Last Thursday I fulfilled an international trade writer's dream by editing the language on import labels to be printed in China for products destined for a BC importer.
I never realized the opportunities that international trade offers for technical writers - particularly bilingual technical writers.
A consultant in Winnipeg contacted me and asked whether I could proofread some shipping labels with English and French text. I was up for the challenge, particularly when I heard that Chinese manufacturers were waiting for the corrected labels to finish their production runs.
When I received the first batch of 76 pages (some labels had front and back text), I realized that I could make the 6 p.m. delivery deadline. Products for the labels included office supplies like glue, pens and erasers. Of course there was some overlap, for example boxes of blue pens in quantities of 12 or 24. My job was to ensure that the French translation was accurate, and that both the English and French wording was clear, consistent and correct.
The second batch of about 30 pages was a little more problematic. By 6 p.m. I had sent out the first delivery, but by then my mind had slowed. Fortunately, I was able to negotiate an early morning deadline for the second deliverable. I made the second delivery at 9 p.m.
The next morning the client thanked me for meeting the tight deadlines.
Key success factors included an ability to work in both Canadian official languages, plus a table in MS Word that summarized discrepancies by label form number. Each row in the table was for a particular form with suggested improvements to the French wording plus any discrepancies that I uncovered (for example: form number on label didn't match form number in file name).
Who says there isn't any opportunities in international trade documentation?
