Saving money - or rather, spending your translation budget effectively - is more important than ever.

Leading XML guru Sarah O'Keefe recently published an article on Efficient Multilingual Workflows, which might equally well be called How to save money by using XML when translating and publishing your company's documentation.

Sarah and I had some interesting and wide-ranging discussions about XML when she was writing the article, and her article kindly quotes my views on how you can save costs in the translation cycle through the effective use of XML to reduce DTP costs. Click here to read Sarah O'Keefe's article.

A pencil sharpener: That's how I think of next weekend's "Style Matters" workshop, organised by the Scottish network of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

I'm a technical translator by original training, with a full set of professional qualifications (starting with a degree in languages, then moving on to membership of two professional bodies, including passing relevant professional exams in both organisations). Yup, translators have professional qualifications, too!

But these days, most of my time is spent actually running a translation company in England. So whilst I spend a lot of time on quality assurance matters (from initial translator recruitment, through to training issues, to workflow management and final QA checks before we return completed translations to clients), I get to spend very little time actually translating.

That's the appeal of professional development days for translators. I get to translate. Better yet, I get to translate alongside other professionals, with constructive feedback.

It helps keep me at the top of my game. It makes sure my pencil stays sharp. Whatever line of work we are in, it is always good to stay fresh!