Problem with fixing my own rates
Thread poster: Anna Ziembińska
Anna Ziembińska
Anna Ziembińska
Poland
Local time: 23:28
Polish
Mar 25, 2019

I want to work as freelance translator. Is anybody employed in any translation office in Great Britain, Spain or USA and could help me with fixing my own rates which I am going to charge? A translation office with which I would like to establish collaboration asks me for my own price list.

 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:28
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Don't be "forced" into working for peanuts Mar 26, 2019

Welcome to ProZ.com and the world of freelance translation, Anna.

Setting your rates is definitely something you want to give lots of thought to before even contacting your first potential client, as is setting your own terms and conditions. Which currencies will you accept? How long after submitting your invoice do you expect to be paid? Etc. Many agencies have some very strange ideas about how much and when they need to pay and what their rights are, seeming to believe they have a
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Welcome to ProZ.com and the world of freelance translation, Anna.

Setting your rates is definitely something you want to give lots of thought to before even contacting your first potential client, as is setting your own terms and conditions. Which currencies will you accept? How long after submitting your invoice do you expect to be paid? Etc. Many agencies have some very strange ideas about how much and when they need to pay and what their rights are, seeming to believe they have all the rights of an employer without paying for all the benefits of an employment contract, plus the ability to threaten to sue us whenever they see fit . Unfortunately, many freelancers let themselves be "forced" into accepting sweatshop conditions. Please start out as an entrepreneur running a business, albeit a very small one.

There are two tools here on ProZ.com to help you set your rates (see the Tools tab). One is to help you calculate how much you need to earn, and the other shows you statistics accumulated from all of those registered here who provide their rates, either for display on their profiles or for filtering purposes. In addition, take some texts in your source language and do some tests. Start the clock running. Take a known quantity of words and work on them until you have a deliverable translation (i.e. translated, revised, spell-checked, and proofread) - I'd advise something between 100 and 250 words. That will give you an idea of your average translating speed in words per hour. Speed is a very personal thing, with some translators claiming to be able to deliver 1,000 words an hour and others only doing 250. Don't let yourself be "forced" into accepting rush jobs that you can't possibly do well in the time given, as that's the way to ruining your reputation.

Two other very important things to do before accepting the first job: 1. Check out the Wiki article here on Risk Management (and make sure you thoroughly vet every potential client), and 2. Visit the Scam Centre to find out the 1,001 ways in which you can be scammed. Sign up to receive alerts about new scams too.

Good luck!
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Richard Purdom
Richard Purdom  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:28
Dutch to English
+ ...
Be realistic Mar 26, 2019

Forget the rates most people post, which are often wishful thinking. Simply set your rate at something realistic and stick to it. You work rate will increase with experience, so may start off at 250, and end up at 400/500 an hour. Base your rates on the latter figure, nobody's going to pay over the odds because you're slower.

So, if you charge 0.06 or 0.07 a word, you should be looking at 25 - 30 EUR an hour.

If you use a CAT tool, you can give 25% discount for reps an
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Forget the rates most people post, which are often wishful thinking. Simply set your rate at something realistic and stick to it. You work rate will increase with experience, so may start off at 250, and end up at 400/500 an hour. Base your rates on the latter figure, nobody's going to pay over the odds because you're slower.

So, if you charge 0.06 or 0.07 a word, you should be looking at 25 - 30 EUR an hour.

If you use a CAT tool, you can give 25% discount for reps and 50% discount for fuzzies above 75% or 84%, see how it goes. I know lots of translators complain about this, but it reflects the fact that there's less work involved, and you have to stay competitive (and so do agencies) as the world doesn't owe us a living.
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Problem with fixing my own rates






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