So, you’ve read the books, stocked up on office supplies, picked up your company name and figured out your branding image. You’ve even managed to find a few clients already. All good right? Well yes, but it’s not enough. It’s also crucial to keep on learning, especially if you’ve already chosen your areas of specialisation.

An important part of an independent translator’s work is also to keep apprised of the latest news and trends in his/her line of work. For instance, I’ve come to mainly work in the following areas: business communication, PR & marketing content, as well as tourism-related projects. I truly love it because it allows me to embrace my creative side. But it also means I need to know what’s up in these industries in order to further my knowledge of the specific terminology, for instance.

The easiest way remains online resources. There are countless academic papers, press releases, articles, etc. on these topics. A couple of days ago, I finished reading a very interesting  paper entitled « Translating Tourist Texts – Domesticating, Foreignising or Neutralising Approach ». It was published in the Journal of Specialised Translation (available here)

I particulary appreciated the mention of these familiar strategies mentioned many times during my academic training. How wonderful when it’s finally all about real-life practice!

No matter the speciality you choose, you should always make sure that you never stop documenting yourself. Having glossaries to rely on is paramount to high quality translations.

For enhanced efficiency, familiarise yourself with CAT-tools, learn how to use terminology tools to optimise your memories, glossaries and other datas.

I once read that when you work as a translator, you get to learn something new every single day. You’ll soon find out how true that is.