tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post1992351881371407130..comments2024-03-06T02:46:19.929+00:00Comments on Translation Tribulations: How not to seduce good translatorsKevin Lossnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-83443750002453120732011-06-17T10:23:43.999+01:002011-06-17T10:23:43.999+01:00Back in the year of 2008, there came an agency who...Back in the year of 2008, there came an agency who wrote me in the same tone through the workhouse. I quoted my rate and got the same template as reply.<br /><br />It happened that a PM at the end client´s called me 9 months later and had a half an hour chat with me. After a 2-hour conference with their representation in Taiwan, I become and stay their translator for DE/EN>ZH. My rate was accepted and stays. It is quadruple of what the agency would like to pay.<br /><br />Molière said, "Writing is like prostitution. First we do it for the love of writing, then for some close friends, and finally for the money." We translation streetwalkers or pieces of meat in show boxes in St Pauli (highly decorated at a workhouse)? Pah!<br /><br />Xosé Castro Roig is perfectly right when he makes the conclusion that "<a href="http://translationjournal.net/journal//27prof.htm" rel="nofollow">it's better to invest three months in finding a good client who pays you 100, than to find a bad client who pays you 50 tomorrow. You'll likely have to turn five mediocre clients away before finding one good one.</a>"<br /><br />Self-respect is the key to keep power plays away from us.Wenjer H. Leuschelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03040745158066005516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-67919212898035754802011-06-15T22:14:36.280+01:002011-06-15T22:14:36.280+01:00@Anke: I was going to say "no", then I f...@Anke: I was going to say "no", then I found exactly the same response (verbatim) in my spam folder. War of the templates, perhaps?<br /><br />I also got some backchannel info from a PM at another agency the other day that indicated the range that *this company* pays for translators in another language combination. It's appallingly low, so the guess about "dumping" looks like it's right on target :-)Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-6840029387750382002011-06-15T19:01:18.144+01:002011-06-15T19:01:18.144+01:00I used your "template", Kevin, and this ...I used your "template", Kevin, and this is the response I got:<br /><br />"Vielen Dank für Ihre Antwort. Es tut uns Leid, dass Sie den Eindruck erhalten haben, dass wir Dumpingpreise benötigen. Auch wir legen äußersten Wert auf Qualität zu angemessenen Preisen. <br /><br />Wir hoffen, dass wir Sie zu einen späteren Zeitpunkt wieder einmal kontaktieren dürfen und wünschen Ihnen bis dahin alles Gute."<br /><br />Did you get the same one? That would be funny in way...Anke Betzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17067513457163853411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-13980755956113659612011-06-13T18:24:16.735+01:002011-06-13T18:24:16.735+01:00Interesting, Anke. Our dear friend in Maidenhead s...Interesting, Anke. Our dear friend in Maidenhead suspected that others would be spammed with the same nonsense and commented that it would be amusing if Ms. B received the same template response from everyone. I agree, so I herewith grant permission to anyone and everyone to send her a verbatim (or modified) copy of my response in English or German. Let her figure that one out :-)<br /><br />One friend thought that I overreacted a bit, because the agency might have been willing to pay a good price after all. But that's really not the point. I don't care if she's willing to pay 5 cents, 10 cents, 15 cents or 50 cents per source word. I firmly believe that a conversation that begins with this focus on price will lead nowhere good, and even if I were a beginner with no clients I wouldn't bite that hook. There are too many respectable agencies out there that show a plausible interest in things that matter more. Some are price sensitive to be sure, depending on what market segments they work in, but they do make an effort to talk about something other than cost. Even the worst of us translation whores should have more self-respect than to deal with such a bunch.Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-32806921899445212892011-06-13T17:43:25.183+01:002011-06-13T17:43:25.183+01:00Dear Kevin, you must teach a class or webinar/work...Dear Kevin, you must teach a class or webinar/workshop on how to write excellent responses to these kinds of requests. Brilliant, brilliant.Judy Jenner and Dagmar Jennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991071510108619107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-22819698390336090162011-06-13T16:02:42.137+01:002011-06-13T16:02:42.137+01:00Gut gebrüllt, Lowe! I had to laugh while reading y...Gut gebrüllt, Lowe! I had to laugh while reading your response. "Geiz-ist-geil-Philosophie"... Awesome!bonnjillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00999568046599761603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-60839806721006668322011-06-13T15:16:52.176+01:002011-06-13T15:16:52.176+01:00Funny, I got that exact same e-mail on Saturday an...Funny, I got that exact same e-mail on Saturday and was still debating whether I should answer at all and if so how. I'm kind of tempted to use a version of your answer but you might sue me if I do...<br />;)Anke Betzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17067513457163853411noreply@blogger.com