4 common mistakes buyers make when hiring a translator or copy-editor
If you’re looking for advice on how to ensure you achieve the right results from hiring* a translator or copy-editor, you’re in the right place.
I love providing INGOs, foundations, non-profits and publishers with engaging English content that helps them reach a wider audience while protecting their reputation.
Whether you’re publishing a report or getting learning materials fit for purpose, getting your documents translated or edited can become a stumbling block when you have so many other things to do.
But before you jump in and hire a freelance translator or copy-editor for your next project, be sure to check that you’re not falling into the trap of making some of the costly mistakes others can make when buying professional language services.
We’ve all seen funny translation fails and hilarious misspellings, but a lack of planning and clarity about a translation or editing project can actually cause big problems. If you’re not careful, these problems could cost you, time, money, or reputational damage. Translated or edited English content should always solve problems, not create them.
Read on for how to ensure you don’t make these mistakes.
If you’re not careful, these problems could cost you, time, money, or reputational damage
Mistake 1: Lack of planning
You’ve spent ages putting together a report or other publication, and now you need to make sure it’s published on time. But oh wait, doesn’t it need to be translated and/or edited, too?
Have you allowed enough time to get the translation and/or editing done before the publishing deadline? For translations from French, Spanish and Portuguese (and other Romance languages) into English, the English word count may be at least 20% shorter. And even if only a light copy-edit is required, the changes required could affect the layout of the English version, and not realising this in time will create stress later.
How you can protect yourself
You can avoid these stresses by taking the translation and editing process into account earlier in the publication workflow, instead of making the mistake of finding an English translator or editor as an afterthought.
Be sure to ask them how long the translation or edit will take, to avoid any nasty surprises, and so you don’t miss your deadline.
If you book the translation or editing project with the translator or editor in advance, then you’re more likely to find a translation or editing professional who can dedicate enough focused time to producing something you’ll be proud of. Someone with the time and experience to spot all the errors. Be sure to ask them how long the translation or edit will take, to avoid any nasty surprises, and so you don’t miss your deadline.
With a bit of forward planning and discussion with the translator or editor, you may even realise that those hundreds of pages don’t all need to be translated or edited in full. Another cost saving!
Mistake 2: Sending an unfinalised version of the document to the translator or editor
At the opposite end of the scale, you may be under pressure to just get the text published. Waiting for the final text to be ready may just feel like another obstacle in your way.
So you just send the translator a draft or unformatted version of the text, telling yourself you can just add changes, styles and updates later on. But this won’t actually save you any time or money – it only makes the task more time-consuming for the translator (which will in turn cost you money). It also runs the risk of losing coherence and consistency in the text as the different versions float around.
Watch out for the risk of losing coherence and consistency in the text as the different versions float around.
A translator or editor will probably be more than happy to accommodate minor changes, but updating or deleting large passages of text will only end up wasting you money on the time spent on work they’ve already completed that’s no longer needed. Imagine asking a builder to build you an extension but then telling them it’s no longer required once it is half done. I’m willing to bet they’d still charge you for their work (and for undoing that work, too!).
How you can protect yourself
You’ll definitely save yourself time and stress in the long run if you are able to send the final, formatted and styled, version of your text to the translator or editor.
Before being tempted to jump ahead to translation or copy-editing your text, be sure to ask all stakeholders whether they have any final changes they wish to make to it.
Before being tempted to jump ahead to translation or copy-editing your text, be sure to ask all stakeholders whether they have any final changes they wish to make to it.
If you really must send a draft version of a text to a translator or editor, at least measure that you name each version, that you time- and date-stamp each version and clearly mark the changes you have made.
If the version you send to the translator or copy-editor is fully formatted and contains all images, figures and tables you intend to include, this will help them see how the final product will look and for them to visualise the content in its proper context. The result? English content that speaks authentically to its intended purpose and audience.
Mistake 3: Not providing a brief
Think specifically about why you need this text translated or edited. If you’re not sure, how can the translator or copy-editor be sure? Published materials are more than just words on a page; they usually serve a specific purpose or a specific audience. Assuming you want your English materials to have the same impact and outcome as the original source language materials, you need to provide a brief.
If you do know the purpose, target audience, and objective of the English text, don’t forget to tell the translator or copy-editor! If you don’t spend a little time on this, you’re much less likely to achieve what you want. You may end up with a literal translation or an edit that does not reflect your messaging.
If you do know the purpose, target audience, and objective of the English text, don’t forget to tell the translator or copy-editor!
Without specific instructions – even down to which spelling you prefer to use (-ise or -ize) and which style guides you follow – the translator or editor has no parameters for the project.
How you can protect yourself
Once you’ve grasped that translation is more than replacing English words with equivalent target language words, you’ll grasp why even a short translation or editing brief will get you better results. For example, translated or edited learning materials will not only teach the same content but will elicit the same response in the learners, while a consumer browsing a website for a health supplement will be just as likely to buy the product whether they are an English speaker or a Spanish speaker.
Mistake 4: Choosing the cheapest service
You may be short on time and just want to tick another job off your to-do list. The temptation to place your translation or copy-editing project with the first and/or cheapest translator or copy-editor you stumble upon may be strong, but it could cause big problems later on. You may find yourself with a text that’s still unclear, full of grammatical errors, typos and clumsy phrasing, or terminology that’s way off the mark.
At a low price, they may be working so hard to make ends meet that they forget about a deadline.
Choosing the cheapest translation or editing service will probably work out being more expensive in the long run, since you’ll probably end up having to correct mistakes. Or, worse still, you may not realise the translator or editor has created or missed problems with the text until the publication is out in the wild and your reputation is already damaged.
The cheapest translator or copy-editor is unlikely to be the most experienced one. At a cheap price, they will not have the latitude to specialise in a particular field. At that low price, they may be working so hard to make ends meet that they forget about a deadline.
How you can protect yourself
Ask these questions:
Is the translator or copy-editor accredited with any professional body. Examples in the UK are the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).
Does the translator translate only into their native language? (more here)
Does the translator or copy-editor specialise in a specific field?
What now?
Now you understand some of the costliest mistakes when buying translation or copy-editing services, make sure you avoid them to save yourself time and money.
And remember, forward planning and communication are vital!
If you would like my help to produce English language materials you can be truly proud of, and which get more eyes on your cause, click the link below to book a call.
I enjoy troubleshooting and making people’s lives easier.
I specialise in international development, education and governance, so I know the terminology used in those sectors inside out.
I’m experienced and reliable. I’ve been doing this for years, so I know when to ask the right questions.
I love making the written word more engaging and purposeful.
*When I say ‘hire’, take this to mean shorthand for commissioning, engaging or contracting translation services. I don’t mean ‘employ’ in this context.
