Welcome to my blog!
Here I will be sharing my thoughts on freelance translation business (specifically Russian and Belarusian translations and localization) and any other ideas and comments in this field and around it... Please feel free to comment - any sound considerations are welcomed!
Orientation session at STIBC
Attended the orientation session at the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia. Met a lot of fellow translators working in different language combinations and subject areas. If you ever need translations in language pairs other than English to Russian and English to Belarusian, please contact me and I will connect you to some of my colleagues. In general, session was very useful - got some useful tips and did a lot of networking. Still thinking and hesitating if it is worthwhile to get certified - I am not afraid of the certification exam (though many people say it is pretty tough), but I am not sure if the certification will bring me more clients...
Joined STIBC
Recently joined the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia (STIBC). Hope it will help me both to increase my translation client base and network with my colleagues.
Russian translations in Vancouver BC Canada
Now we are also present in Canada! Please contact us for your all Russian and Belarusian translation needs. All translations are handled by native speakers only.
Life as a Translator
Come across an excellent article by Roger Chriss:
"Few people have any idea what it is that translators do. Some people argue that translators don't actually do anything because they are not creating anything new. Most people accept that what translators do is work, even if they don't understand how translators do what they do, or for that matter in what kind of environment a translator works."
Read more...
Low rates today in return of large volumes tomorrow
One of my potential clients (translation agency) asked me for a quote in the English-Belarusian pair. I sent them my quote. Their reply was more than expected – provide us a lower rate now and we will guarantee a large and stable workload for you in future. Well-well.. I have been around the block more than once, so I never agree to such "deals".
English-Russian translations in Limassol, Cyprus
A member of our Russian translation community (http://3rtranslations.com) has moved to Limassol, Cyprus. If you need translation or interpretation services in this location, please contact me for more details.
Translators/Interpreters in Minsk and other places in Belarus
A bit of advertisement self-promotion 
Planning a business trip to Belarus? I can meet you in Minsk airport, take you to a hotel, arrange your meetings and interpret for you. If I am not available, I can recommend a colleague of mine. Please contact me for more details.
Client paid only a half of the contract amount
A colleague of mine (actually my wife ) did a translation for a German agency called "tsd Technik Sprachendienst GmbH". As the deadline for this project was pretty tight, the agency split the project between two translators. My wife submitted her part in time, the agency confirmed receipt. When the payment date came, the agency wrote a message saying that "the end client is not happy with the translation" and they wouldn't pay the PO amount in full. No explanations whatsoever! So the agency ended up with paying only 50% of the invoice amount, now they do not reply to any e-mails. I decided to publish this malpractice - let it be a warning for my colleagues!
P.S. I will post updates if there is any development...
Discounts for larger translation jobs
I am often approached by potential clients who offer me "bulk projects" at lower rates. Though I am always willing to provide discounts for larger translation jobs (with the word count of 10000 words and more), I cannot just "work more and get less". Anyway, I try to quote every project individually, so we usually find common ground with my clients.
Translations, CATs and discounts
First of all, CATs have nothing to do with pets
This abbreviation stands for Computer Aided Translation tools. The majority of professional translators use these tools when working on the translations. CATs help to analyze the scope of work, provide consistency throughout different files and projects and save time (as there is no need to translate texts that have been translated before). Important note: working with CATs and translation memories has nothing to do with machine or automatic translations - all the work is still done by humans. However, all the results of this work are saved for future use.
As you see, these tools make the life of translators much easier. Well, not only for them - by saving time and efforts translators can provide good discounts to their clients, so it is beneficial for both parties involved