Forum - View topicINTEREST: Comics Publisher INKR Issues Statement on Translation Rates
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Яeverse
 Posts: 1146 Location: Indianapolis |
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1 cent per character?
Sometimes I wonder if people setting rates ever picture themselves on the other end and wonder how they would feel earning 1 penny per translated character. Also after all that work and school and training one goes through to become proficient at a language, earning so little seems like a slap in the face. |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I'm super doubtful they're making it more on par with the "industry average" if they can't even state what it is, and were trying to get away with a penny a character.
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4618 |
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That part stood out. I'm assuming they don't want to say for certain what that number is since anyone working for them would know if they are being underpaid, but basing their response around an industry average would also suggest that the going rate isn't much of a secret. |
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OtherSideofSky
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I absolutely refuse to believe that any company that was trying to get away with $0.01 per character (less than half the lowest rate I've ever seen for proofreading, which pays less than translation) is now paying anywhere near a reasonable rate.
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Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
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X to doubt.
They probably raised it to 10 cents a character maybe 20 cents. This part of the industry needs wage regulations. |
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kotomikun
Posts: 1205 |
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The whole point of these sorts of payment schemes is so they can trivially calculate how much it will cost to translate something, and pass along all the financial risk to their employ--ahem, "contractors." So, no, they definitely don't think about that. Ignoring the humanity of your subordinates is the new standard of capitalism, apparently. Though it's not really that new... it just keeps changing disguises. |
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Fourteenthangel
 Posts: 66 |
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I'm learning Japanese right now and its tough and I'm no where near the level it takes to translate. I just sucks that a person who has gone through the trouble of learning a whole new language, only to get paid so little. It not something that just anyone can do it takes a lot of commitment just to do get a competent level. They definitely should be get paid more. Regardless, this is the reality.
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omoikane
Posts: 494 |
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It's pretty obvious they can't put that out officially. I don't think any company would be comfortable saying it and listing their employee's average salaries...which is very easy to calculate with a per-word rate if you just count the words in a book. And complaining about Capitalism is the wrong take. These startups are trying to make a business out of it. Better for them to be successful and provide jobs than to close. And this is in a field where companies do come and go quite frequently, largely for an underserved customer base. |
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OtherSideofSky
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Jobs that pay below-bottom-of-the-barrel wages that no one can live on aren't inherently valuable. There have even been cases of companies like this, which mostly subsist by convincing inexperienced translators who don't know what the average rates are, driving down wages on a larger scale if they succeed with this kind of exploitative business model. |
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