My resolutions for 2013: some things stay the same, but there will be a few changes in my business and in this blog!

'New Year 2013' photo (c) 2012, Steve Evans - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

I think it's the first time when I decided to write proper New Year resolutions. You see, I don't normally write any resolutions. Instead, every year I write my personal letter to the Lord with some very specific requests. And then, at the end of the year I open that letter and rejoice when I see some (actually, quite a few this time!) of my prayers answered. But this time I also felt it was time to voice some decisions I've made. So, here are my resolutions:
1. I want to become a member of a professional translator association. Haven't yet decided which one. Still investigating it. But I have come to the point when I realize that I need it for my business. I used to be very skeptical about this whole issue of membership, but last year my opinion started to change. I still have doubts, but I am willing to give it a try for 1 year and see whether it will have any impact on my business and on my growth as a translation professional.

2. I want to make this blog a helpful tool for beginning and maybe even seasoned freelance translators where you'd find useful information regarding freelance business, marketing, networking, translation and linguistics. I am not going to publish as much new content about learning languages, because I want to concentrate more on the art and business of translation. That also concerns guest posts.
3. I am getting better at financial planning, budgeting etc., but I know I still have a long way to go. And I am planning to learn as much as I can this year and put my knowledge to practice. So financial side of freelance business is also going to be present in this blog from now on.
4. I am going to back up not just work-related files, programs etc, but also personal files, pictures etc. If you are a freelancer and you don't back up your data, you might find this post helpful. It has a lot of useful links.
5. I became a part of Sharp End Training team exactly a year ago with a goal to help freelance translators learn more about networking and marketing their services. And I am going to continue doing my very best this year. By the way, you might want to mark February 15th and 16th in your calendars. Why? You'll find out soon ;)

Have you made any decisions or plans about your business this year? What are they? I am looking forward to hearing from you!

10 interesting facts about the Russian language

In my previous post I promised to follow with the interesting info about some other languages. So here are 10 facts about the Russian language which might be of interest to those who are studying it. If you would like to have this list in Russian, please contact me and I will send it to you by email. So, what do I find interesting about my native language? 1. Russian has about 500,000 words, but only 2,000-2,500 of them are used frequently. 100 most frequently used words make 20% of all written and oral speech. A high school graduate's vocabulary usually has 1,500 to 4,000 words. Those who have graduated from a higher educational institution normally have a richer vocabulary consisting of approximately 8,000 words. 2. It's compulsory for all astronauts in the international space station to learn Russian, so we can call it an international language of space :)

15 interesting facts about the English language

I prepared this list for one of my English classes. And then it dawned on me that I can share it with you, too! So here are 15 facts about the English language that I find very interesting. Hope you do, too ;) Rudyard Kipling was fired as a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner. His dismissal letter said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language. This isn't a kindergarten for amateur writers." No language has more synonyms than English.

Clients vs translators: how do we show that we're honest?

This is a personal post, and I'd really like to hear the opinion of my colleagues about such situations and how to deal with them. My situation is kind of like the one described in Mox's blog . In December a new prospective client wrote to me asking about my availabiility for a new project. When I read the overall description of the project, I got really interested in it. But the client needed to know exactly how much time it would take and how much it would cost. No problem, just send me the text to look through or a part of it so I could get the gist of the style, level of complexity etc. In the reply that person just stated the wordcount, but there was no sample. I thought, maybe they didn't understand me. English is not my native language after all. In my reply, I stated the estimated time and cost based on the client's wordcount, but I repeated the request to see a part of the text. And then the person thanked me and ... disappeared.

Konstantina DrakouJan 8, 2013, 11:47:00 PM
Dear Olga,

All the success I wish you! Maybe I should write mine, too! 8 days in, is it too late?

Have a fab 2013!
Olga ArakelyanJan 9, 2013, 8:24:00 AM
Hi Konstantina!
Thank you for your warm wishes! Sure you should write yours. I decided to go ahead and write mine 8 days later 2013 started, so I don't think it's a big deal if you do that a bit later. After all, it's not the date that matters, but the resolutions you make ;)
MagdaJan 9, 2013, 12:51:00 PM
Hi Olga and happy new year! I wish you all the best in everything you do. I think joining an association is wise. I might do that at some stage too. I have already investigated this in Italy and apparently my best options would be an international organisation. I look forward to reading more exciting stuff on your blog. XO Magda
CatherineFeb 5, 2013, 10:43:00 PM
Happy New Year Olga! I really like your blog's new look!

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