Tips for Launching a Translation Career

Many bilingual or trilingual freelance writers "moonlight" as translators for various companies and individuals. Launching a translation career is very similar to starting a career in any other type of writing except that it requires different skill sets. You'll not only need to know how to write colorfully in English, but also in the second language.

Maya Rodriguez, a friend of mine from El Salvador, started her translation career by accident. She was ghostwriting a novel for one of her clients and when she was finished, he asked if she knew any good translators. She asked which language he needed the text translated into, and he told her Spanish. She took the opportunity to make extra money and she hasn't looked back since.

"You have to market yourself as a writer before you can [launch] a translation career," Rodriguez says. "It isn't as simple as just making sure the book makes sense. It has to retain the same literary value as it had in English."

If you're thinking of launching a translation career, your first step is to study translations done by other writers. This will help you understand the level of creative license required to translate text from one language into another and it can give you an idea of the level of work involved. "It takes me about six months to translate an entire non-fiction book," Rodriguez laments. "Longer if I didn't write it in the first place."

After you get an idea for what translation is like, you can begin looking for clients. This can be as simple as answering job ads on freelance message boards or marketing your services through your website. Of course, if you aren't interested in freelance work, you'll need to apply for full-time translation jobs at government agencies, corporations or non-profit organizations. ForeignWord.com is a great place to start.