Risto Siikarla’s Letter to the Editor | March–April
While it’s true that “raising rates will negatively affect the volume of translation requests,” any translator can only do a certain volume in a given time. If the volume of jobs offered exceeds the time available for satisfying all requests, there is no reason for not raising the price charged. The law of supply and demand applies to our industry/business/profession as it does to any other, except that we cannot increase the volume we produce beyond a certain point, even if we lower our price to zero and consequently receive a huge amount of work offers. The individual translator is better served by the principle of “charge what the market will bear,” also keeping in mind the volume you are willing and able to do.
Gabe Bokor | Poughkeepsie, NY