Working as a translator official document translation services is not rocket science, but even so, it can be amazingly easy to make mistakes—and I’m talking about big ones that cost you money!
I know because one of my first official translation projects went south, and at the time I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. It’s only now years later that I understand the problem.
This article will explain the lesson I learned from this unfortunate incident, which should help you avoid similar problems with your own translations.
The Mistake
Three friends recently launched their company XCoffee, where they offer clients to enjoy their coffee while reading or studying (see photo). One day, one of them asked me for an English version of their website. They were all excited about the project, talking about how it would boost their sales.
I did some research and proposed official document translation services to create two versions of the website one for UK clients with British spelling, using terms like ‘color’ instead of ‘color’, ‘pub’ instead of a bar, etc., and another one for US clients. I also wrote both texts in simple English so that they are easier to understand.
The client was happy with my version, but after a few days, he asked me if I could do it again because an American friend thought that British English is old-fashioned. So this time I created only one version (see photo). Not knowing much about coffee or its target audience at that point, I used neutral language avoiding any regional expressions.
Of course, my version was not perfect either because I wasn’t sure what the client wanted. But when I told him about it, he didn’t understand me either and asked for a third version. What can you do? After all, this is how business works!
I’m currently finishing the third official translation of XCoffee’s website into English, but after two months since our first meeting, this story still makes me angry. Why did the client ask me to translate his website three times? And why did he have to pay for each of these attempts? Now I believe that it would be better if he just wrote his own version in English himself or paid someone else to do it. Wouldn’t it be simpler and cheaper?
The Lesson Learned
As I mentioned, I didn’t understand why the client asked me to translate his website three times until recently when I learned about the term ‘cat herding’. This refers to a project management technique where you start many activities (herding cats) and then cut down later on (hit them with a stick).
This approach is different from managing projects in phases, which we all know. In this case, we do one thing at a time and make sure that it works before moving on to the next step—erecting walls, putting up doors and windows, etc.
The main idea of cat herding is that you get things done faster by working more intensively. It doesn’t mean that during each phase you can’t do anything else—you just need to finish the current project first before you move along to another one.
It’s not very efficient if you’re working on more than two projects at a time, but it is useful for small-scale projects where each of them doesn’t take too long. Therefore, cat herding is great for translators because it makes us work faster during the early stages of a project when we are still enthusiastic about it. And by doing so, we also increase our chances of completing more tasks!
How To Make More Money By Doing Less
Do you know what this reminds me of? It’s like eating blackberries on your way to your grandmother’s house. You don’t have to do that, but you certainly enjoy the extra energy if you do.
However, this method won’t make more money for translators because it requires more time and effort. For example, some freelancers write their own texts instead of translating them from scratch to increase productivity ( see blogpost ). But as we all know, such things only work in some cases (e.g. technical texts). Furthermore, there is always a chance that we may miss something or not understand its meaning well enough to convey it perfectly in another language—and that’s why official documents need to be translated by professional certified translators!
What Can You Do?
Don’t let me stop you from making extra money! Just don’t forget about your target audience and your quality standards, especially when you’re working fast. Your clients will appreciate it if you manage to meet their requirements and beat deadlines—that’s a win-win situation!
I always try to do my best for a given project, but sometimes it’s not enough. However, there is one thing I can promise: every time I fail, I learn something new to make sure that the next time it goes better.
What about you? Do you have any tricks up the sleeve that help you increase productivity without skimping on quality? Let me know in the comments section below!
• Find Reply Sarah Vela 5 Divas Online Speaker & Social Media, Strategist
Sarah Vela helps translators overcome language barriers and succeed online. You can find her at, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
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