Hello! How have you been?
I was going to wait until October to start publishing again, but I could not miss the chance to commemorate International Translation Day.
That is why I’m sharing with you the following tips:
10 THINGS EVERY TRANSLATOR MUST KNOW/DO
(1) Avoid abbreviations as much as possible when marketing yourself. It is better to state one thing clearly than three things that may sound confusing or incomplete.
(2) If a lack of space forces you to abbreviate the names of the languages you work with, make sure you use standardized abbreviations, such as the ISO 639 language codes.
(3) Charging lower rates to get as much work as possible may leave you with no time to find better-paying clients. Therefore, your health and finances will likely suffer.
(4) Your per-word/per-page/per-hour/per-project rates must account for the actual work you are doing, as well as the related expenses you may incur. Charge wisely!
(5) Ask your existing clients to write recommendations for you. Excellent recommendations may earn you more awesome clients. Always secure the bag by having a steady workflow.
(6) If you work with numbers and symbols, make sure you know the rules that apply (which may not coincide with what dictionaries recommend) based on the target language and country.
(7) Never seek validation from strangers. Not getting a job does not necessarily mean you messed up or that you are not enough. Hiring decisions are often subjective and random.
(8) Stop comparing yourself if you ever feel impostor syndrome because we rarely get to see others’ whole stories. Instead, continue doing you because that is whom you know best.
(9) Interested in medical translation? You do not have to go to medical school to become a qualified medical translator. You can get to understand how medicine works without learning how to practice it.
(10) Make time to invest in continuing education to learn and meet your clients’ needs, particularly if you are specializing in one or several specific fields.
What else would you add to this list?
I wish you a great day!
Antoni Maroto is a medical communicator providing translation, writing, and interpreting services. His mission is to achieve more accessibility, clarity, and inclusivity in communication.
Besides almost twenty years of professional experience, Antoni holds a licentiate in Translation and Interpreting and the ATA certification — two of the industry’s most respected and recognized credentials. His working languages are English, Spanish, and Catalan.
At present, Antoni is open to collaborating on projects as a medical translator/writer specializing in biologics, devices, and pharmaceuticals.