Mediterranean Editors and Translators Meeting 2007 – METM 07
Building Bridges, Constructing Networks

Real Jardín Botánico/CSIC, Plaza de Murillo 2, 28014 Madrid, Spain

Panel 3: Working the market, part I – Adding scope, depth and breadth

A recurrent theme at MET events and a message we have brought to other conferences and associations is that our clients require more than one type of language support service, with different needs coming to the fore at different times. Editing (for authors, research groups, institutions, or academic societies publishing from a base in a Mediterranean country) and translation are the primary language support categories clients ask about, but additional needs that emerge are instruction in writing and an array of publishing skills, help in switching from one medium to another (writing to speaking, article genres to posters or other visual presentations), and help in designing language quality assurance processes for traditional or web-based publishing. That list is by no means exhaustive, as we’ve often found ourselves involved with sensitive dialog interpreting and with cross-cultural negotiations — and those are but a few roles we’ve taken on. With so many client needs around us, it’s not surprising that professionals with skills and experience find themselves working in a seller’s market.

The message of this panel is that “wordface professionals” — editors, translators, writers, educators—manage their work best if they cultivate a certain range of overlapping skills and stand ready to apply appropriate combinations at the right time. The four participants will discuss certain compatible combinations that are relevant to our context.

Mary Ellen Kerans will discuss the concept of translator-as-editor and give a brief overview of what’s behind the current worldwide boom in author’s editing. Mary Ellen is a freelance editor and translator based in Barcelona and is presently Chair of MET.

Philip Bazire will discuss how he, a surgeon, came to be working with authors in Spain and the way he’s able to provide a surrogate peer review to authors submitting manuscripts. Philip trained as a doctor at UCH, London and then specialized in surgery at La Paz, Madrid. He entered full-time translating in 1997, specializing in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. His base is near Segovia.

Valerie Matarese will look at website function from a new perspective — that of educator —showing how they can be a means for client education. The e-journal Science Careers recently featured Valerie’s work; http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2007_01_26/caredit_a0700013

Denise Arend will describe how a group of translators came to take on web publishing responsibilities in the context of the very active Brazilian experience with bilingual publication. Denise is a partner at Scientific Linguagem and SciBooks, two Brazilian companies focused on medical publications (services include revision, editing, translation, workflow and quality control). She is currently taking an MA in Translation Studies at Aston University, Birmingham, UK.

Aleksandra Mišak will describe the interventions she agrees to do for an author or refuses to do when she’s editing a manuscript. Saša is a freelance translator and manuscript editor in Zagreb, Croatia.