How to charge for old handwritten letter Autor de la hebra: Elisabeth Maurland
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I just received a job offer to translate several handwritten letters from 1864 from Norwegian to English. The handwriting is hard to read, the ink has faded in many places, and I only get a photocopy. The Norwegian is also interspersed with the occasional English word and a bit of Norwenglish (Norwegian immigrant to America), so since it's hard to read, the deciphering will be a challenge.
I am thinking charging by the hour for transcribing it first (I think that will be the easiest for m... See more I just received a job offer to translate several handwritten letters from 1864 from Norwegian to English. The handwriting is hard to read, the ink has faded in many places, and I only get a photocopy. The Norwegian is also interspersed with the occasional English word and a bit of Norwenglish (Norwegian immigrant to America), so since it's hard to read, the deciphering will be a challenge.
I am thinking charging by the hour for transcribing it first (I think that will be the easiest for me), and then my regular translation rate per word.
Does that sound reasonable? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jenae Spry 
Estados Unidos
Local time: 16:27
francés al inglés
Why not just charge by the hour for the entire job? Having done a lot of handwriting, I know that it takes me roughly 20% longer to do handwritten files, so I charge my base rate per word plus 20% but before I knew this, I just charged all handwritten files by the hour.
| | | | Roy OConnor (X)
Local time: 01:27
alemán al inglés
I should inform the customer though of your intention. If parts are very difficult to read, it might be better to submit your transcription, before you actually start the translation.
Hand-written source texts are a real horror trip. Good luck!
Roy
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Turquía
Local time: 02:27
Miembro 2007
turco al inglés
+ ...
Another viable option is to multiply your "regular translation rate per word" by a factor which is greater than one, e.g. one point five. The factor you use will depend on how difficult it was to complete the whole task. Like most things in life, it will of course be subjective, which is fine.
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| Well, old texts are usually translated by | Jun 9, 2015 |
the people who specialize in historical linguistics, usually college professors. However, if you want to tackle the task, it is usually charged at a rate 2-4 times the rate of regular, contemporary translation. Per hour—there is often a problem with charging by the hour because many customers may think that translation takes five minuets. Load, lock and push the button—just like the washing machine, sort of. No detergent required, though.
| | | | | Sounds good to me! | Jun 9, 2015 |
Elisabeth Maurland wrote:
I am thinking charging by the hour for transcribing it first (I think that will be the easiest for me), and then my regular translation rate per word.
Does that sound reasonable?
Sounds reasonable to me. It might do not harm to issue a quotation based on your expectations of the time this will take, so that the customer is well aware of the cost from the beginning.
| | | | Elisabeth Maurland
Estados Unidos
Local time: 18:27
Miembro 2013
inglés al noruego
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PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA | Thanks everybody | Jun 9, 2015 |
Lots of good ideas and things to think about! I'm not sure what I'll do. I actually do know of a college professor here in town who is Norwegian and has tackled handwriting from that era and this location before. I could ask him if it gets too difficult. Besides that, understanding the linguistics won't be a problem, I am familiar with the language from that time, and the translation part looks like it will be a breeze. The other thing is that I enjoy deciphering handwriting ... See more Lots of good ideas and things to think about! I'm not sure what I'll do. I actually do know of a college professor here in town who is Norwegian and has tackled handwriting from that era and this location before. I could ask him if it gets too difficult. Besides that, understanding the linguistics won't be a problem, I am familiar with the language from that time, and the translation part looks like it will be a breeze. The other thing is that I enjoy deciphering handwriting ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roy OConnor (X)
Local time: 01:27
alemán al inglés
Elisabeth Maurland wrote: Lots of good ideas and things to think about! I'm not sure what I'll do. I actually do know of a college professor here in town who is Norwegian and has tackled handwriting from that era and this location before. I could ask him if it gets too difficult. Besides that, understanding the linguistics won't be a problem, I am familiar with the language from that time, and the translation part looks like it will be a breeze. The other thing is that I enjoy deciphering handwriting
...you haven't seen mine yet! I have trouble reading it myself sometimes. Too much typing means I'm losing the skill.
Have fun with the job!
Roy
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