Коринн МакКей - How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator [calibre 3.46.0]

How much you press the quality issue with the client depends partially on how big the project is. If your fee for the project is only $50.00, it probably isn’t worth arguing with the client over whether you did a satisfactory job; with the time it would take to go over the revised translation, submit a list of points that you disagree with, etc., you’re probably better off simply letting go of the $50.00. If the project is $5,000 and the client is refusing to pay, it’s a different story. As of this writing, there is no industry standard dispute arbitration process for translation; for example the American Translators Association does not intervene in disputes between translators and their clients, so it’s up to you as an individual to work things out.

The second type of non-paying client, the client who can’t pay, presents more of a problem. This type of client may start out with excuses that seem reasonable: accountant is on vacation, payment will be made by X date, large client is late on paying your client, invoice was lost/never received/sent to the wrong person/accidentally deleted, etc., but soon these explanations will prove to be untrue. The client may come out and admit that they are having cash flow problems, or may string you along indefinitely, or go out of business and/or file for bankruptcy. The first step with this type of non-paying client is to send a series of three to four increasingly serious reminder letters, known formally as dunning letters . You can start out by politely reminding the client of the terms you agreed on and asking them to pay, then escalate the situation to include copies of the letter to higher-ups at the agency or company, then finally threatening to involve a third party. This third-party involvement may be in the form of taking the client to small claims court, hiring a third-party collection agency, or contacting the end client for the translation and letting them know that you were never paid for your work, and that because of this, they may be violating United States copyright law by using your translation. If you send this type of letter, it is very important to consult a sample dunning letter in order to make sure that you are not breaking the law by saying something untrue or misleading. Following are some examples of first, second and final notice dunning letters.

Sample First Notice

Dear Name of Person who assigned you the project :

According to my records, I have not received a check for Invoice # _____ for _____ which was due for payment on _____. Please let me know the status of this payment at your earliest convenience, and thank you again for your business.

Sample Second Notice

Dear Name of Person who assigned you the project (CC to this person’s Accounts Payable Department or Supervisor ):

I recently contacted you regarding an overdue payment for Invoice # _____ for _____ which was due for payment on_____. As of today I have not received this payment, and I do need to hear from you regarding its status, as the payment is now considerably past due. Please reply to me as soon as possible and let me know the date on which you will be mailing this payment, if it has not already been sent.

Sample Final Notice

Dear Name of Person who assigned you the project (CC to this person’s Accounts Payable Department or Supervisor ):

Despite my two previous notices to you on _____ and _____, I have not yet received your overdue payment for Invoice

#____ in the amount of _____. Please understand that you have had sufficient time and notice regarding the status of this payment. Failure on your part to pay this seriously overdue invoice by ____ may result in my posting information about this transaction to translation industry payment practices lists, referring this account to a third

party collection agency, and/or contacting the end client of the translation in question to inform them of the

non-payment situation. I trust this will not be necessary, and look forward to receiving your payment as soon as possible.

If you need to involve a third-party collection agency and you are an ATA member, you can investigate the services of ATA’s affiliate program with Dunn & Bradstreet Receivables Management. They handle both U.S. and international unpaid accounts, and normally take 25–50% of what they collect. Other third-party collection agencies exist, but make sure that the agency is legitimate before you hire them; for example call the Better Business Bureau where the agency is headquartered and find out if there have been any complaints against the agency.

If you get to the point of sending dunning letters to a client, there is unfortunately some possibility that you will never get paid in full. Many translators feel that if more than four months have elapsed since the original payment deadline, the client is probably not going to pay without some serious outside incentive to do so. Dunning letters can motivate a client who is either trying to delay payment, or trying to see who complains most loudly about not getting paid. However, if the client absolutely doesn’t have the money to pay you or goes bankrupt, there may not be much you can do if your dunning letters don’t get a response; further proof that you’re much better off investigating the client up front than fighting for months to get your payment after the fact.

10.12.1 Arbitration and dispute resolution

Another avenue to pursue with a non-paying client is arbitration, a non-court proceeding involving an independent and neutral arbitrator. Arbitrators are often attorneys, and you may choose to have your own attorney represent you during arbitration. One important element of arbitration is that unlike filing in small claims court, you normally cannot file for arbitration without the cooperation of your non-paying client, since they are usually required to fill out the arbitration submission agreement along with you. For more information, see the website of the American Arbitration Association adr.org.

10.13 Cash flow issues

Happily most translators go for long periods of time without ever dealing with a non-paying client. The larger and more common problem is clients who don’t pay on time. Some clients only issue checks on certain days of the week or month, so if you contact them on June 10 to let you know that the payment due June 1 didn’t arrive, they may not be able to issue a check until June 15. With the time needed to mail the check, you might receive this payment three weeks late.

It’s up to you as a freelancer to decide how to deal with cash flow issues. When you have a full-time job, it’s a pretty safe bet that your paycheck that’s due on the 25 thwill be in your account in time to pay your mortgage on the 1st, but a freelancer would be unwise to take this kind of gamble. This is an important issue to consider before you start working as a freelancer. If you are planning on translation being your primary source of income, make sure that you have enough of a cash cushion that you’re not left scrambling when a check doesn’t arrive as planned.

11 Research tools and methods

Along with target-language writing skills, research is one of a translator’s core competencies. No good translator works without using dictionaries, websites, listserves and other reference materials to ensure that the finished translation is as accurate as possible. Some translators prefer paper dictionaries and own a wide variety of specialized terminology resources; others have created a mobile office that makes use of online and CD-based dictionaries and still others prefer to research terms in context in previously published documents. The method you choose is up to you; the important thing about terminology research is to do it!