tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post3578903412466368597..comments2024-03-06T02:46:19.929+00:00Comments on Translation Tribulations: The Ultimate Comparative Screwjob Calculator for translation ratesKevin Lossnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-9091103752407459662019-07-15T03:51:12.119+01:002019-07-15T03:51:12.119+01:00Very interesting reading, Kevin, thanks for sharin...Very interesting reading, Kevin, thanks for sharing.<br /><br />I have the habit of sending my usual quote to translation agencies (let's say, x USD/word) and then, when they reply asking for fuzzy match discounts, I usually say "That's okay. If you want discount for fuzzies, no problem, but in that case my rate is 1.3 times 'x')." <br /><br />But you took the thing to a whole new level ��Matheus Chaudhttps://www.mrctranslations.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-20092330604432220482019-01-23T09:40:45.816+00:002019-01-23T09:40:45.816+00:00Thanks a lot for this interesting blog and the cal...Thanks a lot for this interesting blog and the calculator!Nienke Groenendijkhttp://www.traducteurassermente.lunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-63413111527550254182019-01-23T05:58:52.641+00:002019-01-23T05:58:52.641+00:00Or even smaller sausage vendors. Too many have dec...Or even smaller sausage vendors. Too many have decided to circle the ethical drain with the big bogsters no matter what their size. There are welcome exceptions with the handover to the next generation upon retirement or sale for other reasons last year, but the track record I've seen in the last 12 years or so has left me somewhat cynical about such things. I get especially incensed to hear from Company X (with whom I have never dealt) quoting old business data from Y that is now part of the same "group" but lacking the respectable practices of that fish Y the group swallowed.Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-10006987296197141022019-01-23T05:51:10.530+00:002019-01-23T05:51:10.530+00:00Thanks, Mario! Got my links crossed :-)Thanks, Mario! Got my links crossed :-)Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-9462995889050822712019-01-23T05:49:52.118+00:002019-01-23T05:49:52.118+00:00Oops! Messed it up when I updated the graphic. Fix...Oops! Messed it up when I updated the graphic. Fixed now!Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-77325413140644015872019-01-22T23:57:01.452+00:002019-01-22T23:57:01.452+00:00Hi, Kevin,
Clicking on the third (last) image open...Hi, Kevin,<br />Clicking on the third (last) image opens an Error not found webpage and no Excel spreadsheet. Maybe the link is broken?<br />Thanks!<br /><br />Mario Chávez<br />Localization specialistMariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10548968864614282351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-8769766554473969562019-01-22T22:55:30.976+00:002019-01-22T22:55:30.976+00:00Hi Kevin,
When I click on the graphic to see/downl...Hi Kevin,<br />When I click on the graphic to see/download the spreadsheet, I get a "404 Page not found" error.<br /><br />For the rest: there still are some translation companies that care for quality. Unfortunately, more and more of them are getting swallowed by the big language sausage providers.Riccardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033214185364578008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-40062652641144300082019-01-22T22:43:47.224+00:002019-01-22T22:43:47.224+00:00Exactly, Allison. And that's what all the hams...Exactly, Allison. And that's what all the hamsters and monkey masters lose sight of and why I put that last paragraph in. Spreadsheets like these can be useful for a lot of things, particularly for some to get a quantitative understanding of what some people are trying to pull or to evaluate how some proposed changes might affect them. One thing you can be fairly sure of: *anyone* who proposes some kind of match scale to you is not trying to pay you what your work is probably worth and what would represent a reasonable return on the time put in to develop your skills and achieve a superior result for the work at hand. Once in a while people I work with will say "Hey, you haven't raised your rate X in a while. That's bullshit, you're the best we have. Your rate is now X+Y!" But it happens less than in the days when I was a commercial translation rookie. No bother, really; I can keep myself infinitely amused and solvent in a number of ways. But people need to think of value and common sense a bit more. These days I don't need spreadsheets. I mostly give a quote for a project, and if someone asks for a breakdown, my response will be "Is it in the budget or not?" Yes, I am pleased to give a description of the workflow, explain the points of value, because that is a fair and reasonable aspect of partnership and client relations. People should understand what they are getting and why that is of value. Most of the "competitive" quotes won't have half of what I routinely include in a delivery. If that is worth extra to them or not is their call, but I like to see people go as far as they can with what I can offer them, and if what they want is a Google Translate rework from the 10th grader next door, good for them :-)Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-56488507644248084242019-01-22T19:18:31.269+00:002019-01-22T19:18:31.269+00:00"But the objective I never lost sight of was ..."But the objective I never lost sight of was to deliver real value."<br />Hmm, and real value needs real pay.<br />Hit the wrong button and lost my comment first time around. <br />Adjusting my base word rate upwards to compensate for their now crazy grid is the suggestion I gave to an agency who contacted me out of the blue after several years (I stopped working for them because they were bent on annual currency-shaving schemes involving the scaling of the fuzzy match fiasco in their favour.) They said they would get back to me on that one. They write very slowly, I assume, since the reply is taking weeks. <br />Bottom line: I am not interested in tweaking either my own spreadsheet - or the nice one you have provided here - to discover in more precise detail what I can see at a glance: the agency is shaving off too much, and is not factoring in any plus factor for the delivery by any translator of *real value*, despite their knowing full well that each text has extra-textual difficulties and challenges that do not fit into any grid that they have ever come up with.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12444387026665782339noreply@blogger.com