Reviews

There’s Something About Translation weighed in with:
[This book] is simply jam-packed with wisdom. It answers questions on every imaginable scenario under the sun, including many you may recognise but would never dare to admit. It’s not a guide to translation, nor is it a manual on getting up and running in business. What it does offer though, is a realistic, well-balanced view of the profession and the wider industry in which we operate. […] Full review: http://www.sarahdillon.com/the-prosperous-translator/

Traductor-financiero opined:
[…] Reading the book feels like sitting down and talking shop with experienced practitioners of the treasonous craft. And mostly from the point of view of dollars and cents, which is so yummy but so infrequent because of what the authors call the “poverty cult.” As in any good semi-structured conversation, the truly memorable comments are serendipitous. And not just valuable for people taking their first baby steps. The book is well worth reading even for the experienced translator. […] Full review: http://blog.traductor-financiero.com/2011/01/17/review-the-prosperous-translator-compiled-and-edited-by-chris-durban

The Tool Kit noted:
[…] If I could leave one resource for the couple of kids who showed some real interest [in a recent school outreach presentation], it would be the newly released The Prosperous Translator: Advice from Fire Ant & Worker Bee. Mind you, this is not necessarily a book for novices; instead, it’s a book for you and for me and for every translator or aspiring translator who wants an answer to why translation is not “something” that multilingual people do, but a profession of highly qualified individuals who themselves can do a lot to make this apparent for anyone who cares to look. […] [Jost Zetzsche in The Tool Kit, Feb. 11, 2011]

Fidus Interpres enthused:
[…] This is highly recommended reading for anyone serious about being a freelance translator. And if you already are an established professional, you too will certainly enjoy reading it – even if it only because of the authors’ clever way to explain business concepts and their ability to condense so much wisdom in just few lines of practical advice. I am seriously thinking of calling The Prosperous Translator the Bible for Translators. […] Full review: http://fidusinterpres.com/?p=8957

Selbee wrote:
[…] In the first chapter I laughed aloud at the naivety of beginners’ questions (it may also be due to the fact that the book is funny and well written). In the second chapter I thought that I may well stop laughing because, hmm, maybe there was a bit of me in there… Then I reached the chapter on prices and the art of marketing one’s translation business, and started highlighting frenetically line after line. The book finished, my “New Year’s resolutions” list is ready for January, …so is my Christmas list for my translator and interpreter friends. http://www.amazon.fr/product-reviews/0615404030/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Isabel Hurtado de Mendoza writing in ITI Bulletin, said:
[…] Fire Ant and Worker Bee are helpful, encouraging and even ruthless, when the
correspondents deserve it, and they always give their honest opinion, unveiling in their
succinct but detailed replies a wonderful writing style and a deeply ironic point of view.
The frankness of the advice given coupled with the authors’ witty style and the user-friendly format of the book make The Prosperous Translator an easy read. […] (January 2011)

ATAA a aimé :
[…] c’est avant tout un livre qui fait du bien, donne envie de ne pas baisser les bras et rappelle que la traduction n’est pas qu’un métier passionnant exercé avec amour par des linguistes talentueux : c’est aussi un business, avec des segments de marché plus ou moins lucratifs, une concurrence qu’il convient d’aborder avec hauteur de vue et discernement, et des clients qui ont besoin des compétences des traducteurs. Enfin, son ton vivant et plein d’humour en fait un ouvrage très agréable à lire, ce qui ne gâte rien. Lire : http://www.ataa.fr/blog/the-prosperous-translator/

Les piles intermédiaires aussi :
[…] bref, lisez The Prosperous Translator. C’est un ouvrage qui donne la pêche, offre plein de bonnes idées et de petits trucs pour exercer ce bô métier dans les meilleures conditions possibles, même s’il est préférable pour cela d’être prêt à se bouger sérieusement. Lire : http://lespilesintermediaires.blogspot.com/2011/02/prosperous-books.html

Facköversättaren (published by Sweden’s SFÖ) had this to say:

Translation Times cut to the chase:
[…] The verdict: this book should be required reading for both beginning and seasoned translators around the globe. Especially for those starting out, $25 is a steal considering how much time and research this book will save you. […]. Full review here.

SpanishLegalTranslation noted:
[…] Instead of saying “There is one way and only one way to translate and run a translation business,” [the authors] answer advice seekers in an open-ended way that leaves room for interpretation and adaptation. This makes the book more congenial and creditable than some other alienating, totalitarian “advice” I have read elsewhere, such as on the Internet. […] See: http://legaltrans.blogspot.com/2011/08/prosperous-tranlsator.html

In eSense, the digital newsletter of SENSE (Netherlands), Lee Ann Weeks wrote:
[…] The authors have an amazing way with words but do not go overboard as so many language lovers are wont to. [They] stay positive while many translators […] equate passion and quality with poverty. An advantage of the bundled Q & A format is that the 12 chapters each stand alone and can thus be read in any order. […] Another advantage […] is that the submitted stories really speak. So many of the questions are oh-so recognizable, including “the price of success” (p. 204). How many of you, like me, are receiving increasingly challenging texts but continuing to charge per word instead of switching to an hourly or project rate for translation? […]