Your guide to becoming a freelance translator

Your guide to becoming a freelance translatorFreelancing is one of the surefire approachesmost professional use in order to earn extraincome. Some of them even use this as a as steppingstone in order to accomplish a stable career.Today, one of the most lucrative areas wherefreelancers earn a great deal of income is thefield of translation.More and more freelance translators offer theirservices. Although the profession sounds good andthe translation industry is steadily booming, itcan be hard to find well-paying work if you

werenot able to earn a degree in translation,translation experience, excellent languageskills, and training and experience in atechnical field of translation.If you are interested in freelance translation,the easiest way to do it is to get samples andreferences. You can do this by being a volunteeror intern in agencies that need translationservices such as the American Red Cross,Translators Without Borders, refugee assistanceprograms, and public health clinics who are inneed of volunteer translators and interpreters orby working for low-paying translation agenciesthat are willing to train beginners.Aside from getting experience and references, youalso need to be a writer. The profession oftranslation also needs excellent writing skillsbecause the translation should be correct notonly verbatim or \"word for word\" but should alsobe grammatically correct. And last but not the

least, you will need subject-specific knowledgein your own native tongue in order to translatesubject-specific documents requested by yourpotential client.Aside from having these three considerations,here are some tips that can help you in order tobe a successful freelance translator:1. Make sure that you are realistic. Just like inany field, you need to consider if you plan to workfulltime or freelance. If you are consideringworking as a freelance translator, you need to berealistic in the possible outcome. Since you arenew in the field, you can't expect that you willhave a sizeable list of clients on a regularbasis.2. Continue building up. If you are already in theindustry, never stop marketing. Having a regularlist of clients doesn 抰 guarantee that you cankeep all of them for a long time. Make sure that

you continue contacting prospective clients inorder to keep the works flowing.3. Never ignore the local market especially if youare able to present yourself better in person thanon paper. In order to build reputation, you needto show a portfolio of your work personally. Bydoing this, you can ensure that you will have anidea what your potential clients want.4. Try to join some associations. By doing this,you can add credential to your portfolio.Freelance translators can join associations suchas the American Translators Association or itslocal chapters to help you establishprofessionalism as a translator. This can alsoopen up a new door to meet other translators andlearn from them.5. Learn from experience by asking for advice. Tryto talk to other translators so you will have anidea about the field you are about to enter.

6. Adjust your resume toward translation. The keyin order to get clients is by marketing yourselfas bilingual if you are. If you also havespecialized professional skills, you can alsoinclude this in your resume or portfolio.7. Try offering services that more experiencedtranslators don't. As mentioned, the translationindustry is booming and more and more translatorsare offering their services. In order to meet thedemands of the competitive market, try to offerservices that others don 抰 offer such as work onnights, weekends, and rush jobs.8. Make sure that you get certification. If youare a freelance translator, make sure that you getcertification so it can back up yourcredentials.