Questions about rates (Netherlands) Thread poster: Frederique Meerburg
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Dear fellow translators,
I am currently setting up a freelance translator (to FR and/or EN) and copywriter (in FR or EN) in the Netherlands, with the following language combinations:
NL-FR Dutch to French
NL-EN Dutch to English
EN-FR English to French
FR-EN French to English
ES-FR Spanish to French
ES-EN Spanish to English
CAT-FR Catalan to French
CAT-EN Catalan to English
<... See more Dear fellow translators,
I am currently setting up a freelance translator (to FR and/or EN) and copywriter (in FR or EN) in the Netherlands, with the following language combinations:
NL-FR Dutch to French
NL-EN Dutch to English
EN-FR English to French
FR-EN French to English
ES-FR Spanish to French
ES-EN Spanish to English
CAT-FR Catalan to French
CAT-EN Catalan to English
with specialty topics: tools, machines, construction, and similar.
I will also offer interpretation services (not simultaneous, not conference) in my town The Hague, which is an ex-pat city with many international organizations such as the International Court of Justice, Interpol, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or as multi-lingual assistant at technical trade shows.
I am not sure what rates to advertise on my website.
I was thinking
€ 42.50/hour ex VAT for the interpretation services/ assistant at trade shows
€ 0.10/source ex VAT word for the translation, but would this apply to all language combinations?
For the copywriting, I have no idea what to ask.
I hesitate about whether to add proofreading services and if so, what rate to ask.
What should I ask for time spent in transit to the client if I need to travel? I don´t have a car (but could borrow one if necessary) but I do have a bicycle and can reach the center of town in 20 minutes, or I can take public transportation.
Any other tips about rates or payment are gladly received!
Yours truly,
Frederique from PENTA TRANSLATIONS ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Proofreading vs editing | Dec 14, 2022 |
Frederique Meerburg wrote:
I hesitate about whether to add proofreading services and if so, what rate to ask.
Frederique, as a rule of thumb your proofreading rate is generally between 30% and 40% of your translation rate. Keep in mind that two terms, proofreading and editing, are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect. Very often agencies request proofreading (a.k.a. monolingual review of the target text) while they actually mean editing with reference to the source text. Editing is typically charged at 50% to 70% of the translation rate.
| | | | Frederique Meerburg 
Netherlands
Local time: 21:11
Member (2022)
Dutch to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Proofreading vs. editing | Dec 14, 2022 |
Hello Vladimir,
Thank you for your reply.
If I understand correctly, proofreading would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes in a text, whereas editing would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes, on top of checking that what the text says is factually correct and/or correctly translating the source text.
Or is there more to it than that?
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 21:11
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Frederique Meerburg wrote:
I am not sure what rates to advertise on my website.
Advertise higher rates than you are actually willing to work for. This will allow you to reduce the price during negotiations.
I was thinking
€ 42.50/hour ex VAT for the interpretation services/ assistant at trade shows
€ 0.10/source ex VAT word for the translation, but would this apply to all language combinations?
I suggest you ask the NGTV what rates they suggest for interpreting. Are you a member of the NGTV yet?
I suggest you advertise rates inclusive of VAT -- it makes it easier to deal with international clients.
Although it might make sense to have different rates for different languages, it will make your life simpler to have just one rate for all language combinations.
For the copywriting, I have no idea what to ask.
Try contacting some copywriters at SENSE to find out what they would suggest.
I hesitate about whether to add proofreading services and if so, what rate to ask.
I suggest that you don't specifically advertise it unless you are very eager for this type of work. It is normal to charge an hourly rate for proofreading, although if you work for agencies, they might appreciate you charging 1/3 of your per-word translation rate instead.
What should I ask for time spent in transit to the client if I need to travel?
This is something to ask fellow-interpreters. Have you had any training in interpreting? It is a very specialized profession -- not just anyone can do it.
Frederique Meerburg wrote:
If I understand correctly, proofreading would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes in a text, whereas editing would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes, on top of checking that what the text says is factually correct and/or correctly translating the source text.
That is one definition. Clients have their own definitions, however (e.g. they consider the two terms to refer to the same thing). Do not assume that your client's definition is the same as your definition.
[Edited at 2022-12-14 11:03 GMT]
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| Editing requires specialist knowledge of the terminology in the target language | Dec 14, 2022 |
Frederique Meerburg wrote:
If I understand correctly, proofreading would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes in a text, whereas editing would be checking for spelling/grammatical mistakes, on top of checking that what the text says is factually correct and/or correctly translating the source text.
Or is there more to it than that?
As I understand it, an editor also acts as a subject matter expert (SME) to some extent, checking the terminology for compliance with the standard terminology as used in the target country.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 21:11
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
As I understand it, an editor also acts as a subject matter expert (SME) to some extent, checking the terminology for compliance with the standard terminology as used in the target country.
As Samuel pointed out definitions of 'editing' may differ among clients. I am (also) an editor and to the vast majority of my clients editing means a full review of the translation in all its aspects: grammar, spelling, translation precision and correctness, style and terminology.
| | | | | EN 17100-2015 | Dec 14, 2022 |
Yes Lieven, there is a confusing number of linguistic terms that are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably.
2.2.4
post-edit
edit and correct machine translation output (2.2.3)
Note 1 to entry: This definition means that the post-editor will edit output automatically generated by a machine
translation engine. It does not refer to a situation where a translator sees and uses a suggestion from a machine
translation engine within a CAT (computer-a... See more Yes Lieven, there is a confusing number of linguistic terms that are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably.
2.2.4
post-edit
edit and correct machine translation output (2.2.3)
Note 1 to entry: This definition means that the post-editor will edit output automatically generated by a machine
translation engine. It does not refer to a situation where a translator sees and uses a suggestion from a machine
translation engine within a CAT (computer-aided translation) tool.
2.2.5
check
examination of target language content (2.3.3) carried out by the translator (2.4.4)
2.2.6
revision
bilingual examination of target language content (2.3.3) against source language content (2.3.2) for its
suitability for the agreed purpose
Note 1 to entry: The term bilingual editing is sometimes used as a synonym for revision.
2.2.7
review
monolingual examination of target language content (2.3.3) for its suitability for the agreed purpose
Note 1 to entry: The term monolingual editing is sometimes used as a synonym for review.
2.2.8
proofread
examine the revised target language content (2.3.3) and applying corrections (2.5.4) before printing ▲ Collapse
| | | | Frederique Meerburg
Netherlands
Local time: 21:11
Member (2022)
Dutch to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for all the replies | Dec 14, 2022 |
Hello Samuel,
Thank you for sharing the information about the NGTV (Nederlands Genootschap van Tolken en Vertalers) of the SENSE (Society of English language professionals in the Netherlands). I had run across the second one but not the first one. I will duly investigate and try to join.
Hello Vladimir and Lieven, thank you very much for clarifying the roles of the various editing tasks.
[Edited at 2022-12-14 11:56 GMT]
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