First "Do": be realistic about your deadline

Setting a deadline seems a very easy task, but there are a couple of things you need to know. First of all, it generally takes more time to translate a document than to write it. Wait, what!!?! Yes, it does take more time to translate a document than to write it, and the reason for this is simple: when you wrote your document, you knew what you were talking about. You had a complete understanding of the topic you were writing on, the lingo was not a problem and you had all the background information needed. Now put yourself in the translator's shoes for a second: does he understand the topic, does he know what "KNG" and "PKLT" mean in your report, and is he aware that your company had a different name last year? The answer is probably "no", and the poor guy will spend quite some time finding out what was obvious for you (unless he is not a professional translator - we'll cover that in another article). So when you set your deadline, think about how long it took for your document to be written and allow your translator at the very least that much time to do his job. Of course, depending on the size of your document, some translation companies will divide it among several translators. Your deadline can then be tighter, but you have to double-check with your translation company that one translator (not a project manager or coordinator) will go through the whole document to insure consistency and accuracy.