Link: Speaking of Translation Interview in Colorado

Thanks to Web 2.0 innovators and fellow translators Corinne McKay and Eve Bodeux, who host the very popular -- and only, as far as we know of -- translation podcast. A few weeks ago, after giving my "Lessons From Business School: The Entrepreneurial Linguist" workshop, Corinne and Eve interviewed me in Denver, Colorado, in the middle of what Coloradoans call a "mild" snowstorm. In southern Nevada, it would be considered a blizzard! Thanks to everyone for braving the elements and joining us for this fantastic day of learning...

Phone Etiquette

Regardless of the time of day or night, we give every phone call and e-mail the time, attention and professionalism it deserves. Even though we don't work with agencies, we frequently get calls from them. Some callers are more professional than others. It is frustrating not to know who exactly you are speaking with, and if the caller seems very hurried and does not give enough details for us to make a decision on the project, that's usually not a good basis for collaboration. Here's a recap of a phone call that we received...

Link: Colorado Translators Association Marketing Workshop

Two weekends ago, I (Judy) had the honor to present my two-hour marketing workshop "The Entrepreneurial Linguist: Lessons from Business School" in Denver, Colorado, at the Colorado Translators Association. I really appreciate all the wonderful positive feedback I have been getting. While I have already e-mailed the actual PowerPoint presentation to anyone who requested it, I also meant to write up a short summary. Turns out that Riccardo Schiaffino, Italian translator and fellow blogger at About Translation, has already done...

Great Professional Development Workshop in Germany

Our friend and ATA colleague Karin Bauchrowitz recently told us about a fantastic 2-week workshop in Erlangen, Germany. She's been attending for many years, and the workshop is an excellent combination of learning and sightseeing - it's quite unique in the world of professional developement opportunities for translators and interpreters. Here are a few details and contact information: 8th Biennial Study Workshop for German/English Translators and Interpreters in Erlangen, Germany September 27 – October 10, 2009 The very...

Link: Translator Community Mourns Ben Teague's Death

Ben Teague, former American Translators Association (ATA) president, German->English translator and theater aficionado, was fatally shot on Saturday, apparently by a University of Georgia professor while attending a picnic. It appears that Ben was trying to protect the real target, the shooter's ex-wife. Although we did not know Ben Teague personally, many of our colleagues did, and our hearts go out to this corageous linguist's family. Ben had inspired many people and translators during his career, and contributed a tremendous...

Link: Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation

Thanks to our friend, fellow blogger and president of the Colorado Translators Association, Corinne McKay, for posting the following on her blog, Thoughts on Translation. The Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation (awareded by the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation) competition is now accepting submissions until June 1. The winner will be announced during the American Translators Association's 50th Annual Conference in New York City at the end of October. The prize is $250 and a certificate...

Guest Post: 5 Ways a Blog Can Boost Your Freelance Business

By Susan Johnston Photo by Rachel Hadiashar, MergeWeddings.com These days almost everyone has a website, and that can be a great way to showcase your professional accomplishments and list your qualifications. But to really stand out, I'd suggest blogging. Here are five ways that freelancers can benefit from writing a blog 1. Connect with others in your industry. Through blogging, I've "met" a ton of like-minded writers...

End of an Era: Favorite Client Profile

This week, our favorite client, Mr. Stefan Wisiak, let us know that he was moving into a new position with another company. IMaGE Vienna, where he has been since 2001, runs the very successful Schoenbrunn Palace Concerts with the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra in the Orangery of the legendary yellow Schoenbrunn Palace. It’s the end of an era for us, and we will miss this relationship dearly, which is proof that outstanding...

Collections: The Silver Lining

Just in time for Easter, we'd like to share a very uplifting anecdote. One of our colleagues, Jeff Whittaker from Tampa, Florida, whom we have not even met, saw our posting on our collection issue with a company in the same city a few days ago. He actually e-mailed us with the following offer. He would gladly deliver our invoice to the non-paying customer's office! Since we only have a PO Box for an address, Jeff researched...

ATA List of Translation Blogs

We were delighted to learn that our friends at the American Translators Association have listed our little Translation Times blog on their website, along with dozens of other fantastic blogs written by our colleagues, most of which we link to on our blogroll. With social media and web 2.0 changing the way business is done on a global level, we think it's fantastic that the ATA, as the largest translation and interpretation organization in the world, is recognizing the value of these industry-specific blogs. They are great...

Linguists Beware: Non-Payment

This is a first (and last) for us, as we have only worked with two agencies on two projects in more than seven years in business. Unfortunately, one of these agencies has not paid us after more than 120 days. Calls, e-mails, and friendly calls from our pro bono legal folks have proved to be futile. With the advice of our friends and colleagues at the American Translators Association, we have decided to send this agency to collections. We already posted about this on payment practices sites so our fellow linguists can be aware...

Tax Deductions for Freelance Translators

We finally got the taxes for the American side of our company off our desks (this is one very important task that we gladly outsource to an accountant who also runs a small business). For those of you who are still working on getting things organized, we wanted to share some of the deductions we were able to claim. We are certainly not qualified to give tax advice, but these are deductions that have been approved by our CPA. Some are pretty standard, while some were unexpected. If you have any others that you have claimed for...

The Freelance Translator and the Dog

Check out Masked Translator's funniest post of the week. It's a guest post written by his also anonymous dog, singing the praises of his master's (or is the Masked Translator female?) freelancing life. Our pets Junia (cat) and Luna (dog) agree that not being alone all day is fantastic. Of course, we second that -- we really enjoy running our freelance businesses, having flexible schedules and choosing our projects and our clients. We certainly work more and harder, risk more, but also have more lazy mornings, more sun, more...