Usually, I am really strict when comes to my rates. I have them set and I hardly ever agree to work for less. Recently one of my old colleagues asked me to get a diploma translated from Polish into English in a “you-know-I-always-liked-you” kind of style. I was asked about my rates, and then if I could do it cheaper. No, I couldn’t. I said I’d rather do it for free.
It started me off thinking why I’d rather do it for free and how I could make it beneficial for me anyway. I didn’t want to give any “special” rates, because translating for less than I value myself is disrupting and destructive. And people like friends and family should know how much it cost you to get the qualification, how much effort is needed to be good in what you’re doing. If I lower my price, they can start thinking that my translations are not that good after all, and that I’m just making heaps of money for nothing. Dangerous thinking, and I may get infected with it as well.
So I told my colleague that I’ll do it for free, but he’ll get 10 business cards from me that he’ll give out to his friends. And I also need a written recommendation. Deal.
Why would you translate for free?
- Personal preferences – translating for friends and family. For the closest ones, I wouldn’t hesitate to translate free of charge. I always tell them I do it in my free time, and that I do it with more diligence and caution than for anybody else. Potential pitfalls: if I am not careful who can be considered a friend or family, I may end up being exploited.
- Feel-good factor – translating pro bono. There is a number of charities or NGOs out there struggling to have their texts translated. I’d be able to do that, having in mind that I’m doing something good to help others and it makes me feel better (and it proves that we do charitable stuff just to comfort ourselves…). Potential pitfalls: About a month ago one of the Polish translation forums was wrecked by an NGO’s offer “to translate 60 pages of a market report in 14 days. We know the deadline is tough, but you’ll get invaluable experience while translating a challenging text and we’ll give you wonderful references”. There’s a limit of pro bono no-one should ever cross.
- Experience – particularly important for students or recent graduates. I did heaps of free translation for experience only, I just always tried to make sure that my client is not going to financially benefit from my work. Potential pitfalls: being exploited or cheated on.
- References – anyone struggling to substantiate or prove their experience when references are needed (for example of you do translation for agencies only) could consider translating for free and asking for references. Potential pitfalls: getting exploited.
- CPD – If for any reason my stream of translations stops, I’d turn to charities and translate for them, just to keep my skills sharp. Even though for free, I’d still translate without feeling useless or abandoned. Potential pitfalls: getting into pro bono translation and missing out on paid assignments.
How to find pro bono work?
I’ve run a Google search and found a number of cultural and educational organisations in London that I could send my CV to. Then there are charities I’m personally interested in, or organisations I find appealing. There’s also a list of charities that welcome translators, just to name a few:
Ashoka
International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL)
Translators for Kids
Translations for Progress
Translators Without Borders
Global voices
Thanks to Carolyn and André: United Nations Volunteer Program
Thanks to Carolyn: Rosetta Foundation
Apart from those, look for charities that interest you and that you’d simply like to support. Send them an e-mail with your CV and cover letter.
My most important determiner in finding pro bono assignments can be encompassed in one question: “Is my end client going to financially benefit from my translation?” If he or she is, then I don’t do it.
Have you ever translated for free? Do you think it’s a good way to build your expertise?
Marta Stelmaszak
Marta Stelmaszak is a translator between Polish and English, combining language skills with a thorough understanding of economics and business to help SMEs make as big an international impact as possible, providing translation and interpreting services for the legal, business and marketing sectors.
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13 Comments
Like you, Marta, I rarely ever offer a discount, but I do very occasionally offer to do a job for free. This was the case a couple of years ago with a woman whose husband died in the earthquake in Haiti. Translating the paperwork from the Dominican Republic was my way of donating something to help someone in this tragedy.
I like your idea of doing the work in exchange for a testimonial and marketing — but only in very specific circumstances. As you said, we have to make sure our friends, family and clients know that what we do is a professional endeavour! Good post.
Thanks for your comment, Lisa. I’ve always preferred doing something charitable instead of donating money (by this Friday I will have donated about 336 hours to victims and witnesses of crime). Also, once one of my colleagues asked me how would I charge for translating a 1-sentence-long document, and I said I wouldn’t charge at all, I’d give the client a bunch of business cards. It turned out that the client owned a small local shop and dutifully distributed my colleague’s business cards, bringing her a number of clients in return. Sometimes recommendation or testimonial is worth more than cash, isn’t it?
I agree, great post! I also wanted to add a couple pro-bono programs to your list: the United Nations Volunteer Program (onlinevolunteering.org) and the Rosetta Foundation (therosettafoundation.org). I’ve done work for both and been pretty happy with the exchanges.
Thanks, Carolyn! I’ll add them to the body of the post, so that they don’t get overlooked.
Dear Marta,
Thank you ever so much for mentioning Global Voices, I found out about it because we have just had someone applying to translate into Indonesian thanks to your blog!
We translate out of passion for the world and cultures there, and we love the project!
Hugs
Paula
Dear Paula,
Thank you very much for your comment and congratulations to this generous Indonesian translator! Learning about this small success of this post made me a really happy blogger today. Good luck with Global Voices!
Marta
Great post Martha! I have translated for free for all the reasons you mentioned above. One of my favorite reasons: to earn more experience. I am a volunteer translator for eastern philosophical on-line magazines and I have applied for Translators without borders only I have not been lucky enough to receive any assignments from them yet. Thank you for mentioning other pro-bono sites, I am definitely checking them out. As usual, reading your entries is always interesting and pleasant!
Thanks, Berenice! I love using my skills to do good, and I absolutely support volunteer translation. I’m going to apply for Translators without Borders this summer, and I’m also going to look into some Polish charities in London. I’m sure they’ll need someone!
Hey, Marta! Great post!
The UN also has a website where people can volunteer for pro bono translation projects (among other types of volunteer work): http://www.onlinevolunteering.org.
Thanks, André! Carolyn already suggested this one, and I added it to the post!
Hi Marta,
This is an amazing post! I think all freelancers get asked to do things for friends, family, and even strangers for free. Sometimes it seems to me that people think the word “free” in freelancer means “free of charge”.
That said, I must say that there are certain instances where I will take on a small job or project on a pro bono basis. But, I never thought of it the way you do. How can it benefit me also? I love you idea about having the recipient pass along business cards and give a recommendation. Brilliant!
I also agree that doing work for a lower rate not only devalues the hard work and toil you went through to be able to charge the rates you do, it’s also deceptive on some level. I have a couple of old clients who have been with me from the beginning that enjoy a lower rate, but that’s different. I think of it as sort of “grandfathering” them in.
Great job Marta!
Hi Samantha, and thanks for your comment! In my experience, a lot of freelancers struggle to get enough experience to start off, while voluntary work is such a great opportunity! I also do have a tiny number of clients that have been with me for a long time, and they are not ashamed to use my sentiments towards them. But I don’t mind, there’s this sort of bond when you work with someone over a longer period of time…
This is quite an amusing flow chart on the subject for working for free: http://shouldiworkforfree.com. Rather irreverent but makes some valid points.