Poll: What kind of translation project do you most prefer?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 7, 2006

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What kind of translation project do you most prefer?".

This poll was originally submitted by Monika Coulson

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more informat
... See more
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What kind of translation project do you most prefer?".

This poll was originally submitted by Monika Coulson

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
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Marijke Singer
Marijke Singer  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:00
Member
Dutch to English
+ ...
Another option would be good Jan 7, 2006

I prefer long projects with short ones in between to ensure I have a 'diversion'. I always reach saturation point when involved in a very large project (approx. 100,000 words) half-way through and tend to do something else (either a short project, a walk or talking to my cat (no comments please!)).

 
Konstantin Kisin
Konstantin Kisin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:00
Russian to English
+ ...
long projects can be a nightmare Jan 7, 2006

After a month of non-stop work on the same thing I find it quite difficult to find the energy to get up in the morning!

Daily/weekly projects get my vote.


 
Rajan Chopra
Rajan Chopra
India
Local time: 18:30
Member (2008)
English to Hindi
+ ...
I like15000 words in a week Jan 7, 2006

because if I am unable to work on a day due to certain unavoidable and genuine reasons, I can clear the backlog by working for some more time on the next day. We don't get such relaxation if we have to deliver the job on the same day.

 
Steffen Pollex (X)
Steffen Pollex (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:00
English to German
+ ...
Sometimes this happens even after 10 days Jan 7, 2006

No big fun in working when there seems to be no end in sight and the moment for presenting the bill seems so far away.

Konstantin Kisin wrote:

After a month of non-stop work on the same thing I find it quite difficult to find the energy to get up in the morning!



 
Kirill Semenov
Kirill Semenov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 15:00
Member (2004)
English to Russian
+ ...
Pros and Contras Jan 7, 2006

I voted for "Weekly" option as `the golden mean' between the two extremities. I'm not interested in very short jobs, less than 2000, unless these are regular. But, as was noted before, one-two day jobs provide the necessary feeling of diversity which means avoiding a monotonous work leading to some `information hunger'. From the other hand, switching too often from one subject to another may also cause some stress and a lack of concetration.

The obvious benefit of a large/huge job i
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I voted for "Weekly" option as `the golden mean' between the two extremities. I'm not interested in very short jobs, less than 2000, unless these are regular. But, as was noted before, one-two day jobs provide the necessary feeling of diversity which means avoiding a monotonous work leading to some `information hunger'. From the other hand, switching too often from one subject to another may also cause some stress and a lack of concetration.

The obvious benefit of a large/huge job is a guaranteed workload and income. It's not that bad when the deadline is loose enough. I used to translate books with no strict deadlines, and it was perfectly OK, even if a book took me more than two months to complete. Yet, another drawback of large project is that it's difficult to estimate deadline for them, especially if you have a gauranteed workload from other regular clients.

My own experience shows that, in most cases, 3 or 4 weeks is, probably, the threshold when I lost my interest and it became difficult to focus on a project.

So, a 1-2 week job seems to be the happy medium for a productive and comfortable work with the same subject - and quite a sensible workload to feel secure about your monthly income.

[Edited at 2006-01-07 19:07]

[Edited at 2006-01-07 19:08]
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JaneTranslates
JaneTranslates  Identity Verified
Puerto Rico
Local time: 09:00
Spanish to English
+ ...
Long projects and huge turkeys Jan 7, 2006

I voted for long-term projects, though I agree that it's nice to have short "refreshers" in between. I invariably find, however, that the first sentence, the first paragraph, the first page, or the Introduction (if it's a book) is the hardest part of every translation. I don't yet know the subject matter, the style, the register, the author...and no matter how many times I read the text before beginning to translate (as my professors taught me to do), I don't *really* know the text until I've be... See more
I voted for long-term projects, though I agree that it's nice to have short "refreshers" in between. I invariably find, however, that the first sentence, the first paragraph, the first page, or the Introduction (if it's a book) is the hardest part of every translation. I don't yet know the subject matter, the style, the register, the author...and no matter how many times I read the text before beginning to translate (as my professors taught me to do), I don't *really* know the text until I've been translating a while. If I do just short projects, then unless they are repetitive, I'll always be doing the hardest part of the translation!

Every job I've ever done, from half a page to over 150,000 words, has gotten progressively easier. So I like long projects for the same reason I buy very large turkeys--better meat-to-bone ratio!
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Dyran Altenburg (X)
Dyran Altenburg (X)  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:00
English to Spanish
+ ...
No need to wait that long Jan 7, 2006

Steffen Pollex wrote:
No big fun in working when there seems to be no end in sight and the moment for presenting the bill seems so far away.


I often work with large projects (100,000 words or more) and one of the reasons I like them is that I get a check every two weeks or so. I would think that getting partial payments at least once month shouldn't be a problem, in general.

Plus, big jobs usually have very reasonable deadlines, which lets me accept smaller assignments on weekends, for example.

--
Dyran


 
Daniel Bird
Daniel Bird  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:00
German to English
An interesting topic... Jan 8, 2006

...especially as I'm about halfway through what seems like an ever-expanding job, where the whole extent was unknown at the beginning but regular additions have come along, and the job has become nearly a month's worth instead of about a week and a half. If you find yourself in a similar situation, don't forget to get a PO with an open deadline (I have). That way you'll know that you're dealing with a reasonable client and some of the pressure comes off.
Personally though, I prefer the wee
... See more
...especially as I'm about halfway through what seems like an ever-expanding job, where the whole extent was unknown at the beginning but regular additions have come along, and the job has become nearly a month's worth instead of about a week and a half. If you find yourself in a similar situation, don't forget to get a PO with an open deadline (I have). That way you'll know that you're dealing with a reasonable client and some of the pressure comes off.
Personally though, I prefer the weekly chunk.
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Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 14:00
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
The best I have had so far are... Jan 11, 2006

daily projects of the one and the same kind (I guess I haven gotten to app 60.000 by 1500 at one time): flyers. Ônce you have the TM, they (pun is no pun) fly.

smo


 


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Poll: What kind of translation project do you most prefer?






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