Translation Billing Rate?

[nuschmu]

Hello, I'm a freelance TEFL teacher, a client asked me to do a translation for them, I'm not sure how to bill (I usually charge an hourly rate for classes). The document was 1036 words long, not too complicated. Any advice would be helpful!

Have a look at billing rates for translators on peopleperhour and you could look at translatorscafe.

I normally charge per 1000 words, bearing in mind my average translation speed (350-600 words per hour).
I would estimate a reasonable amount for you to charge as being £60-£90.
Hope this helps.

If it's not something you plan on doing on a general basis, I would just change the same hourly rate as you would for classes, then it is simple and there is no room for argument as you haven't agreed anything different in advance.

If you do wish to charge differently, rates vary hugely depending on the language combination and your experience/expertise, etc. I think there is a tool on www.proz.com which lets you see what the average posted rates are for translators working in your language combination, but I can't remember exactly where in the site it is.

I translate Russian-English and am generally paid at a rate of £88.50/1,000 words by the larger UK publishers (which is a figure mentioned on the Society of Authors website). This has been the rate I've quoted for a few smaller one-off jobs in the past year, which clients have accepted straight away. But I'm generally open to negotiation, particularly for smaller, independent publishers and any jobs that come in through personal contacts. Hope that helps!

Great advice, thanks everyone!