Translation as a Profession (Benjamins Translation Library)

Chapter 6. The die is cast! 171– being able to discriminate when taking on contracts and not wasting one’stalents on menial work – which is more easily said than done when the orderbook is empty!– maintaining high quality standards, because – at least in theory – true qualityin translation always wins through in the end against the ‘outlaws’,– demanding fair payment for the job, because anyone starting off with very lowrates will never be able to earn a decent living.Nowadays, freelance translators can, if they wish, rely entirely on work suppliedby translation companies, agencies or brokers, who – depending on the type ofcompany – channel the demand and pass on part or all of it to freelance translators,with brokers acting simply as go-betweens. Freelancers who choose that optionmust be prepared for periods of slack and idle time until they reach the status of‘preferred partner’.All in all, freelance translators can enjoy reasonable earnings and satisfactionin their job, with an enviable degree of independence, as long as they can buildup a good reputation based on their expertise in a given field (particularly if theirfield of application is highly specialised), their professionalism and the quality oftheir translations.As already stated, many freelance translators are now using recognised corporatebusiness strategies and setting up networks and consortia to share specialcompetences, language combinations and various resources. Some of these networksdevelop into proper legal entities (e.g. limited companies or partnerships),while others are simply based on mutual agreement. All kinds of combinations canbe found, as long as they comply with existing laws and regulations, with sometranslators having their own personal client portfolio on the one hand, and sharinganother portfolio with a number of other translators, thus operating undertwo different legal statuses.The Internet now allows translators to work with partners all over the world,just as it technically allows a translator somewhere in Transylvania or on Madeirato work for a computer company in Hong Kong or in Silicon Valley.Networks and partnerships (taken here to mean any kind of associationbetween professionals, on the basis of a common agreement, where each partnerretains her or his own clients) offer the following benefits to those involved:– being able to share out specific functions and tasks (for instance by decidingthat one person will be in charge of prospecting for new clients),– pooling documentation and terminology resources,– pooling support staff,– implementing a ‘one-stop-shop’ (with the same telephone number, fax, Webpages and Web site),