Query on how much to charge per word for freelance PT pt - EN GB. Legal translation Thread poster: Carmen Almeida
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Hi there everybody,
I have just been given an opportunity to translate for a consulting agency in Portugal.
They deal with Portuguese immigration matters and have asked me to freelance translate from European Portuguese into British English. This will include legal documents as well as checking the work of non-native English speakers. Would I need to class this as proof reading?
I have just graduated from University with a degree in Translation and Modern... See more Hi there everybody,
I have just been given an opportunity to translate for a consulting agency in Portugal.
They deal with Portuguese immigration matters and have asked me to freelance translate from European Portuguese into British English. This will include legal documents as well as checking the work of non-native English speakers. Would I need to class this as proof reading?
I have just graduated from University with a degree in Translation and Modern Languages (Spanish and Portuguese) and haven't got much experience in the field as a freelancer.
I am really unsure of how much to charge per word as I know this will be legal translation. I am also unsure of how much to charge for proof reading.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Carmen
[Edited at 2021-08-12 13:00 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu 
Ukrainian to English
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0.10 EUR translate/ 0.04 EUR review
Make sure to set a high-ish minimum fee or you'll be drowning in 5 euro jobs to translate an ID card
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 12:24
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
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I assume from your question that you are a newbie, so please don’t be tempted to sell yourself short, if you start charging low rates to a client it will extremely difficult to rise them later on. So, my advice would be: charge as much as more seasoned translators and get a good proofreader. I have been translating for over 35 years and some of my translations still go through a second pair of eyes (when you have been working on a document for some time your eyes trick you into seeing the word... See more I assume from your question that you are a newbie, so please don’t be tempted to sell yourself short, if you start charging low rates to a client it will extremely difficult to rise them later on. So, my advice would be: charge as much as more seasoned translators and get a good proofreader. I have been translating for over 35 years and some of my translations still go through a second pair of eyes (when you have been working on a document for some time your eyes trick you into seeing the word as it is supposed to be—not what is on the page). For legal translations (contracts, memoranda of association, wills, powers of attorneys, etc.) my rates start at 0.12€/word but immigration papers are usually less complex and involve birth and death certificates, passports, identity cards, driver’s license, refugee travel documents, so maybe 0.10€ could be acceptable. For some of these documents you should charge a minimum fee.
[Edited at 2021-08-14 19:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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You are obviously an institution and not that I'm comparing myself to you, but is that €0.12 with the fuzzy match grid applied or straight up, old school—they actually pay for all the work you do?
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Everyone gave you very good advice.
If I may add, especially as a freelancer but also as an in-house translator you have to have some idea of how much your work should be worth and how much you want to earn. You start from there and adjust as much as you are comfortable and want to, based on what the LSPs interested in working with you are signaling/offering you as well. As a newbie, you are in constant negotiation with the LSPs you aren't working with yet. You cannot negotiate if ... See more Everyone gave you very good advice.
If I may add, especially as a freelancer but also as an in-house translator you have to have some idea of how much your work should be worth and how much you want to earn. You start from there and adjust as much as you are comfortable and want to, based on what the LSPs interested in working with you are signaling/offering you as well. As a newbie, you are in constant negotiation with the LSPs you aren't working with yet. You cannot negotiate if you have no idea of what you should charge, because it's difficult to compare yourself to other translators with their own unique skillsets, experience, and situations.
I agree with everyone who said you shouldn't go lower than €0.10, or even €,0.12 when fuzzy matches are applied but this means you are working for approximately €0.05 if they were actually paying for every word. So I do my share of working for very nice agencies who pay me 0.05, 0.06, and 0.08 cents but pay for every word and do not care what CAT tool I use if any.
I'd have to charge 0.12 with fuzzies, to achieve my bottom flat rate, but most agencies looking for someone in my pair aren't willing to pay 0.12, so I have worked for 0.10 and recently decided not to. I decided I have to be more willing to walk away from a job, so I can enhance my negotiation skills.
So you see, we can all only share some well-meaning advice but the bottom line is, you have to be good at assessing your own skills, situation(s), needs, and aspirations, as well as teach yourself the art of negotiation and, yes, say no to underpaid projects — which does feel very counter-intuitive — but prevents you from working on a project that doesn't pay that well, having to decline one that would pay better.
Let me be a bit more specific. Adieu I know nothing much about, but he's a man and is, therefore, more likely to be techier than you. That's a skill set people pay for within his rate.
Teresa is basically an LSP in her own right. She is super well connected throughout the EU, has been doing this for 30 years and she has a partner working in her pair. They can, pretty much, offer proofreading in the 0.12 cents she charges. I cannot do that, I offer a good well-checked translation (by me by that very set of eyes that has just spend a week looking at that text) and cannot nor would I claim that you don't need to hire a proofreader — unless I'd get a partner in my pair myself.
If they have an ongoing work relationship, people can well skip proofreading in Teresa's case, they would be advised not to in my case. So, she saves people some 0.04 cents a word in that way.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea. A huge part of being a freelance translator is assessing your skills, situations, and negotiating your place in the market.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Most people you will work with won't stick around forever and you can always drop a poorly negotiated position with an LSP to work for someone with whom you were more successful at negotiating.
Welcome to proz.com and the profession. I hope you find both most satisfactory. ▲ Collapse
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Most of my customers (some are long-standing) pay for all the work I do with one exception (a very regular client) and in this case a discount grid is applied...
P.S. I have been around for a while and I am old, but please please don't call me "an institution"...
| | | | | Oh I'm sorry then | Aug 15, 2021 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Most of my customers (some are long-standing) pay for all the work I do with one exception (a very regular client) and in this case a discount grid is applied...
P.S. I have been around for a while and I am old, but please please don't call me "an institution"...
I meant it as a great compliment. I do apologise if you didn't like it.
I just don't think a newcomer to the profession should compare themselves to you, because it can be counterproductive.
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You didn't offend me at all, you made me blush. Anyway, thank you for the compliment, though undeserving as I think I am...
| | | | | You are most welcome and it's a well deserved compliment | Aug 15, 2021 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
You didn't offend me at all, you made me blush. Anyway, thank you for the compliment, though undeserving as I think I am...
🌷 🌹 🌺 🌼 🌸 🌻
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