A good translation or carefully edited text is not produced in a single pass. We first clarify what the text is intended to do, then prepare the material, research, edit, and review it. The steps required depend on the text, its purpose, and the agreed scope.
Throughout the process, we keep the project as a whole in view. Decisions that emerge during the work may affect earlier passages. Text work is therefore not a linear checklist, but a controlled process that sometimes loops back.
We begin not with words, but with questions: Who will read the text, what should it accomplish, where will it be published, and what subject, editorial, or formal requirements apply?
We read the material, gain an overview of the subject and structure, and clarify inconsistencies before they affect the entire project. For translations, this also includes the target country and audience and the desired degree of departure from the source text.
We check files and supporting material, review existing publications, terminology lists, house styles, and reference texts, and set up the technical tools for the project. Files that cannot be edited may first need to be prepared.
Research continues throughout the project. Technical terms are not looked up in isolation, but assessed in their specific context. We record client-specific terms, abbreviations, and spelling conventions for future texts.
For publishing projects, we integrate our work with the publisher’s editorial, copyediting, design, and production processes. We handle clearly defined stages or support articles, books, and other professional media through several rounds of editing and review.
Whether we are translating, editing, or writing, the text takes shape over several passes. New insights feed back into passages already handled; terms, cross-references, and recurring wording are coordinated throughout the text.
We do not save questions until the end. When a decision by the client is required, we seek it as early as possible. When the decision is ours, we choose a reasoned solution and apply it consistently.
Before delivery, we check content, language, completeness, terminology, and formal requirements. Depending on the assignment, this may include automated checks, our own final review, and revision by a second qualified professional.
We deliver in the agreed format and by the agreed deadline. Open questions, substantive interventions, or notable features of the source text are documented in a form appropriate to the project.
Delivery does not have to mark the end of the project. We answer questions, review corrections, and, if requested, support the text through layout, technical implementation, or publication.
Feedback is incorporated into subsequent assignments. This keeps terminology, style decisions, and client-specific requirements from being limited to a single project.