Michael Purvis wrote:
I have an undergraduate degree in Journalism and have just completed a PhD in Latin American studies (cinema specifically) and I would like to translate texts that relate to this. Ideally, I would love to make a living translating journalistic texts about Latin America.
I have no idea whether this is realistic
It sounds perfectly realistic. Maybe you'd be wise to accept working with texts about Spain too, and non-journalistic texts about the culture etc. But I don't see why you shouldn't be able to carve yourself a niche and forget about technical manuals, contracts and birth certificates. Being a specialist is most definitely the future, and IMHO it's absolutely essential in the FIGS pairs. The low rates that a generalist can demand can be doubled if you specialise (and don't underestimate the negative message that a too-low rate can give).
how I should go about establishing myself as this kind of a translator. When I got started, my approach was just to respond to jobs on proz until I had enough regular clients sending me various things to keep me going.
Well, it's good to see that you've been able to fill your time like that, but I think you need to be far more pro-active in the future with it being your sole source of income. You need to select and target your potential clientele, not just sit back and wait for them to post jobs. Well over half the jobs awarded through this site never get advertised! Clients contact translators whose profiles appear to be a good match, but they'll only look at the first page or two of the directory. So, if you want to find work here you first have to follow all the 'rules': a 100% complete profile, paying membership, lots of KudoZ points, specialisations very clearly stressed, including in keywords, etc. Check out the Site Guidance Centre and get yourself a place on the free "Meeting Clients" webinar.
I don't really have many ideas about who to approach, but I would definitely advise you to target clients other than translation agencies. Maybe publishing houses (books and periodicals), trade associations, universities...
My translation pairs are Spanish - English and Swedish - English. I am working on adding Portuguese and Danish to this mix as well.
That's up to you, of course. But make sure you don't water down your message as a specialist. Are you a real expert in those languages? If not, it may be better to stick to doing what you do best.
Good luck!