Lesson 40: New ideas, new branding

As you can see, WantWords new identity is now introduced on every platform (here on the web, on Facebook, Twitter, Visualize.me, and everywhere else). I thought that I could share some of my ideas behind this change in a post. I had some doubts about changing the identity and find strong arguments in favour of it.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 39: Let’s learn together this autumn… online or in-person

This year is rich in translation and interpreting events, and I’m not going to miss any of them! I was asked to present at some of these events, and I would like to invite you to join me. In a chronological order, the best ways to learn more about marketing your services and collect some CPD points.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 38: Review and summarise to track your business development

Here it is, la rentrée. We’re all coming back to work. Early September has always been an energetic and active period for me. Holiday mood is over, minds are sharper, and the heat is not so bothersome. It’s easier to translate, and even late payers finally process the invoices.
There’s something about this period that makes me want to jump ahead and do it all. And I will do it. But I also appreciate a little bit of retrospective.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 37: Working holidays, a.k.a translation as the best profession in the world

You’ve had a long break from me, haven’t you? A couple of weeks with no posts and almost no Twitter and Facebook presence. How is that possible? Well, for the first time in my life I went on working holidays, which in total lasted just over a month. Imagine translating from a sunny terrace over a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice served by friendly staff. For days. Isn’t translation the best profession in the world? It surely can be something to be envious about, but it’s not impossible. It’s also not as carefree as it sounds.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 36: What does it mean to be a successful translator?

We had a lovely meeting with translation and interpreting colleagues in London yesterday. It was 15 of us, all coming from different backgrounds and doing different languages. Meeting so many happy and satisfied colleagues left me really warm-hearted and made me think with a lot of optimism about the profession.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 35: Competition, co-operation, or both?

Translator is not only and not always just a translator. We take on different professional hats, we are flexible and we look for opportunities around us. This is my excuse for this long gap in posting, but also a good starting point for today’s discussion.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 34: The Translator and Specialisation

Everything is being translated: from flashy product descriptions, through church brochures, to nuclear plant designs. Some of these domains give more pleasure to translate, and some of them bring more money. This is why a translator’s decision on what to specialise in may be crucial to the whole career. Not specialising in anything is no longer an option in translation.

What to take into account when considering specialist areas?
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 33: Translators and paranoid thoughts

I have a colleague who’s just starting out as a legal interpreter. She’s not too experienced, but she’s trained and she’ll make a good professional in this field. She admitted to me some time ago that there are nights when she wakes up terrified and frightened, because in her dream, she was interpreting in court and she didn’t know a word. Yes, she does get paranoid nightmares about court staff being angry with her because she couldn’t interpret a word.
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 32: No translator has ever been sued, so insurance is a waste of money

I’m generally a healthy person. But just because I haven’t broken anything yet, I won’t give up my medical cover. Why? I could save so much money every month! Or take a car. If you haven’t had an accident yet, why on Earth would you pay for your insurance? Same with translation. If no-one ever heard of a translator being sued, it means that it will never happen and we don’t need any insurance. Logical, isn’t it?
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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Lesson 30: Practical guide to social media for translators

I’m happy to share this practical guide to social media, where I present my personal experience and some truly practical tips on how to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for marketing. Please, go through it and tell me what you think!
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Marta Stelmaszak

Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.

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