March 15, 2014
The Price of Freelancing
Among the most frequently asked questions by those aspiring to work as freelance translators in Spain are the cost of their activity and the benefits they can have.
I will only mention the costs of taxes and social security. If a translator bills for 1,000 euros for only one piece of work in one month, he or she should deduct 210 euros (21% income tax) and (at least) 261 euros for social security. That leaves 529 euros for other expenses.
That is the reason why, to pay for the costs of living, equipment, telecommunications, training, health insurance, retirement plan, dictionaries, vacations, etc., he or she must bill much over 1,000 euros per month.
The amount depends on individual needs, but, at least, one must be prepared to pay a fixed social security quota with an income or not for each month.
[Image: Paul Vos, The Tax Collector, 1543, oil on canvas.]
February 15, 2014
Shopping (for Translators)
“I would like to receive information on your Spanish-English and English-Spanish translation tariffs” is a frequent question in e-mails found in a translator’s mailbox.
The answer is usually fast. They are either available or not. If they are, they send their tariffs and wait for some work. Sometimes they wait in vain.
And that wait in vain is more frequent than we can imagine. Why?
I think that the answer can be found in the way some people search for translation services. They go out shopping, contacting translators and comparing costs, just like you would buy any product in the market, with eyes fixed on the price tag.
This formula seldom considers quality and professional experience as it is evidenced in a translator’s curriculum. And, almost always, leads straight to the worst option.
[Image: Pieter Brueghel: The Tower of Babel, oil on a panel, 114 × 155 cm (1563).
February 8, 2014
Mini-Job Translation
The proliferation of mini-jobs is one of the consequences of the current economic crisis in Spain. They are part-time, few-hour, low-salary contracts offered during a period with a high unemployment rate. The philosophy behind it is that something is better than nothing.
However, small-size jobs have been a regular and constant feature in the translation sector. They are fundamentally requests for documents, correspondence, advertising, webs and all sorts of short materials that bill less than 100 euros. Beginners in the trade are reluctant to do these kinds of jobs.
In spite that they actually are not an important source of income, they are a good practical exercise and a good experience in establishing professional relations with clients.
In the words of Samuel Pepys: “He that will not stoop for a pin will never be worth a pound.” [1]
[1] Samuel Pepys: Diary, January 3, 1668.
Image: John Hayls: Samuel Pepys, oil on canvas, 756 × 629 mm, 1666.
February 1, 2014
An Old Childhood Friend
By sheer chance, I have recently found out that My Weekly Reader is not being published since 2012 after an 84-year history. It has been like loosing an old friend. It was an important asset in the education in English that I received at an elementary school in Havana in the 1950’s before leaving for the United States.
Although my mother tongue is Spanish, my parents decided to register me in a bilingual school and I remember that My Weekly Reader was part of its reading syllabus.
I keep fresh in my mind—I don’t know why—a special memory of an issue dedicated to the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II, published when I was in third grade.
Unknowingly, I was preparing for my profession.
[Image: “The Singing Lesson,” Spiegel des menschlichen Lebens (Mirror of Life,), Augsburg, circa 1475–1476, woodcut.]
January 18, 2014
About Respect and Gratitude
Our clients deserve our respect. In my best practice policy I have mentioned: “Always act polite and courteous, and be responsive to constructive criticism.” [1]
On the other hand, our clients also deserve our gratitude for their confidence in our work. But, sometimes, some forget that these attitudes should be reciprocal. They overlook that translators are usually qualified and experienced professionals who also deserve respect and gratitude because a large part of human thought has been retransmitted by them for many centuries.
It has been said that the phrase “Translator, traitor” is part of a comment about a translation of Dante’s work into French. However, it is also probable that its author was incapable of reading the complete production of world literature in its original language. Maybe it would have been more elegant to say: “Thank you, translator, for your anonymous and poorly recognized efforts.”
[1] Cf. “Translation Tips: Best Practice,” September 10 2011.
[Image: Giovanni Bellini: St. Jerome (patron saint of translators and interpreters) Reading in the Countryside, 1505, oil on canvas.]
January 11, 2014
Fiscal News
We are starting this year with some innovations in Spanish Hacienda’s (Internal Revenue Service) formalities, since it has announced changes in the presentation of some of its tax declarations.
Freelancers are affected by two: our yearly value-added tax declaration and our trimester value-added tax declaration, which are to be presented electronically online.
But there are no changes in value-added and income taxes, which both remain 21%, or in the tariffs, which are still among the lowest in the ten most developed countries.
[Image: Paul Vos, The Tax Collector, 1543, oil on canvas.]
January 4, 2014
2014: New Year’s Resolutions
Things have not changed much in these past twelve months. We still have to think about new ways to reduce costs. We still carry the same tax burden, and prices continue to go up in electricity, water, transportation, etc. The cost of living rises while translation tariffs remain the same. Therefore, this year’s resolutions are quite similar to 2013’s. [1]
However, I must add one important item: patience. Patience, so we can endure administrative red tape. Patience, so we can get around the obstacles raised before freelancers. Patience, so we can choose worthwhile jobs. Patience, so we can put up with difficult clients.
Yes, we’ll need a lot of patience this year.
[1] Cf. “New Year’s Resolutions,” January 5 2013.
[Image: Domenico Ghirlandaio: St Jerome in his Study, fresco, 184 × 119 cm (1480).
December 14, 2013
House Rules: Planning Leisure
Planning leisure and vacation is not easy for freelancers. We always move in a no-man’s-land plagued by uncertainty. There are times like summer or Christmas and New Year holidays when work tends to slow down and they seem to be ideal to make this sort of plans.
But it is not always like that. For example, some clients often—particularly publishers—give us work before vacationing so they can have it done when they return. If we had made plans for our own vacations, this becomes a dilemma: should we do the work or should we carry on with our plans.
This can be frustrating. I think that we should make the most of the flexibility that freelancing allows us and say yes to work and take advantage of any free time that we have to take a rest and enjoy a few days relaxing.
Under these circumstances, a bit of improvising is not a bad idea so we can enjoy those days when we have no work still pending.
That way we can provide our services to our clients—who will know that we are always available for them—and also give ourselves some time to get our strength back and enjoy the harvest of our work. [1]
[1] Cf. also “House Rules: Daily Schedule,” September 14 2013; “House Rules: Working Hours,” November 2 2013; “House Rules: How Much Work?,” November 9 2013; “House Rules: How to Work?,” November 23 2013; “House Rules: Managing Patience,” December 7 2013.
[Image: Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893): Traveler, oil on canvas, 1868.]
December 7, 2013
House Rules: Managing Patience
After last week’s culinary digression, I will go back to our usual subjects. Today, I will post a new comment on our relation with clients.
There are difficult clients. All freelancers have bumped into them. They are exactly those cases when we have to manage our patience well. But, as everything else in our lives, patience has its own limits and we must be alert not to ever lose our composure when from difficult some people become exasperating.
The most reasonable attitude is to keep a kindly but firm tone. We must not allow anyone to misinterpret than kindly is a synonym of submissiveness. A professional activity is only profitable when you have the respect of your clients.
Not only pleasant manners but tariff and working conditions depend on that respect.
It is not productive to work for a client that underestimates our professional qualification, the quality of our work, our price list and the time we need to seriously exercise our profession.
As I have mentioned before, if we find such clients, it is better not to have them than to end up losing our patience. [1]
[1] Cf. “Translation Tips: Clients (1),” October 8 2011 and “Translation Tips: Clients (2),” October 15 2011.
[Image: Scriptorium Monk at Work, engraving published in William Blades: Pentateuch of Printing with a Chapter on Judges, E. Stock, 1891.]
November 23, 2013
House Rules: How to Work?
This is a personal issue, just like any other of each individual’s preferences, although there are some basic elements.
For example, since freelance translators stay at home, it is better to wear comfortable and cool clothes in the warmest months and warm clothes in the coldest, because that helps us to work with a more pleasant feeling.
We should also consider that it is convenient to stick to our daily meal schedule besides our necessary rest periods.
Our environment is as important as an adequate temperature. Good lighting, a proper level of silence, a comfortable chair where we can spend long periods of time working, an adequate posture of our body, creating the most favorable conditions to increase our concentration…
The list might be long, but it should be adjusted to our preferences and peculiarities.
The most important thing is to create an atmosphere that fosters our productivity to its maximum, while not sacrificing our sense of well-being. [1]
[1] Cf. also “House Rules: Daily Schedule,” September 14 2013; “House Rules: Working Hours,” November 2 2013; and “House Rules: How Much Work,” November 9 2013.
[Image: Albert Durer: Der heilige Hieronymus im Gahäus / Saint Jerome (patron saint of translators and interpreters) in His Study, 1514, engraving.]
NÁPOLES TAPIA 