I recently did a couple of rush jobs for an agency I hadn't worked with before. I always get nervous about handing in jobs for new clients but this time it was worse.
For a start, it was a rush job and these come with their own special problems, which are exacerbated by stress over the deadline. Usually, I try not to translate and proofread on the same day so that I can get at least a little distance from my own work. I find this helps me see the forest for the trees; that is, it is easier to see the work as a whole rather than the individual sentence or phrase that I am translating at a given time. I also find it easier to rewrite particularly ugly or literal phrases if I can look at them with fresh eyes. I know there are tricks I can use such as changing the margins or reading off a print out, but I think taking some time away (when possible) is most effective. Most importantly, it helps me spot mistakes since I don't have what I *thought* I read in the front of my mind. Obviously, I couldn't do that here, which meant that I was worried about making a stupid mistake and that I wouldn't catch it when I checked my work. In fact I did make a stupid mistake, I confused 酸素 (oxygen) and 酵素 (enzyme), which was, luckily for me, caught by the proofreader. I could make all sorts of excuses to say it wasn't my fault, but I knew the situation and I took the job anyway; I should've caught it and I'm ashamed I didn't.
The other factor that made things more stressful is that I actually remembered to ask for more money this time. This becomes a problem for me because, in my own mind at least, it's a guarantee of good work and as soon as I asked for more money I lost the right to say "it was a rush job, mistakes happen". I am reminded of a meme that was popular before the word meme was: a job can be done quickly, it can be done cheaply or it can be done right; pick two. In asking for extra money, I'm promising it will be quick and right.
I don't think it was a total disaster. My contact at the agency seems like a nice enough person and he knows that I am still relatively new to the business. He also said he looked forward to working with me again, he may have even meant it. At this point it would be easy to say "all's well that ends well" and move on to the next job. However, if I want to become a better translator I need to learn from my mistakes.
I was fortunate enough to receive back the document with all the changes made for the final draft and I have gone over it with a fine-toothed comb. In this case, I think my problems stemmed not from my processes (I think I made good use of the time that I had) but from haste. Unfortunately for me, the only thing I can think of that will prevent me repeating my mistakes is experience, which you only get by making mistakes.
