I’m a bit of a podcast junkie (we don’t have TV, so…). Partially, I just like audio as a change from reading. But I also find that podcasts offer an option to multi-task without losing your mind. Listening to a podcast actually makes going to the gym *more* appealing, and makes long car rides less
“In my opinion, the greatest occupational hazard of being a freelance translator is the “triple threat” of unfamiliarity with business practices, ways to get clients, and discouragement. This course provided me with actionable strategies to grow my translation business and was a huge motivator. It’s been worth every penny of the registration fee and then
I’m very happy with how 2016 went here at Thoughts on Translation, and thank you so much to everyone who read and commented on my posts this past year. The site’s readership is up to about 1,000 views a day, and in 2016 I managed to publish about one substantive post per week. It was
Here’s a basic but critical mistake that lots of freelancers make when marketing to direct clients. When the client asks, for example, “Why should we hire you?,” the freelancer’s answer promotes a) their life story, or b) their process. Don’t do this (we’ll talk about why). Instead, sell the result of your services, so that
Greetings everyone, and happy 2017! I hope that it is a happy, healthy, and (why not?) lucrative one for everyone who reads Thoughts on Translation! Here in Colorado, we had two and a half weeks of school vacation, followed by one day of school, then a snow day, then one day of school. And in
Eve Bodeux and I recorded a new Speaking of Translation podcast today, on handling the holidays as a freelancer. We offer some tips on how to manage your clients when you’re taking time off, how to make the most of the holidays if you want or need to work, and what to send clients for
Here’s a tech hack that might be useful: how to use an iPhone with Tracfone service. It’s a small thing, but it made me inordinately happy when it worked. Disclaimer: your mileage may vary, so purchase a returnable phone if you try this. As I’ve written about before, I’m a big fan of Tracfone. Even
As someone who lives in a “lifestyle town” (a term I only recently learned, connoting a place where people move for the quality of life), I love talking to other people about what they do when they’re not working. Some people work all the time. Some people’s hobbies are pretty standard: movies, eating out. Some
“Is this whole freelance thing worth it?” It’s a somewhat pessimistic question, but one that I hear with some frequency from readers and students. Corollaries include “I worry about machine translation putting us out of business.” “I’m 57 and only plan on working for another 8-10 years.” “I’m working too hard for the amount of
Here’s a short post inspired by a question from a reader, who asked, “You seem open to ‘ask me anything’ types of questions, and I wonder if you could give us some statistics about your blog. How much traffic does it get? How many people are on your e-mail list? Do you make any money
