Free samples

Like many of my colleagues, I am facing the dilemma of being asked to provide free work samples by potential clients. It is understandable that, as a prospective client, you want to test and assess my skills and the quality of my work before entrusting me with a translation project. And while it seems to be a common practice and accepted by many a desperate colleague, I consider it an unfair practice and one that violates my professional ethos.

If you are a potential client of mine, I beg you to ask yourself the following:

• Would you work for free or offer your services for free, without any compensation or recognition of your effort? If you do, translation cannot be more than a hobby for you.
• What would working for free do to your self-esteem, your dignity, and the value you see in your product?
• Wouldn’t you think that anyone asking for a free sample does not trust you, does not believe your qualifications and credentials to be good enough, ultimately questioning your competences and abilities?
• Would you not consider it a waste of your time and your resources if someone asked for a free sample? Wouldn’t you rather keep yourself busy with paid work that is valued by your client?
• How many translators will you ask for (different) samples, and how much time will you yourself waste on reviewing samples – or stitching them together to create the full translation you probably never intended paying for?
• Don’t you think you might be deceiving yourself, as a sample of 200-500 words is in no way a guarantee that the actual project will be carried out in the same quality, style and attention to detail?
• Do you really want to start what could be a long-term business relationship with putting your business partner at a disadvantage right from the beginning?

You may or may not ask me for a free sample of my work.

Other than outright declining to even considering working for you, you can expect the following offer:

A sample translation of 250 words (source text) is free, if (and only then!) we enter into a contract/agreement upon delivery of said sample.

If you choose not to make use of my translation services, that’s fine too. However, you will then be charged either my minimum rate per word or a minimum fee of 10 €.

It is like my grandma used to say: “Not even death is for free: it is priced at your life.”