That fourth revision is important

Go over it again a fourth time. Come back after a break and read it again. Send it to your parents to read it. The more times you revise and the more people you have read it the better it will be!

That extra minute or that extra verification is key and you will be happy you did!!

Details, details.....

If there is one thing that being a translator has taught me, it is to slow down. And it has. I'm the type of person that shoots from the hip, I am spontaneous and don't always think things through. A little ADD maybe. They say most creative people are. So translating is good for me. I have to concentrate. I have to pay attention to detail. I have to SLOW DOWN. By slowing down I have realized what I need to work on as a translator. For instance, I sometimes tend to overtranslate or translate too literally (which I have been called out on). I have been really working on these two faults recently. I know I have made progress. People are happy with my work and give me more. This doesn't mean it ends here. We are always improving upon our selves and our work. Slowing down really gives us the occasion to look at what we do, see where we can make improvements, and lets us produce quality work. I will never give up my spontanaeity, I will always be somewhat impulsive...the challenge is to not let that influence or become part of my work.

Your website

Your website is one of your most important marketing tools you have to promote your business. Updating it and "revamping" it are essential to keep clients and entice new ones. I have had several friends in France look at my site and give me their suggestions...."it would be more elegant to say this.." "in France you would say this more so than this...", "cela cloche un peu...." all these suggestions I think about. I usually do make some changes if I agree that they will improve my all round reputation and I keep what I originally want to say. It can't hurt that's for sure!

Especially if your website was not necessarily done by a professional company. It is crucial that you pay more attention to the vocabulary you use.....is it more "franglais" then proper french? With a website, as with translating, it is of the utmost importance to remember who your audience is and who is going to be "surfing" the web looking for a translator.

A website needs to catch the eye. Play on words a little. Throw in a pun or two. I'm a big believer in showing your personality a little (not too much) also. Business and marketing are always evolving - so should us translators (any small business owners really). If we don't move forward with the times or keep our business stategies and marketing tools consistant, up to date, and of the best quality, we will be left behind.

Not a career yet........

For a while I've been thinking that this translation thing has been a failure. Well, maybe not a failure, but not going as well as I would like it to, but then a thought came to me the other day. Even though I'm not making a fortune from translation and it's not yet a career it is definately getting me out of debt!! For this I am thankful. AND I enjoy doing it! My ability to speak French has not been wasted!

Perseverence is the key!