Hello again, fellow translator,

If you’ve felt discouraged by the quality of projects landing in your inbox lately, you’re not imagining it.

More and more translators are getting stuck with MTPE jobs… lower rates, higher TM fuzz, less creative work. Jobs that used to be engaging now feel like assembly line scraps.

Clients still say they expect top-tier quality, but they’re only willing to pay 60% of your usual rate.

Let’s talk about what’s really going on—and what you can do to adapt without selling out.

What’s Dragging Quality Down

MT engines like DeepL and Google have flooded the industry with “good enough” output. And clients are thrilled. They push faster, cheaper work and treat translators like a replaceable cog.

But you’re not a cog.

How to Stay in Control

Here’s what I do (and what CotranslatorAI users everywhere are now doing): I match my workflow to the price.

If a client offers me 50% of my usual rate, I don’t deliver 100% of my usual quality. I flip my process.

I use CotranslatorAI to run a mid-effort GAIT workflow. That means I may wipe out the client’s pre-populated MT and translate from scratch.

But I only go in at about 50% of my full effort. I’m not agonizing over every comma (the AI gets those right anyway). I’m moving fast, still delivering solid work—what I call 80% of my top-tier quality…. and still better than the conventional MTPE workflow in many scenarios…

To repeat, it’s still good work… And to be honest, clients usually don’t actually care about Pulitzer-prize-winning writing in translation anyway… or at least, usually aren’t willing to pay for it.

And I reach my original hourly rate. No burnout. No resentment.

Here’s what most clients don’t realize: If they want premium, they need to pay for it. But if they just want “done,” you can still give them that… without giving away your best work.

Raise Your Baseline to Win Either Way

This only works if your full-effort baseline is strong.

If you’re not hitting 800 to 1,000 words per hour at your full-human quality level, you’re already behind. That’s just the new bar to stay competitive and maintain your income. If you can’t hit that pace, you need better tools and better methods—fast.

That’s what CotranslatorAI and my Micro Iterative AI Frameworks are designed for. To help you work smarter, output faster, and raise your floor—without sacrificing quality or sanity.

How to Package This in Your Rates

Next time you’re negotiating, try this:

You’re giving them a choice. Not apologizing for charging less or working less.

One client wants excellence. One wants cheap. You decide how to serve both—on your terms.

Want to See My Whole System in Action?

This Thursday, I’m hosting a free webclass where I’ll walk you through exactly how this system works—live.

You’ll learn:

This is not just another tech tour.

It’s the only place where you’ll get access to the AI Mastery for Translators… and Beyond program, the most thorough, most practical training ever built for freelance translators who want to work smarter, win better clients, earn more, and move ahead—even if it feels like the good jobs are long gone.

Here’s the link to sign up: https://cf.cotranslatorai.com/webclass

I hope you’ll join me. It’ll change the way you work.