Long-Lost Freelancer

So  a long time has passed since I last posted on here. Thankfully it isn't because I have wallowing in sadness and cakes because I have had no orders - instead I have been doing work: big fat piles of it!

I have mainly be working for agencies. And the majority of these agencies are contacts I got from my old employer. So my number one piece of advice for anyone making a similar move would be COLLECT YOUR CONTACTS! I haven't even done a huge amount of work related to my old job, but I think just having the point of reference and recognition has helped. Despite what you hear from some sources, I have had a great experience working with agencies - really friendly project managers, punctual payments, steady flow of work, support with questions and technical issues - no translator complaints here!


I have also done some work for private customers which has been very enjoyable: writing about delicious Mediterranean food and sunshine, who wouldn't enjoy that? (apart from the slight tortured feeling you get doing it when you are stuck in front of a computer screen!). I am also a contractor for an Austrian company, helping with their translations one or two times a week. Not only is it nice to have a fixed income but it is also the holy grail for me when it comes to translation: pure marketing texts! It has also been good to force me away from my own computer and get out and about.

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Fortunately, I already had experience working with CAT tools as that has been really key to a lot of work. Make sure you brush up on your skills. Admin is also very important: keeping track of invoices has been hard but nothing is more rewarding than watching your hard-earned money slowly trickle into your account.

Accompanying this post are some snapshots of London. Life is very different to industrial German life but very much in a good way (mainly all the amazing food). Here is a meal I made when I was doing a particularly challenging translation: a nice bit of mackerel for some brain food! 

Rolling along

Get out your party hats...Last week I had my first paid jobs! Three small translation jobs and some proofreading. My mum got so excited when she heard she had to call me up! I also had an interview in a swanky part of London for what I hope will be regular contract work so that was all quite exciting - plus it was nice to pretend to be a swanky office lady for the day.

I have found recruitment sites to be a good source - as well as agencies actively looking for German to English translators, I have also found a few adverts for "normal" companies looking for part-time translators. So now that all the confusing bank holidays are over (for a couple of weeks at least), I am hoping that work will start flooding in!

My bank holiday was spent in beautiful Essex...

(seriously, who knew Essex was so delightful?!)

....eating huge amounts of chocolate cake

Remembering to leave the house

Yesterday I took a break from staring at the computer screen and remembering to sit up straight (my #homeoffice has not yet stretched to an ergonomic office chair) and went to an event at the Goethe Institute London. It was the launch of a new book about Berlin by Rory Maclean with interesting chats, lovely photography, film clips of David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich and lots of good people watching (wealthy #German academics sure know how to dress). And I even managed to beat the tube strike on the way home #success.

Week One over

Week one is over! It has been a productive week. Lots of applications, registrations, test translations and reacquainting myself with various software programs. Lots of learning! And not too much Daily Mail reading (my number one form of procrastination so I am proud of myself!).

One of my favourite things about being back in the UK is the food. After many years of arguing with Germans who said that British food was disgusting (because their only experience of  our food was a Klassenfahrt to a youth hostel in Eastbourne), I am enjoying each and every trip to the supermarket! Instead of traipsing around 5 or 6 shops looking for a variety of different ingredients, you go to one. AND you can buy peanut butter for under 4 euro! Here is one thing I made this week....
Grilled aubergines with a satay sauce and cucumber salad YUM

Day One

Today has been my first day of properly applying myself to finding work for my #freelancetranslation business. And what a long day it has been! Luckily I have had my manatee bag and Beyoncé to keep me from giving up :)

I am starting by applying to agencies to try to get a steadyish flow of work to begin with.

Every agency seems to have a different process or requires different information from you. Some have one short contact form, others have a long data collection process so it has been fairly complicated! I have tracked everything I have sent out and any replies I have received as I can imagine it will be easy to lose track of things quite quickly! I am also trying to add a personal message in any correspondence but who knows how long I will manage to keep that up!

One area that I am finding particularly difficult to navigate is the world of #rates. I don't want to price myself too low and have people thinking you are some kind of charlatan, but on the other hand I don't want to price myself out of the water. I suppose you get to learn these things along the way but it is pretty hard to begin with. Anyone else had this problem?

The time has come...

Gone are the days of luxury! A regular paycheck! Guaranteed work! The scary days of freelancing have arrived.

The past few weeks have been hectic but I have got to the stage now that I am ready to work. I have moved into a new flat, we have the Internet, my CV is ready and translated, various different cover letters are ready and translated, I have sent off a couple of applications, I have a list of old contacts, I am keeping track of my costs, I have a letter head and I have a website! I have updated my LinkedIn, I have a Facebook, a Twitter, 

a Proz account, I am trying very hard to join a professional association. I have some #translation software and a computer that works. I have an appointment to open a bank account. I feel ready(ish)! What else do you need to be a #freelancetranslator?

Now is the scary part. Will I get work? Will I get paid enough to survive on? Will I get paid as much as (I think) I deserve?
Well I guess it's time to find out!

Money makes the world go round

Organisation and thinking about #translation have been taking a break over recent weeks, being replaced by celebrating Christmas twice (don't ask), packing my life into the back of mum's car and obsessively checking right move! The day when I will cease to have a fixed income has unfortunately not stopped racing closer so it is time to pull my finger out.

As well as finalising my cover letters and CV and having these translated into German, I have also succeeded in setting up my email account and website (using the services of 1and1)...getting there slowly but surely. I have also been thinking a lot about the snoozetastic #tax money side of my new job and wondering whether to go down the sole trader route or to register as a limited company.

After discussing the pros and cons with an accountant and reading various articles (like this one on The Guardian) and threads on proz.com (such as this one and this one), I have come up with an initial plan. 

The accountant recommended the path of limited company, mainly for tax reasons. If you were to take a minimum salary and then take dividends, you would save on national insurance and pay the (currently) lower rate of corporation tax as compared to income tax. A limited company is also completely separate to you as an individual so there is limited liability (not that translation is a particularly risky business). There is also the aspect of looking "professional", however I am slightly worried that I would end up looking too professional, in other words, I don't want people thinking that I am agency when really it is just me! On the downside, this option requires a lot more paperwork and you would have to pay more for your accountant.

Sole trader is the simpler option, though you do have to squirrel away money and make sure you don't spend it as you have to pay your tax for the year in advance, and the tax rate is higher. Seeing as I have absolutely no clue as to how much I am going to be earning (or if I am going to be earning anything in fact), I have decided to start out as a sole trader, and always bear in my mind that I can switch to limited company if I find that I am earning big bucks (the most wishful of thinking!)

Looking back...what will I miss?

Sitting here on my lunch break at work, I am thinking about what I will miss about in-house #translation. I must admit that my state of mind has not been particularly helped by a discussion that I have just had with a colleague who was basically insinuating that I was making a huge mistake, ho hum! 

1) Maybe most obviously, I will miss the steady paychecks that arrive in my bank account every month. However, I am telling myself that, these days, no job is ever 100% secure and money is not everything (though it is easy enough to say that when you have it, I will probably be eating my words this time next year)

2) I will also miss my colleagues. If you are grappling with a long stinky sentence, all you have to do is say "Help!" and someone will come up with some fantastic translation that fits perfectly! I hope that I will be able to find some good contacts in the freelancer world but there is nothing like discussing it in person (and enjoying some laughs along the way)

3) One of the joys of working in house is that your customer is only a quick phone call away and is usually very willing and able to help you out with questions. I have not got much experience with what happens if you have questions as a freelancer, but I am guessing it is not as easy as a quick search through Outlook

4) Another thing I will miss about my job (and #Germany in general) is its wonderful attitude to the work-life balance. I am the first to admit that my hours are pretty cushy right now but am perfectly willing to sacrifice more of my time when I break out on my own

5) And finally, I guess I will miss the perks that working at a big company presents. If you are ready to move departments, you can go and do something different. If you want to go and have a baby, you can do that without needing to worry. If you are ill for a long period, you have safety. If you want to take a sabbatical and travel the world or study for a degree in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, you can. This is probably the point that I am trying to forget about the most. Here it is safe, out there it is scary! #inhousetranslation

To bring me out of my slightly negative attitude, here are some things that I will NOT miss!

1) The daily grind, the rat race, whatever you want to call the stressful commute followed by the drudge into the office with thousands of other people dressed in grey and black looking thoroughly fed up with the world

2) Although we do have a certain amount of flexibility, I look forward to being able to structure my time better. Instead of spending that lull before lunch feeling guilty for not being particularly productive, I can go to the shop or to the gym. When I get onto a roll late in the evening, I don't have to worry about breaking my flow to rush off to get the train to cook dinner, go shopping, go to the bank, etc.

3) Having to go to big company motivational events where we hear about how great the company is. In future I look forward to going to events that are interesting to my area of work and provide good networking opportunities.
 

6 weeks to go

                                           
TIME IS TICKING AWAY!
What was last week's me thinking? Sitting around all smug drinking coffee feeling like everything was under control! Last week's me was a fool! In case you hadn't noticed, the stress is kicking in this week....
All I can think of is the great pile of things left for me to do - and not just work-related, sadly Germany is a country that probably won't take kindly to me just up and leaving so I also have contracts to cancel, bank accounts to close, forms to fill out, etc. #Germany

This week has not actually seen much progress in terms of preparation. What have I managed?
1) Bought a domain name and email address. I think it is important to have a good web presence and, as Corinne McKay says in her book, you definitely need a professional email address (don't think my one from teenage days will cut it!)
2) Got an appointment to speak to a tax consultant on a trip home in a couple of weeks. I am hoping she will provide me with some expert advice on whether I should register as a sole trader or limited company
3) Worked some more on my CV. I will try to come up with a summary of everything that I have included so far.

We are currently working our fingers to the bone so I am not feeling too motivated to come home and work some more but I am hoping that will pass soon. #translation
I think only one thing can calm my stressed mind now, and that is a to-do list 

7 weeks to go!

So it is 7 weeks before I leave my job for good, should I really just be sitting back and relaxing with a coffee?? The answer is "probably not"
I have decided to make a clean break from in-house to freelance, with no transitional phase where I freelance outside of work or carry on working part time while I set myself up properly. I have decided to do it this way for reasons of simplicity; as I am moving country as well as job situation I don't want any complicated tax! Depending on how things go, I am considering looking for a part time job when I get back to the UK but I am hoping that won't be the case!

I have been thinking about making the move for a while and started my concrete plans by doing LOTS of reading! There are so many (maybe too many?) amazing resources for potential freelancers. I began by reading "How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator" by Corinne McKay and her equally useful blog Thoughts on Translation. Both have helped me to structure my preparation phase and think about where my priorities should lie. I have also found the blog on WantWords' business school page to be an amazing resource, I am so in awe of all of these translators!

So what concrete steps have I taken so far?
1) Updated my very outdated CV - as I kept being drawn back to my current place of work without ever having to go through too stringent an application process, I have never had to pay too much attention to my CV and boy does it show! Who knew that you needed a personal statement these days?!
2) Started drafting a cover letter to send out with my CV
3) Started drawing up a list of companies to contact, starting with my contacts through my current place of work
4) Updated my profiles on LinkedIn and Proz.com
5) Got an application pack for joining the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. I have heard many opinions about whether studying translation is a waste of time or not, but one thing my course instilled into me was the importance of bodies like the ITI to help maintain standards and quality in the industry. I hope that, by becoming a member, I will be able to expand my network of contacts and work with customers who understand what translation is.

At the moment I still feel relaxed, but the stress of packing up and moving could cause this to go downhill very quickly!

Welcome!

Welcome reader!
My name is Beth and I am a translator. I am new to the world of blogging (reading food blogs probably doesn't count right?) so please be nice! The purpose of this blog is to track my tale as I take the terrifying leap from the pampered world of in-house translation to freelance life, SCARY TIMES AHEAD!

Before I begin with all the nitty-gritty, I thought I would conduct a Q and A (with myself) so anyone reading (hi mum!) can found out a bit more about me.

So, how did you get into the wonderful world of translation?
To be honest, I have never really wanted to do anything else! Back in those days of GCSE German, I guess you could say it was love at first translation - I have always enjoyed writing and I was one of that tiny weeny group of oddities who actually enjoyed German at school so it seemed like the perfect combo for me. I went on to study translation at one of the very few universities in the UK where it is possible to do so (the beautiful UEA in Norwich) and then decided to challenge myself by doing my Masters' degree in Germersheim in Germany, which I would recommend to any German speakers hoping to become translators.

What type of work have you been doing?
During my Bachelors' degree, I got the opportunity to do work experience at a large company here in Germany and haven't really looked back since! Following on from my internship, I worked there for a contractor and then, after my Masters', went back to a full-time contract. It has been a great experience throughout - I have really enjoyed working with a team of translators, I think it is great to have that type of support and creative thinking when you are starting out as a translator (the shorter working hours and nice salary haven't been bad either!)

Why on earth are you leaving then you crazy lady?!
A question I have asked myself a couple of times I must say - am I mad to be leaving a well-paid job with short working hours, paid holiday and sick leave?! I hope not! There are a number of reasons for my decision...I like the idea of being my own boss and the challenge of freelance work. I think it is quite easy to become complacent when you are working in-house and I don't want that to happen to me. I also think that, living abroad, you are in danger of losing touch with your home language and culture, so I will also be moving back home to sunny England (where it doesn't rain all the time, contrary to what the Germans will have you believe!)

Anything else we should know about you?
I have a sister who also translates on the side line of her blossoming baking work - we have been living together here in Germany for the last couple of years, which does seem to raise quite few eyebrows in the relatively small city we live in!
In my free time, I love reading, cooking and baking (when I can get near the kitchen) and am also a bit crafty (when I have time or feel especially inspired by all the beautiful things on Pintrest!) 
I have loved my time in Germany and will miss it sehr, but I have reached a point where I will probably go a little bit loopy if I have to fill out another form or get another scolding look for crossing the road incorrectly!

I hope this hasn't bored you too much - now there is nothing left but to get down to business I guess!