How much is translators market value? ––Be sure for actively negotiate unit price––

　Although not as much as celebrities or athletes, the annual income of translators is VARYING WIDELY.

　"THE UNIT PRICE" of translation is directly linked to annual income.

　We decided on "ONE WORD FOR 〇 YEN" and signed a contract with a translation company, "UNIT PRICE × NUMBER OF WORDS" is the standard for translation fees.

　One thing to note is that, for example, when translating an English manuscript into Japanese, the number of words will differ depending on whether it is "THE MANUSCRIPT" or "THE TRANSLATED JAPANESE."

　Generally speaking, when translated into Japanese, there are more words than the foreign language original.

　In the case of English, the number of words in the Japanese translation is about TWICE as long. If it's Chinese, the number of words in the Japanese translation is at most 1.5 TIMES as many.

　Therefore, the translation fee will be higher if the number of Japanese words is used, but unfortunately in many cases, the number of words is based on the manuscript.

　This is because the number of words in a translated text changes depending on the translator's DISCRETION, so intentionally trying to increase the number of words can have negative effects such as making the translation redundant.

　When we are just starting out, we prioritize building a track record and often decide the unit price based on THE ASKING PRICE of the translation company. When you do a certain amount of work, when start to see YOUR OWN UNIT PRICE. And you realize that you have to get this much to make it worth it.

　If you feel that the current unit price is low, please do not hesitate to "NEGOTIATE THE UNIT PRICE" with the translation company.

　Of course, the premise is that we have an "ACHIEVEMENT" worthy of the unit price and promise even higher "QUALITY."

　On the other hand, there are also RISKS.

　If we see the same item at another store, we will naturally buy at the cheaper store.

　If the unit price increases, work may flow to cheaper translators, resulting in fewer your jobs. You need to LOOK OBJECTIVELY at whether YOUR TRANSLATION PRODUCT is worth the unit price.

　Even with that in mind, don't hesitate to negotiate the price.

　I don't know if price negotiation will go well, but it won't make the translation company feel bad about you and you won't suddenly stop receiving work.

　If it were such a translation company, I think it would be better to stop doing business with them in the future.

　Another way to increase the unit price is to find a NEW TRANSLATION COMPANY.

　When signing a contract with a new translation company, make sure that they accept the work at YOUR DESIRED UNIT PRICE. In effect, it will increase the translation unit cost.

　Translation companies don't want to lose their talented translators to competitors. They don't know if they can meet your wishes, but they would rather negotiate the unit price than move to another company.

　It takes courage, but if you have a translation company with many years of experience, although THE POSSIBILITY IS LOW, please negotiate the unit price proactively with the mindset. That's also a great job.