Any Advice for New Editing and Proofing Service? Thread poster: straygoat
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Hello all,
I'm completely new to the site and the world of translating, so please go easy on me!
For the past 14 years, I have been working as a technical author and more recently, a freelance copywriter here in the UK. While I don't speak any language other than English, I have a few clients who use English as a second language, and in recent years they have asked me to provide a proof-reading/editing service. So I have obliged. And I really enjoyed the work, more s... See more Hello all,
I'm completely new to the site and the world of translating, so please go easy on me!
For the past 14 years, I have been working as a technical author and more recently, a freelance copywriter here in the UK. While I don't speak any language other than English, I have a few clients who use English as a second language, and in recent years they have asked me to provide a proof-reading/editing service. So I have obliged. And I really enjoyed the work, more so than writing myself.
So now I am looking to offer this service to more people, but I'm not sure what's the best way to go about it. I'm just about to launch a web site - www.englishtranslationeditor.com, but thought there may be forums etc., where people might be looking for this sort of service.
Which is why I am here.
But I am also a little bit sensitive about treading on translators' toes...I hope it is not bad etiquette to ask for a little advice on the best way of getting in touch with potential clients (given my abysmal command of any language other than English).
Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 12:08
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Monolingual LSP | Jan 12, 2012 |
Hello and welcome to ProZ.com.
I think you'll find there are quite a few people in your situation here on the site, and you'll find a lot here to interest you and even to provide work for you. You'll be in direct competition with me for many jobs, but even so, I'll only give you what I consider to be good advice. What could you do?
Well, there are agencies looking for native English professionals to give... See more Hello and welcome to ProZ.com.
I think you'll find there are quite a few people in your situation here on the site, and you'll find a lot here to interest you and even to provide work for you. You'll be in direct competition with me for many jobs, but even so, I'll only give you what I consider to be good advice. What could you do?
Well, there are agencies looking for native English professionals to give a final look over translations into English. Sometimes these have been expertly translated by a (near-)native speaker and just need checking for typos etc, at other times they may have used a translator who produces intelligible but 'slightly odd' English with some grammar errors etc. This review is often required by the new standards (can't remember the number offhand) and can be done by someone who doesn't understand the source language - if it's so bad you can't make head nor tail of it, then you just say so. I know because I do this job for a couple of agencies, reviewing translations from languages other than French.
Then, there are an awful lot of people around the world who write texts from scratch in English (i.e. there is no translation step) but need it to be perfected before publication. They often have a very good level of spoken English and all communication can be in English. You can arrange with them whether you just proofread or actually comment on why you have changed things. The latter is obviously more expensive and only suitable if you want to get a bit into a teaching role. That's my forte, as a business English trainer as well as translator.
Then there is normal monolingual proofreading, editing, reviewing, checking (whatever you like to call it) of the type that has always needed to be done, on paper in the past and using the computer nowadays. This site doesn't have so many of these jobs and there are better portals specifically for this type of job.
But please stick around! If you are willing, you could contribute a lot with your years of experience in the way of articles and forum postings and on KudoZ, where there is a lot of activity in the monolingual English "pair".
Please bear one thing in mind: the term "proofreading" is very much open to abuse in the world of translation. Make absolutely sure you define with your clients exactly what they expect you to do and then stick to it. There is a nasty tendancy to expect rewrites for the cost of checking for typos. You'll find a lot on that subject in the forum.
Good luck! Your profile here already makes it plain that you have the writing skills required for the job, so a bit of luck is all you will need.
Sheila ▲ Collapse
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Thanks Sheila, that information was very helpful. I've already been poking my nose into other people's business on the forums
Yes, I'm already aware of the contentious issue of what constitutes 'proof-reading', but I've had it the other way around - I had a company complain because I did a full edit when they just wanted a quick check for accuracy. It's not my fault the writing was abysmal (wasn't even a translation!)... See more Thanks Sheila, that information was very helpful. I've already been poking my nose into other people's business on the forums
Yes, I'm already aware of the contentious issue of what constitutes 'proof-reading', but I've had it the other way around - I had a company complain because I did a full edit when they just wanted a quick check for accuracy. It's not my fault the writing was abysmal (wasn't even a translation!)
I'll be sticking around for a while I hope, and will contribute as and when I can/time allows. ▲ Collapse
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