Work With Me

My name is Gersande and I work independently as an editor, content writer, and English-French translator for the creative, knowledge-based and high technology sectors for clients in Montréal and around the world.

I live and work in Montréal — Tiohtiá:ke — in a pretty extraordinary multilingual environment. I obtained a degree in Creative Writing in 2016 from Concordia University, and I strongly believe in the transformative potential of language and literature.

My personal and professional objectives include combatting linguistic insecurity, promoting the visibility of women and gender-non-conforming trans people in the French language, experimenting with French in order to make being nonbinary in French a true grammatical possibility, as well as confronting the colonial and imperial histories of both English and French.

Keep scrolling this page to read more detailed explanations of what I offer my clients.

At a glance:

Translation and Localization:

English — French Translation

I assist individuals and small or large teams in all sorts of industries with their communications in both English and French. On top of having clients across the non-profit, creative, knowledge-based and high technology sectors, I also have experience translating technical texts on computer science, design, feminism, as well as the medical and political issues faced by queer and trans communities.

I also really love translative creative texts, be it poetry, short stories, or film dialogue subtitles.

Game Localization

I’ve been working since 2019 with independent video game companies on the localization of their games for the French market, especially the North American French gaming community, either as a member of a team ensuring the quality of the translation or as the person in charge of the localization.

If you’re an independent team of game makers who wants to translate their game for the francophonie, do send me a message.

Comparative Revision

Whether I’m assisting fellow independent translators put the finishing touches on their translations or helping my clients revise texts that have already been translated, I have a lot of experience ensuring that a translated text conforms to the style and intentions of the original. Please note that I do not revise texts revised by a machine (see FAQ below).

Editing and Writing

Editing and Proofreading

I’m asked to revise and ensure the written quality of a very large variety of texts. Whether you’re looking at improving the readability of your PhD or making your social media posts more compelling, I can help you not only in hunting for typos, but in improving the clarity, effectiveness, and inclusivity of your texts.

Content Writing

I can help create content for your newsletters, websites, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, and more. I can imitate your personal writing style, inform and entertain your audiences, and communicate through compelling and dynamic texts the quality of your brand.

Consulting:

Writing Coach

Thanks to my experiences in a Creative Writing program and in artistic circles, when I am giving writers nuanced and in-depth feedback on their work, I’m hoping to give feedback that is not only actionable on the specific piece of writing shared with me, but which also sparks their imagination as an artist.

If you’re looking for effective critical feedback on a piece of writing in progress, get in touch.

...
Resource for Patrons:

Create A Compelling Story Setting: A resource guide on world-building in fiction and literature

...
Free Resource:

Three perspectives on giving useful writerly feedback

Creating Your Own Blog

You’re interested in blogging but you really don’t know where to start? Get in touch. A person’s writing style is as unique as their voice, and blogging can be a particularly great medium to develop that writing style.

I’m sometimes called to counsel individuals on the creation of their own blog, often in order to bolster another part of their career, such as the publication of a book, a podcast, etc.

Feminist and Nonbinary-Inclusive Writing Strategies (French-only)

Les anciens, Monsieur, sont les anciens, et nous sommes les gens de maintenant.

Molière in Le malade imaginaire, II, 6

This is a service that I offer to my French clients. If you’re someone who is trying to understand la rédaction épicène, or grammatical stratégies de féminisation, or the emerging strategies for nonbinary-inclusive French grammar, I invite you to send me a message!

...
Free Resource (French-Only):

Trois stratégies pour la rédaction non sexiste

Sensitivity Reading

As a nonbinary francophone who grew up in North America but with roots a little bit all over the place, I can offer a sensitivity read or edit to evaluate the inclusivity and accuracy of texts which deal with francophone nonbinary trans people.

Please note that at the moment I don’t really offer this service for creative projects, but rather for communications and administrative texts (such as codes of conducts, general regulations, etc.). If you’re in need of a francophone nonbinary person to evaluate whether or not you’ve managed to include gender-non-conforming francophones in your communications, get in touch.

My clients:

BlueberryJams MTL
Camp Cosmos
Deconstructeam video game studio
Gute Fabrik video game studio
Pixelles Montréal
Social Impact Consulting or Conseil Impact Social
Wizard Zines by Julia Evans
World Wildlife Fund

Testimonials:

Working with Gersande is exceptionally easy and satisfactory; they took extra care of properly capturing the essence and sensibilities of our project. We are looking forward to working with Gersande in the future!

Jordi de Paco, Deconstructeam, March 2022

Gersande offers thoughtful, positive feedback. They have always offered constructive criticism and encouraging enthusiasm in equal measure. (They also like to edit using pretty ink!) I would absolutely recommend them as an editor for your work.

Oliver Leon Porter, March 2022

Gersande provided creative solutions as well as thoughtful, detailed advice on improving my short stories.

Lauren Lawlor, February 2022

Je suis en train de compiler la traduction anglaise de ma capsule sur l'histoire des travesties [vocabulaire de l'époque] au Québec (allô pour ton super travail de traduction @gersandelf) et j'ai presque les larmes aux yeux! Enfin un produit finit!

Roxane Nadeau, 9 June 2021

Merci beaucoup/thank you to @gersandelf for all their quick, professional help in translating our pages and posts into French, especially the urgent expansion of the Career Accelerator to include all marginalized genders! 💖

Pixelles, 10 February 2020

Gersande treats the work with the utmost respect and passion for the craft of storytelling. They are a thoughtful, thorough, impassioned, enthusiastic, vibrant, gentle, otherworldly proof-reader and editor. 

Michael Berto, January 2019

Nous avons eu la chance d’être accompagnées par Gersande lors de la rédaction et la traduction de documents. La précision de son travail, sa capacité à être juste dans l’estimation du temps et des montants ainsi que sa grande facilité à comprendre les enjeux et messages importants nous donnent une grande tranquillité d’esprit. Grâce à son aide et son talent, nous sommes en mesure de nous concentrer sur le fond et savons que le reste sera entre bonnes mains.

Gabrielle Bouchard, former President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, May 2019

I asked Gersande to translate and edit a cover letter that I wrote for a job application to a competitive legal position in Quebec. Gersande was prompt, professional, detail-oriented, and a total pleasure to work with. (I was even invited to interview for the job I applied to.) I’d wholeheartedly recommend their services to anyone I know!

Yuan Stevens, December 2019

Gersande m’a été d’une grande aide dans la correction des textes de mes demandes d’admission pour des universités anglophones. En plus de ses suggestions toujours pertinentes et de ses retours rapides, ses méthodes de correction et ses explications m’ont permis de saisir beaucoup de subtilités de la langue anglaise, d’améliorer la qualité de mes écrits, et puis de recevoir des offres favorables des universités en question. Je suis entièrement satisfaite de mon expérience avec Gersande, et je recommanderai très certainement ses services à mon entourage.

Justine Dupont, March 2019

Gersande a su capter l’esprit de mes poèmes et traduire leur essence avec imagination, précision et subtilité. Je recommanderais ses services sans hésiter!

Maryse Andraos, August 2018

I sent in a last-minute request for English to French translation for an important grant application for our video game company. Gersande was easy to work with, professional, and swift. We will definitely get in touch with them in the future if we need more translation, since they have the soft skills and technical knowledge to understand and explain our work.

Samantha Cook, Artifact 5, March 2018

Gersande is a talented editor and writer with a remarkable critical mind and a keen eye not just for technical errors, but also word-flow and clarity. They’ve always provided me with excellent constructive feedback on my written work and I highly recommend working with them on all sorts of creative projects.

Carolyn Jong, January 2017

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

If your question hasn't been answered here, I invite you to use the contact form below to send it my way!

I translate primarily into French (my first language) but I am able to translate into English as well.

Quickly: no. I work with written materials in my professional practice. Live interpretation or live translations of subtitles (for example, for live tv or to make online conferences for accessible) is its own speciality.

I get this question really frequently, and the answer is no, I do not revise machine translations. There are too many chances for ambiguity or errors to slip into the final product for it to be worth it. The best thing is to hire a human who understands your target audience to create a translation from scratch.

That’s a really good question, and the answer really depends on my current workload. In exceptional circumstances, a few days’ notice can suffice for small to medium projects, but most of the time I will need at least a week’s notice to familiarise myself with the project, figure out how the project will fit into my calendar, and come to an agreement with the client over deadlines and terms. For large projects, it’s not uncommon for a minimum of three weeks’ notice to be necessary. Please note that I’m accepting less and less to work on urgent, last-minute contract, because I simply lack the time to do so.

In theory, absolutely, but it really depends on my schedule. The best thing is to send me a message to see if I’ve got availabilities coming up!