Freelance Translators: How to Cope with Irregular Work Load

As a freelance translator, you will almost invariably run into this problem: there is either too much work or too little. One week you are stressed out, the other week you are bored to death. The reason for this phenomenon is of course that your various clients don't know at what moment your other clients are sending you work. You may have two urgent translation projects at the same time, and wonder why one of these wasn't sent to you one week earlier. Well, you can't really change the arrival times of translation projects, but you can learn how to cope with the irregular work load.

Here are several solutions and tips:

1. Fix your vacation dates in advance, and don't budge. Don't compromise, even when there's a large and profitable project coming your way just when you're packing your bag and ready to go. You need a true vacation every once in a while – without email or phone access. And you will not really need the money (if you do, your rates are too low). Most clients will understand your need for a vacation and will respect you for not changing your mind (if you do lose a client because of this, that is not the type of client you want anyway).

2. An alternative way of taking vacations is the “last minute” deal. When a large translation project is finished, no revisions are needed, and there are no other pending jobs: just book a last minute to any place that interests you (could be close to home). There are a few downsides, though: If you have a life partner with a regular job, he/she will probably not be able to join you; If translation work keeps coming in, you may forget to take time off and be headed for a burnout; And you may be tempted to spend too much money because the amount you just earned is still fresh in your memory.

3. Networking meetings can be very important for finding new clients or referrers for your translation business. Just commit to these meetings, look ahead in your agenda and fill them all in – precisely because you don't know how busy you will be in the future. You can always cancel your attendance at such events later on – but be sure to do this only when you are really swamped with high value translation work.

4. Life frugally in the beginning, and save money for later. Invest this money in stocks or other investments that bring a nice return – everybody should be saving and building wealth this way, but especially you as a freelance translator with irregular work load. In addition to the investments, it is just convenient to keep some cash in a (low yield) savings account for easy access. Three months' worth of living expenses should be more than enough cash.

5. Don't panic, but invest in your business. If you are a trained, high quality translator, your earnings in busy times should be more than enough to get you through the slow times. There is not reason to worry at all, and no reason to take on work that is below your rates. In stead, you should invest in your translation business and increase your value as a translator. For example, you can finally do the paperwork that is necessary to get some (additional) certifications. Study for (online) language or translation courses that do not have deadlines (so you can set your own, and can drop out of school again the moment a client calls). Update your resume, your website and online profiles. Pay a web designer to make your translation services look extra attractive. If you made important changes to your resume, send the new version to any companies that keep it on file. Call (or email) your clients and other contacts with something that is useful to them, such as some specific piece of information, an article you read, a special offer, an invitation to an event you're going to, etc.

So, there's a lot you can and should do when there's no immediate translation work for you. Don't worry about the money you're bringing in this month, but look at the average over the past year and increase your chances of earning more – on average – the next year. Enjoy a vacation from translation, so you will enjoy translation again after the vacation. And don't spend too much, but keep a nice buffer for peace of mind. That's how the professional freelance translators do it.

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