| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Per hour vs per word Thread poster: Emily Gilby
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Emily Gilby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:14
Member (2018)
French to English
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Has anyone else had this issue before? For some reason, an agency wants to record my editing rate both per hour and per word. I'd already told them that it's usually more cost effective for the client to charge per hour and so gave them my per hour rate but they still wanted per word. I don't often charge per word for editing but when I do, it's half my translation rate. The agency came back to me with this (numbers have been altered):
"You said $25 per hour for editing. And 1000 wo... See more Has anyone else had this issue before? For some reason, an agency wants to record my editing rate both per hour and per word. I'd already told them that it's usually more cost effective for the client to charge per hour and so gave them my per hour rate but they still wanted per word. I don't often charge per word for editing but when I do, it's half my translation rate. The agency came back to me with this (numbers have been altered):
"You said $25 per hour for editing. And 1000 words edited in 1 hour.
It’s a rate of $0.025 per word.
But your rate per word for editing is $0.06. That is $60 per hour.
Is this correct?"
They've stumped me, I don't know what to say. Am I doing this wrong? Should they work out the same? Would love your thoughts! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 15:14
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Always per hour | May 13, 2022 |
Hi Emily,
now, editing 1000 words per hour may or may not be feasible. The number of word that you can mange to edit in one hour largely depends on the quality of the document/translation. It is hardly ever a realistic number when it comes to MTPE.
Charging per word only makes sense if it's a really short text, let's say between 20 and 4000 - 500 words at a per word rate of EUR 0.06 as in your example of altered amounts/rates. Perhaps you might want to point this out to... See more Hi Emily,
now, editing 1000 words per hour may or may not be feasible. The number of word that you can mange to edit in one hour largely depends on the quality of the document/translation. It is hardly ever a realistic number when it comes to MTPE.
Charging per word only makes sense if it's a really short text, let's say between 20 and 4000 - 500 words at a per word rate of EUR 0.06 as in your example of altered amounts/rates. Perhaps you might want to point this out to your customer. Then s/he might see your point and only pays you your hourly rate for larger texts.
Hope this helps.
Thayenga ▲ Collapse
| | | | Emily Gilby
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:14
Member (2018)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thayenga wrote:
editing 1000 words per hour may or may not be feasible. The number of word that you can mange to edit in one hour largely depends on the quality of the document/translation.
Thank you Thayenga, I've said something to this effect to them regarding the quality of the text, I am awaiting their reply...
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 15:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| They do expect that, but... | May 13, 2022 |
Emily Gilby wrote:
Am I doing this wrong? Should they work out the same?
Logically, from an objective perspective, they should work out to be the same, and it is likely that the agency expects them to work out to the same.
But as someone who does editing myself, I can tell you that jobs that pay per hour are not the same as jobs that pay per word, even from the same agency. Your hourly rate isn't based on a clock hour but on a word-count hour, which explains why the rates don't match up. I have a similar rate scheme: if you convert my per-word rate to my per-hour rate, or vice versa, they are not the same. I realise that some clients would find this confusing.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 09:14
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Who said "1000 words edited in 1 hour?" | May 13, 2022 |
Emily Gilby wrote:
"You said $25 per hour for editing. And 1000 words edited in 1 hour.
It’s a rate of $0.025 per word.
But your rate per word for editing is $0.06. That is $60 per hour.
Is this correct?"
Did you tell them you can edit around 1000 words in 1 hour?
If so, your editing rate should be $0.025. The bottom line is that your income should be the same either calculated by hour or on a per word basis.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:14
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Explain to them… | May 13, 2022 |
Explain to them that not every 1000 words is the same when it comes to editing (style, quality, format, etc), therefore, it’s impossible to provide an accurate rate per 1000 words.
| | | | | Go for $60 an hour | May 13, 2022 |
Worldwide inflation
An hourly rate with a productivity expectation is a word rate in disguise. Either an hour's an hour, or it's not.
You can also say that you don't charge per word/per hour. Charge rates and units you are comfortable with, you're in control of what you offer/don't offer.
Philippe
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I charge either per hour (50€) or per word (0.045€) and I’ll decide which rate is the most appropriate after having a good look at the translation. These are my terms: take or leave it!
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ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 16:14
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
| Apples vs. Oranges | May 13, 2022 |
I think it is comparing apples with oranges when you say that rate per word should be the same as rate per hour. First of all, I would not tell them that I can edit 1000 words per hour simply because I cannot predict how many words I can edit in one hour. So, it may be a mistake to give a number for how many words an hour you can edit (sorry, Emily). I would give my per word rate along with my hourly rate, that is all. I would also stand behind those rates. It sounds to me that they are try... See more I think it is comparing apples with oranges when you say that rate per word should be the same as rate per hour. First of all, I would not tell them that I can edit 1000 words per hour simply because I cannot predict how many words I can edit in one hour. So, it may be a mistake to give a number for how many words an hour you can edit (sorry, Emily). I would give my per word rate along with my hourly rate, that is all. I would also stand behind those rates. It sounds to me that they are trying to find contradictions in your rates in hopes of challenging (and perhaps reducing) your rates. If they were to tell me what they told you, I might tell them that these are my rates, which are not negotiable. In fact, I sometimes do that with some eastern companies who tend to offer low rates. I might not hear from them again but that is better than working for 4 cents a word for me. It is a choice you are making. We always make some choices in life. ▲ Collapse
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Dear Emily,
yes, the norm in my case. When reviewing for my agency clients I am paid xx words per hour, in my case either 750 or 1,000 words per hour. Still, my "xxx words per hour" rate is much higher than $ 25 and I review work from the regular pools, i.e. colleagues who translate regularly if not daily for those agencies. This way I rarely have to invest more time for those 750 or 1,000 words than expected.
It is understandable that agencies wish to know in advance how much... See more Dear Emily,
yes, the norm in my case. When reviewing for my agency clients I am paid xx words per hour, in my case either 750 or 1,000 words per hour. Still, my "xxx words per hour" rate is much higher than $ 25 and I review work from the regular pools, i.e. colleagues who translate regularly if not daily for those agencies. This way I rarely have to invest more time for those 750 or 1,000 words than expected.
It is understandable that agencies wish to know in advance how much they'll have to pay, is it not?
The rate agreed per hour makes the difference, and the fact that I never review work from unknown translators.
I'd recommend a much higher rate – it is very possible, and mine is definitely not top pf the market! Please don't think that $ 25/h is the highest you can get.
I wouldn't accept it even if it weren't bound to a certain word volume, 'cause I always envision 1,000 words reviewed per hour, no matter if with no hour limit. The check is simple: 8 hours/day = $ 200/day, no thank you (for me).
Giuliana ▲ Collapse
| | | | Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 15:14
German to Swedish
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| No firm rate | May 13, 2022 |
You shouldn't give a universal per-word "editing rate" that applies to every text.
It will be too high for a good text and (much) too low for a bad text.
You should always take a quick look at the entire text before committing, or know the particular translator's work very well. Hourly review rates can work well when agencies only hire high-quality translators and there's mutual trust. Unfortunately, most agencies don't belong to this group and work with a decidedly uneven ass... See more You shouldn't give a universal per-word "editing rate" that applies to every text.
It will be too high for a good text and (much) too low for a bad text.
You should always take a quick look at the entire text before committing, or know the particular translator's work very well. Hourly review rates can work well when agencies only hire high-quality translators and there's mutual trust. Unfortunately, most agencies don't belong to this group and work with a decidedly uneven assortment of translators.
Good agencies will understand this issue, because they too benefit from rates that inversely correspond to the translation quality.
[Bearbeitet am 2022-05-13 19:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Emily Gilby
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:14
Member (2018)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for your views everyone, this is definitely food for thought!
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TTilch
Local time: 15:14
English to German
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| Go for an hourly rate - it's safest | Jun 20, 2022 |
You never know quality in advance, so one time you may manage 1,000 words per hour, next time only 600 words.
As for hourly rates, I could not make a living from 25 USD over here, it's way too low.
My tax advisor charges 90 USD, craftsmen between 70-80 USD per hour, the hairdresser about 3-540 USD for half an hour work.
So if you don't want to have to work 3 hours yourself in order to be able to pay for 1 hour of services bought, your rates should about match what you p... See more You never know quality in advance, so one time you may manage 1,000 words per hour, next time only 600 words.
As for hourly rates, I could not make a living from 25 USD over here, it's way too low.
My tax advisor charges 90 USD, craftsmen between 70-80 USD per hour, the hairdresser about 3-540 USD for half an hour work.
So if you don't want to have to work 3 hours yourself in order to be able to pay for 1 hour of services bought, your rates should about match what you pay to other service provider companies.
Best,
Tanja ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| 1000 wph is normal for REVISION, not MTPE | Jun 22, 2022 |
And $25 is too low.
Revision : MTPE : full quality manual translation should be priced about 1:2:3
$50 per fully active hour is more like it. Although how you go about achieving it and making it visually palatable to the client is a whole other strategy... for example, a slightly lower word/hour rate but with a $50 minimum fee often gets you more pay for less work. Just avoid jobs invoiced as 1.5 hrs / 1500 words.
Farming minimums requires you to squat a s... See more And $25 is too low.
Revision : MTPE : full quality manual translation should be priced about 1:2:3
$50 per fully active hour is more like it. Although how you go about achieving it and making it visually palatable to the client is a whole other strategy... for example, a slightly lower word/hour rate but with a $50 minimum fee often gets you more pay for less work. Just avoid jobs invoiced as 1.5 hrs / 1500 words.
Farming minimums requires you to squat a specialization, become their go-to person for your language pair, cherrypick jobs, and keep copious notes on everything though. You can't collect minimums on non-repetitive crap, you'll lose your mind (= turn into a walking wikipedia on the autistic spectrum).
[Edited at 2022-06-22 01:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tony Keily
Local time: 15:14
Italian to English
+ ...
| This is what I do | Jun 24, 2022 |
To get my hourly rate, I just take the amount I'm happy to earn in a day translating and divide it by six (assuming that I'm only fit for six good hours of actual correction, not counting breaks).
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