| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | How much less should I ask for creative translations vs technical? Is there a ratio? Thread poster: Jonathan Beaton
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I wanted to start supplementing my usual legal/business/technical translation work with more creative translations, but I've been offered a rate of pay that seems low in my language pair (6 cent a word for Dutch to English).
In your collective experience, should I expect to be paid less for this subject area? If so, by how much? I would argue that it requires an equal amount of time, but I suppose there are fewer people capable of doing specialized translations, so that's why the ra... See more I wanted to start supplementing my usual legal/business/technical translation work with more creative translations, but I've been offered a rate of pay that seems low in my language pair (6 cent a word for Dutch to English).
In your collective experience, should I expect to be paid less for this subject area? If so, by how much? I would argue that it requires an equal amount of time, but I suppose there are fewer people capable of doing specialized translations, so that's why the rate is higher.
So what would be a fair ratio? I'm currently asking 8 cent for other areas, which I think is very low for a quality translation by a native speaker of the target language, but I'm still building up regular customers. ▲ Collapse
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Jonathan Beaton wrote:
... I suppose there are fewer people capable of doing specialized translations, so that's why the rate is higher...
Writing marketing blurb in your native language is not easy either.
AFAIC, I charge the same for technical translations and commercial communications, because I spend about the same time translating a maintenance manual for a machine or a customer brochure for the latest car.
For technical copies, I spend time to research the subject, and for marketing texts, I translate 20 times the same sentence until my ears and consumer reptilian brain are satisfied.
Jonathan Beaton wrote:
...I'm currently asking 8 cent for other areas, which I think is very low for a quality translation by a native speaker of the target language...
I think so too.
Philippe
| | | | James Calder 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:07
Spanish to English
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| Charge less? | Mar 19, 2013 |
Hi Jonathan,
Why charge less for creative translations? It's a very important skill and from what I can see, there aren't that many people who are good it at. If you have a flair for it and are confident in your ability to deliver polished texts on time, then charge just as much as you would for any other type of translation.
Find clients who appreciate good writing skills. They are out there and they pay a lot better than the rates you mention. I wouldn't work for anyone who asked ... See more Hi Jonathan,
Why charge less for creative translations? It's a very important skill and from what I can see, there aren't that many people who are good it at. If you have a flair for it and are confident in your ability to deliver polished texts on time, then charge just as much as you would for any other type of translation.
Find clients who appreciate good writing skills. They are out there and they pay a lot better than the rates you mention. I wouldn't work for anyone who asked me to accept a lower rate for a job just because it's "creative".
Best regards
James
[Edited at 2013-03-19 17:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 16:07
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
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| My Personal Opinion | Mar 19, 2013 |
I honestly would not change my rate of pay depending on the subject area. I understand that the lower rate is due to a supply demand relationship. I would perhaps start with my regular rate of pay, and lower it one cent at a time just to test the waters. I guess this is a matter of balance, one end being your regular rate and the other end the rate they offer to pay. In any case, I would not accept their rate of pay without any negotiating. Good luck!
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| What do you mean by "creative translations"? | Mar 19, 2013 |
Are you taking about transcreation, copywriting?
If yes, you may want to search the forums for past discussions.
I would recommend these for starters:
See more
| | | | JaneD
Sweden
Local time: 15:07
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
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| Agree with Philippe | Mar 19, 2013 |
Creative translations are actually sometimes much more difficult than technical ones (particularly if you use a CAT tool for the latter and it's a subject area you are familiar with).
In fact creative translation is one of the areas where machine translation will take much longer to replace human translators – if it ever can – so you should definitely not be charging less!
| | | | Jonathan Beaton
Belgium
Local time: 15:07
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER
That's very encouraging and uplifting to hear, as I'd rather do more creative translations.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:07
Spanish to English
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| Agree with James | Mar 19, 2013 |
Why charge less? I like to think that all my translations are "creative" to a certain extent.
BTW, I think the 8 cents/wd is quite low for the Netherlands, but it's about average for Spain, where I work. However, I don't see anything wrong with charging lowish rates when starting out.
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| You have to charge slightly less for literary translation as opposed to legal, or technical | Mar 19, 2013 |
I don't think too many clients will pay the same rate like around $0.15/w for literary translation, which is a common rate for legal translation -- about $0.15-0.20/word. It is usually 2/3 of legal translation, in my experience, but sometimes you can also ask for a part of the royalties.
And yes, this is true -- literary translation will never be replaced by machine translation, but many other typos won't either, especially in very distant language pairs.
| | | | Nikita Kobrin
Lithuania
Local time: 16:07
Member (2010)
English to Russian
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| On the contrary | Mar 19, 2013 |
Jonathan Beaton wrote:
In your collective experience, should I expect to be paid less for this subject area? If so, by how much?
Be paid less for creative translations? No way! On the contrary: the rate for creative translation is usually 30-50% higher. Or even more.
| | | | | I second Nikita | Mar 19, 2013 |
Copywriting lends itself less to the use a TM and usually takes longer than technical translations, I find. All that staring out the window until just the right words come to mind.
| | | | | If you are talking about transcreation, | Mar 19, 2013 |
I never charge by word, but by the hour or a flat fee. Most of these texts are rather short but require writing skills, creative flair and a lot of imagination in order to maintain the intent, style, tone and context of the original.
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Nikita Kobrin
Lithuania
Local time: 16:07
Member (2010)
English to Russian
+ ...
Teresa Borges wrote:
I never charge by word, but by the hour or a flat fee. Most of these texts are rather short but require writing skills, creative flair and a lot of imagination in order to maintain the intent, style, tone and context of the original.
| | | | Jonathan Beaton
Belgium
Local time: 15:07
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | creative translations | Mar 19, 2013 |
SBlack wrote:
Copywriting lends itself less to the use a TM and usually takes longer than technical translations, I find. All that staring out the window until just the right words come to mind.
I will start charging an extra percentage towards window cleaning.
| | | | Csaba Ban
Hungary
Local time: 15:07
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
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For "creative" translations (marketing copy, etc.) I usually get up to 2-3 times more per word than for regular technical/financial documents.
For very short copies (taglines), the ratio is even higher. The catch is that some clients require several possible adaptations, each with literal back-translations and reasoning why you chose those particular words.
For an average tagline of 5-6 words you may have to write at least one full page, and a good client rewards thi... See more For "creative" translations (marketing copy, etc.) I usually get up to 2-3 times more per word than for regular technical/financial documents.
For very short copies (taglines), the ratio is even higher. The catch is that some clients require several possible adaptations, each with literal back-translations and reasoning why you chose those particular words.
For an average tagline of 5-6 words you may have to write at least one full page, and a good client rewards this effort accordingly.
Csaba ▲ Collapse
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