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How to charge for summary writing
Thread poster: Danae Seemann
Danae Seemann
Danae Seemann  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 17:20
Greek to English
Jan 16, 2014

How would one go about figuring out what to charge for reading a bunch of articles in one language and writing a summary in another language? It's not really translation, and it's not really copy writing. Would you charge by original volume? target volume? time taken?

Any input appreciated.
 
Carolyn Yohn
Carolyn Yohn  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:20
French to English
+ ...
By the page or by the hour Jan 16, 2014

That sounds like gist translation to me. I've done quotes two ways for that:

For a long-term, large-volume project, I'd suggest charging by the hour. It's really helpful for budgeting your time, and the client can put a cap on how much you do over a certain period to help with the money budget.

For a short-term project, or if the client wants a firm quote, I'd charge by the source page, since it's an easy number to calculate before you start working.
 
Danae Seemann
Danae Seemann  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 17:20
Greek to English
TOPIC STARTER
Sounds reasonable Jan 16, 2014

Thanks, Carolyn. That makes perfect sense. Sounds like more negotiating is needed to figure out exactly what the client wants/expects.

Thanks for responding.
 
IrimiConsulting
IrimiConsulting  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 16:20
Member (2010)
English to Swedish
+ ...
Chiming in Jan 23, 2014

An hourly rate makes the most sense. It's always nice if you can provide a rough estimate to the client. After a few similar projects your estimates will have improved.
 


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How to charge for summary writing







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