Brooke Palmer wrote:
I am currently studying a Master of Applied Translation at university.
I have a bachelor degree, majoring in Japanese (linguistics minor).
I have experience doing translation and proof-reading for a small start-up business based in Japan.
It seems to me that you have both training and experience. True, both are very limited at the moment, but you do know something about what needs to be done and how to do it.
What are you aiming to deliver? A half-baked translation that will need to be revised by a more experienced professional? If so, you'll need to quote low as your client can only afford to pay you a share of the translation cost. Or are you prepared to spend however long is necessary for you to feel happy with the end result? If that's the case, why should the client pay less than normal for a competent translation? You, of course, risk earning a very low hourly fee -- but you're still at the stage of investing in your career, so that's okay.
There's a tool on this website called "Community Rates". It is NOT saying "The market rate for X to Y is nnnn", so don't put too much store by it, but it is a useful guide in many cases. It's a simple statistical analysis of the rates we've declared to ProZ.com, either for public viewing or for internal site use only.
Should I be charging per English word, or Japanese character?
I expect your client would appreciate knowing the cost in advance. For this reason, we normally charge according to the volume of the source text. But it isn't a hard-and-fast rule and really it's a matter for negotiation between the parties.