Copyright: Right to royalties

Problems encountered during copyright are often annoying, typically when a focus is on literary translation. One of the most ticklish, whether or not to pursue the right to royalties from publisher or author you are doing business with. Most of the translators negotiate with publishers and authors during signing on a contract in case of literal translations. Now the question arises, is it safe to push for royalties as there are sporting chances of losing a contract to someone else. Keeping in mind the end goal, we have stacked up information on copyright as well as suggestions for pursuing royalties for your work.

Critical aspects of translation and copyright law:

Translation is viewed as a derivative work. Nevertheless, it fluctuates from country to country, is derivative because it exists in connection with an original context, for instance, a work of literature such as a novel or poem.

Despite the fact that it is derivative, translations are qualified for copyright as an original work. Another fact is, not all the translations are liable to copyright. Literal translation harps on creative work, persistent hard work, and dexterity on the part of a translator such that it can be listed as unique work.

The main string of this is that you must take permission from the author, company, or individual who owns the copyright of work you are translating for. This comes to light in the form of a contract with a publisher in which duties of each party are highlightened.

In the event, if the translation project comes under an umbrella of public domain then translation consequently holds copyright as an original work. It’s a rule that copyright for a work of literature becomes invalid 70 years after the author dies. Now you don’t need to worry about breaching on copyright if you are planning to translate Virgil’s Aeneid from the original Latin into Japanese. Browse for useful guide to get to know for public domain works. 

To keep up your rights to copyright and royalties, we have a couple of recommendations underneath:

Foremost, think before signing off your right to copyright or to being known for your translation.  As it would grant the publisher with a right to exclude your name from the published editions with complete authority over translated text.

Don’t feel hesitate about asking for your right to royalties. Rights are meant for the authority over your work and it’s worth at least to have a fraction of royalties. Average royalty that is granted to a translator 1-3% and authors are generally entitled to have 6-25% depending on the format of the book (hardback, paperback, e-book, etc.) and e-books avail author maximum royalty. Crystal clear difference!

You can negotiate by keeping in mind these facts- If the author is enjoying higher royalty then why can’t you get?  Don’t lose hope if publisher denies for royalty. At least with a futile first attempt, you have gained momentum in negotiating for the future with more valid reasons. Make sure that royalties encompass worldwide hype. For example, if you translate a book into English for USA publisher and publisher sells rights to Australia, and New Zealand and those publishers are interested to keep your translation. You are losing potential earning if your contract is bound to U.S sales only.

Being committed to your profession shows your dedication and passion to your work. No pun intended! You cannot take translation as a side business if you wish to take good payments and high recognition.  You cannot take it for granted as you never know what is the publisher connotation regarding your translations.

I hope this post has cleared your doubts regarding copyright and helps you out in negotiating royalties.(TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK) 

A brief guide to the benefits Of Using Computer-Assisted Translation

Computer-Assisted Translation is a familiar term in the translation industry but they often misinterpreted as machine-aided translations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

You cannot mix both the terms as there is a clear difference between them. No doubt, both tools play a major role in translation procedure but surely the CAT tools have an upper edge over the machine translations.

This post throws a light on all the practical aspects that are concerned with the professional translators and translation agencies around the world. The listed advantages have been explored by professional project managers with a keen focus on the basics. Let’s get started!

CAT Tools & Translation Memory

It’s simple, when translations are done with the help of the specialist translation software along with the human translators then it is referred to as computer-assisted translation. There are many software packages that are popular and are not limited to SDL Trados, memoQ, Wordfast and Déjà vu.

Creation and management are important functionalities of the translation memory. You can reuse existing strings of texts that have been previously translated with the use of Translation Memory. How does it work? Strings are stored within the TM’s database that accumulates with on-going translated content enabling the translator to reuse content, reducing repetition and time consumption.

First and foremost- source document is thoroughly analyzed against any existing TM with a goal to ascertain total word count and to decide cost. Costs are decided on the basis of match rate with repeated content.

Let’s focus on benefits now.

1. Consistency

Any translation that lacks consistency is worthless. Whether we talk about brochure, website or manual, consistency is equally important. Translation harps on the maintenance of consistency throughout translated context with strict adherence to abbreviations, terminology, product names etc.

The most amazing part of using CAT tools is a reuse element, which permits translators to keep on top of phrases and terms they have earlier translated and reverting to these forms moving forward. This is vital during assessment process renders the second translator can uphold consistency. Now you don’t need to worry if your regular translator is on leave as TM and glossary are at your service for reference.

2. Cost Cutting

As I said earlier, the different match types produced by TM are usually charged at different rates. With the passage of time, it is likely that TM will grow and will be loaded with repeated content for clients who avail regular translation services to translate bulk of a content. So, usage of previous translations as leverage enables the use of this repeated content.  For an example:

We take a case of a manufacturing company that translates bulk of technical material on regular basis for release in several countries. After a period of twelve months, a source file is modified; a sentence or a paragraph is added and removed. A new version of manual is presented to the translation agency and now the TM plays its character. Manual is analyzed against TM, and as a result, the cost is set up only for the added new content.  

3. Assurance of Quality

In-built quality assurance features are most of the times already present in CAT Tools such as auto-correct, automatic run-down of grammatical and formatting errors, missing tags, inconsistent numbers, missing translations etc which stand in support of translators throughout their job. Project managers also opt these tools during the clean-up stage of the project to save time.

4. Alignment & TMs

You need not to worry if you do not have an existing TM. An alternative for this is SDL Trados to manually align content that creates a TM.

Project managers are also assigned with a job to update TM by putting into use CAT Tools to organize client’s assets. Simultaneously, translator focuses on the job in hand which results in quality-rich translations with high consistency and utmost precision in short time.

Keep it in mind that being a client, TM belongs to you and not to your translation agency. To enjoy the benefits of TM in long run, ask for export of TM maintained by your previous translation agency before you decide to change vendors. With this, it will be beneficial for your new agency to continue work in an organized manner with guaranteed consistency.

What’s rest? Enjoy discounts.

5. Quick Turnaround Times

Do you really think that achieving quick turnaround time is a tough objective, especially when it comes to international business and the demand for accuracy is high? Not really! CAT Tools are there to help you. Boost your productivity, save your precious time as there is no need for cross-references with optimized CAT Tools.

During updation, the software automatically finds new content in accordance with updated TM. This reduces your distress of extracting new content piece by piece.

This post is intended to bring to light on some of the hidden features and benefits provided by exclusive CAT tools available for translation and localization industries. These are few of the fundamental benefits offered by the currently available packages in the market. Professional as well as freelance translators, and also the project managers depend on such technology to provide quality-rich and consistent translations, meeting the requirements of their clients and also saving them time and money in the long run. (TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK)

TRANSLATE YOUR AMAZON LISTINGS AND BOOST YOUR SALES IN EUROPEAN MARKET

We are technology prone! It does not matter whether you are a computer geek or not, generating income online from multiple streams is no longer difficult. Multitasking is a trend and income is generated from the various self-employed tools. We do multiple jobs at a time, self-employed and enroll in multiple projects. This is called harnessing the potential of social media. With a view of multiplying income, amazon is one of the realistic and substantial ways of making online money. How this business is profitable? A key to unlock this is expansion. It’s easy! Translate your amazon listings to improve its visibility in the European market, get the taste of your product's success, boost your sales with multilingual listings.  

THE EUROPEAN MARKETPLACE IS GROWING AT FULL THROTTLE

With digitalisation, shopping online has become a standard practice and all thanks to Amazon-exclusive features “one click service”, or the Amazon services centre where all the needs of consumers and sellers are met at one click. This has brought great ease for online shoppers and accoladed as number one shopping emporium.  

Now shoppers across the world can enjoy shopping of foreign products with their descriptions, product listings in their native language. Amazon director of European Union seller services, Francois Saugie states that” Amazon is placing European businesses online. To cater global customers anywhere in Europe, many of these businesses are availing our one-click service that is Fulfilment by Amazon, which means they send their inventory to our fulfillment centres across Europe.  

We are expanding e-commerce businesses throughout Europe and rendering our customers the benefits of cross-border purchasing. Get multilingual and cater your overseas potential clients.

SMALL PRODUCTS BUT BIG INCOME

The advantage of translating your Amazon listings is that it boosts the sale of your products globally. You don’t need to worry about new product launch every time, simply update your product translations in various languages online. To get the most from the European market, professional companies are hiring translation services to translate their products into multiple languages. Boost your sales, multiply your income with multilingual translations.

HUMAN OR MACHINE TRANSLATIONS

Multilingual translations are an indispensable part of global business as translations can take your business to another level. There are many options for instant translations, for instance, Google Translate and other machine translation services. With a few clicks, you can translate a variety of content. No doubt, these options are easy to use, cheap and fast but when it comes to quality, it cannot beat the human translations. Google Translate can be used when you want the general gist of the matter, but for unique and precise translations, only human translations are reliable.

Don’t forget, customers are paying to get the best. You should not overlook the quality of translations as fallacious translations can avail derogatory remarks. It can really ruin your brand quality. The quality of your product is explained in descriptions and for that, you need to hire professional translation agency.

UTMOST QUALITY

If you really want your listings to stand out with crisp explanations of descriptions, then quality is the foremost priority. You can assure about the quality of your products to clients with only precise and meaningful translations. You can stand out from competition and excel with quality translations of your products. Get your products multilingual and uplift your business with the boost in sales.

DELIGHT YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH SPECIAL EXTRA TOUCH

After translation of products, hopefully, you have enjoyed sales. Still striving for special clients who are browsing outside your native dialect! Only selling and buying are not sufficient, what about the long-term collaboration with potential customers.

As they get the product, first and foremost is they check the instructions, descriptions, and guidelines mentioned on the product. By translating these their native language, customers will show more interest in your products and they will feel satisfied with the purchase.(TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK)

Business Ethics for Interpreters and Translators

The role of translators and interpreters is to abridge a gap pf communication among the communities with a varying number of dialects.

Field-specific interpreters are called upon to perform their job usually in critical and stressful situations, a set of rules have been introduced for medical interpreters by the International Medical Interpreters Association (which can be found here). These guidelines are also applied to the other professionals as well treading on the same path of translation and interpretation business.

Let’s take a deep view of code of ethics.

Confidential issues

As an interpreter or translator, you will be in the charge of handling sensitive and confidential information. Even it is nugatory, it’s your duty to take clients in confidence and to assure them that their documents are in safe hands and information will not be shared under any circumstances. Information is kept under strict surveillance and is only shared prior with the permission of clients.

Be Accurate

Translators and interpreters are hired because of their communication and understanding skills, they need to fully comprehend about clients views and demands concerned with projects. In accordance with the IMIA guideline, “To precisely convey the accent of content and soul of the messages to clients” you need to select the language and best mode of interpretation. It is a prerequisite for interpreters especially when translating a real-time interaction. 

It’s not only a game of words because gestures while human communication is a bottom line factor like body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc. Interpreters should have clients addressing each other instead of them, and make eye contact, to help them pick up on these nonverbal cues. But even so, they may not be understood correctly.

Be aware of cultural variations

In certain circumstances, it’s not enough to pass on information. To avoid disruption or false communication, be aware of cultural aptitude and variation in the semantics of dialects to fully command over languages. If a client is juggling as a result of miscommunication, translators ought to behoove the duty of surmounting language barriers. Take a deep view of translated text, anticipate every miscommunication, master the language and adapt its accent to maintain native flare in the translated text.

Keeping neutrality while maintaining impartiality

You can precisely convey someone’s message if you are not muddling it with your personal views and thoughts. You are on a job because of your proficiency in language and aptitude regarding cultural variations; although you exactly know about language and training in the subject at hand, but it’s not your business to share your supposition on it. This is highly critical for interpreters. There is no room for miscommunication, clients must be clear with your and other party thoughts, if not then your suppositions would be marked as mendacious and destructive.  

If in a case, your personal connection with both clients influences your attitude of being unbiased, then step aside, give a chance to another interpreter to take a charge and thought on the project.

Do not step out of role

Only take the responsibility of projects that go parallel with your field of expertise-exclusively in terms of subject or setting, and in terms of language fluency. Have the courage to step aside if you think that the project is beyond your paygrade.

Keeping the record of pertinent terminological advancements

Dialects are always advancing backed by new terminology semantics in all fields. You need to keep the record of these progressions to translate and interpret with utmost efficiency.

Upgrade your insight and abilities by participating in educational programmes and join the dots- get in touch with professionals and organisations online and offline in your field.(TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK) 

How to get utmost from Twitter?

Twitter empowers your brand globally, not only hikes your brand reputation by simply advertising but develops a sense of rapport between your brand and community engaged with your brand. It’s not simply a flat broadcasting tool where you conduct announcements and shout slogans. Twitter is all about volunteer’s participation. Your activities, participation on Twitter is the deciding factor that whether you will get the more clicks or will be unfollowed.  

With few steps, you can save yourself and can get most out of your twitter account.

Find your convenient tool

You don’t need to go to Twitter’s sometimes maddening home page to tweet – A complete set of tools are available, from tweeting inside of the Chrome browser to applications like Tweetdeck. It’s just like a game, play with every tool and find your best tool. Make it easier for yourself to get out the most from Twitter and most fascinating aspect is- these tools are optimized to schedule your tweets– sometimes typing  in real-time can be tiresome. Scheduling is completely worthy and can shrug off pressure and anxiety.

Stay updated

So, you love to keep yourself updated with the current uprisings! Keep yourself parallel with the updates with the use of Twitter’s Advance Search tools and hashtag tracking. It’s all being smart as you can’t drop a hashtag on random tweets but if subject A is a flavour of a month then hunt for a ways with which you can get in on that conversation.

Be Welcoming

If the aim is to inspire others in your connection, but once they do so don’t forget about them. Get in touch personally with others is not hard as you can set up automatic responses. Check out an option of Recommended Follow list where you can create a list of your accounts. Post the hashtag #WelcomeToTwitter in its description and Twitter will navigate you to everyone who follows you. Its indeed a sweet gesture as people seek information if they are following you.

Twitter is a potential tool-Easy to use and simple to understand. Unlike a web page, it welcomes everyone with unique and fresh content. You have to devote time to make it worth. Delve in deeply and enjoy! (TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK)

Management in Freelancing

Do you really think so freelancing is easy? At the first glance, it appears to be alluring as you get paid for your skills but what about management of hefty projects? If you are freelancer then you need to keep creativity, enthusiasm, and management on the top.

Freelancing and workload run parallel to each other. It’s natural for a freelancer to confront too much workload while moving towards  solo career. At the outset, freelancers strive to get online work. Quite laborious! It’s hard to get work online but as soon clients recognize your work, you would find your nose in grinding stone and on the extreme side of tensions. Every client has its own taste in concern with their work and freelancers must adapt that to work in accordance with clients. Meeting deadlines, payment tensions are most probable to occur in freelancing and that why management plays a major role here.

Organize and Prioritize

“Haste makes waste” When your hands are loaded with too many projects at the same time then don’t take abrupt decisions. Don’t hook yourself towards multiple projects that have a tight deadline and the best way to run at the same pace is with organised and systematic approach. Obviously, you will take the projects of your precious clients. Decide which clients are important, projects you want to do and your potential of completing the projects. On a personal note, I would do smaller projects first and then move to the hefty projects. It can relieve you from great stress.

Honest Approach

If you are not honest, you are not fit for freelancing. It takes time for a newbie to understand the core of freelancing and making it business. Honesty is being taken for granted by amateurs in freelancing. They show themselves as highly experienced and able to manage mind-numbing projects at a time. They don’t want to appear as novice or amateurs with a view to get more work. Freelancers really need to understand that upfront dealing is chased by core business ethics. Being upfront in approach and transparency in communication can really make a difference in your dealings with your clients.

Outsource When Necessary

“I could do better than this”! If you excel in project management and creatively manage your clients, then you can also do outsourcing. Get in touch with other freelancers who are ready to work for you at the negotiable pricing. Being feasible and realistic, outsourcing is the standard norm that not only relieves from workload but also streamlines work. If you have taken the plunge, outsourcing will be like doing a favour to oneself. You can use your spare time in nurturing other projects, uplifting your profile with more clients.   

Goodbye to Social Sites

Don’t indulge yourself so much on social media. It is beyond your understanding that how much your time is wasted when you comment on photos of your friend posted or when you are checking other useless social sites after every ten minutes. Close all those apps and websites that are not in use, divert your mind and see you will be able to save the bulk of your time.

Free Time

Working continuously will not increase productivity. Spend leisure time or take a short break to give your mind rest. Stretch your body, meditate or go for a walk. Don’t bound yourself in the four walls, bring some fun in your work.(TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK)

BAG OF TRICKS TO MASTER THE ART OF CLIENT COMMUNICATION

Forging solid business relationships appears to be straightforward at first glance, however, these ties seek time, struggle and tact’s. Nevertheless, a gateway to a successful business. – it’s a common view and true also but what should be the approach to earn the loyalty of clients?  In this article, I have penned down my thoughts regarding it.

“Ideas pull the trigger but instinct loads the gun”

Don Marquis

1. Be in your comfort zone

If you are not capable enough, the other company can. When engaged in a discussion with a client, we tend to intensify the explanation and roll more on negativities rather than a positive side. When again you face the same scenario; talk about your skills, give right details, and be honest in your approach and tell frankly that you can’t offer. For instance, instead of: We cannot deliver your product today. We need more time for preparation, but you will get the highest at the best price on the market, you could inform: We give you the highest quality on the market at the best price, we can prove it; but in order to give you that, we will need a short deadline extension. Will you be able to extend the deadline to get the best there is or settle for what you can get today?

2. Rephrase your apology

It’s my solemn belief that “mistakes are a proof that you are learning”. It’s natural to do the mistakes while doing work and foremost thing is the courage to admit it. However, the way you concede really makes a difference upon your connection with your client.

Nevertheless, it may be good at first sight to open with; First of all, I am sorry for the …, avoid it and rephrase so that your first impression with a positive message, such as: Thank you for giving us your precious time to process your request. We appreciate your business and we are trying our best to cater your needs to fullest. However, we have encountered a small problem, which has delayed the project but your project is under the supervision and right now we are fixing it.

 Another thing – never say, “sorry for the inconvenience”- its redundant and annoying too. Yes, it has caused inconvenience, how would you have felt when one of your providers was 3 days late in sending you the product you urgently wanted? Instead, reassure your clients and make them comfortable by offering something real, something they can put their finger on, like giving a discount on the project or to next one. You’ll figure something out for sure!

3. Put yourself into his/her shoes.

Don’t judge a person if you are not perfect. Am I right? It completely makes sense. A person shouldn’t be judged until you have walked in his shoes a mile, which introduces us to the upcoming point- sail in the same boat and then make a deep assessment. What would you want? What sort of attitude do you expect from collaborators while talking about essentials of the project?

It mirrors you about your oversights, where you have been off-base with your clients? It will certainly lighten your exasperation as you get in the head of the person standing in front of you, but you need to learn about the business morals, peculiarities of the job. Stress is laid by specialists on pointing out that  Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is far more noteworthy than IQ and could give better results in business communication.

Anyhow, if you get into the skin of character, it works like wonders!

4. Be human

You cannot work like a robot and client is fully acquainted with it. So small exchange of words really develops a sense of rapport. Show positive gestures, ask them about their kids, weather, or anything they would love to talk about.

Your small steps to enhance a connection will reward you with a faster reaction from their side, they will become more malleable and it will be fun to work with you.

5. No more personal talks!

Be in your line! Don’t try to schmooze. You could tilt to awkward behaviour that takes you out of line. sounds unprofessional! Don’t ask them for beer or for a date or for a family holiday, till you start sharing personal relation that is a step ahead of professionalism.

Otherwise, Stay in a professional line and try hard to take your clients into your confidence through your work that results- this will definitely bring your hard work into the clients notice and what’s rest? Enjoy their attention.

6. Professionalism is admirable.

Don’t nod on those deadlines that are beyond your reach. In such a competitive environment, sometimes you need to promise the Moon to get good clients in one’s satchel. Don’t put yourself into that! It will give you nothing but a derogatory remark and an unsatisfied client. Stick to the honesty – be straightforward and exactly tell them about your cost and turnaround time to give them the best.

7. Why not calling?

Busy with the work! But not so much that you don’t have even time to call your clients and notify them about a progress of the project. Calling your client once in a while will actually prove fruitful.

We all are obsessed with emails and they are so unresponsive, better for the flow of information but bad for human relations. It takes a second to write an Email but calling or meeting a client will certainly make a difference.

So next time, give a call and explain your idea rather than writing an Email. This will not only convey your ideas in a better way but also boost the confidence of client that their projects are in safe hands. This will show your dedication and hard work to clients and more sporting chances of your enrollment in their future projects.  

8. Don’t take it personally.

If you wish to be an ace of the game, first focus on the rules and if you fail to abide by, then this will be a big boredom for you. Don’t make it about yourself! Don’t take it personally when a client bursts at you over the phone (or over the email, via 10 question marks at the end of a sentence that doesn’t end with thanks). Don’t feel depressed if your client has an attitude of being bossy or overpowers you. They are paying and certainly will demand the best also. Don’t exaggerate the matter with acquisitions and arguments.

Take a deep breath and stay calm! Try to find the root cause of the problem. Bring positivity as not all the days are blessed with appreciations. Maybe it is your bad day as your service to them was below the line. I understand it’s hard to be the jack of all trades but simultaneously you cannot underestimate the importance of quality and afford to lose your precious clients. Don’t be apprehensive and crying is not a solution as professionals are always are on unending quest to discover new solutions. These are the norms of cut throat business and master them to leverage.

9. They’ve been there, done that, and still do that

Wow! This is easy-  think about a child’s reaction to a present in a box –Not possible to fake! Fantastic work! Strive for this to listen from your clients rather than just selling the product. Honest, spontaneous and overwhelming reaction to your product. Think about of grabbing next project!

10. All well ends well!

You need to have a complete idea of what’s going on in your business. Put a lot of passion, work hard, strive for excellence and stay ahead.(TRANSLATION SERVICES IN NEW YORK)