Skip to content
J-En Translations

J-En Translations

Jennifer O'Donnell – Japanese-English Translator and Localization Director

Menu

  • Home
  • Articles & Blog
  • Interviews With Localizers
  • Translation Chat Podcast
  • Resources for Translators
  • Books for Translators
  • Contact
  • 日本語

Freelance Business Advice

What is the Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA)?

What is the Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA)?

\There is a lack of comprehensive educational programs for Japanese to English translators. The vast majority of programs available are post-graduate degrees or evening classes for professionals. Which is all well and good if you already live in the city

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell November 18, 2022 Further Education, Improve Translation Skills No Comments Read more

What Skills Do I Need to be A Game Translator? (Part 2: Soft Skills)

What Skills Do I Need to be A Game Translator? (Part 2: Soft Skills)

Video game translators don’t just need to be good at translating, they need to be good at communication, empathy, curiosity, and so much more to be able to have long-term successful careers. While part 1 of What Skills Do I

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell October 14, 2022October 16, 2022 Freelance Business Advice 1 Comment Read more

The Hustle and The Guilt

The Hustle and The Guilt

There’s a heavy cloud of guilt that comes with freelancing. An oppressive mist that hovers behind you throughout your day. The cloud doesn’t say anything but you can feel its eyes boring into the back of your skull. You need

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 Freelance Business Advice, Localization No Comments Read more

FAQ for Aspiring Japanese to English Media Translators

FAQ for Aspiring Japanese to English Media Translators

Happy International Translation Day! Just like any career, a career in translation can be rewarding and exhausting. You have your highs and your lows. Your days when you feel like you’ve created the best piece ever, and the days when

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell September 30, 2021May 5, 2022 Freelance Business Advice, Further Education, Improve Translation Skills 3 Comments Read more

Time Management Tips for Freelance Japanese Media Translators

Time Management Tips for Freelance Japanese Media Translators

There are so many articles out there on time management and productivity, even a great number for freelance translators! And although this article will highly likely overlap with those, it’s a combination of my studies and experience from when I

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell September 5, 2021September 17, 2022 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

Awesome Game Localization Blogs You Should Read

Awesome Game Localization Blogs You Should Read

The world of video game development is astronomical. Video game localization is just a small part of a much larger process, but it’s often a lot larger and more complicated than you might think. One way you can learn more

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell April 2, 2021February 19, 2022 Further Education, Link Roundup No Comments Read more

Smart Habits for Translators – Podcast Review

Smart Habits for Translators – Podcast Review

I love podcasts, but I’m also really picky about them. Working full time, I only have so many hours in the day so I don’t want to waste said time on podcasts I don’t enjoy. There are a few podcasts

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell February 22, 2021April 2, 2021 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?

Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?

The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation is based on a decade of Yoko Hasegawa’s experience teaching translation theory and practice at a University level in the US. It’s designed to be a complete guide for aspiring Japanese-English translators, but is

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell December 5, 2020April 2, 2021 Further Education, Improve Translation Skills, Translation Review No Comments Read more

A Summary of “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”

A Summary of “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”

This is a breakdown summary of The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation. If you would like a review into how useful this is for translators please read Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?   The

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell December 5, 2020April 2, 2021 Further Education, Improve Translation Skills, Translation Review No Comments Read more

How To Get into Video Game Localization – JAT PROJECT 2020

How To Get into Video Game Localization – JAT PROJECT 2020

On September 13th 2020 I held a talk for the Japan Association of Translators (JAT) online conference PROJECT. Each talk focused on a different sub-genre of Japanese English translation. Literary, medical, legal, interpreting, how to use CAT tools, and entertainment.

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell October 10, 2020April 2, 2021 Freelance Business Advice, Localization 1 Comment Read more

Freelance Entertainment Translators: Finding Clients, Writing Cover e-mails, Resumes

Freelance Entertainment Translators: Finding Clients, Writing Cover e-mails, Resumes

This article is a summary of a webinar I held on 5th July, 2020. The webinar was for freelance Japanese to English (and FIGS+) translators in the entertainment industry, but could apply to editors, letterers, etc., as well as to

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell July 10, 2020November 22, 2022 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

Understanding Source Texts – How to Improve Your Translations Skills

Understanding Source Text - How to Improve Your Translations Skills

Translation is a highly skilled career, yet the majority of translators are self-taught. Perhaps a class at college or a seminar here and there, but the majority of translators don’t tend to go to school for formal training. Even those

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell April 13, 2020September 19, 2021 Further Education, Improve Translation Skills, Japanese Language, Localization No Comments Read more

What Went Wrong with Netflix’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Translation?

What Went Wrong with Netflix’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Translation?

The first thing I heard about the Netflix’s re-release of the 1996 cult-classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion was: “WTF? They’ve removed Fly Me To The Moon.” Shortly after my Twitter was full of angry and confused people talking about the new

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell June 28, 2019June 30, 2019 Freelance Business Advice, Localization No Comments Read more

How To Turn Down a Translation Job

How To Turn Down a Translation Job

Earlier this year a friend said something along the lines of; “I’m too busy to take this translation job, but I don’t want to say “no” in case they never want to hire me again.” Obviously this friend is amazing

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell May 25, 2019May 25, 2019 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

Articles for Localizers – Translation Link Roundup [Winter 2019 Part 2]

Articles for Localizers – Translation Link Roundup [Winter 2019 Part 2]

The following is a collection of interesting articles I found. These are not necessarily recent articles, some are a few years old. But they’re ones I’ve read recently. It’s been a little while since I’ve gathered my bookmarks of interesting

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell March 7, 2019March 10, 2019 Freelance Business Advice, Link Roundup No Comments Read more

8 Exercises To Teach Yourself Japanese-English Translation

8 Exercises To Teach Yourself Japanese-English Translation

Novice and aspiring translators are often hit with this seemingly impassable wall when they start. You may think Japanese-English translation is doable as long as you know Japanese, but it’s not that simple… Translation is a skill separate from Japanese

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell February 23, 2019 Further Education, Literary Translation, Localization No Comments Read more

Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2019

Japanese - English translation competitions

[Updated: 14-Oct-2019] Japanese – English translation competitions are a great way to improve your translation skills and get your name out there. They can be particularly great for people new to the industry for putting on resumes. If you win

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell February 8, 2019October 13, 2019 Freelance Business Advice, Link Roundup, Literary Translation, Localization No Comments Read more

What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Translator?

What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Translator?

Spoiler Alert: NONE! But read on if you’re interested in why… Do I Need a Degree? A Brief History in Translation Studies Translation as a field of academic study seemed to emerge in colleges and universities around the 1950s. Initially

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell January 3, 2019September 24, 2022 Freelance Business Advice, Further Education, Localization No Comments Read more

An Exercise in Research – The Extremely Hard Take Home Anime Quiz

An Exercise in Research – The Extremely Hard Take Home Anime Quiz

The Extreme Hard Take Home Anime Quiz is a fun fan-made quiz. It is held twice a year at a few anime conventions in the US, and has been for about 10 years. It’s an open-book quiz that you have

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell April 8, 2018January 3, 2019 Further Education, Personal No Comments Read more

TED Talks On Translation

TED Talks On Translation

TED Talks are always great resources for various information and new insights. But sometimes it can be hard to find subjects that interest you. I love watching TED Talks about science, computing, new ideas, learning and, of course, translating. Here

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell March 7, 2018 Freelance Business Advice, Literary Translation, Localization No Comments Read more

What a Course in Translation Should Include

What a Course in Translation Should Include

In September 2015 I finished my Translation MA at SOAS University in London and was… disappointed to say the least. I felt it had been sorely lacking and wrote What an MA in Translation Doesn’t Teach You. It’s been a

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell January 28, 2018January 30, 2018 Freelance Business Advice, Further Education 4 Comments Read more

Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]

Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]

Translation Books on Translation and Interpreting – A list of pretty much any major book about translating and interpreting out there. How to Be a Better Translator – Some book recommendations for improving quality control in localization. “How Long Will It

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 Freelance Business Advice, Link Roundup, Localization No Comments Read more

New Video Game Translator – Beware the Jabberwocks

New Video Game Translator – Beware the Jabberwocks

Are you a new video game translator? Many beginner Japanese to English game translators struggle to find work. It’s the ever frustrating catch 22 of “you need experience to get the job, but need the job to get experience”. It’s

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell December 5, 2017December 7, 2017 Freelance Business Advice, Game Translation No Comments Read more

Education for Literary Translators

Education for Literary Translators

I attended a round table discussion on education for literary translators organized by NOTIS last night, and it was fantastic! I wanted to write my own thoughts regarding education for literary translators with resources and points that were discussed. A

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell November 9, 2017January 21, 2018 Freelance Business Advice, Literary Translation 1 Comment Read more

Game Translation Scams

Game Translation Scams

So the other day I got a message from a friend saying he might have a game translation for me. But he also mentioned that something wasn’t quite right about this ‘job’. He was messaging me to check it out

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell September 11, 2017September 11, 2017 Freelance Business Advice, Game Translation 2 Comments Read more

Two Japanese Jabberwocky Poems

Japanese Jabberwocky Poems

This is one of my favourite essays from my MA in Translation Theory and Practice. The MA certainly focuses more on the theory side of translation which is evident from this essay. The point of the essay was to compare

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell April 20, 2017September 19, 2021 Further Education, My Translations No Comments Read more

User Experience for Freelance Translators

User Experience for Freelance Translators

Have you ever had an experience with a company that has stuck with you forever? Have you made a simple inquiry only to get a non-professional, badly written, or rude response? Or no response at all? How did that experience leave

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell August 26, 2016November 8, 2017 Freelance Business Advice, Localization No Comments Read more

How Much Does Translation Cost?

How Much Does Translation Cost

With global communication becoming more and more essential for many businesses, translation services are becoming even more important. Yet the range of pricing can vary so much depending on so many factors, it’s often hard to find the right price

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell August 6, 2016September 19, 2021 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

Freelancers Should Play PokemonGO

Freelancers Should Play PokemonGO

Whether you’re a Poke-fan or not, as a freelancer you should probably try out PokemonGO. As a freelancer who works from home you’ll probably find yourself rooted to the same spot with little reason to go outside or much chance

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell July 19, 2016September 19, 2021 Freelance Business Advice No Comments Read more

What an MA in Translation Doesn’t Teach You

MA in Translation

I completed my MA in the Theory and Practice of Translation at SOAS last September 2015. I was eager to learn a subject that would be useful to my career, yet by the end of the year was disheartened by

Tweet
Share
Share
Jennifer O'Donnell May 10, 2016September 19, 2021 Freelance Business Advice, Further Education No Comments Read more
  • « Previous
Copyright © 2023 J-En Translations. All rights reserved. Theme Spacious by ThemeGrill. Powered by: WordPress.