Chris Durban: Breaking into the premium market

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5/12″][vc_single_image image=”10884″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”7/12″][vc_column_text]The Eternal Refrain of the Unhappy Translator—unreasonable clients, absurd deadlines, low prices, cut-throat competition—is alive and well on social media. And the consensus is that more pressure lies ahead, as technology paves the way for greater commoditization.
But the premium market crowd is pushing back. Good clients are out there, they say, with attractive projects and healthy budgets.
In which galaxy? is one response. Not in my language combination! is another, along with Show me! and even Show me your tax return, this is all hot air!
No tax returns will be revealed in this very concrete talk, but we will look closely at factors that many hardworking translators fail to address as they struggle to put their practice on a sounder footing.
What, exactly, is the premium market, and where is your (potential) chunk of it? How can you identify the customers you need to connect with, and how can you win them over—whatever your language combination?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”blue” border_width=”2″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”9/12″][vc_column_text]

Chris Durban is a freelance translator based in Paris, where she translates business texts from French into English for demanding clients. She translates every day and enjoys it immensely. She is also the author of “Translation, Getting it Right,” a short guide for translation buyers now translated into 19 languages, its companion piece “Interpreting, Getting it Right”, and a contributor to The Prosperous Translator and 101 Things a Translator Needs to Know, both available at www.lulu.com.
Chris regularly gives lectures/workshops on writing, specialization and working with direct clients, and has published many articles emphasizing the benefits for both clients and translators when linguists take a proactive approach. Every two years, she co-organizes the SFT’s “Université d’été de la traduction financière” (UETF). She is a co-founder and instructor on “Translate in…” training seminars for FR<>EN translators.
Chris is a member and past president of SFT (France). She is also a Fellow of ITI (UK) and in 2018 was awarded the Institute’s John Sykes Memorial Prize for Excellence, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the world of translation and interpreting over a long period.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/12″][vc_single_image image=”10885″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”blue” border_width=”2″][vc_column_text]This talk is scheduled as a keynote on 24 April 2020.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]