Contact: corinne@translatewrite.com. Let me know if you have a suggestion for a post topic!
Thoughts on Translation has been an online gathering place for freelance translators since February, 2008. At that time, it was pretty easy to carve out a niche as a translation blogger (since there were about four of us). Over 800 posts later, I’m happy that Thoughts on Translation has continued to be a valuable resource for our industry, winning the ProZ.com community choice award for best translation blog in 2016, the best translation blog post award in 2013, and receiving over 20,000 views a month.
When I started my freelance translation business in 2002, I had a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in French, a baby, a huge dose of entrepreneurial drive, and absolutely no idea how to run my own business. After several years of trial and error (emphasis on the error), I had a viable freelance business and a fulfilling list of regular clients. But I theorized that if I struggled with the business side of language entrepreneurship, other translators probably did too. That inspired me to write the first edition of my book How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator (now in its third edition with over 10,000 copies sold) in 2006. I then started teaching classes for freelance translators, a list that has grown to include Getting Started as a Freelance Translator, Beyond the Basics of Freelancing, Breaking Into the Book Translation Market, and Marketing to Direct Clients.
Whether you’re a beginning or experienced freelance translator, I hope that this blog helps you along your freelance journey! You can contact me directly at corinne@translatewrite.com if you have questions (note that I may not have time to respond to individual questions, but I can consider them for future blog posts). Thanks, and happy translating!
Corinne McKay’s professional bio: Corinne McKay, CT, is an ATA-certified French to English translator based in Boulder, Colorado. She has been a full-time freelancer since 2002, specializing in international development, corporate communications/content marketing, and non-fiction books. Her translation of Erhard Loretan and Jean Amman’s Night Naked: a climber’s autobiography was shortlisted for the 2017 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. In addition to her translation work, Corinne has taught online courses for freelance translators for over 10 years, and her book How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator has become a go-to reference for the industry, with over 10,000 copies in print. Corinne is serving as the President of the American Translators Association from 2017-2019. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband and teenage daughter, and spends most of her non-work time skiing, hiking, and biking in the Colorado mountains and beyond.
Hi Corinne,
I like your blog!
Thanks again,
David
No problem, and thank you for the beautiful banner photo!
Corinne
Hi Corinne
I came across your website by pure chance.
I wish I had discovered it earlier 😉
Great work
🙂
Hi Corinne,
I just wanted to drop by and thank you for your lovely book, “How to Succeed As A Freelance Translator.”
I personally think it’s a wonderful addition to the translation business literature, and I’ve written a somewhat-raving review about it on my website…
http://www.arabic-translation-help.com/review-how-to-succeed-as-a-freelance-translator.php
Again, that you for your efforts, and I’m glad that you publish an RSS feed 😀
All the best,
Tamer
Thanks for your kind message and I’m glad you enjoyed the book! I’m currently working on a second edition, so please feel free to send along any suggestions for new or expanded topics.
Hi Corinne,
I just discovered your site thanks to a link in proz.com newsletter. Great site you have here! I’m a British FR>EN freelancer based in France specialising in finance, banking/accounting, business etc. – so great to find a kindred soul on the other side of the pond!
Rob
Hola Corinne-
I, too, just got linked to your blog via a proz.com newsletter. What an encouragement to read your blog and find some critical resources that you offer. I’m a freelance Eng/Span translator and working towards my ATA certification. Any suggestions on how to study for this? I need all the advice I can get! Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with the rest of the translator community.
best wishes,
~Inés
Dear Corinne,
I’m a blind college student. I’d like to thank you for writing your book on Freelance Translation. It is very accessible and easy to read.
I hope to transfer in a year to another university and pursue my translator’s education. The book inspired me to transform my hobby into a career. (Sorry if that sounds corny!)
Thanks again,
-Harun
Thank you, thank you, thank you! What a great resource!
Hi Corinne,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while. Thanks for all the instruction and experience you share. Especially the exercise machine/computer desk you use. It’s a pity I can’t find the product here in Taiwan.
Dear Corinne,
I found your blog about a week ago and keep coming back and reading it… I bought your book. Thank you very much for sharing your experience, advice and thoughts. I find it very useful. I am just about to start my freelancer’s career and all I’ve read here so far is very encouraging and helpful. I wish I had found it ealier…
Thank you! 🙂
Malgorzata
Hello, Corinne
I was googling myself (hmmm, that sounds dirty), when I found your website. I’m in Saskatchewan, Canada, trying to improve my French language skills. I have not taken a class for a year and have just started a new job where none of my coworkers are French. I was feeling a bit disheartened but for some reason, just seeing your/my name and reading about your business, I thought that Colorado can’t be that different from Saskatchewan for finding places to practice and innovative, interesting ways to maintain language skills.
Now that I look at my message, it would have been better to write it in French! Any cool, fun suggestions for language retention?
Corinne
Hi “other” Corinne McKay, and I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. Interestingly enough, I just met an English to French translator who lives in Regina; if you e-mail me directly I could give you her contact information. Personally I think that doing conversation practice with a native speaker is the best way to keep up your skills. I do this now and it’s the best $45 per week that I’ve spent on my language skills. Not to sound superior, but I find that “advanced/expert” conversation courses/groups are normally geared toward people who speak good “school” French and have not lived in French-speaking countries, while on the other hand if I attend a gathering of native French speakers, I’m intimidated by just jumping into the conversation. So, I find that one-on-one with a native speaker is perfect and it has *really* improved my speaking skills. Boulder is probably a little less remote than Saskatchewan, but not that much! You can do it!
Hi Corinne,
thank you so so much for this awesome blog. I’m a 22-year-old freelance German/English translator and until a few weeks ago I was totally clueless about how to get started. Not anymore now thanks to you. Your blog is full of interesting posts about anything a translator might need to know. I never got any better advice, not even from the countless German translators that used to teach me. You are like a coach and I wish I knew you personally because it seems like you are a great and interesting person to be around.
I am waiting on a copy of your book and I am sure that it will help me out quite a bit. In the meantime I will just be extremely jealeous of your wonderful resume 🙂
Love your blog!! Thanks so much
Christina
Thanks, Christina! I don’t know that I’m always great and interesting, but I try (just don’t ask my daughter!). Best of luck with your business, and feel free to send me any questions you would like to submit for a blog post.
Hi, Corrinne
I myslef am a Freelance Gr/Eng translator. I just now came to know aabout your book. I specialize in IT, technical engineering Medical and sometimes I do finanance. I want get the ATA certification. Where can I find the study material as I am residing in India. Do you have any clue…I will read your book and again get back to you
Thanks
Uma
Hi Corinne!
I love your blog! I’m studying for an MA in Translation Studies (Arabic-English) and just ordered your book about getting started as a freelancer! The information you are providing is invaluable to beginners like me!
Thanks so much for all your hard work to help others!
Katherine 🙂
Hi Corinne,
Just want to say thank you so much for sharing! I was searching information on how to get started with my Spanish/English freelancing and came across your blog. It is truly wonderful…almost everything I need to know.
Thanks again!
Marcia
Thank you so much for this blog! I have been a freelance French to English translator myself for over 5 years now and wish I had had a blog like this to accompany me on the journey starting out.
Great work!
Thanks for your comment; glad you are enjoying the blog!
Really interesting blog, specially for the ones who want to study the english translation career, like me.
Thank you so much for sharing your advices….
Greetings from an argentine teenager, who wants to become a translator in the future.
Dear Corinne,
when will the updated version of your 2006 book come out? if I buy it, I’d prefer to get the newest version…
Thanks for your answer.
Best,
valerie
Lovely artwork Corinne.
Thanks Karen! Superfluent Design actually deserves the thanks, I think it’s beautiful too!
Hi Corinne,
I am a freelance translator/professor of translation based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I happened upon your blog when googling about the insertion of scanned seals/stamps in translated documents. That discussion was highly worthwhile, particularly from the legal angle. I will share this link with my students.
Very glad to meet you! All the best of luck!
David
Thanks, David! Glad that the post was interesting and helpful! And thanks again to Tom West for those excellent comments on the legal issues.
“I’m set free/ to find a new illusion.” Long Live Lou Reed, who will always be lost in translation. (Only way I could find to get in touch with you, David, on this historic day of mourning….)_
Hi Corinne,
I’m a UK based Japanese to English translator. Your article ‘Getting started as a freelance translator’ was hugely inspiring and constructive when I started freelancing last October. It raised the bar for the amount of marketing I should be doing so I sent out 365 targeted applications and have done some really exciting projects throughout the year. Thanks!
My first year was professionally the most rewarding I’ve ever had and going freelance has been a life changing decision. Saying that, financially it has been a real roller coaster. When reviewing my first year I read your article again and saw that you also had a tough first year, but doubled your income every following year. It inspired me to keep going and look even harder at effective marketing and working on my skills. Here’s to a legendary 2011!
cheers,
Dan
Thanks Dan for that great testimonial! And congratulations to you on your hard work and your accomplishments so far!
kindly send the information and thoughts on translation through email all the events of the translation across the globe.
m.s.hayat
it is a great experience of translation blogging, it has new dimesions and thought.
m.s.hayat
Dear Corinne,
I too came across your link on Proz.com. I am bilingual English – French and have been since a child. I have used my language skills professionally in an office context throughout my working life. I also have tutored privately for many years at all levels.
I would love to use my language skills to do some freelance translating but where do I start? Are agencies a way to begin? I don’t have a degree is that going to be a problem?
Hoping for some insight.
I find your blog fascinating and would love to join the translators fraternity!
I’d like to subscribe – not sure how else to do it…!
Dear Corinne,
I have come across your blog in a Google search and found it very interesting. I am a translator as well, based in São Paulo, Brazil. I also have a blog which you are of course welcome to visit: http://www.paul-translator.blogspot.com.
I have heard about your book How to Succeed as a Free-Lance Translator and would consider buying it, but the problem is that I live in Brazil and have not seen your book anywhere around. Any suggestions? I am interested in marketing, as I have to depend mostly on agencies to get work and this means my pay is much less than it could be.
Once again, thanks for your blog.
Saudações do Brasil,
PAUL
Hi Corinne!
I´m a Portuguese to English translator. I´m originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but I am currently living/working in Ubatuba, a beautiful little town on the coast of Brazil. I received the 2nd edition of your book in the mail today (thanks to mom´s care package). I bought it from Lulu online. It´s been a daunting task to start out in this industry, so cudos for you and the help you are providing for people like me.
Abraços,
Heidi Demello
You might find this info on interpreters of interest:
http://area13.undercoverpilgrim.com/?p=228
Jay Casey
Hello Corinne! I’m suscribed to your blog and I find it very interesting. That’s why I’ve nominated you to the Versatile Blogger Award.
This are the rules:
You have to thank me and mention my blog in yours (it’s in Spanish, but…) with a link.
Tell everybody 7 things about you.
Nominate 15 other new blogs that you’ve discovered recently or that you just simply enjoy reading.
Tell these bloggers you’ve nominated them so they do the same.
This is my blog post about the Versatile Blogger Award: http://traduccionesyedra.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/versatile-blogger-award/
Hi Corinne
I’m Matthew from Ghana. I’m a freelance translator (French-English) as well. Peut on devenir des amis? J’aimerai correspondre de temps en temps avec toi si ça te convient.
Peut on aussi échanger nos contact? If you wouldn’t mind.
Hello, my name is Paul Kelly, and I am the webmaster of A-Sign Interpreters, Inc. We are a sign language interpreting agency, and our website is http://asigninterpreters.com. I was wondering if your site would be willing to place a link to our site in exchange for us placing a link to your site?
Hello Corinne,
So glad to have stumbled upon your blog, it is so insightful! I am a mere undergraduate with a dream and some language skills under my belt. My partner and I are hoping to start a business in a few years (he is learning spanish and has a BA in English), I am working on a BA in French, and speak Spanish since birth. I hope to continue with an MA in French as well.
We are so glad to have found your blog, it’s such a hope for us! Translating is our dream career as we both have a passion for language, literature and the world!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you Fabiana! Glad you enjoyed the blog and best of luck with your translation work!
Thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us you really understand what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also discuss with my web site =). We could have a hyperlink trade contract among us
Hello Corinne,
Just wanted to say thank you for your book, “How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator”. I am a brand new translator here in Denver, Colorado, and I am finding it to be an invaluable resource for prioritizing my business plans. So thank you!!!
Rachel
Thank you Rachel! Glad to hear that you found the book helpful. You might also want to look at Colorado Translators Association if you haven’t yet, it’s a great organization!
Hi,
I just happened to stumble upon this blog and I’m glad I did. For a philologist-to-be and an interpreter-hopefully-to-be it’s really useful 🙂
Ola
Thank you Ola! Glad you enjoyed the articles!
Hi Corinne,
I found your homepage when I was searching for language bloggers. I’m working in a translation agency where we hire freelance translators as well. I would like to ask wether it’s possible to add our translation agency as useful link for freelancers?
hi corinne,
how do you do?
I’m looking for a chance to work as a freelance translator from English to Arabic and vice versa. Can you help me with that?
Hi Corinne,
I am glad I found your blog and will read your posts whenever there is the chance. So far, it has been great to read a translator’s success story (if I dare to say that) and her rich thoughts and info on translation. Great!
Your blog is great. I´m glad I´ve found it. I´ll keep coming back. Livia.
Hi Corinne: I translate Swahili into English, and am just starting to become serious about doing it for a living. Your posts and the discussions they provoke have been enormously instructive – I really feel lucky to have found your site. THANK YOU!
Nathalie
Thanks Nathalie! You may be the first Swahili translator to read this blog! Glad you found it helpful!
Hey Corinne, I have a question.
I’m looking to become a court interpreter.
My native languange is Spanish, I’m very fluent in both English and Spanish.
As I grew up back and forth between Colombia and the US.
I wanted to ask you, I’ve always been someone who’s very skeptical about College in the sense that I don’t believe the debt is worth paying for another 20-30 years. And I feel like being an interpreter is low cost and I feel I only need the terminology since I speak both languages almost perfectly.
Do you think getting a Legal interpreting Certificate will be enough to find a job interpreting, without needing a Bachelor’s?
Hi Corinne, I appreciate your achievements so far. 🙂
Glad to know about you.
Hi Corinne,
Is there any way to email you about something? I don’t see any contact details here.
Thanks.
Yes, of course: corinne@translatewrite.com
Dear Corinne, I have signed up for your course starting April 2nd “How to succeed as a freelance translator”. Please let me know when are the 4 conference calls and how long they are.
Many Thanks,
David Marshall
I am going to England on a trip shortly, could I buy your book at one of the main bookshops such as Waterstone’s? Please advise.
Thanks Paul- I’d be surprised if a bookstore would carry my book other than by special order, but you should be able to order it from Amazon or the publisher with international shipping.
How can I ask a question via private email?
I’m at corinne@translatewrite.com
Thank you for your blog. I just moved back to the US after living in France for fourteen years. I’m working on my MA in French Literature, Language and Culture. I was working on a degree in Applied Languages when I had to stop because of a problem pregnancy. Any advice you have given is spot on. Any help you can offer, I’d really be happy to know. I hope when you were in France, you went to my neck of the woods in The Massif Central. Vive Auvergne.
Hi Corinne,
We love your blog! I’m sure we will love your books as soon as we read them.
We have published one post for each book on our translation blog. Here are the links:
1) http://40dots.com/blog/2015/02/21/how-to-succeed-as-a-freelance-translator-corinne-mckay/
2) http://40dots.com/blog/2015/02/21/corinne-mckay-thoughts-on-translation/
Good luck 🙂
Evdoxia Renta
Hi Corinne!
I’m a New York University student making a futuristic short film about a world in which digital device translations have become the norm! Please check it out here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/syntax-error–3/x/9811283
Would love to have your support, mainly through spreading the word to your translating/linguistic friends if you feel compelled to. Thanks for your time~
phil
Wow, thanks Phil for sending this! Looks very interesting!
Hi Corinne,
I read your book “Thoughts on Translation” and found it very useful. I also read you blog which was highly recommended by colleaugues. Thank you very much for sharing you knowledge with us! As I’m starting out now as a German to Russian translator I’m glad about every piece of advice I can get.
A couple of weeks ago I did some research on CAT tools and came across this article published on Translaton Directory (Omega T’s latest release) http://www.translationdirectory.com/article512.htm
For the website doesn’t seem to be very trustworthy I was wondering if you really published this article where. Mayby I’ve just got the wrong impression of the website? Anyway I just wanted you to know just in case 🙂
Best regards from Berlin
Katja Logashina
Thanks Katja; that article is from years and years ago, but yes, I did write it and gave Translation Directory permission to reprint it.
Hey Corinne,
I am an English teacher, living in New Jersey for the last couple years. I decided to try to work as a translator. I have always been interested in Enlish, descriptive grammar especially. My language pair is Polish/English. I am reading your book now and I find it very helpful but I have couple questions which I cannot find the answers to.
First of all, how do you make specialization? Where and what kind of class you have to take in order to become good at something? I bet that couple credits from community college does not count as a specialization.
I am interested in advertising, I finished school (2 years and I have certificate) that was all about strategies, methods and creating campaigns and I wrote my diploma paper (B.A degree) about manipulating in advertising by using word games. But does that make me specialist about the whole concept of advertising? How do I prove that I know something about it when I do not have any experience at that field?
Also, how you can get experience and what documents you are allowed to translate if you are not certified ?
Hi Corinne,
I am a translator from Argentina. A few days ago a friend of mine lent me your book “How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator”, which I devoured despite my many years in this trade. I ended up buying the Kindle version to have it and be able to highlight it. It is one of those things I wish I had done.
I wrote a review on my site raving about it and advising translators to purchase it. As I wrote in my post not only do you push beginning translators to become the best version in this field, but you also prompt the the old hands to reignite their passion. Awesome job. Read the review if you have some time to spare, which I doubt.
http://www.translationsthinktank.com
Thanks very much, I really appreciate it!
Corinne
J’anime une communauté française de marcheur-travailleur et nous aimerions que vous nous racontiez votre expérience de marcheuse travailleuse.
http://walkingworking.com/marcher-en-travaillant-travailler-en-marchant/
Pourriez vous me donner votre mail pour que nous échangions ?
Pour me contacter : http://pereira-da-silva.com/contact/
Dear Corinne,
Firstly, thank you for all the resources and info on this site!
I’m at a decisive point in my part-time freelance translator career and wondering if you might have 2 cents to share. I might be one of those “alingual” people, with English as my main language. I love languages but I find that:
1. My English has become very simple (I’ve lived in a non-English speaking country for a while now).
2. I’ve lost nearly all interest in the cultures of my source languages and developed a dislike in their working methods, which influence my work.
I’ve spent quite a bit of money and time training and developing my business but I feel like calling it quits. I can’t tell if I’m undergoing a crisis and need a vacation, or if this profession is just not for me (I can’t even manage to get much work these days).
Have you or others gone through this?
Big thanks!
Hi Faye and thanks for your message. I do think that wherever you live (source language country, target language country or neither) has its pros and cons. And one of the cons of living outside your target language country is that you have to make a deliberate effort to keep up your native language skills and cultural knowledge. In terms of feeling like giving up, I can say that for me, it was about 18 months until I knew that my freelance business was a going concern, and about three years until I was earning a real full-time income from regular clients.
Dear Corinne,
I’m glad I found your blog. I’m going to visit it often from today on.
I need an advise: I am a 27-year-old Chilean journalist living in Peru who started to study Modern Hebrew 10 years ago. I’ve lived in Israel, studied Hebrew, and I am very passionate for translating, especially poetry, songs and short stories. The thing is I still have no Translation studies and I started translating an Israeli novel into Spanish as a personal challenge.
The thing I want to do it profesionally. Should I study an MA or start from scratch? How should I approach to publishing houses?
I don’t want to waste more time.
Regards!
Carlos.
Thanks Carlos! It’s hard to give a one-sentence answer to your question; it really depends on what you want to do with your translation business and who your clients are. In the US, people come to translation with all kinds of backgrounds, whereas for example in Europe, it’s much more common for people to go to school for translation. A translation degree is never going to hurt, but, for better or worse, there really is no formal barrier to entry in our industry. I also (honestly) have no idea what the market is for Hebrew to Spanish; I’d say maybe contact or join the Israel Translators Association (http://ita.org.il/?lang=en) and take it from there? Good luck to you!
Hi Carlos,
Hope you don’t mind me adding my thoughts, if you’re still pondering this. I think, like Corinne said, it depends what you’re looking for. If you’d like to do quite technical work for which Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools will be useful, some MAs will give you a good grounding in that. They’ll also give you an idea of how well you translate, and introduce you to the theory of translating in different contexts, translation decisions, strategies, etc. Again, as mentioned, there’s no barrier to you starting without it, but if you’re new to the profession finding an experienced mentor might be a good idea, as well as looking into the market for your language combination.
All the best with it!
Hi Corinne,
I think that this post would be worthwhile for your audience http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-freelance-translators-should-use-linkedin-generate-karen-hodgson?trk=prof-post
Regards,
Adam
Hi Corinne! Great blog.
Hi translation pros!
Hi, Corinne!
First off, thank you for this awesome blog! I’ve learnt quite a few things!
I am a Chinese native seeking to become an interpreter/translator. Before I found your blog, I’ve always been dubious about the idea of becoming a translator because I thought translation brings in no money. Thank god I was wrong.
But there’s still one concern, though. The translation market in China is notoriously messy. There’re translators who can make over ￥500,000 a year as well as translators/(insert titles here), and a good number of them, who would work for as little as ￥0.1/w and still have to scramble to get a steady workflow.
Like I said, your posts got me interested in translation as a career. But given the status quo in China’s translation market, I doubt I could make it as a freelancer. So I was wondering if there are ways for translators residing in China to get in touch with the broader, better-regulated markets, for example, the U.S. market? What’s your idea?
Eli
Hey Corinne, first of all, happy birthday!!! Also, happy Translators Day, of course, which is what prompted this message. I recently found your blog , and couldn’t believe my eyes in how perfect it was for me. As a recently unemployed francophone woman in her late fifties with a background in proofreading and editing, and a translation certificate, I would love to start translating from French to English as a freelancer. However, finding the market for that has been difficult. I’m hoping the answers are on these pages. Cheers! Lil
Thank you! I hope you find the site helpful! Bon courage 🙂