Happy Translator Academy

09/06/2017

Hello, everyone!

This site (happytranslatoracademy.com) will now be integrated with my existing Korean site (happytranslator.net). All the posts and products have already been moved. To see where they are, click the following link:

https://happytranslator.net/

Please note that this site (Happy Translator Academy) and its page will still be available for a while but will no longer be updated. Please make sure you bookmark the new address the posts have been moved to.

See you in my new site!

인터넷을 통한 해외 번역 시장 참여 방법 소개와 전략 조언, 행복한 번역가 배움터

07/27/2017

There’s no need to worry about making mistakes too much as a beginner. Mistakes help us learn and grow. Also, no matter how much advice is given, your best teacher is your own experience and you really learn something valuable when you make a mistake. But things become problematic if you make a lot of mistakes in a short period of time or you make the same mistake over and over again for a long period of time. Then you’ll break your wings even before you learn how to fly. Here, I’ll list some common mistakes that new translators make.
.. [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/eight-common-mistakes-avoid-new-freelance-translator/

There’s no need to worry about making mistakes too much as a beginner. Mistakes help us learn and grow. Also, no matter how much advice is given, your best teacher is your own experience and you really learn something valuable when you make a mist...

07/14/2017

Celebrating its safe comeback, HTA will be having its first ever sale event!

Starting today until July 25th, all products in the Shop will be on sale for 50% of the original price. There won't be another sale this big so don't miss your chance to purchase the courses or e-books that you've been eyeing for half price!

Don't hesitate because the sale is here only for 10 days!

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/summer-blowout-sale-celebration-revival-happy-translator-academy/

Celebrating its safe comeback, HTA will be having its first ever sale event! Starting today until July 25th, all products in the Shop will be on sale for 50% of the original price. There won't be another sale this big so don't miss your...

07/07/2017

Marketing will make it or break it for your business, they say. Marketing is also called “the flower” of business, and all kinds of new marketing techniques and ideas for the Internet age are bursting out at such a rate that you can hardly keep up. Unfortunately, however, almost none of them are relevant to freelance translators. After all, we are in a pretty weird (or fantastic) career.

Also, there are specific pieces of advice recommended by translation industry experts and gurus. There are several marketing strategies specifically geared for freelance translators that are presented through books, blogs, and webinars. However, I seriously doubt their efficacy. I often wonder if the so called experts did really try these methods themselves before telling us what to do.

In this post, I will examine unique difficulties in translation marketing for freelance translators, why most of the marketing methods are irrelevant and do not work for freelance translators, and will present a surprising solution for you. It is so simple that it may be disappointing, but it may be really encouraging and liberating, all depending on your perspective. I can assure you one thing, though. Unlike other marketing experts who only talk and talk in the same way as they do to everyone, I speak from my experience and only from the perspective of a freelance translator.
.. [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/translation-marketing-for-freelance-translators-its-unique-difficulties-and-a-surprising-solution/

Marketing will make it or break it for your business, they say. Marketing is also called “the flower” of business, and all kinds of new marketing techniques and ideas for the Internet age are bursting out at such a rate that you can hardly keep up...

07/06/2017

The title of this section is a little negative, but I kept it because it hints at the point I want to make. What do you think? What are the biggest obstacles to becoming a freelance translator? Foreign language skills? Native language skills? Experience and knowledge? Personal connections?

These are all important and difficult to obtain in the short term. However, in my opinion, money is the greatest obstacle. A competent and talented person may suddenly declare, “I’m going to become a translator today!” But he or she will have a very difficult time settling into a career in translation. That’s because no matter how skilled this future translator is, no one will recognize them in the current market. The market will be indifferent, despite their efforts to promote their skills and appeal to different clients. From the client’s perspective, evaluating a rookie translator’s skills (translation skills, time management skills, etc.) is an annoying, costly, time-consuming task. Rather than working with the unevaluated rookie (no one wants to be called a rookie, but the market will consider a newcomer as such no matter how talented he or she may be), the client will want to work with a translator they already know, even though they may not like everything about the regular translator. So don’t expect a big response even if you resolutely declare, “I’m going to become a translator today!” People will be disinterested and indifferent. You won’t hear anything in reply.
.. [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/biggest-obstacles-becoming-freelance-translator/

  The title of this section is a little negative, but I kept it because it hints at the point I want to make. What do you think? What are the biggest obstacles to becoming a freelance translator? Foreign language skills? Native langua...

07/02/2017

Dear users of Happy Translator Academy,

Many of you must have been wondering what happened to the site. Although I tried to communicate to you about what happened to the site as much as possible, it was not very effective because the site itself was down.

This is what happened: the webhosting company that was serving my site was hacked and roughly 150 servers were locked down by ransomware. For that reason, my site was down almost for a month. The webhosting company paid an enormous amount of money to the hacker to get the decryption keys and was severely criticized by everybody for paying money to the hacker. Although the webhosting company poorly managed the servers, they also paid the ransom to restore their clients’ precious data. As a result, my site is back now, fully restored, alive and kicking.

I apologize to all the visitors and users of the site for the inconvenience this unfortunate incident has caused. And thank you to everyone who worried about the incident and sent encouraging messages during the ordeal.

From today on, Happy Translator Academy will continue its mission: to serve freelance translators everywhere!

06/10/2017

My site is currently down due to a ransomware attack. I am working on it and will let you know when it is restored. Sorry for your inconvenience.

06/03/2017

A majority of the people that know me envy my job (all of them do, actually). It’s not that these people are envious because they have a great interest in my work or have a thorough knowledge of how I work. My guess is that the fact I don’t have to go to work on Monday mornings might be the main reason. Of course, even without bragging to others, I’m very satisfied with my choices and think proudly of them. But that definitely does not mean the life of a translator is always lively and full of ambition or is the epitome of peace where one can work in tranquility surrounded by music. Just as with any other job, translators also have work-related stress. And there are moments when we become discouraged and melancholy because of that stress.
.. [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/how-to-get-out-of-a-slump/

A majority of the people that know me envy my job (all of them do, actually). It’s not that these people are envious because they have a great interest in my work or have a thorough knowledge of how I work. My guess is that the fact I don’t have t...

05/12/2017

Specialized translation is translation of content that requires a specific knowledge in the relevant field or special aptitude and preparedness for the field.

Legal translation, for example, would require a basic knowledge of laws as well as translation experience in the field. Transcreation would be another example; you need a certain level of aptitude for the job on top of linguistic capabilities.

Email translation, on the other hand, would not be considered a field one can specialize in, because there is no specific knowledge that can prepare you for the job and probably no specific knowledge would be needed.
.. [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/specialized-translation-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-do-it/

What Is Specialized Translation? Specialized translation is translation of content that requires a specific knowledge in the relevant field or special aptitude and preparedness for the field. Legal translation, for example, would require a basic...

05/08/2017

Since I released the Fluency Now discount code, many of you have taken an interest in it and asked some important questions. I realized there were many of those questions that I couldn’t answer right away, so I ended up asking Western Standard and having quite a lengthy discussion. I’ve summed up some of the new things I’ve discovered into a few points. ... [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/good-things-know-purchasing-fluency/

Since I released the Fluency discount code, many of you have taken an interest in it and asked some important questions. I realized there were many of those questions that I couldn’t answer right away, so I ended up asking Western Standard and hav...

05/06/2017

As I write, concepts I need to introduce keep popping up and new concepts emerge that need explanation. Knowing all the translation industry jargon is not necessary and most of the terms are self-explanatory. However, some terms need clear understanding to avoid miscommunication on your part. For convenience’ sake, I’ve decided to introduce those terms that every freelance translator should know in one place. However, it is difficult (and not necessary) to enumerate all the terms out there. My list here is not a dictionary but a set of terms intended for reading and studying. For that reason, I divided them into three parts, although they inevitably overlap. ... [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/translation-industry-jargon-every-translator-know/

As I write, concepts I need to introduce keep popping up and new concepts emerge that need explanation. Knowing all the translation industry jargon is not necessary and most of the terms are self-explanatory. However, some terms need clear underst...

05/03/2017

People are usually very sensitive to price. Well, who isn't? If you find out that a product is cheaper (even if it’s only by 5%) somewhere else, wouldn’t you rush over?

But translation rates are quite messy in the translation market. The translation rate per word, for example, can range anywhere from 2 cents to 2 dollars. It’s really difficult to know and prove which rate is reasonable. There isn’t much data out there that can help us see these translation rates objectively. (Rate standards are not provided at associations for reasons related to the anti-trust act… It’s almost impossible to find data on what the range really is or what the average is.) The more I think about it, the more I realize that there really are no other markets in the world that are quite like this. ... [To read more, click the following link:]

https://happytranslatoracademy.com/need-know-translation-rates-set-initially-raise-later/

Part I: Who Decides the Translation Rates? People are usually very sensitive to price. Well, who isn't? If you find out that a product is cheaper (even if it’s only by 5%) somewhere else, wouldn’t you rush over? But translation rates are ...