Proofreading rates in the UK Thread poster: Mandy K
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Mandy K Local time: 12:01 English to Arabic + ...
hi all, how much would you charge normally for proofreading in the UK some clients ask for rate by an hour others would ask per word and one more thing, when proofreading on Microsoft Word what tools would you normally use and do you know of any links that can help learning it ? thnx so much in advance | | |
Charlotte Farrell United Kingdom Local time: 12:01 Member (2013) German to English + ...
It seems that most companies charge by the hour, which is a good thing, as it means that if you have a poorly written text to improve, you get paid for the extra time this would take in comparison with a well-written one. It's also the best way to go if the client wants you to deal with formatting as well as language, as the work needed here couldn't be reflected in the word count. I do have some clients for whom I charge per word, however, which has the benefit of you and the clien... See more It seems that most companies charge by the hour, which is a good thing, as it means that if you have a poorly written text to improve, you get paid for the extra time this would take in comparison with a well-written one. It's also the best way to go if the client wants you to deal with formatting as well as language, as the work needed here couldn't be reflected in the word count. I do have some clients for whom I charge per word, however, which has the benefit of you and the client knowing from the start how much the job is going to cost. Often when jobs are quoted by the hour you have to provide an estimate on how long it will take and therefore cost, which is sometimes unfortunately a bit off the mark and could lead to arguments in the end. Charging by word often also ends up being more lucrative, especially if the translation/text is of good quality and not much has to be changed. I'd say choose an hourly rate you'd like to earn for proofreading and work out how many words you can proofread per hour and set a per word rate accordingly (rounding up slightly if appropriate just to cover your tracks). This means that you can be flexible if your client would massively prefer one or the other, but otherwise you're free to choose depending on which best suits your working style. ▲ Collapse | | |
Proofreading rate and tools | Nov 24, 2013 |
Hi, Mandy, I prefer to charge per word. I know that some outsourcers prefer a per hour rate; this may turn out to your advantage if the text has been well translated so it does not need many changes but may prove costly and time-consuming if the there are a lot of errors or sentence structure is evidently not correct. I use track changes to proofread and there are many online videos that show you track changes-under Review on Word 2010 and Word 2013. Roughly, the rate is about 1/3 what you char... See more Hi, Mandy, I prefer to charge per word. I know that some outsourcers prefer a per hour rate; this may turn out to your advantage if the text has been well translated so it does not need many changes but may prove costly and time-consuming if the there are a lot of errors or sentence structure is evidently not correct. I use track changes to proofread and there are many online videos that show you track changes-under Review on Word 2010 and Word 2013. Roughly, the rate is about 1/3 what you charge for translating, but this is for proofreading only; for editing, I ask to see the text or make or make it clear that rate is 2/3 of translation rate unless text has to be re-done, in which case I will advice the agency and rate would be almost as much as translation rate, but just a little bit lower. I hope this helps. ▲ Collapse | | |
Luiz Barucke Brazil Local time: 09:01 Spanish to Portuguese + ... Article about proofreading and editing | Nov 24, 2013 |
Hi Mandy, This Viktoria's article about proofreading and editing is very interesting: http://www.proz.com/translation-articles/articles/543/ When it's possible to use MS Word, as Josephine, I also use track changes in my proofreading/editing and send to the clients both "uncleaned" version of the text (with track changes) and the clean one (with all c... See more Hi Mandy, This Viktoria's article about proofreading and editing is very interesting: http://www.proz.com/translation-articles/articles/543/ When it's possible to use MS Word, as Josephine, I also use track changes in my proofreading/editing and send to the clients both "uncleaned" version of the text (with track changes) and the clean one (with all changes accepted). This way, I let them know what I've changed (uncleaned). The clean file I send just in case they don't know how the track change function works (it happens). About the rates, I usually charge 100% for translation, 40-60% for editing and 20-30% for proofreading. The problem is that sometimes a client asks for a proofreading when, in fact, he/she wants you to edit the text. This must be clear before the accept the project. Best.
[Editada em 2013-11-24 22:35 GMT]
[Editada em 2013-11-24 22:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse | |
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I don't have all of UK, but here's for London | Nov 25, 2013 |
London Freelance Fee Guide for Translation I agree with Luiz that you should clarify with the client about whether it is a proofreading, editing, or something else. Sometimes the definitions are murky, that what client expects from you is different from what you think you're going to do. As for hours and words, which one is the best, I think it depends on quality. Offer ... See more London Freelance Fee Guide for Translation I agree with Luiz that you should clarify with the client about whether it is a proofreading, editing, or something else. Sometimes the definitions are murky, that what client expects from you is different from what you think you're going to do. As for hours and words, which one is the best, I think it depends on quality. Offer 15-minute flat fee (or you can just waive the cost) to assess the quality and quote the hours you need to proofread the translation. I think it's best not to trust client that it's "simple text", you need to see the material first. You don't want to quote less hour to improve text or quote certain percentage of proofreading when you end up doing re-translation. If the quality is awesome, quote per words. In terms of productivity, it depends on the quality of the text, it can be 800-1000 words per hour. I did 5000 words an hour two years ago, but all I can catch was spelling and punctuation errors. ▲ Collapse | | |
Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 12:01 Member (2008) Italian to English
Those rates are from 2008! | | |
Hi Tom, I know, but good translators will know to factor in inflation rates and do the research ourselves. Don't we? | | |
Suzan Hamer Netherlands Local time: 13:01 English + ... More current rates | Nov 25, 2013 |
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