6 Effective Ways for Professional Literary Translators to Find New Projects and Customers
Regardless of their situation — whether they have just graduated and are taking their first steps in the professional market or just finished a project and have some time without work, and whether they translate for publishing houses or work with self-published authors — almost all freelance literary translators face the reality of being on the constant lookout for new projects.
In our upcoming ebook, we have a chapter where we focus on where authors can find professional and trained literary translators for their books. But today we’d like to bring some light on the subject from the translator’s perspective. This article will hopefully help authors understand how translators network (in case they’re ever approached by one). It will also provide insight on how to differentiate professional translators from scams, as well as help literary translators or translation students wanting to specialise in literature find new customers.
These are, in my opinion, a few things all translators should do:
1. Update your CV, portfolio, website, blog, and professional profiles: LinkedIn, Proz, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Be visible and professional on the Internet.
In the world we currently live in, I honestly cannot stress enough the importance of becoming visible on the Internet and staying in touch with the translators’ community and with current events.
Naturally, you don’t have to master all social media. After all, how much time will you have left for projects, if you’re spending all your time sharing content on your social profiles? Choose the ones you’re most comfortable with and stick to those.
2. Learn, learn, learn.
Whereas having no projects on the horizon is definitely worrisome for most freelance translators, few of them take advantage of these times to continue to develop their skills.
This is the perfect time to catch up with your reading, stay up to date with the latest book launches in your field and be in the loop with professional discussions.
This is also a great time to learn new skills. Are there any CAT tools other professionals are using that you haven’t had the chance to learn yet? Is there any software you could be using to improve the quality of your work, such as quality check tools? Have you given any thought to learning more about digital marketing? After all, social media presence is a must-have skill in the world we live in. Are there any specialization workshops starting soon? Could they help you improve your CV in any way?
3. Network.
Attend translation events, network with other professionals, attend book fairs, and introduce yourself to publishing houses representatives and authors. It is the testimony of far too many translators out there that they got a lot of projects thanks to mouth-to-mouth recommendations and people they met attending relevant events.
Build relationships with your colleagues, meet professionals based in different countries, share your points of view on different topics, and engage in conversations and exchanges of ideas. In other words, start networking.
You never know where your next customer might come from… Will it be an editor who’s been following you on social media and agreed with your opinions on a certain topic? Or perhaps a self-published author who enjoyed an insightful article you wrote? Maybe a colleague who likes your previous work and is swamped with projects at the moment? One thing’s for sure: nothing ever happens unless you make it happen.
4. Approach self-published authors either via email or (if possible) in person.
Don’t just sit at home sending out a million impersonal emails a day. Take the time to do some proper research. Contact those authors whose books you’ve genuinely read and enjoyed and explain why their stories would be a perfect match for the foreign market (what similar books or authors have succeeded in that market?). Have they had other books translated into your language? Have they had any books or series translated into other languages? How are those titles performing in foreign markets? How could foreign readers benefit from having their books translated into your language?
DO provide professional links to your website, Amazon Translator Profile, LinkedIn, social media, and the portfolio of books you’ve translated. Provide translation samples of your previous works, too.
DO approach authors at events and introduce yourself in person. Give your business card if they might be interested in your services (or some other authors they know are).
DON’T stalk authors.
DON’T send an unrequested translation sample of the author’s work.
DON’T send a whole manuscript of another author’s book you’ve translated in the past.
5. Offer to do a translation sample (300 to 500 words).
In the translation world, most translation agencies don’t really care about a professional’s degree or training. Instead, when a translator approaches an agency in order to collaborate or develop a professional relationship, it is standard practice for the agency to ask the translator to do a sample or a test. Samples are usually based on the translator’s areas of expertise and do not exceed 500 words. This is enough for an agency to evaluate the translator’s skills and determine whether they are a good fit or not.
6. Research and approach publishing houses.
Working for a renowned publishing house is, perhaps, every literary translator’s dream (though, as I have already confessed here, not necessarily mine).
The reality is that working for a publishing house takes a lot of networking and research. First of all, before any sort of contact is made, a translator needs to become familiar with the kinds of works each publishing house is interested in (what genres, books, and authors do they publish?). Then, they need to find out who is the person in charge of translations (it is never a good idea to send a general email, as it could easily get lost and never reach the proper recipient). It’s also important to bear in mind that publishing houses receive tons of CVs a day, so translators need to stand out from the crowd. LinkedIn is a good social media to get in touch with editors, authors, and fellow translators.
Some translators have been successful when sending their CV stating their formal education, their language pair, their experience in the field, the seminars they’ve attended and further courses they’ve completed after getting their degrees. In addition, they included their catalogue (book title, author, publishing house, year, and ISBN), and they showed interest in the publishing house.
Others also like to propose the translation of a book and attach a thorough report with:
- Book information: title, genre, wordcount, audience, ISBN, whether it is a standalone or part of a series, etc.
- Literary aspects: blurb, plot, structure, tone, narration, themes, characters, etc.
- Legal aspects: Is the suggested title up for translation in the language pair? (Sometimes it’s hard to find out this information for traditionally published authors, but self-published authors interested in having their books translated can be approached with these kinds of questions.)
- Reviews and recommendations: number of reviews and readers’ ratings, social media presence of the author and other books
- Commercial information: number of copies sold in the home market, followers on social media.
Any other relevant information on why the suggested title would be a good fit for the publishing house and the foreign market: Does the story take place in a country where your pair-language is spoken? Does the author have a special connection with a that country?
Final thoughts
As a Literary Translator that’s solely interested in translating books and has rejected many other projects, I have, of course, faced times when my workload was diminished.
In the beginning, I used to stress and worry a lot about this and I have done most of the things I suggest on this post. I have contacted indie authors whose books I truly enjoyed (and most of them to no avail, but you never know…). I have updated all of my social media profiles to make it as easy as possible for authors to find me, trust my work, and connect with me. Likewise, I have also read many books, articles, and blogs to stay up to date with current events in the field.
I don’t really know why I have never attempted to approach a publishing house, though I guess my path was linked to the indie world from the very beginning. I always felt curious about writers and wanted to work closely with them.
Thus, being so interested in the self-published world, I have naturally read every blog I came upon, participated in writer forums and Facebook groups, and grabbed practically every book for writers ever recommended. Knowing my potential customers and their most frequent struggles always seemed key for me to be able to develop as a literary translator for indie authors.
That is how this website came to be. And nowadays, whenever I’m facing moments when I might have no projects on the horizon, I always turn to blogging. Because writing meaningful content that might help and inspire authors not only adds value to my work, but also feels good. It is something I truly enjoy and not something I get to do when I’m swamped.
It is also my hope that through these articles, I’m bringing value to my profession, informing my audience, tearing down misconceptions about the translators’ role, and last but not least, helping all my fellow translators out there become inspired to follow their dreams. No matter how hard it might be to get started.
So be patient. Nothing happens overnight. But if you turn the stress of the slow times into little actions every day, you’ll be working towards building your brand. And in time, customers will start to contact you.
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