Evernote for Translators

23.09.2016 For translators 0

I continue to share the information about the apps I like and today I want to tell you all about how I use Evernote.   I had heard about this app long before I started using it. First I couldn’t understand all the fuss, but then when I finally installed it first on my Mac and then on my smartphone last summer I couldn’t imagine my life without it.   There are a smartphone app, a desktop app, and a web-app. You can also choose between the Basic, Plus and Premium versions.   In July Evernote increased the prices for the paid versions of the app...

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Trello for translators: how it helps me get more organized and productive

11.07.2016 For translators 3

I love learning about new tools that can make our lives easier. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite apps that help me be more productive and get more things done on a daily basis. The first app I want to write about is Trello, a free organizational tool that allows to present a project workflow in a very visual form. It also makes collaborating with others an easy and seamless process.   I find it motivating to see what actually needs to be done, cross things off lists and move items around as the...

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My Side Project: Reasons to Do It and Practical Tips

04.04.2016 For translators 0

As some of you know, I have a small side project called I Love Mondays. A some time ago I already wrote about it here on my blog. Recently a colleague has asked me about some details of this passion project because she wanted to start something similar but in her own field. I figured that someone else would like to know more about it or that my example might inspire other translators so in today’s post I’m sharing my reasons for doing it as well as some practical tips.   But first of all, what is I Love Mondays? It’s a weekly...

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On Writing Content For Your Website In Your Non-Native Language

11.03.2016 For translators 5

Last week a Russian colleague asked me a question about website content. She was concerned that her English wasn’t good enough for crafting an excellent marketing copy or writing blog posts and she was afraid that a subpar work would scare off potential clients. I figured that this problem might be quite common for non-native speakers of English and decided to turn my reply to her into this blog post.   I want to start with clarifying my position on two things.   Recently I’ve come across an opinion that a translator should be native or near-native in both the source and the target...

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Be Good (To Yourself)

26.02.2016 For translators, Personal 0

I had some doubts about writing this post. The thing is it might look like I’m bragging, and no one likes that, right? But over the past couple of weeks I've been communicating with people much more than I usually do and it made me think about all sorts of things one of them being the fact that we all tend to be too hard on ourselves. This is why I decided to take the risk of coming across as a show-off to make an important point: we should give ourselves credit where credit is due.   The other day I was thinking that I must finally...

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Blabbing Translators: Behind the Scenes

10.02.2016 For translators 0

Last week Dmitry Kornyukhov announced the launch of our new project — the first live talk-show about the translation profession called Blabbing Translators. Today I’m going to share with you some "behind the scenes" of the preparation process and my thoughts about the whole thing.   But first a little story. When I stopped hiding under the rock and started to get more of myself out into the world back in June 2015, one of my constant sources of inspiration and ideas was listening to podcasts. I got a ton of useful information from Marketing Tips for Translators by Tess Whitty and 100...

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Using a Photo in a Freelance Translator CV

19.01.2016 For translators 4

Last week I was sending out my updated translator CV to some agencies. To prepare the updated version of my CV I used Marta Stelmaszak ebook called You need a CV that works. And while Marta provides exhaustive information on almost all aspects of CV writing, including tips on what sections to include, what language to use and how to make your CV stand out from the point of view of design, there was one thing I couldn’t make up my mind about after working through the ebook and that was whether to use a photo in my CV or not.   So...

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Side Projects: Sharing, Helping, Connecting and Much More

25.11.2015 For translators 6

Translators are creative entrepreneurs. Creativity is often defined as the ability to see connections between things and use them to synthesize something new. Taking the source text, seeing the connections between grammar structures and the meanings of the words in two different languages and producing a new text in you target language — that’s what translators do. And like real creatives many of us have side projects.   Today’s post is all about passion projects — why we have them, how we make time for them in our busy lives and what benefits they can bring us. To give you a broader perspective...

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How I Built My Marketing Plan

30.09.2015 For translators 9

Last week my colleague Emeline Jamoul from In Touch Translations asked me whether I had a marketing plan. Since I do have one, I thought it might be interesting to share my experience with others who are just starting out and are uncertain of how to go about making it.   As you probably know, I mainly specialize in translation of marketing texts. This is why it's somewhat ironic that I hardly did any marketing until last April.   And then I came across a book called Stop Thinking Like a Freelancer by Liam Veitch. I recommend reading this book to anyone struggling with...

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Low translation rates: why working for peanuts is BAD for you

15.09.2015 For translators 14

I often come across great posts written by fellow translators on the subject of low translation rates. Here's a couple of more recent examples for you. The first one is a story shared by Marie Bortnov, a Nl>En medical translator. The second one was published last week by Dmitry Kornyukhov, also known as the Best Russian Translator, on his blog. These two posts made me think of my own reasons to start breaking out of the bulk translations market earlier this year and in this post I want to share them with you.   I won't write about the obvious fact that...

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