Isn’t transcreation just a ploy to sell translations by a fancier name?
Some people seem to think that transcreation is a ploy to sell translations by a fancier name, that is, a way to make more money by selling the same product with another wrapping. These people haven’t understood what transcreation is about.
My book will help you get that understanding. If you don’t feel like reading the book just yet, here’s the big-profit making gist:
Transcreation is not a scheme to get rich on the quick. In terms of hourly rates, transcreations are in fact pretty much on a par with the rates charged by top-rated translators delivering highly specialized premium-quality translations.
People may get mislead by the fact that we often hear “you have to pay more for transcreation services.” The thing is that the pay will be substantially higher per word as compared to most translations, but that is because the entire process to come up with adequate target-language solutions and additional deliverables just takes so much longer, not because you decide to charge a fancy price all of a sudden.
The client pays a fair price for the value a good transcreator brings to their business, based on the time you, the transcreator, spend on the job and the expertise you have gained through hard work over time.
You should also take into account that working on transcreations is generally highly stressful because your brain will be in permanent work mode even if you are not at your desk. In most cases you won’t be able to stop thinking about the job until you have delivered, which is why you may also need more recuperation time in between jobs than you would normally need with translations.
So if you want to make money fast or easily, transcreation is probably not the road you want to take. Go for it if you enjoy the challenge and are up to it, and if you feel it could help you find good and steady clients. It is definitely a business with a future if you are good at it.
