Christina Terrell of Marketing Mania Voice Casting & Audio Production Services -- "The Place to shop for professional voice talent and audio production services" -- would like to pay you $300 US to translate 5000 words from English to Italian.
That works out to $0.06/word or €0.04/word, which actually makes Marketing Mania (based in lovely Bokeelia, Florida) "the Wal*Mart of professional voice talent and audio production services."
If you're shopping for a translation job, though, you should probably try a different store in the mall.
Meanwhile, Ms. Terrell has some other demands for you. None of your slimy translator tricks, trying to get away with using CAT tools: "Absolute [sic] NO SOFTWARE TRANSLATIONS," she says, capitalizing like sixty. "Literal translations are not desired. Human translations are extremely important to us."
Well, it's always good to know that a client has some standards.
And harken at this: "Turn around from assignment will be required withn [sic] 48 hours. The deadline on the form is not exactly accurate as we are still going through major revision work on this [text]. It can be sooner or later than the deadline indicated in the form deadline below."
Who works like that? The 14 mooncalves who have already bid on this job (who obviously haven't got a thing to do with their time if they can accept a 48-hour turnaround on more than 20 cartelle with a deadline that might be sooner, might be later, might be whenever the heck Marketing Mania gets it into its head to send you the file)?
Even though I don't know Christina Terrell or Marketing Mania, I'm going to go out on a limb here and bet you a buck on the following proposition: When a prospective client contacts Marketing Mania, I'll bet that Marketing Mania tells the client what its services will cost -- and not the reverse. I'll bet you can't call Marketing Mania up and say "I'd like 5000 words of voiceover and I'll pay you $300 for it." I'll bet, if you did that, that Christina Terrell would laugh.
At Marketing Mania, they're "experts," after all. They're professionals. They expect to be treated accordingly.
Translators, on the other hand, fall into some other category. Possibly the same one that includes chinchillas and indentured servants.
Yep. It's a mania all right.
That works out to $0.06/word or €0.04/word, which actually makes Marketing Mania (based in lovely Bokeelia, Florida) "the Wal*Mart of professional voice talent and audio production services."
If you're shopping for a translation job, though, you should probably try a different store in the mall.
Meanwhile, Ms. Terrell has some other demands for you. None of your slimy translator tricks, trying to get away with using CAT tools: "Absolute [sic] NO SOFTWARE TRANSLATIONS," she says, capitalizing like sixty. "Literal translations are not desired. Human translations are extremely important to us."
Well, it's always good to know that a client has some standards.
And harken at this: "Turn around from assignment will be required withn [sic] 48 hours. The deadline on the form is not exactly accurate as we are still going through major revision work on this [text]. It can be sooner or later than the deadline indicated in the form deadline below."
Who works like that? The 14 mooncalves who have already bid on this job (who obviously haven't got a thing to do with their time if they can accept a 48-hour turnaround on more than 20 cartelle with a deadline that might be sooner, might be later, might be whenever the heck Marketing Mania gets it into its head to send you the file)?
Even though I don't know Christina Terrell or Marketing Mania, I'm going to go out on a limb here and bet you a buck on the following proposition: When a prospective client contacts Marketing Mania, I'll bet that Marketing Mania tells the client what its services will cost -- and not the reverse. I'll bet you can't call Marketing Mania up and say "I'd like 5000 words of voiceover and I'll pay you $300 for it." I'll bet, if you did that, that Christina Terrell would laugh.
At Marketing Mania, they're "experts," after all. They're professionals. They expect to be treated accordingly.
Translators, on the other hand, fall into some other category. Possibly the same one that includes chinchillas and indentured servants.
Yep. It's a mania all right.
"Jennifer" (who, since she chose to remain anonymous, doesn't get to make a comment directly here, though I'm making an exception to my "no comments offensive to translators" rule) wrote me to say: "With the economy the way it is, I could not believe that a pay rate of 2 days of work at $300 USD total (or $150 per day) is less than fair.... I am a voice talent ... and I do record a 5000 word document for $300 USD and that takes many more skills and talent [sic] than a translator and I am one of the biggest voice talent [sic] in the states."
ReplyDeleteWell. Far be it from me to contradict "one of the biggest voice talent," but here are two tiny points.
First, it isn't a two-day job. The fact that Marketing Mania wants it in 48 hours doesn't make it a two-day job. It's a 3-4 day job -- unless the client is willing to pay a translator to stay up all night. In which case, the client pays for an "urgent" translation.
Second, I'm quite sure you earn $300 to record 5000 words, since I'm guessing that takes you, what?, a few hours? Let's see ... average reading-out-loud speed is about 180 words a minute, so that's about 27 minutes for 5000 words ... but let's say you have to do five takes, so that becomes 2.5 hours ... and now let's say I'm off by half. So you earn $300 for five hours work, but a translator should be happy to earn the same amount for 16 or more hours?
Yep. You're one of the biggest ... somethings in the states.