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reasonable rate for proofreading
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Thread poster: bootsie

reasonable rate for proofreading

bootsie
Costa Rica
Local time: 03:31
Dutch to Spanish
+ ...

Nov 6, 2009

Hi,

Does anybody know what is a reasonable rate to charge for proofreading a translated document(Spanish-English)?

I have been asked to check translation quality of a document of over 400 pages, but i don't know what is fair to charge. By word, page or a total amount?

Thanks in advance,

Ardi

My Hue McGowran

Austria
Local time: 10:31

Member (2008)
German to English

Usually by hour

Nov 6, 2009

Hi, Bootsie,

The standard practice for proofreading is to charge by hour. Having said that, some people charge per page. I charge between € 20 and € 35/hour, but I know that people do it for much less. That is really up to you. Be aware, though, that it is difficult to know how long you will really take to do the work before you actually get into it, so it's difficult to make a quote in advance, should the vendor want one.

Best,

Mý Huê

Emin Arı

Turkey
Local time: 11:31

Member (2008)
English to Turkish
+ ...

divide by four or five

Nov 6, 2009

As a rule of thumb I use, rate of proofreading is rate of translation divided by four or five. I have found this rate from my own experience. Of course, some translation needs heavy editing and others do not.

Robert Forstag

United States
Local time: 04:31

Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...

It depends!

Nov 6, 2009

Emin's rule of thumb really only works if you are proofreading a highly polished document that doesn't require much revision. If you are checking an English document against a Spanish translation, then this is really not "proofreading" at all, but "checking," and you have to take into account the fact that you will be reading two documents (i.e., the original and the translation).

You need to be aware that many "proofreading" jobs are really disguised "rewriting" jobs. Mý Huê's advice is good. The problem with what she says is that the client often *does* want a quote in advance.

The safest thing to do would be to insist on seeing the document first and gauging on the basis of a review how much time is needed. You can then provide a quote based on the time you think you will need to spend on it.

Again though: be aware! Clients often expect a quote premised on a "light proofread" for what is really a rewriting job. So when you quote a price much higher than they expect, they will likely not give you the job.

Clients often only ask for proofreading/checking of a translation when they know or strongly suspect that the translation is faulty. They are already paying the translator and are looking to cut into their profits as little as possible by paying a mere pittance for the additional service they had not counted on needing.

In other words: don't count on getting much work of this nature....

[Edited at 2009-11-06 13:28 GMT]

bootsie
Costa Rica
Local time: 03:31
Dutch to Spanish
+ ...

TOPIC STARTER

Thanks!

Nov 6, 2009

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions, very helpful. Nice to see this forum really is an active one

Have a nice day.

KSL Berlin

Germany
Local time: 10:31
German to English

Yes, it certainly does depend

Nov 6, 2009

Robert Forstag wrote:
Clients often only ask for proofreading/checking of a translation when they know or strongly suspect that the translation is faulty. They are already paying the translator and are looking to cut into their profits as little as possible by paying a mere pittance for the additional service they had not counted on needing.

Or, in the case of agencies, they'll ask for the service if the end client is pitching a fit. Then they want the best editing job money can buy so they can placate their customer. Charge by the hour; if you are reasonably efficient, € 40 to € 60 per hour is a no-brainer, in some cases up to € 100/hr. If they are in danger of getting sued, this is cheaper than most attorneys. And if you save their necks and have good throughput for the given text quality, you'll probably be "blessed" with a lot more of the same, so don't do a great job unless you are prepared to face that

Karen_C
Canada

Online Proofreading Services

Nov 28, 2009

I use a fantastic online service for proofreading - www.madproofingskillz.com.
They cater mainly to students, but they do proofreading for non-student clients too. They're fast and reasonably priced. Definitely worth checking out if you're overburdened or want a second set of eyes to look over your work.

[Edited at 2009-11-28 20:11 GMT]