usually only charge direct clients the higher amount, unless you have a good relationship with your agencies. Agencies tend to give their freelancers a lower amount. You have to weigh up the pros and cons. You also tend to find that "online translation agencies" (where you bid for projects, and with escrow type payment systems) usually pay quite low fees to freelancers. Therefore, you can decide how you want to build up your clientele and body of work. On the whole, it is best to stick, as far as possible, to the projects and clients that will pay closer to your chosen rates, and also know how to negotiate well. It's best for the profession and for you.

Hope this helps a little.
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Katalin Horváth McClure
Katalin Horváth McClure  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:46
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
ProZ Wiki Article on Rates Jan 14, 2013

http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Determining_your_rates_and_fees_as_a_translator

 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 17:46
Chinese to English
There's a reason you can't find that answer... Jan 14, 2013

No-one's going to post a definite number up here. For one thing, we offer different rates to different customers. It would be very unfortunate if a customer who pays a higher rate were to turn round and say, I see you posted on Proz that you charge X. Why am I paying X+3?

I think you're really asking, how can I avoid embarrassing situations where the customer and I have completely different rate expectations? The answer to that question is, you can't. At this very moment, there are
... See more
No-one's going to post a definite number up here. For one thing, we offer different rates to different customers. It would be very unfortunate if a customer who pays a higher rate were to turn round and say, I see you posted on Proz that you charge X. Why am I paying X+3?

I think you're really asking, how can I avoid embarrassing situations where the customer and I have completely different rate expectations? The answer to that question is, you can't. At this very moment, there are people out there working for less than USD 0.01 per word; and people working for upwards of USD 0.50 per word. If you do this job long enough, you'll probably see both situations. Sometimes, low rate agencies will contact you, and you just have to make clear that that's not what you do; sometimes, you'll bid for a job, and the response will be: Wow, that's less than a third of what we were imagining we'd have to pay - just send us a copy of your PhD in theoretical physics and you can get started straight away!

Finding your own niche in the market is part of being a freelancer, and it takes a reasonably thick skin.
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Russell Jones
Russell Jones  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:46
Italian to English
This page may help Jan 14, 2013

http://search.proz.com/employers/rates

 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:46
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Here's a thought Jan 14, 2013

clairemcn wrote:
I don't want to set my rates too high and not get work...


A rate that is slightly too high won't have much effect on how much work you get. If your rate is exceptionally high, it might discourage most clients to work with you, but slight fluctuations in your rate will typically not have an effect on how likely clients are to use you, unless the clients you target are bottom-feeders (and I mean that word in a neutral sense).

The first thing you should do is to determine what kind of an income you need to generate (be generous with your estimate). Then determine what your translation speed is (be conservative with your estimate). Then, here's a thought: calculate your translation rate based on the assumption that you'll only have work 50% of the time.


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:46
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Remember to factor in time on ProZ.com ;) Jan 14, 2013

Samuel Murray wrote:
The first thing you should do is to determine what kind of an income you need to generate (be generous with your estimate). Then determine what your translation speed is (be conservative with your estimate). Then, here's a thought: calculate your translation rate based on the assumption that you'll only have work 50% of the time.

That's an important fact that's easily overlooked! Even when you're busy all the time, you're not going to be spending every working moment on the actual translation. You'll be spending time marketing, negotiating, invoicing, chasing payments, book-keeping, jumping through the necessary state administration hoops... And you'll no doubt want to take holidays or else you'll need to take sick leave! Then there's training, networking, etc.

But in your language pairs, there's enough feedback on this site for the ProZ.com tool (link given above) to be useful. I don't think it's so useful for rarer pairs, but it seems to be for your pairs.


 
clairetransl (X)
clairetransl (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:46
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Advice Jan 14, 2013

Thanks for the advice. I've looked into the average rates for these pairs, but wasn't sure if I should start on lower rates as a 'newbie' or not. I keep reading that once you start on low rates, clients generally don't want to pay more if you then raise them, so perhaps starting on what I hope to earn over the next few years would be a good idea.

 
Penelope Ausejo
Penelope Ausejo  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:46
English to Spanish
+ ...
Start with your target rate Jan 14, 2013

My recommendation is for you to start with your target rate instead of with a lower one. At the beginning, unless you have signed a contract not to do so, get your translation proofread by a pro with more experience. Pay the proofreader for it.

Once you feel confident with your translations, you won't have to get it proofread yourself by a third party and you won't have to go into the "hassle" of trying to get your rate to a normal level.

I hope it helps!

clairemcn wrote:

Thanks for the advice. I've looked into the average rates for these pairs, but wasn't sure if I should start on lower rates as a 'newbie' or not. I keep reading that once you start on low rates, clients generally don't want to pay more if you then raise them, so perhaps starting on what I hope to earn over the next few years would be a good idea.


 


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How much to charge?







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