Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[greenkoolayd]

no pressure, but dont fuck up because its your future, and all.

seriously, though, i have faith in you.  FWIW.

[jay-ell]

Wombat is most certainly going to give you better advice than I can, but it seems like this is a great time to think about how much you've learned from "the school of hard knocks."

I've found that a lot of people who stumble from one career to the next have much more interesting stories than those who study a particular thing, then pursue a career in that thing. I think it's so interesting a started a whole blog about it (which fell to the wayside because I ran out of interview subjects as well as free time). So I would focus on the interesting details of how you came to be so proficient in English (You're self-taught, but what motivated you to learn?) and why you got interested in translating literature in the first place (most people are happy just to read something; it takes a special spark to be the type who wants to share it with the non-English speaking world).

[dejavroom]

I'm gonna go with the "charming silent type who's probably way deep and shit" approach (hopefully I won't overdo it and become the "weirdo silent type who's probably way deep in shit"). Also I can't but appreciate the appropriateness of this whole thing being Joyce-related. Dude was a borderline bum.

Thanks for the encouragement, fellas. I'll let you know how it went so we can all laugh together.

[pmcd9]

Congratulations. I think you'll do fine. It's a party, keep it light. It's not an interview, you've already got the job.

[wombat]

"It's a long story," and turn the subject of the conversation back to the other person. People are all really more interested in talking about themselves than they are in you.

[wombat]

but... just what the hell will they say about me in the book flap? "He followed us home?".

I would totally buy a book on the strength of this.

Also, what Ash said.

Also, I think translation is exactly like writing. If you do it well it doesn't matter how you got there. If you were applying for the gig, you'd have to worry about your credentials. But you already did the gig sucessfully. That is your credential, you don't need more.

[jaydub]

Seconded - the book is your credential.

Also "He followed us home?" is a Gaussian example of why it worked for you.

[jay-ell]

See, I told you Wombat would give you good advice.

I originally read it to mean that you needed a bio for the book cover. If that becomes case, my advice stands.

TIG go to the fancy girl clothes sale and blow $650 on a shit-ton of clothing for my daughter. Four outfits for her summer dance/gymnastics class, which account for about $200 of the total by themselves. And a bunch of shorts and skorts for summer, because the ones I bought at Old Navy in May (in the largest size they offer in the girls' department) were NOT cutting it any more.

All in all, I paid half of retail for this brand, but these things are so overpriced ($37 for a tank top? Seriously?) that I spent the same or more than I would have at a regular clothing store. But it's the only place I can find clothes that fit, and they just happen to be adorable, which is a nice bonus. And they're only open four times a year -- I won't be able to get her anything else 'til October, so I had to make sure she had enough to get her through the first couple of months of school this fall, too.

Still. I can't help feeling like I'm being completely irresponsible with money every time I drop that much cash on my daughter's wardrobe. I know that if you spread it out over the next four months it's not that bad, but it's definitely sticker shock when you've got to pony it all up at once.

[Choop]

Hodor hodor hodor Hodor hodor hodor? Hodor hodor, hodor hodor hodor hodor. Hodor!

[AugustWest]

People are all really more interested in talking about themselves than they are in you.

This is so so very true.  It's amazing how much information you can get out of most people just by being willing to listen.

[Ben-San]

I don't know how much help this is, but I have a friend who works as a translator. She has degrees and certifications and none of them are what got her the Big Respectable Contract. She got the Big Respectable Contract when someone at the Big Respectable Company talked to one of the guys she'd been translating porn for and mentioned they needed someone who did good work on a reliable basis and didn't need a second or third full-time editor dedicated to sweeping her stuff for readability, and got pointed in her direction, and saw the stuff she'd put online and decided they liked her work.

My only point is this is probably more common than you think.

[wombat]

Seconding this. My whole writing career is based on the fact that a certain organization needed someone to cover a certain beat, and rather than go out and hire one of the zillion strangers who already had a track record writing about this area, preferred to give a chance to someone who only had vaguely related credentials but who was recommended by someone who worked there.

And I just got off the phone with my agent where I had to explain to her that the reason it's hard to get a pitch accepted by a magazine is that editors prefer to work with people they already know. It is just easier to assign a story to someone who you are already working with, who you know is going to do what you ask and do it on time. And if you're on the fence about accepting a pitch, you're more likely to say yes if it comes from someone who you know from previous experience is going to do a decent job of it. And obviously I can't complain about this, because I've also been the beneficiary of it.

[littlefallsmets]

Today, I'm gonna realize that Built to Spill is playing a free show in Buffalo next week and...

I've had too many near-misses with those bastards than to not finally DO THIS.

Even though it will be, like, a five hour drive each way and a whole lotta gas money I do not have right now.

I have become sort of a rock 'n' roll Ahab about this band and unless something comes up in the next week, I'm finally gonna see them.

And it will be awesome. And hopefully one of these jobs I've applied to will call because I'll be coming home broke as a joke.

[greenkoolayd]

what does this remind you of?

(i was going to post it in an achewood thread, but there werent any random ones.....)

[miles]

Today, I'm gonna realize that Built to Spill is playing a free show in Buffalo next week and...

I've had too many near-misses with those bastards than to not finally DO THIS.

Even though it will be, like, a five hour drive each way and a whole lotta gas money I do not have right now.

I have become sort of a rock 'n' roll Ahab about this band and unless something comes up in the next week, I'm finally gonna see them.

And it will be awesome. And hopefully one of these jobs I've applied to will call because I'll be coming home broke as a joke.

DO IT! I've seen them over two dozen times and as recently as two summers ago I planned a trip to NYC around seeing them because I was afraid they weren't going to hit SLC or anywhere close that year. They ended up playing in Salt Lake less than two months later. Oh well.

I never grow tired of seeing them live. I remember that you are a big fan of PFNO in particular so it hurts me to think you've never seen them. If you think you can't make it, I say let's pass around a tip jar for gas money.

Also, I'm jealous. The first time I saw Built to Spill was the best concert I had attended up to that point, and in the 17 years since there have been, I don't know, maybe been 4 or 5 shows that even come close? I go to a lot of shows so I like to think that means at least a little.