January can be a strange month workwise and, from reading other blog posts and tweets, this year is no exception. I'm not alone in having been bombarded with work offers for between Christmas and New Year and then "enjoying" a super busy first week in January. This week, the second in January, I have not earned a penny so far.
So what does a translator do when he/she has no work? The answer is probably all the other work that needs done in any business that we don't tend to classify as work:
- admin
- reading saved tweet links
- reading blogs
- writing a blog post
- accounts/tax return
- more admin....
Does this sound familiar?
I can tick most of the above, with the exception of the tax return because I leave that to my accountant. As coordinator of the ITI Media, Arts & Tourism network, I've also organised a literary translation workshop in London early March, booked my flights and caught up with friends for coffee. I might even try out a new yoga class tomorrow morning.
The perfect week?
Yes, if you've just had a week where you earned almost double an average week and have mastered the art of "enjoying" your quiet spells. This is not as easy as it sounds, as I'm sure you all know.
To complicate the picture, it was not a week without job offers:
1) A very interesting potential job I had to turn down because of the very low rate. In a quiet spell I'm prepared to lower my rate by the equivalent of £50 per thousand words for an interesting job but I'm not prepared to accept a dreadful rate so had to turn it down.
2) The second offer was much more substantial and a far greater dilhemma. I have translated a number of French registration documents for a particular agency who approached me last week to join a "Translator Club" for the forthcoming season. I would commit formally to translating a certain number of words over a 6-month period and in return the agency would commit to offering me said number of words. The prospect of a steady income for the first half of the year was not unattractive but I would be tying myself up with financial translation at a time when I am making a concerted effort to specialise in creative translation. I bit the bullet and replied that I was moving towards creative translation but was willing to help out on an ad hoc basis. They have now offered me 20,000 words of the more "creative section" of a financial document starting in a couple of weeks time.
Despite my high earnings last week, the admin and chores I've completed and the lovely time I've had catching up with friends, there's still a niggle in the back of my mind that I should be translating, earning money. I am however getting better at recognising that I'm still working, despite the inevitable "No work on this week?" question from family members.
So, as much for my own benefit as anyone else's, the golden rules of enjoying a quiet spell:
1) Remember all these admin tasks and the additional reading count as "real work"
2) Don't lower your principles and accept a dreadful rate just because you're quiet
3) Invest in your marketing, raise your social media profile, write a blog post....
4) Remember that as a translator, you never know when something you read in a magazine or something that comes up in a conversation will prove useful in your work
5) Enjoy the time you have on your hands. Have a day out, meet up with friends, do the housework (hmm) or have an extra session at the gym - a huge job can arrive in your inbox at any time and you'd kick yourself for not having enjoyed the brief respite.
How do you handle your quiet spells? Do you panic or have you mastered the art of enjoying these periods. Are you a busy bee or do they leave you demotivated? I'd welcome your comments and ideas.
