The year is ending but translators still have a month to take advantage of the translation conferences, webinars, workshops and events taking place all over the world!

2nd

Terminology Management, The Localization Institute, webinar

Localization at Startups, SF Globalization, San Francisco, California USA

4th

Translation Technology Showcase, TAUS, webinar

Understanding Machine Translation Customization – Benefits, Pitfalls and Best Practices, Asia Online, webinar

Événement virtuel français – Online Event.

5th

Effective Post-Editing in Human and Machine Translation Workflows, Globalization and Localization Association, webinar

5th-6th

Cultures and Literatures in Translation, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

5th-7th

10th European Conference on Formal Description of Slavic Languages in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

7th-9th

6th Language and Technology Conference, Adam Mickiewicz University, ELRA, FlaReNet, META-NET, Poznan, Poland

9th-13th

IEEE GLOBECOM 2013, IEEE Communications Society, Atlanta, Georgia USA

10th

Lawyer-Linguist virtual event 2013

10th-11th

Game QA & Localization 2013, IQPC, San Francisco, California USA

11th-15th

International Conference on Language and Translation, Association of Asian Translation Industry, Expertrans. Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia

14th

Evento regional de ProZ.com en Madrid

18th-20th

Vocab@Vic 2013 at the University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Like any career, the path of the freelance translator has its pros and cons. Working from home on a flexible timetable is definitely a plus, but living without a fixed, monthly wage for some people is a frightening prospect.

Building up clients in the freelance translating industry takes time and it is highly unrealistic to expect to be earning the top rates when you’re just starting out. Reputation is everything in this business and the following tips are designed to help new freelance translators gain the necessary experience required to begin growing their client base.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Specialize in one area

One of the best ways of acquiring experience as a freelance translator is to specialize in one area. It’s best if you select an area in which you already have a lot of training or knowledge. For instance, if your degree happens to be in Engineering, it’s a good idea to focus on finding interested clients in that industry. Good translation requires more than a detailed knowledge of two languages. It also requires an in-depth knowledge of the industry in which your clients work. Avoid translating for clients who work in industries you know little or nothing about, as it will shine through in the translations that you produce.

2. Volunteer… Work for free

Working for free is a must when starting your career as a freelance translator. Be prepared to devote at least a couple of months to working for free for a few, if not all, of your clients. Reputation is everything in this business and it’s better in the long-run to volunteer for big brand names within the industry than to opt for small paying jobs for small-time clients. Volunteering will pay-off in the end. Your CV will be more convincing and the experience you gain from the translating work you do will be worth the financial risk.

3. Stick to your mother-tongue

Focus on getting experience in translating from your second language to your native language. You are more likely to build-up a more enjoyable and more profitable career in freelance translation when working in your mother-tongue. Avoid wasting time trying to translate in other languages, unless you happen to be bilingual/multilingual from birth.

4. Get advice, stay in touch, broaden your horizons

Network with other translators in the industry as much as possible. Get involved in freelance translation events/seminars and read-up on new trends in the industry on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Freelance translators in direct competition with you might not want to give away their secrets, but those who translate in other industries will probably be open to sharing some of the experiences with you. This kind of advice will be invaluable to you in terms of getting your foot on the ladder and getting experience at the start of your career. Apply to all the agencies that deal with translators in your industry too. Leave no stone untouched. Be ferocious in your approach to networking. It will be one of your most profitable activities.

5. Offer services that experienced translators don’t

Be prepared to do what experienced translators won’t do anymore at the beginning of your career. This will definitely bring you more opportunities to gain invaluable experience to note down on your CV. You will make great contacts by offering extra services too. Services can be anything from working on weekends, offering 12-hour turn-arounds, throwing in one free translation for every 10 paid translations, etc. Be as creative as you can.

6. Take a course in Marketing

Working as a freelance translator means working for yourself and this means marketing yourself, your skills and your services. Marketing is a fast-moving industry, perhaps one of the fastest out there. New approaches are being developed all the time. It’s a really good idea to take a short course in Marketing at the start of your career in order to find the most productive ways of approaching your search for valuable translating experience. Without a solid Marketing Plan, you might end up wasting a lot of valuable time.

November will definitely be an interesting and busy month for translators. Have a look at all the translation related events that will take place everywhere in the world this month!

4th

Workshop on Translation Project Management (Loctimizen, Wiesbaden, Germany)

The workshop aims to enhance practical knowledge of translation and localization project management

5th

Predictions for the Localization Industry in 2014 and Beyond [Webinar]

Event organized by Net Translator. The web panel is intended for localization and globalization industry managers.

6th-8th

TCWorld2013 –Tekom (Wiesbaden, Germany)

The tcworld conference offers sessions that cover localization topics.

6th-9th

54^th ATA Conference (San Antonio, Texas, US)

6th

Developing A Translation-Ready Source Copy [Webinar]

Event organized by The Localization Institute. The webinar will answer cover the going global dilemma of whether to translate or to re-write; a short case study to demonstrate transcreation; identifying 11 speed-bumps in the English copy that will slow down a project and puzzle a translator; and the best practices in writing translation-ready copy.

9th

Portsmouth Translation Conference: Translation and Crime (Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK)

The conference aims to bring the different facets of translation and crime together in an interdisciplinary one-day conference.

13th

Editing For Localization [Webinar]

Event organized by The Localization Institute. If an error costs $50 US to fix in the source, multiply that by the number of languages and the number of errors. This session will cover editing best practices, including style guides and templates, and provide practical tips for improving content.

14th, 21st, 28th

Spanish-English Legal Terminology [Webinar]

During this three-part online workshop, participants will learn common English translations for a variety of Spanish legal terms, enabling them to complete a comprehensive glossary.

15th-17th

Expolingua: 26^th International Fair for Language and Cultures (Berlin, Germany).

The fair attracts school and university students, trainees and those wishing to pursue language-related further education, as well as teachers, professors, translators, interpreters and others with an interest in languages and culture.

15th

European Day of Multilingual Blogging

EMBD2013 gives bloggers a chance to highlight the multilingual dimension of the web. The basic idea is to feature one or more languages on your blog that you don’t usually use.

20th

The Convergence Era: Translation As An Utility [Webinar]

Event organized by The Content Wrangler, TAUS. It will deal with the challenges and opportunities for every content publishing company and every professional service supplier in this new environment of ubiquitously available translation

21st-22nd

Nordic Translation Industry Forum (Stockholm, Sweden)

The focus of the program will be around integration, inter-operability, implementations and opportunities thereof – taking the translation industry to the next level.

22nd

Think! India (Delhi, India)

The event will spotlight regional or sector-specific issues related to the language enterprise, and will focus on the rapidly expanding Indian language services market.

22nd-24th

2013 Annual Convention and World Language Expo. (Orlando, Florida, US)

23rd

Annual Conference on Translation and Interpreting Quality (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

28^th-29^th-30^th

GLoCALL 2013 (De Nang, Vietnam)

The Globalization and Localization in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (GLoCALL) conference aims to share knowledge, research and experience on how to use computer technology to make language learning more effective.

Time management can be one of the hardest parts of freelancing. Working as a freelance translator can allow you to have a fulfilling career while maintaining your flexibility, setting your own schedule and making your own rules. There is freedom and satisfaction in being your own boss and being able to choose what work you accept, and what you do not. However, in order to make your freelance career take off and stay in flight, you will need to learn how to manage your time and stay focused on what you want to accomplish.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Set up Goals

This may sound obvious but you need to have some clear goals. That means both long-term and short-term goals. Having a big goal, that gets you excited when you think about it, provides a constant source of motivation. Having smaller goals gives you a sense of accomplishment every time you complete them. Fortunately, you get to set your own priorities and decide what you want to accomplish. A goal may be financial such as earning a certain amount of money every month or being able to afford to travel somewhere exciting or buy something you really want. A goal can also be professional such as translating a certain number of words every week or completing a course or certification. Having goals also helps hold you be accountable. It helps you see what you want to accomplish and track your progress.

Eliminate distractions

Eliminating distractions is an important part of taking control of your time and productivity. We all know how easy it is to spend hours on Facebook or Twitter. If you find that you simply cannot avoid them while doing your work, you might need to forbid yourself from accessing those sites when you are supposed to be working. Answering emails, chatting online and answering irrelevant calls are also things that can pull you away from your work. Give yourself a set time each day or week for email, calls and even social networking if you need it. But keep them separate and don’t let all those distracters interfere with what you know you need to accomplish.

Follow a schedule

Stick to a schedule or some sort of schedule. One of the perks of freelancing is that you can set your own schedule. You choose when you want to work. But, if you want to accomplish anything, you still have to work! Instead of just assuming that you’ll have plenty of time to get it all done, define and designate time just for working. You are allowed to change your schedule around when need be, but define a time, or times, of day when the “normal” thing to be doing is working. And, also be sure to designate times for everything else like grocery shopping, exercise, being social, relaxing and sleeping. It may sound silly but when no one is obligating you to adhere to a schedule, as with a 9 to 5 job, you have to design your own structure.

Stay healthy

Make your lifestyle healthy. If you are well-rested, get plenty of exercise and eat right, you will have more energy. If you know how to properly focus that energy, it will show in your work. What you are looking for is a healthy balance to help you realize your potential and give your best.

October will definitely be an interesting and busy month for translators. Look at all the translation related events that will take place everywhere in the world this month!

1^ST

PROZ Translators’ Boot Camp

From 12:00-19:00GMT

Tips, tricks and best practices to bring your translation business to the next level.

2^ND

PROZ CAT Tool & Software Day

From 12:00-21:00GMT

Leading CAT tool vendors will offer product demonstrations and software support and sales staff will answer attendees questions live.

Marcom Translation Process –Challenges and Solutions [Webinar]

Organized by the Localization Institute. The webinar will answer why translations of marketing communications fail; culture challenges; integration of marketing communication and translation processes; three major translation risks to mitigate during the development phase of marketing communications strategy; and best practices.

Translation Risk Management [Webinar]

Organized by the Localization Institute. What is translation risk management? How is risk defined in translations? What is a tolerated risk and what kind of risk factors must you address prior to the start of the project?

3^RD

PROZ Recruitment Virtual Event

From 12:00-16:00GMT

To help freelancers get more work. Translation agencies will be looking for translators in specific language pairs.

3^RD-5^TH

ELIA Networking Days (St. Julian, Malta)

Organized by the European Language Industry Association.

4^TH

PROZ Networking Marathon

From 10:00-20:00GMT

4^TH-6^TH

Translation Forum Russia 2013 (Rosa Hutor, Russia)

The conference is held in English and Russian with simultaneous interpretation provided for all session track.

5^TH

IAPTI 2013 – International Conference (London, UK)

International Translation Day Event: At the Top of your Game: Perfecting your Language Skills

Organized by the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society and the Washington Court Interpreters.  (Seattle, Washington, USA)

7^TH-8^TH

Localization Project Management Certification (Santa Clara, California, USA)

Organized by the Localization Institute

9^TH-11^TH

Localization World Sillicon Valley (Santa Clara, California, USA)

CFI 11th Annual Continuing Education Conference (Oakland, California, USA)

Organized by the California  Federation of Interpreters

10^TH-11^TH

Methodological Challenges For Contemporary Translator Educators (Krakow, Poland)

Organized by the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies. It will deal with topics like transferable skills training, student internships, transfer of knowledge between university and work place and self-training.

12^TH

A Witness to History (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

Organized by the Delaware Valley Translators Association

MITI Conference on Interpretation and Translation (Novi, Michigan, USA)

Organized by the Michigan Institute of Interpretation and Translation

14^TH-18^TH

Advanced Medical Interpreting (Monterrey, California, USA)

The course focuses on improving interpreting skills in simultaneous, consecutive, and sight translation modes as applied in the healthcare setting.

16^TH

Choosing a Localization Vendor [Webinar]

Organized by the Localization Institute. This seminar will cover ways to identify the best vendor for a company’s needs, and will discuss standards of service to expect when working with a vendor.

17^TH

Cloud-based Translation Management Systems For Start-Up LSPs & Freelancer Groups (Mountain View, California USA)

Organized by The International Multilingual Computing User Group (IMUG).

18^TH-19^TH

KATS International Conference (Seoul, Korea)

Organized by the Korean Association of Translation Studies.

20^TH-23^RD

VI International Congress of the Spanish Language (Panama City, Panama)

It aims at analyzing the past, present and future of books written and published in the Spanish language.

24^TH-25^TH

7^TH Colloquium on Translation Studies in Portugal (Lisbon, Portugal)

24^TH-26^TH

9^TH Annual Meeting: Language Culture and Identity (Tarragona, Spain)

25^TH-26^TH

Interpreting Studies At The Crossroads of Disciplines (Maribor, Slovenia)

Organized by the University of Maribor.. The conference aims to address the results of this interaction between IS and other disciplines; the benefits of interdisciplinarity for IS; and what impact these different approaches have had on research.

Translation Technology Terminology Conference (Zagreb, Croatia)

The conference offers a variety of content and offers opportunities to meet fellow translation-industry professionals and share or exchange ideas.

31^st-Nov 1^st

China International Language Industry Conference (Shanghai, China)

Organized by the Translators Association of China, Shanghai Language Services Center for Cultural Trade.