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Proofreading Rates
Thread poster: John Colangelo
John Colangelo
John Colangelo  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:21
Member (2006)
Arabic to English
+ ...
Jul 5

Greetings,

I have been approached by an agency for an English proofreading assignment. I have been asked to also give my rates. What would be a competitive rate in your opinion?

Yours,

John
 
Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 18:21
Member (2022)
German to English
+ ...
Ask to see the text first? Otherwise around 1/3 of translation rate in general? Jul 5

The thing is with proofreading that it can be so variable.
I have had highly fluent speakers where I only had to change 2-3 things at most per page.
I have also had native speakers of a rather distant language where I had to change 30-35 things per page (no exaggeration - I counted it with the Word document comparison feature).
It will often work out around a third of your translation rate per word. So if they force you to give an estimate without seeing the texts, that could b... See more
The thing is with proofreading that it can be so variable.
I have had highly fluent speakers where I only had to change 2-3 things at most per page.
I have also had native speakers of a rather distant language where I had to change 30-35 things per page (no exaggeration - I counted it with the Word document comparison feature).
It will often work out around a third of your translation rate per word. So if they force you to give an estimate without seeing the texts, that could be a guideline.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse


Josephine Cassar
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@John Jul 5

First of all, you should ask the agency what exactly they mean by proofreading. AFAIK, many agencies speak of proofreading (monolingual) when in fact they mean editing (bilingual). The latter usually requires more work, so the rate should reflect this. My editing rate is half my translation rate and my proofreading rate is one quarter my translation rate.

Zea_Mays
Chris Foster
Yasutomo Kanazawa
Peter Motte
Anton Konashenok
Daryo
 
Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 18:21
German to Swedish
+ ...
Never quote on unseen text Jul 5

Michael Kelly wrote:

So if they force you to give an estimate without seeing the texts, that could be a guideline.



Never quote on or agree to a job that you haven't seen.
No exceptions ever.
(well... except for translating recurring jobs of known content, and sometimes proofreading known translators' texts).

Zea_Mays
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anton Konashenok
Daryo
 
B&B FinTrans
B&B FinTrans
Germany
Local time: 18:21
Member
English to German
MTPE in disguise Jul 6

Joakim Braun wrote:

Michael Kelly wrote:

So if they force you to give an estimate without seeing the texts, that could be a guideline.



Never quote on or agree to a job that you haven't seen.
No exceptions ever.
(well... except for translating recurring jobs of known content, and sometimes proofreading known translators' texts).


A classic! Some agencies tend to get "creative", especially if you don't offer MTPE. There are cases where you are asked to "proofread" a supposedly human-made translation that is marketed as "needing only a few tweaks". But you soon find out that it was actually done 100% by electric trickery, and you have to translate everything from scratch for a third of your usual "best rate".

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
philgoddard
 
John Colangelo
John Colangelo  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:21
Member (2006)
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Difference between Proofreading and Editing Jul 6

Do you think it is possible that the company might be confusing the two terms?
 
John Colangelo
John Colangelo  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:21
Member (2006)
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Difference between Proofreading and Editing Part 2 Jul 6

Or that the company believes they are one and the same?
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Jul 6

John Colangelo wrote:

Do you think it is possible that the company might be confusing the two terms?


They shouldn't but they do...
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Well Jul 6

John Colangelo wrote:

Or that the company believes they are one and the same?


A serious agency should know the difference. Some drect clients might believe they are the same. When in doubt I always ask what exactly they need and as someone else has said I never give a quote without having a good look at the document first...
 


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