Time to Tame Translation FeesorHow to Bring Translation Fees Down
The translator will use the TM tool to automatically analyze your document and produce a report showing no-matches (segments in the source document that do not match any segments available in the TM), fuzzy matches (source segments that partially match TM segments), full matches (source segments fully identical to TM segments) and repetitions (recurring segments in the source document). The report will look like this one:
Based on the results, the translator will offer you discounts. They may differ depending on the translator/translation company. For example:
or or Whatever the discounts, you will find the general run of things to be such as I have represented above. Cost savings are evident here. Rough estimates show that fuzzy matches cost 50-60% of the translation fee paid for the new content, while full matches and repetitions cost only 20-25%. Furthermore, the translator will quote the price based on the number of words in your document, which means that you will know in advance how much it will cost and you will not have to pay for the possible increase in the word-count inherent to translation in certain language pairs (e.g. from Russian into English, from German into English). However, TM tools are useful and can help to bring translation fees down only in the case of repetitive texts, texts that you send for translation periodically with small changes, or large projects that last for month or years. These include product descriptions and catalogues, user manuals for various devices, clinical trial protocols and letters, financial reports, aide memoires, etc.
"A picture is worth a thousand words." Remember this mantra? If not, it is time to recollect it. In a translation project, a shift from words to graphic will help to reduce word-count, which means paying lower translation fees. Use of all sorts of diagrams, maps, images, photos, pictures and pictograms may be more effective than verbose descriptions. Furthermore, do not put any content on your graphic so as not to incur additional graphic localization costs.
For translation buyers, the brighter side of globalization is that they have direct access to a great many providers from all over the world. On the Net, they can choose foreign translators from lower-income countries who enter the translation market in ever-increasing numbers and charge lower translation fees. Price pressures on translation companies are also on the rise. Thus, the recent price offers of translation companies, which I’ve found in my email box, are as follows: August 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
New economic realities make the life of translators harder. They have to lower translation fees and apply new strategies to make sure their business can survive. But that's another story... If you are interested in the translation profession and translation business, Corinne McKay's book "How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator" will answer many questions. It provides real-life experience, facts, and advice that will be useful both for those who are just thinking of becoming a translator and for seasoned translators. You can buy this book on the Net or read a limited number of pages on Google Books (http://books.google.com/books) to get some idea of what the book is about. An excellent selection of best practice articles from The ATA Chronicle covers different aspects of sound business practices of freelance translators and interpreters, including translation fees. Another useful resource for translators: Grow Your Client Base, Increase Your Rates, and Make LSPs Love You: A How-to By Terena Bell and Madalena Sánchez.More on fees and rates in the translation industry: Editing and proofreading rates
Return from Lowering Translation Fees Page to Home Page _____________________________________________________________________ Website owner: Irina Lychak, self-employed freelance linguist, Russian translator, Ukrainian translator, Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine
|
