Translate Spanish into Success

As a Spanish to English translator, I am highly specialized. That level of specialization allows me to provide clients with a high-quality product by focusing on what I do best. However, if I’m not careful, specialization can turn into over-reliance on one source of income. How can a translator balance the need for specialization with the need for diverse streams of income?

There are a few things that translators need to be really good at: For one thing, I am an expert in both of my working languages. I spent years studying Spanish, visiting Spain, and working to build my fluency and language expertise. I also spent many years strengthening my writing skills in English, my native language. In addition, I have specialized knowledge in the fields in which I translate: marketing, business communications, international development, and humanitarian aid. (Learn more about my specializations and services here.) I spend a lot of time maintaining my language skills and knowledge base.

In order to stay focused on my areas of expertise while still diversifying my income, I have built up my translation business in several ways:

• Spanish to English Translation for a diverse client base: I work for a variety of clients, including translation agencies and direct clients. I prefer to work for smaller, similarly-specialized agencies (which may serve larger companies as their end clients) and with direct clients that tend to be smaller businesses and NGOs. By not focusing all of my work on one or two large companies, I am able to provide personalized service to each client and avoid putting all my eggs in one basket.
• English editing services: As a specialist in the English language, I also offer editing services to clients who produce documents in English, translate documents into English, and need to adapt British English to U.S. English. I include editing and proofreading in all of my translation projects—and I truly enjoy it!—so providing editing as a standalone service is a natural extension of my skills.
• Teaching translation: I teach a course in Spanish to English translation for the translation/interpretation certificate program at the University of California, San Diego Extension. It is incredible to be plugged into this community of successful Spanish-English translators and interpreters as well as aspiring language professionals. As a teacher, I can contribute to training future translators as well as growing and improving the language industry as a whole. Teaching also requires me to continually renew my language and writing skills. Thanks to my students, I am always learning!
• Business workshops for translators: I have also offered two workshops at UCSD Extension centered on best practices for translation businesses. Creating Your Own Website teaches translators how to create a simple, professional website that will help get them noticed by potential clients. Formatting Translation: Integrating Desktop Publishing into Your Workflow introduces translators to basic DTP skills and discusses how to offer clients different kinds of DTP services.

My diverse streams of income provide stability for my business while maintaining a focus on the language services industry. I am also looking into ways to develop more passive streams of income, such as recorded webinars or e-books about my areas of specialization. My goal is to do what I love without sacrificing long-term, financial stability … so far, so good!

Do you want to hire me for Spanish to English translation or English editing? Learn more about my services or contact me directly and get started right away.

Are you looking for a instructor for translation courses or business workshops? Would you like someone to give a presentation about the translation or language services industry at your San Diego-area event? Contact me with details about your needs and timeline.

Last night, I was wrapping up a productive day of translating when I was called away from my desk. I was told to check the mail, which included a large envelope from the ATA. If I remember anything from applying to college and graduate school, it is that the big envelopes have good news—and this was no exception! I opened it up to reveal a certificate granting me ATA Certification for Translation from Spanish into English. Hooray!

The mission of the American Translators Association’s certification program is “to evaluate the competence of translators according to guidelines that reflect current professional practice.” ATA certification is neither a requirement for translators in the United States nor a guarantee of a translator’s ability to excel on any particular translation project. (And some translators point out that current professional practice involves computers, which are not allowed in the ATA exam.) There are also excellent translators who are not certified. However, ATA certification is one measure of a translator’s ability. And despite required qualifications for taking the exam, the overall pass rate is still below 20%.

In my case, ATA certification is added to my education, training, and growing experience. It isn’t my only qualification, and it isn’t the end of the process of becoming a great translator. I don’t get to sit back and relax now. For me, being a certified translator means that I have to work harder! I hope to continually improve my work and provide better service to my clients. I also hope to continue to educate myself in both the translation field and my fields of specialization. Part of why I love translation is that it gives me ongoing opportunities to learn!

So this just one step in my career, but it’s a step that I plan to celebrate!

How do you decide whether to use a translation agency or a freelance translator? And how do you choose among the many agencies and translators out there? Here is a nice guide to help you get started making that choice: Translation: Buying a Non-Commodity (PDF). I can also offer a handful of quick tips based on my experience:

How many languages do you need?

If you need a document translated into a dozen different languages, an agency will help keep things simple by coordinating with all of the translators, editors, and proofreaders you need. On the other hand, if you have a document you only need to translate from Spanish to English, using a freelance translator will cut out the middle man and allow you to work directly with the service provider.

How specialized is the subject?

Some agencies specialize in certain subjects and can help you find the right translator for your needs. On the other hand, translation agencies that claim to translate all languages and all subjects may be a master of none. To be sure that you are working with a specialist, go directly to the source: the translator. Working with a freelance translator allows you to check their credentials and references, as opposed to trusting that an agency will find the right person for your job.

How important is consistency?

While translation software provides tools for maintaining consistency across translations, nothing ensures consistency like using the same translator for all of your documents. Agencies may provide their translators with glossaries or translation memories (although they don’t always do so), but they may not always have the same translator(s) working on your projects. Also, consistency isn’t just about using the same words or phrases. For marketing translation, the tone and writing style is as important as the individual words. Using a freelance translator means that you will get your message across in translation—consistently.

What kind of formatting do you need?

Agencies often provide desktop publishing services in addition to translation, meaning that you can get a finished, formatted product. Many freelance translators focus on what they do best: translation. If you need to outsource the entire project, it may be best to use an agency. However, translators can surprise you! Because of my background in developing marketing materials, I can handle translation and the desktop publishing process. In other words, I can translate a document from Spanish to English and produce the formatted collateral materials, ready to be delivered to your printer.

What is your personality?

After considering all of the technical aspects of working with agencies versus freelance translators, you have to consider your own personality. Some people want to hand a project over to an agency and have a project manager take it from there. Others would rather have direct access to the translator and manage the translation more closely. Whatever your personality, look for a translation service provider who will work well with you!