The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2022 - 35

of interpreting fees, but
I've seen colleagues bill
up to 50%.
y I'm a big fan of billing
at least a half day for
interpreting work, and
now is the time to insist
on high standards rather
than lowering them. But
the other side of the coin
is that online work has
allowed us to interpret
events that otherwise would
not get interpreted due to
cost (think small nonprofit
meetings, etc.). So, you
might want to design a fee
structure that allows you to
serve smaller organizations.
One option would be to
allow for a lower minimum
for nonprofits, which is
my approach. But I would
strongly suggest that we
don't fall into the trap of
billing by unreasonable
segments. (I've even seen
by-the-minute billing,
which should be avoided at
all costs.)
y Cancellation fees have
always been part of
interpreting services price
quotes, but they are now
more important than ever.
What happens if the event
is cancelled because the
speaker can't connect
properly? Who gets billed
if the participants can't
receive the live stream for
technical reasons?
Keep in Mind
While this short checklist is
by no means comprehensive,
I hope it gets you to start
thinking about some of
these new elements that, for
better or for worse, are part
of our online interpreting
world. One quick note about
www.ata-chronicle.online
technology in general.
Technology per se is not
necessarily good or bad,
although there's plenty of
subpar technology. As a
profession, I think it's key
for us to separate technology
from business practices. As
I mentioned earlier, now
is not the time to relax
our standards or make
concessions. We have an
unprecedented opportunity
to work with clients who
may not have worked with
interpreters before, so it's
good to explain the standards
to them if necessary.
Interestingly enough, none of
my new online interpreting
clients have questioned team
interpreting for events that
exceed 30 minutes.
And finally, remember
that you do have an ethical
and professional obligation
to know the technology that
you'll be using to deliver
the services the client is
requesting. If you don't
have a good handle on the
technical side of the
platform that will be used,
you should decline the
assignment, recommend a
colleague who is proficient
at it, and learn the
technology so you can use it
next time. Luckily, our
community is always there
to help and there are plenty
of free and low-cost
NOTE
1
trainings available. On my
end, I paid my free Zoom
training forward with my
colleague Anabella Tidona.
We trained (both for free
and for a small fee) more
than 100 colleagues, which
felt great.
ATA Translation Job Model Contract,
http://bit.ly/ATA-model-contract.
Judy Jenner is a Spanish and German
business and legal translator and a federally
certified Spanish court interpreter. She has
an MBA in marketing and runs her boutique
translation and interpreting business, Twin
Translations, with her twin sister Dagmar. She was born in
Austria and grew up in Mexico City. She is a former inhouse
translation department manager. She writes the blog
Translation Times and the " Entrepreneurial Linguist " column
for The ATA Chronicle, serves as one of ATA's spokespersons,
and is a frequent conference speaker. She is the co-author of
The Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business-School Approach to
Freelance Translation. judy.jenner@twintranslations.com
This column is not intended to constitute legal, financial, or other
business advice. Each individual or company should make its own
independent business decisions and consult its own legal, financial,
or other advisors as appropriate. The views expressed here are not
necessarily those of ATA or its Board of Directors. Ideas and questions
should be directed to judy.jenner@twintranslations.com.
American Translators Association 35
http://www.bit.ly/ATA-model-contract http://www.ata-chronicle.online
The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2022

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