7 Reasons Why Literary Translators Should Receive Royalties

7 Reasons Why Literary Translators Should Receive Royalties

Not so long ago, we analysed literary translators’ fees and what is behind them. Today, we would like to discuss a rather controversial topic: Why are authors expected to pay royalties to their literary translators after paying a fair fee for their services?

However, before we discuss royalties, there is one rather complex fact to keep in mind. When it comes to literary translations, it is important for authors to understand: who owns the copyrights to the translated titles, who is entitled to exploit said rights, and what international and national laws protect their rights as an author and their translator’s rights as the author of their translated title.

More often than not, authors are misled to believe that having a translator sign a contract quitting their rights to royalties or additional payments for derivative products from their translations (such as audiobooks, ebooks, etc.) is not only fair but also legal. The truth is that this is far from being an honest or legal practice. Rather than taking advice from these self-styled mentors or experts, authors would be wise to research international treaties, such as the Berne Convention, or dig into the national laws applying to the countries where they are considering selling their foreign editions.

It is also wise to understand that good, professional, trained and skilled literary translators (a.k.a., the professionals you want to be involved in the translation of your book) are often part of translator’s associations protecting their rights and fighting for better fees, more recognition, and visibility for literary translators. A sad fact of the profession is that few literary translators make a living solely from their craft. This is mainly due to the conditions the industry tries to impose on them. Another discouraging fact? At the end of the day, many talented literary translators who would love to make a living by translating books abandon this dream to pursue other types of translation or other professions altogether in order to make ends meet.

Therefore, literary translators receive royalties as a standard industry practice – a practice which has even become enacted in law in many countries. This is simply a form of fair compensation for their significant contribution to a book’s creation and success.

Having said that, we would like to dig deeper into some of the reasons why literary translators should receive royalties:

1. Creative contribution:

Literary translators do more than just convert text from one language to another; they interpret the author’s style, as well as the tone and nuances in a text, in order to create a faithful yet culturally appropriate version in the target language. A professional literary translator translates a culture, not just words or sentences on a page. This process requires a high degree of creativity and skill, making the translator’s work an original contribution, which is precisely why translations are protected by copyright laws. With extensive research, intuition, and collaboration, a skilled translator brings the essence of a story to life, allowing readers in a new market to experience its beauty, insight, and universal appeal.

2. Work and effort:

Translating a book is a labour-intensive process that involves deep comprehension of both the source and target languages, meticulous attention to detail, and, more often than not, extensive research. Thus, the effort and time invested by the translator deserve recognition and fair compensation. In addition to a fair fee, royalties recognise that translation work has long-term value, and it’s not just a one-time service. Translators’ contributions continue to generate revenue over time and can also result in a wide variety of derivative products (such as audiobooks, book bundles, movies, TV shows, etc), especially as books gain momentum in new markets, and translators should benefit from this sustained success.

3. Enhancing marketability:

A well-translated book significantly enhances its appeal and accessibility in a new market. This may lead to increased sales and greater success in the translated language, benefiting both the author and the publisher.

This is particularly true for self-published authors working with a single translator, who becomes their voice in the foreign market. You don’t believe me? Read all about this success story.

Additionally, when translators are financially connected to the book’s success, they will engage in its promotion and share it within their networks, leading to potentially higher sales and visibility. Translators who care about the book’s performance become valuable advocates, which is especially important in niche or language-specific markets.

4. Professional standard:

In the literary world, in addition to a fair fee, it is a common professional standard to compensate translators with royalties.

Paying royalties to literary translators has become a recognised professional standard because it reflects their significant contribution to a book’s success. A literary translator’s work goes beyond mere translation or direct conversion from one language to another; they interpret an author’s voice, narrative style, and cultural nuances, making the book accessible, relatable, and enjoyable to a new audience. This depth of creative involvement warrants recognition, especially since a successful translation can expand a book’s readership and revenue in global markets.

Moreover, royalties incentivise high-quality translations, as translators become invested in the book’s ongoing success. Paying royalties acknowledges that the translator’s contribution is an integral, lasting part of the book’s value, promoting fair compensation and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between authors, publishers, and translators.

5. Ongoing income:

Like many authors, literary translators often work freelance and may not have a stable income. Royalties provide a form of ongoing income that can support translators in the long term, especially if the book becomes a bestseller or when their translation is used for derivative works (such as audiobooks), thus multiplying their source of income.

6. Legal and ethical considerations:

A literary translator’s work is intellectual property because the translation is not just a direct transfer of words but a creative re-expression of the original work. A skilled literary translator brings personal expertise, cultural insight, and stylistic choices to ensure that the tone, nuances, and voice of the original text resonate with readers in the new language. In many jurisdictions, this creative contribution is considered co-authorship, granting the translator intellectual property rights.

In many countries, copyright law and publishing contracts guarantee translators’ rights to royalties due to this co-authorship status. Ethically, acknowledging the translator’s role through royalties is a way of respecting their intellectual property and contribution.

7. Shared success:

When a book is successful, it is often a collaborative effort. Just as authors and publishers benefit from this success, so should translators, as their work is integral to reaching and resonating with a new audience.

When a book gains popularity or achieves bestseller status abroad, the translator’s role is key to that international success. This ongoing financial recognition through royalties highlights the shared achievement between the author and translator in expanding the book’s global reach.

Final Thoughts

Paying royalties to literary translators is both ethical and essential. Doing so shows recognition for the creative process of bringing a story (along with all its complexities, emotions, and nuances) to a new audience. This endeavour requires considerable skill, intuition, and dedication, effectively making the translator a co-creator of the book. Royalties honour this co-authorship by ensuring that translators are compensated fairly as the book continues to succeed, recognising their ongoing contribution to its appeal and readership.

In addition, royalties for translators incentivise high-quality work by valuing the skill and artistry they bring to the project, which ultimately enhances the book’s reach and success in new regions. Fair royalties help create a more inclusive, respectful industry that acknowledges every creative effort behind the scenes, fostering partnerships that contribute meaningfully to literary culture on a global scale.

Lastly, in order to avoid any legal issues that might result from following misleading advice or taking shortcuts, authors who want to protect their author brand and have found the right literary translator for their projects will strike a fair deal for the translator’s contribution.

At the end of the day, respecting translators’ education, experience, and knowledge, as well as acknowledging their profession, is not only ethical but also a solid investment for self-published authors aiming to conquer new markets.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Pros and Cons of Working with Beta Readers for Translated Books

Pros and Cons of Working with Beta Readers for Translated Books

Working with beta readers for translated books has the potential to help self-published authors assess the quality of a translation into a language they don’t speak. Previously, we have offered different solutions to ease authors’ minds, too, like these expert tips to find the right literary translator.

However, not all literary translators might have a huge portfolio or online presence. And this does not mean they are not a good fit for you or your projects. It is true, though, that when this happens, it becomes harder for indie authors to assess quality.

Luckily, though, this is where your beta readers come in! You can find them on the subreddit r/BetaReaders on Reddit or on Beta Reader Group on Goodreads, for example. If you are an established author with a good online presence and a good number of newsletter subscribers and are translating your title to a widely spoken language (which would make sense), chances are you already have a few native speakers among your audience.

This is great, right? Well, yes… but also, no. The truth of the matter is working with beta readers is actually not that straight-forward. Are beta readers really an author’s ace up the sleeve when it comes to reading and judging a translation, or are they a double-edged sword? Are they really to be blindly trusted, or should authors proceed with caution?

In this article, we set up to analyse all the pros and cons self-published authors have when it comes to working with native speakers and relying on their (un)biased opinion about a translated book. The truth of the matter is that working with beta readers to assess the quality of translated books offers both advantages and potential challenges for indie authors.

Pros

Cultural Feedback

Beta readers can provide valuable insights into whether the translation captures cultural nuances, idioms, and local expressions accurately, ensuring the story resonates with the target audience.

They can assess whether the way certain aspects of the setting, historical references, or local customs are presented makes sense in the context of the target culture. If any details are misunderstood or irrelevant in the new cultural context, beta readers will flag them for the translator to work further on.

Language Fluency Check

Beta readers who are native speakers can identify awkward phrases, unclear language, or grammatical mistakes that may have slipped through the translation process. Additionally, they can identify if certain idiomatic expressions, slang, or colloquialisms in the translation feel unnatural or out of place. For instance, they can point out if a phrase used in the translation might be inappropriate or confusing for native speakers of the target language, thus helping the translator make a more appropriate choice.

Beta readers also tend to examine if the characters’ behaviour, dialogue, and interactions feel culturally authentic to ensure the book and its plot remain consistent.

Reader Engagement

They help gauge how well the translated book connects with the intended audience. If something feels off or doesn’t engage, beta readers can point it out early on. By focusing on clarity, flow, emotional impact, character connection, engagement with the storyline, readability, and overall engagement, they provide vital feedback on the effect the translated book has on a foreign audience while helping authors understand how the translation resonates with the intended audience.

Cost-effective Feedback

Beta readers often provide feedback voluntarily or for a low fee, making it a budget-friendly way to test the quality of the translation before going to market.

Early Buzz

Having beta readers involved can generate early buzz for your translated book, as they typically share their excitement or insights on their social media (with other native speakers sharing their interests) and by spreading the word about your work. Additionally, they can review your work on release day, provide praise blurbs for authors to use on covers or for marketing purposes, and share teasers on social media.

Cons

Inconsistent Feedback

Beta readers don’t usually have a professional background in translation or editing, leading to subjective or inconsistent feedback that could be based on personal preference rather than technical accuracy. As translators and editors, we have often received feedback about some readers preferring a specific translation for certain words in a novel because “it was more natural”. Authors should always pay attention to the subjectivity of beta readers’ feedback and discuss that feedback with their translators.

Limited Expertise

Beta readers may miss deeper linguistic or cultural issues that a professional editor or translator would catch, especially in complex literary translations. Sometimes, they tend to expect word-by-word translators, believing this is as loyal as a translation can get to the source text, unaware of all the literary devices translators resort to both to keep the text fluent and to make its narration natural and engaging for the foreign audience.

Time-consuming

Coordinating with multiple beta readers and going through rounds of feedback can delay the publishing timeline, especially if feedback conflicts or requires extensive revisions. A good way to avoid delays in the project while assessing a translator’s quality is to assess only a few chapters or a novella/reader magnet, which tends to be a shorter project.

Potential Language Barriers

If the author doesn’t speak the language of the translated version, it may be difficult to fully understand and act upon beta reader feedback without further input from a translator or editor. It is always advised to discuss all feedback provided by beta readers with translators in order to assess their skills and knowledge.

Marketing Services

Though not always the case, some beta readers will take the opportunity to bring the translation down only to offer their own linguistic services. Funnily enough, this actually happened to Carolina once, with a beta reader providing feedback with tons of grammar mistakes in the source language and providing feedback lacking any grammatical or editorial grounds.

What Should You Do Then?

Even though working with foreign beta readers can prove tricky sometimes, it is our firm opinion it is an enriching experience for all parties involved; one as translators, we welcome it warmly!

What we suggest authors do when working with beta readers is to establish a series of guidelines or questions on what exactly they are looking for. The best to do would be to provide beta readers with a short survey to assess the quality of the translation based on:

Narration

Grammar

Typos

Engagement

Authors should ask beta readers the right questions in order to help beta readers help them. Some good question examples are:

Did the story captivate you?
Did you find any issues in the translation? Were there any specific parts that were difficult to understand or confusing?
Did the translator struggle with something?
Who was your favourite character, and why?
What was your favourite part and why?
Did anything pull you out of the story?
Did you find any typos?
Is there anything specific you’d recommend being improved?
What general rating would you give the translation?

It is also a good idea to let them express their general feelings and emotions about the translated material.

You should always forward all the feedback provided by beta readers to your translator. They will certainly find numerous insightful comments and provide proper explanations for the issues wrongly pointed out, or humbly accept and correct any mistakes or typos they might have missed.

Final Thoughts

Beta readers can be a useful resource not only in assessing the quality of a translated book and a translator’s skills, but also in fine-tuning the final edition and helping you spread the word about your work among their contacts. Offering fresh perspectives and audience-driven feedback, they can contribute greatly to an author’s success in a foreign market — after all, it all begins with the right linguistic team. However, it’s important to balance beta readers’ input and trust your professional team of translator and editor in order to ensure the highest quality for international readers.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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AI for Book Translations & What Nobody is Really Talking about

Leave a Comment / Translation Tips for Self-published Authors, Translation World / SBT / 14/10/2024

AI for Book Translations & What Nobody is Really Talking about

Undoubtedly, 2024 has seen an unprecedented rise in the use of AI for multiple purposes: writing, designing, translation, video creation… you name it.

Like everything, when used correctly, AI can help improve our lives and save tons of time on tasks that used to take us longer, such as the automatization of repetitive tasks. It also has increased notoriety for its lack of creativity and understanding of complex human emotions and nuances of language – strawberries, anyone?

So, is AI the best choice for authors when it comes to book translations? Or does its use risk an author’s brand and reputation in multiple markets?

A few days ago, we came across a post in one of our favourite Facebook Group for Writers: a romance author asked how legitimate it was to use AI to translate her books into German and hire someone to “vet” the translation for accuracy. The post gained 85 comments from other writers and generated a heated debate, leading the author community to express their thoughts on the matter. Some were in favour, and some stood strongly against this practice:

Today we won’t address thoroughly the argument that translation is, in fact, an act of creation, and hence no creative should endorse this practice. However, we would like to focus on some misinformation that is out there about AI:

Perks of AI Book Translations:

No copyrights for the translator
It is a well-known fact that under international laws, especially in Europe, the rightful owners of a translated book are, in fact, the translators. For some reason, indie authors tend to be wary of this, missing the point that a translator wishes the translation to succeed as much as the author paying for their services.

Translating into multiple languages
Translation is just the first step into a market. However, in order to succeed, authors need to ensure reviews, ads, engagement with all foreign audiences, etc are appropriately set up for the market. This is a huge time investment that, if done incorrectly, will only result in your translations failing to achieve their full potential.

Fast release
Authors can release books as fast as they can produce the translation and the book cover, and maybe hire someone to make sure the AI translation “reads smoothly”. However, readers can become wary of books that are released too quickly, especially if they have poor quality writing or plot issues, and end up favouring authors who invest more time and money in creating quality titles.

No investment
There are no upfront costs, except, of course, for the poor linguist (sometimes called editor and sometimes called proofreader) whose job is to ensure the translation is relatively okay for the market. In many instances, authors simply resort to “a native speaker”, which further compounds the issues introduced by the AI, as these amateur linguists lack the skills and experience of a professional.

What Authors Fail to See:

♦ Professional linguists will not accept editing an AI translation for the simple fact that it would practically take as much time to edit as it would translate it. It is well-known that AI tends to translate text literally, focusing on individual words or phrases rather than the overall meaning or emotion behind a sentence, resulting in technically correct translations that are often awkward, clunky, or lacking in fluidity from a literary perspective.

♦ Heavily edited translations are subject to copyright claims by the editor/translator. If a professional linguist does, in fact, take the edition or proofreading project, they would then become creators of the translation, and therefore have a claim to its copyright. This claim is based on the degree of rewriting needed for the AI-generated translation for the sake of accuracy, fluidity and emotional impact (a.k.a., for the success of the book in the foreign market). Moreover, there are very real issues with transparency regarding the most popular large language models and the data they are trained on – the AI-generated material may actually infringe on another author’s copyright, due to the way in which the model generates responses.

♦ Foreign audiences might notice authors releasing poor-quality books and feel scammed or tricked into buying a lower-quality product. This could seriously backfire against authors’ brands and reputations – nobody likes to feel like an afterthought. Your new audience deserves the same respect you show to your existing fans.

♦ While Amazon allows AI-generated content, it’s recommended to disclose the use of AI, especially if it created the majority of the book or significant parts of it. Readers may want transparency about how the content was created, and this disclosure can help manage expectations. Bear in mind that some readers may take an ethical stance on the use of AI in the content they consume.

♦ The use of AI is brand new, and the rules and laws around it are still unclear. If some country rules in favour of copyrighted AI content, then authors might be seriously affected and end up facing multiple legal headaches that could have easily been avoided by teaming up with a professional literary translator and respecting their rights.

Understandably…

Self-published authors tend to be protective of their work and business (which they built on their own from scratch). It might shock some to learn that, under international laws, translators own the copyrights to the translations and grant exploitation rights to authors.

Consequently any literary translator wants the translation to sell and succeed as much as authors do. In this partnership, a translator’s success is an author’s success and vice versa!

The aim for both parties should be the author’s brand, the translator’s brand, and audience growth.

Consequently, any literary translator wants the translation to sell and succeed as much as authors do. In this partnership, a translator’s success is an author’s success and vice versa!

The aim for both parties should be the author’s brand, the translator’s brand, and audience growth.

Please remember that hiring the right professional literary translator can be a game changer!

Hiring a professional literary translator offers numerous benefits, especially for authors looking to expand their reach into foreign markets while maintaining the quality and integrity of their work (the kind of authors we love to work with!). Here are some key advantages:

Accuracy and Faithfulness to the Original Text

Professional literary translators are skilled in ensuring the translation is accurate and stays true to the source text. They preserve the author’s voice, tone, style, and nuances, crucial in literary works where subtle meaning and wordplay are often present.

Cultural Sensitivity and Localisation

A professional literary translator understands the target culture and adapts the text accordingly, ensuring that idioms, references, and expressions relate to the new audience. This cultural sensitivity helps the book resonate with readers from different linguistic backgrounds.

Literary Quality

Literary translators know how to preserve the literary style, rhythm, and flow of the original work. Whether it’s a poetic passage, dialogue, or descriptive scene, they ensure the translation reads smoothly and maintains the artistic qualities of the original text.

Consistency across Translations

For series or complex works, consistency is key. A professional translator ensures that terminology, character voices, and narrative style remain consistent across multiple books, editions, or chapters, creating a seamless reading experience for the audience.

Professional Editing and Quality Control

Professional translators often collaborate with editors and proofreaders to refine their work. This additional layer of review ensures that the final translation is polished and error-free, enhancing the overall quality of the published text.

Broadening Audience Reach

With a professionally translated book, authors can access international markets and reach a broader audience. A quality translation helps build credibility with foreign readers, increasing the chances of gaining new fans and expanding an author’s readership globally.

Boosting Credibility and Sales

Books with high-quality translations are more likely to receive positive reviews, word-of-mouth recommendations, and boost sales. Poor translations, on the other hand, can lead to negative feedback and harm an author’s reputation.

Knowledge of the Publishing Process

Professional literary translators are often familiar with the self-publishing or traditional publishing process, which can be beneficial for authors. They may offer advice on navigating international markets, provide marketing tips that work on the foreign market, suggest the right keywords that resonate with the audience, or help handle legal aspects like copyright and contracts.

Language Expertise

Literary translators are experts in both the source and target languages, with a deep understanding of grammar, syntax, and idiomatic expressions. This expertise allows them to craft translations that sound natural and engaging to readers in the target language.

Collaborative Creative Partner

Professional translators often work closely with authors to ensure the translation aligns with their vision. This collaboration ensures that the final product is as close as possible to the author’s intent, even when adapting the text to a different language.

Final Thoughts

AI is still under development and constantly changing. It might even sound like an attractive option for authors to resort to in order to enter new markets and diversify their sources of income — regardless of the quality AI can achieve when it comes to literary texts.

Authors should be aware that this might result in foreign markets getting crowded with translations that lack the emotional depth needed to connect with audiences. This influx of potentially unsaleable titles might spam vendors, who might choose to take extra measures to ensure the quality of the products sold on their platforms. At the end of the day, a platform like Amazon will not risk losing clients over an invasion of poor-quality books. And, while Amazon does currently allow the publication of AI-generated works, authors should be mindful of quality, originality, and potential legal concerns (including plagiarism, as AI technologies “feed on” existing texts and books).

Furthermore, if the rules should change, if, all of a sudden, AI-generated material were under copyright of the model owner, or if audiences reacted badly to the translated books created with the use of AI, an author’s brand could end up suffering serious consequences — including but not limited to online shaming by entire international communities.

Teaming up with a translator and an editor, on the other hand, still continues to be the safest course of action. At the end of the day, once the clauses are clear and all the parties involved agree on terms, fees, royalties, delivery dates, etc., all there is to do is work towards creating a professional product audiences will love and want to buy.

Hiring a professional literary translator ensures that books maintain their quality and emotional impact while reaching a broader audience. It also enhances marketability, builds credibility, and preserves the artistic integrity of the original work across different languages. And it is this, and not a low-quality, fast-release approach, that will, ultimately, help authors conquer foreign audiences in the long term.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

Contact me

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Book Recommendation: Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri

Leave a Comment / Book Recommendations / SBT / 07/10/2024

Book Recommendation: Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri

Sometimes, a book recommendation is not straightforward and can be subjective; what resonates with one reader might bore another. However, Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri is a profound exploration that translators, bilingual writers, writers who work with translators, and anyone interested in literature, translation or language are going to thoroughly enjoy this read. This collection blends personal reflection, literary analysis and insights into the writing and translation processes. This read is definitely recommended!

Translating Myself and Others

Translating Myself and Others is a collection of eleven essays examining translation, self-translation, literature and language by award-winning writer and literary translator Jhumpa Lahiri. Throughout the book, Lahiri shares both her identities as a writer and as a translator. This mix of personal and more theoretical essays is as much an introspective journey through the complexities of language as it is a reflection of the relationships between the intimate act of translation and identity. Lahiri is probably best known for her Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1999 for her debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, and her debut novel, The Namesake. But when she took up learning Italian, her career took a turn and underwent a transformative reshaping: she started writing in and translating from a language that was relatively new to her.

Translation has transformed my relationship to writing. It shows me how to work with new words, how to experiment with new styles and forms, how to take greater risks, how to structure and layer my sentences in different ways. Reading already exposes me to all these, but translating goes under the skin and shocks the system, such that these new solutions emerge in unexpected and revelatory ways. Translation establishes new rhythms and approaches that cross-pollinate the process of contemplating and crafting my own work. The attention to language that translation demands is moving my writing not only in new directions, but into an increasingly linguistically focused dimension.

Page 7 - Introduction

Identity and Language

Lahiri’s concepts of belonging and identity are deeply rooted in her life experience as the daughter of Indian immigrants. Born in the U.K. and raised in the U.S., she reflects on her personal journey with language and identity. Across the eleven essays, Lahiri shares thoughts and events in her personal life that shaped the way she deals with language as a part of her identity: When she started learning Italian at forty-five, Lahiri hadn’t expected it to be as formative as it had been. It was also a turning point in her writing career; it ignited an unknown passion for this new language, so much so that she decided from that moment on to write only in Italian. She made the conscientious decision to adopt Italian as a choice; it is impossible to choose one’s heritage or mother tongue, but she had the power to choose this language and work with it. Choosing Italian expanded her understanding of the mechanics of language and her writing, and it forced her to confront the limitations she faces when she both writes/translates in English and Italian. Alienation and otherness become evident, but she smoothly and cleverly surfs these sentiments to work with them rather than against them.

In the essay “Why Italian”, translated by Molly L. O’Brien in collaboration with Lahiri, she uses a graphic metaphor for learning and mastering a foreign language: there are two main doors and smaller ones, and opening each one of those doors has its challenges, goals, and rewards. She uses that image repeatedly to illustrate how her identity as a writer and, more importantly, as a person is shaken by this confrontation:

The more I write in Italian, the more I feel in turmoil, suspended between my old knowledge of English and the new door in front of me. I’m forced to acknowledge that there is a distance between me and both languages. Sometimes I fear that the next door will be boarded up. Writing in another language reactivates the grief of being between two worlds, of being on the outside. Of feeling alone and excluded.

Page 14 - "Why Italian"

This sense of otherness and exclusion resonates throughout the book; she is constantly confronted with the implications of writing in a language that feels both foreign and personal to her:

Italian, in my opinion, is a door more inclusive than exclusive. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for me to write In Other Words. That said, even today, when I write in Italian, I feel guilty for having broken open a door I shouldn't have. This new language has turned me into a burglar. This is the strange effect of the question, Why do you know, speak, and write in our language? The use of the possessive adjective, our, underlines the fact, banal but painful, that Italian is not mine. The process of writing and publishing a book in Italian involved opening another series of doors: all the people with whom I worked, discussed, corrected, and cleaned out the text. I ask of each person, May I write this sentence, use these words, combine them like this? That is: May I cross the border between me and Italian? May I come in?

Page 15 - "Why Italian"

This idea of someone else’s language is then repeated in “Lingua/Language”:

That said, the ongoing phrase – “Lahiri scrive nella nostra lingua” (“Lahiri writes in our language”) – means that Italian remains, by definition, the language of others as opposed to my own.

Page 131 - "Lingua/Language"

Lahiri also delves into a different duality when it comes to her different roles and identities: she acknowledges that she is two different selves when translating and writing as each of them acts and reacts differently to the text.

It is imperative for me to know a text in order to translate it: I must know not only what it means, but how it comes to mean what it means. As a writer, caught up in the act of writing, I am far more ignorant, and even unconscious, of what I do. The heady self-involvement of writing can be at odds with a more distanced perspective.

Page 51 - "In Praise of Echo"

Self-translation and its Challenges

Lahiri finds the act of translating herself eye-opening and challenging, as language shapes the identity and self-translation can be a complex negotiation: sometimes she chooses to translate herself, and sometimes she chooses to work with other translators. In the essay “In the Praise of Echo”, she discusses the idea of self-translation and how the hierarchy of original and translation fades:

To self-translate is to create two originals: twins, far from identical, separately conceived by the same person, who will eventually exist side-by-side.

Page 57 - "In Praise of Echo"

Self-translating can be described as a never-ending editing process, an idea Lahiri shares in “Where I Find Myself” in an interesting snippet on her experience of self-translating Dove mi trovo/Whereabouts that illustrates effectively how that process can come to be. This process becomes a complex negotiation of identity and voice that often requires her to confront her writing through the lens of translation. While translating the book into English, she saw her work through the eyes of a translator, not as a writer; the errors, mistakes, and repetitions kept on jumping at her, and it became imperative to fix them as they could not be unseen. As a consequence, she embarked on the magnificent task of correcting the original, making notes for a revised Italian version while still translating the original into English.

A Personal Favourite

“Traduzione (stra)ordinaria/(Extra)ordinary translation – On Gramsci” is one of the most interesting reads I have encountered in a while; it awoke a sense of curiosity that felt dormant. This is the longest essay in the book and probably the most technical and thorough of the collection. In it, Lahiri shares her process and experience reading Antonio Gramasci’s letters and Prison Notebooks in preparation for a talk she was invited to give about the new edition of Gramasci’s Letters from Prison, in Italian. She studies and analyses various letters to explore this Italian writer’s venture to translate works from German and Russian. This is a man who had translation imprinted on his being, with a lifelong struggle of feeling pulled by different languages and different Italian dialects. Consequently, she finds herself as a writer and a translator reflecting on this man; she even draws a parallel between Gramasci’s life in prison and her life during the pandemic.

Personal and Professional Collision

Particularly following the pandemic, the importance of having a clear division of work and personal life has captured the shared psyche. Nevertheless, as a collective, we have come to accept that the borders can become blurred, and the final essay, “(Afterword) Translating Transformation – Ovid”, is a clear example of how our personal lives are intertwined with every aspect of our existence. Undoubtedly, this last essay is the most personal and intimate of the set; it is a personal memoir of her mother’s final stages of illness and death. This narrative is beautifully written, and it invites the reader to witness a very personal and vulnerable stage of Lahiri’s life; where she took on the challenge of translating Ovid’s Metamorphoses from Latin while her mother, her life, and her relationship with Italian were all transforming into something different. Lahiri reflects on this parallelism throughout, ultimately translating her mother’s final absence into a deeper appreciation for:

...everything that is green and rooted under the sun.

Page 155 - "Afterword"

Final Thoughts

Translating Myself and Others is more than enjoyable; it feels rewarding. Though there are some concepts that are recurrent, and for some, it might feel a bit repetitive, each time those concepts appear, they are brought up under a new lens or Lahiri eloquently adds something new to the conversation. She is definitely an inspiration both as a writer and as a translator. Her thoughts are a reminder of the power of language and the effect it has on the interpretation of life experiences. She constantly highlights the importance of translation as a bridge between languages and cultures and a means of self-expression and exploration. This magnificent book is a beautiful collection that invites to welcome the richness that language diversity can offer and all the great stories that unfold thanks to the collision of worlds.

Bonus Track

All the essays in the collection are in English; a couple of them were originally written in Italian, and their translations are included in the main body of the book. In the appendix, Lahiri has added the originals in Italian, so anyone curious about language or translation can find delight in comparing the two versions. A nice and fitting addition to a book about literary translation.

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English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Thoughts on Inspiration and 10 Famous Quotes to Inspire the Writer within You

Leave a Comment / Inspiration, Writer's Life / SBT / 30/09/2024

Thoughts on Inspiration and 10 Famous Quotes to Inspire the Writer within You

Inspiration comes and goes, and reading about writing can be inspiring and eye-opening. Every so often, it feels like you are all caught up in your thoughts and writing seems almost impossible; reading about other people’s experiences can be relatable and make you feel less alone — others before you also struggled and found solace in reading about writing.

It is easy to feel demotivated and overwhelmed with so many responsibilities and external influences, and you lose sight of your goals. But dedicating time to reconnect with writing is fundamental to regaining clarity and insight. Writing is indeed just that: a way to put into words what’s happening inside your mind. By writing, you give shape to your thoughts, and you set them free in the world. It’s a transformative process that can help you create entire worlds, empower you, and help you understand the world.

As a self-published author, the journey from writing to publishing can be exhilarating and overwhelming… and everything in between. From navigating the creative process to hiring the right editors, cover artists and book formatters, to stressing about reviews, and managing the logistics of book promotion, it’s easy to feel a little lost or demotivated at times.

That’s where the power of inspirational quotes comes in. Quotes can encourage and motivate you along the way. They condense the wisdom from famous storytellers that went through similar hardships before you, and can offer perspective and challenge any preconceived notions.

Whether you’re facing writer’s block, struggling with self-doubt, or just looking for a little boost of encouragement, the right words can reignite your passion and help you push forward. For that reason, in this post, we’ve curated a collection of powerful quotes from fellow writers that will inspire, uplift, and remind you of the strength and creativity you possess as a self-published author. Let these words fuel your journey to success!

Inspirational quotes:

“You only fail if you stop writing.”

Ray Bradbury

“Good writing is rewriting.”

Truman Capote

“The worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt.”

Sylvia Plath

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”

Margaret Atwood

“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”

Jodi Picoult

“The first draft is just telling yourself the story.”

Terry Pratchett

“Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.”

Henry Miller

“The most beautiful stories always start with wreckage.”

Jack London

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.
You need to start somewhere.”

Anne Lamott

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.”

Richard Bach

Final Thoughts

Inspiration can be tricky, and it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are alone and no one is struggling like you are. In the often challenging and rewarding journey of self-publishing, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. The wisdom and encouragement in inspirational quotes can be a beacon of light during moments of doubt or fatigue. Whether you’re facing creative blocks, marketing struggles, or the uncertainty of success, let these quotes remind you of your resilience and passion. Keep pushing forward, believe in your work, and remember that every great author once stood where you are now—on the brink of creating something truly remarkable. Your words matter, and your story deserves to be told.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Ayelen Lapettina Benito

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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7 Tips to Find the Right Literary Translator for Your Self-published Books

Leave a Comment / Translation Tips for Self-published Authors, Translation World / SBT / 23/09/2024

7 Tips to Find the Right Literary Translator for Your Self-published Books

Now that we have shared what a literary translator is, what background, training, and skills they possess and why they charge seemingly high fees, if you are still with us, it is time to take the next step in your journey to a new market: finding the right literary translator.

No matter what language you are considering translating your titles into, there are some things you simply need to get right from the beginning. Whether or not you hire the right professionals (at least one translator and one editor) to develop your products for a foreign market will end up playing a major role in your success. Finding the right literary translator will not only save you tons of headaches, but it is crucial for ensuring that the essence and quality of your books are preserved in the target language.

Luckily, to help you avoid disaster, here are some tips that will set you on the right path and help you determine if you’ve found the right linguists.

Tip#1: Review Their Qualifications and Experience

There are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to assessing a linguist’s qualifications and experience. Strange as it may sound, not all great literary translators have a translation degree and not all literary translators with a university degree make great professionals, and indie authors must dig deeper than simply examining the linguist’s credentials.

Fortunately, living in a globalised world where almost everyone has easy access to the Internet makes matters easier for authors. A good starting point is checking if the translator has formal education or training in translation, literature, or languages. Next comes the experience.

Yes, easier said than done. But don’t panic! We are here to walk you through the process and even provide examples.

Thanks to platforms like LinkedIn, Amazon Author Central, Goodreads, Translators Professional Associations, such as CEATL or The American Literary Translator’s Association (to name a few), and Translator’s Communities such as Proz.com or Translator’s café, translation experience can be easily verified. Try to check your translator’s profile on some of the most relevant platforms, paying especially close attention to reviews of their work from paying customers, volunteer projects they were involved in and readers.

On professional platforms like LinkedIn, customers can write recommendations for the freelancers they hire. To access these recommendations, click on the translator’s profile, scroll down and find out what other authors’ experience was working with this linguist. Here is an example of my profile (Psst! Feel free to connect with me):

Unfortunately, when it comes to literary translators and self-published authors, not many authors are on LinkedIn, so in reality these sorts of recommendations, though not impossible to find, are not that common either. Nevertheless, it is worth checking.

Other platforms such as Goodreads and Amazon allow authors to have their own profile, bio, website, blog, etc. Make sure to check your translator’s portfolio (if available on a website), their translated titles, and, above all, reader’s reviews (remember these are your potential customers, so you want to make sure they trust your translator).

As a translator, I rely a lot on Amazon.com for reviews of my own work. Like many authors out there, when a book I translated is launching, I anxiously keep track of reviews for the first couple of weeks (sometimes even months) to make sure readers are connecting with the story and are having the same feelings the readers got reading the original manuscript (or the source text), and that there are no big issues, such as typos or inconsistencies in the story. I do this even though I have an amazing translation editor who works alongside me on every project and has a keen eye for details (and you can connect with her, too).

Ultimately, my Amazon translator profile allows readers who love the books and genres I translate to follow me and get notifications whenever a new book launches. For example, as of September 13^th, 2024, I have 427 followers.

For an author, this is especially important if you have translated books for several markets; readers from one market may be put off by notifications about releases they cannot read. This may mean they are not following you, but if they follow your translator, they will be notified of the book launches they are most likely to buy.

While you check up on a translator’s experience, you should also consider their specialisation. Make sure to hire a linguist who specialises in your book’s genre, subgenre, and even your niche if possible. As a writer, you know that each genre comes with an audience of fans. Each audience has specific expectations of the books they love, and even in the same genre, books can be widely different, which is why niches are so important.

An experienced translator in your genre, subgenre and niche knows your target foreign audience as well as you know your home audience. As such, they know what words, expressions, tone, and literary devices to use in order to deliver the product your audience wants.

Tip#2: Examining Their Portfolio

Did you find someone promising? Do their credentials check out? It is time to look into their portfolio!

What previous works have they done? If you request a sample of their work and the translator cannot provide it, bear in mind that they might be complying with NDAs and other contracts they might have signed with other authors (which speaks well of their professionalism, but we will get there later on).

Most professional literary translators have a website or a professional platform (like LinkedIn) where they list some (if not all) of the projects they worked with and relevant links to online vendors or review platforms. You can check out our Portfolio page for an example.

Published translations can be a good indicator of a literary translator’s credibility and skill. Check their work with different vendors, research reviews in the target language and find out what the target audience thinks of the translated titles they have released so far.

Tip to assess translation quality: If readers are talking about the plot, the characters, the settings, the unexpected turns, the swoon-worthy hero, the tension-packed scenes, etc., chances are you found a great translator!

Readers will only mention translations if:

They are bad, poorly edited, full of typos, hard to follow, too literal or foreign-feeling to them.
They are translated to a language variant they don’t prefer (think American English vs British English; Latin-American Spanish vs Castilian Spanish). This doesn’t necessarily mean there is something wrong with the linguist or the translation, but rather that the reader prefers a different language variant. If reviews are generally good, I would keep this linguist in mind.

Tip#3: Asking for References

Some literary translators will have a Recommendation section on their LinkedIn profile or maybe a Testimonial on their website, such as this one in our Home page:

Ask your linguist for references and contact previous clients to get an idea of their working style and reliability, availability to meet deadlines, and professionalism.

Tip#4: Assessing Their Language Skills

Even though it sounds hard for an author to assess the source and target language proficiency of a translator without speaking a foreign language, you should at least make sure that:

Your translator is a native speaker of the target language.
Your translator has a high proficiency in the source language (this should be evident in the way you communicate with each other via email, chat or videocall). If your translator is not good at communicating in your mother tongue (source language), do not waste your time.
Your translator should have a deep cultural understanding of both cultures to translate idioms, humour and cultural references effectively. Additionally, your translator should understand what to translate and what not to translate.
A good example of this is my decision not to translate the word “Highlander” in the series by international best-seller author Mariah Stone “Al tiempo del highlander”. Several aspects led me to this decision (keywords and marketing reasons, for instance), but the biggest factor was my knowledge of the target audience and the fact that I didn’t want to underestimate the Spanish readers who pick up a historical romance book set in the Scottish Highlands and understand perfectly well the kind of romantic hero they are getting/craving.
After all, a Highlander is a native of the Scottish Highlands, though, in this particular context, they are a very special kind of hero or heroine—they are steadfast warriors devoted to their family. They are fair, loyal, and honourable, and they fight for a cause they believe in deeply, for their country, for independence, for love, and for their family. They are brave and stubborn.
Translating this instead as “montañés” or “montañesa” (“mountain man” or “mountain woman”) or “guerrero/a” (“warrior”), which are some typical translations for this word in Spanish, would have deprived the text, and the whole plot actually, of key meaning. It would have let down audiences – and worse, it would have talked down to them. On the other hand, translating it descriptively, “habitante de las Tierras Altas de Escocia” (inhabitant of the Scottish Highlands, or “Highlander”) would have sounded foreign, overly long and strange, and it would have kept interrupting readers’ engagement with the story, especially because of its length.

Tip#5: Testing Their Work

Let’s be honest. Starting any new relationship can be hard, and trusting a complete stranger can be difficult, too. And a professional relationship is no exception to this.

Luckily, if all the previous steps led you here, there is something else you can do before signing any contracts and spending any money on having your books translated into a foreign market.

Request a sample translation of a chapter (if short) or a few pages of your book. If you know someone bilingual, ask them to compare it to the original to see how well they capture the language nuances. If you know someone who is a native speaker of that foreign language, ask them to read the sample text and ask them relevant questions about the story so far and how they are responding to it.

Tip: A free sample translation should be 300–500 words at most. A blurb translation should suffice to assess a translator’s skill.

Tip: If you don’t consider the blurb a long enough sample, you can always consider paying for a sample translation of a longer portion of the text to assess your linguist’s skills. Do not expect a professional linguist to translate a few chapters for free (and be cautious if they agree to do it).

Tip#6: Communicating and Collaborating

Good literary translators communicate effectively and respond quickly to your questions and concerns. Additionally, experienced literary translators can provide authors with information, tips, or other services they might not have considered yet (defining SEO-keywords in the target market, assisting with marketing campaigns, or setting up a special Newsletter for the foreign audience, for instance).

Professional literary translators should be willing to collaborate and consult with you to understand your vision and expectations, and to clarify ambiguities related to the text. For instance, if you write in a series and there are some unresolved issues, cliffhangers, or plot twists that need further clarification in order for your translator to make the best translation decision for the next instalments in the series to make sense. After all, when it comes down to it, translating is a decision-making process.

Tip#7: Showing Professionalism

A literary translator’s professionalism can be measured in a variety of ways. Without any doubt, first impressions and the way they communicate with you as an author are the best way to assess their professional behaviour, but it doesn’t end there:

Deadlines: When you ask for references, you can ask other authors the linguist worked for how good they were at meeting deadlines
Contracts: As established by Article 2 of the Berne Convention, your literary translator is the copyright holder of your translation as they are the author behind the translation. As such, both parties have the responsibility to draw up a fair contract and provide clear terms regarding:

Payment.
Timelines.
Rights, exploitation rights, and any limitations on their use.
Royalty share: In addition to a flat fee, literary translators are entitled to a royalty share to be agreed upon between both parties.

Final Thoughts:

If you are still here, you might have learnt that finding a professional translator who possesses both the necessary qualifications and skills to translate your books for a foreign market is no easy task. In fact, the more research authors do when hiring a literary translator, the better chances they have to find the one they should be working with.

Literary translation is not only a matter of skill and experience, but similarly to the writing business, it is a matter of niche and specialisation. It is a matter of developing storytelling techniques to conquer foreign audiences, meet their genre-specific expectations and deliver the book your foreign readers want to read.

The process might be long and excruciating. It will definitely require a lot of patience and devotion from your side, but once you find the right literary translator for your catalogue, you will want to hold on to them: this can, in fact, be the start of a very fruitful professional relationship.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Help! My Translation is Not Performing. What Should I Do?

Leave a Comment / Marketing Tips for Translated Books / SBT / 18/09/2024

Help! My Translation is Not Performing. What Should I Do?

So far, we have discussed multiple topics related to the world of literary translations, focussing on self-published authors who hadn’t yet tested the waters in an international market.

But what about all the other authors out there? The ones that have already tried an international market and haven’t found the results they were initially expecting. Are they stuck with a bad translation? Is the book, perhaps, being marketed to the wrong audience? There’s a myriad of reasons this could be the case, and today, we will try to cover the most common ones. Moreover, we will examine different strategies that will help newbies avoid making mistakes from the get-go and potentially help a translation perform better for those who might be fearing it is too late for their released titles.

If a translated book is not performing well in a foreign market, there are several steps you can take to identify the issues and improve its reception among new readers.

Please note this article is for authors who hired a translator rather than using royalty-share platforms, such as Babelcube, —which draw authors in with the promise of a zero-cost translation along with a good dose of wishful thinking that a translated book with little to no marketing will sell itself.

If you actually use the paid services of a linguist and have a legal translation contract allowing you to take some actions, here are some points and strategies to consider.

Strategies to Improve the Performance of a Translated Book:

1. Analyse the Market and Feedback

Ideally, this should have been done before starting the translation project. Just because a book performs excellently in its home market, it doesn’t mean it will make a decent number of sales in a foreign one. Likewise, a book performing poorly in its home market could turn a huge profit for authors in a foreign market (please, don’t get it wrong, this is not an encouragement for authors barely making any sales to put all their hopes into a new market).

As previously stated, proper research must be carried out (either if you are considering translating a book or if you are stuck with a book that is not selling):

*Sales Data: Review sales data to understand current trends. Identify any patterns, such as specific regions or times of year when sales are particularly low.

*Readers Feedback: Gather feedback from readers through reviews, surveys, and direct comments. Look for common themes or issues that readers mention. Ideally, your foreign readers should mention the same things they loved about your book in its original language (by now, you probably know a translation should read as fluently and naturally as the original book). Readers should talk about the same emotions your “original” readers felt.

Big red flag: Finding too many mentions about the translation. Readers may mention they appreciate that an author translated their books, or they loved the translation or were a bit irritated by certain words or phrases related to the language variant (think Spanish from Latin America vs Spanish from Spain, or Canadian French vs French from Canada, or English from the US vs British English, you get the idea).

When several readers focus too much on the translation (especially negative comments), it is a good idea to double-check your book. Does it need a new round of proofreading due to too many typos? Is it impossible to read because the linguist who translated it lacked fundamental skills? Or are the readers’ complaints related to the type of language variant used?

Read 5 Common Mistakes All Untrained Literary Translators Make and How to Avoid Working with a Bad Linguist for a hint of things that could have gone wrong from the beginning.

*Comparative Analysis: Compare your book with similar successful titles in the same market. Identify differences in marketing strategies, cover design, pricing, and distribution channels.

Let us share Caro’s personal experience: A while ago, I read a Scottish Historical Romance book I absolutely loved, and after some research, I found the author had translated only three titles of her vast catalogue into Spanish. The author is widely popular in her home market and has successfully released many series (and continues to do so).

I couldn’t help myself and decided to reach out to her. In my email, I asked about her past experience working with translators (in case this was the reason she stopped releasing translated titles) and whether she would be interested in having more titles translated into Spanish, as I found great potential in her stories and her writing. I knew for sure there was an eager audience of Spanish readers willing to buy Highlander romances (If you’re curious, check out this series!).

However, her answer took me by surprise. In very few lines, she explained that her books simply don’t sell in the Spanish market, and she was not interested in trying again, much as the market might have changed since she last released a title in Spanish. Even though, from my personal experience, I completely disagreed with this, I did understand that not every self-published author has the time and the energy to dig into new markets while continuing to release titles for their already existing audiences.

2. Review and Revise the Translation

No one likes combing through work they’ve already done, but as tedious as this can be, it is vital to understand potential issues before you go to print. And, believe us, it is better to understand if the problem is the translation itself before investing tons of money in marketing a book that will only give you headaches and bad reviews (not to mention bad sales).

*Translation Quality: If feedback indicates issues with the translation, consider hiring a different translator for a revised edition. Ensure the translation captures the original’s essence and resonates with local readers in the same manner it did in your home market.

Common issue: If you didn’t have a skilled translator working on your book, there is a chance you are stuck with a “literal translation”, a text translated almost word-by-word with the same structures and punctuation rules as the source text that ends up sounding foreign to your target audience.

*Localisation: Make sure the book is properly localised, considering cultural references, idioms, and contexts that align with the local culture.

3. Gather Professional Help

*Marketing Experts: Hire local marketing experts who understand the market and can tailor your promotional strategies effectively. These can be influencers offering affordable author services on their social media. You could, for instance, create an Instagram account for your foreign titles if most of your readers hang out there.

*Consultation with Local Media and Authors: Consult with local authors or literary consultants who can provide insights and advice on improving the book’s performance. Follow local blogs or media and find out what works for local authors.

Tip: These days, you can translate pretty much anything with machine translation or AI in order to grasp the basic meaning, so the language barrier shouldn’t stop you from researching potential collaborators. (Having said that, please do not even consider using AI to translate a book you will sell to a foreign audience unless you want to alienate your potential readers from the get-go.)

4. Improve Marketing and Promotion

*Target Audience: Re-evaluate your target audience. Ensure that your marketing efforts are reaching the right demographic. Do some digging into the people who agreed to review your book (if you don’t have any reviews yet, find a title by a fellow author who is doing great on the reviews front). Find out who they are, which age group they belong to, how much free time they have to read, what they like, etc. Cultural differences can also translate into different markets, so you should always know who your readers are before investing a lot of money into promoting a book to potentially the wrong audience.

*Marketing Channels: Diversify your marketing channels. Use social media, email newsletters, book clubs, and literary events to promote your book. Furthermore, find out where your readers hang out the most. For instance, nowadays, most Spanish readers and reviewers can be found on Instagram and YouTube (TikTok and book blogs are not as popular in comparison).

Extra tip: Make it a point to find out where readers buy books in your foreign market. You might be surprised to discover it is not on Amazon.

*Collaborations: Collaborate with local influencers, bloggers, and BookTubers to create buzz around your book. Don’t let the language barrier stop you! You will be surprised to find out that a lot of these influencers actually speak English (either enough to communicate or fully fluently), but their reading habit is to read books in their mother language.

Extra tip: Collaborate with local authors via Newsletter cross-promotions (maybe you can promote their English translations in your home market while they promote your foreign book in theirs? It’s a win-win, right?)

*Advertising Campaigns (after doing solid research!!): Invest in targeted advertising campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, and Amazon.

Extra tip: Think outside the box! Consider investing in promotions in popular online reader magazines.

5. Enhance the Book’s Presentation

Be honest now. Have you involved all relevant experts and professionals in the creation of the book for your foreign audience?

*Cover Design: A cover redesign can sometimes make a significant difference. Ensure the cover appeals to the local market’s aesthetics. Compare your cover with similar titles released in the foreign market that are being best-sellers and the foreign audience responds to. Do you need to redesign your cover?

*Title and Blurb: Rework the book’s title and blurb to make them more compelling and culturally relevant. There is more than word-by-word translation when it comes to titles. Are you sure your translator is a skilled, trained professional who did deep research before translating your title? Are there other books already published under the same title? Are you using the best keywords? If so, do they sound natural, and do they appeal to the foreign audience?

*Book Formatting: Ensure the book’s formatting is suitable for local readers, including font size, layout, and any illustrations.

6. Optimise Distribution Channels

*Availability: Ensure your book is available in both physical and online stores that are popular with local readers. Do your homework. Research. You might find that Mexican readers have different buying habits from Spanish readers or Chilean readers, for instance. Do they all shop in the same places? Not submitting your book to important international retailers might be costing you a good number of sales (a big portion of an audience that doesn’t hang out on Amazon and, hence, has zero chance of ever finding your books).

*Pricing Strategy: Review your pricing strategy. Consider competitive pricing or special discounts to attract more readers. Check out what other authors are pricing their books.

*E-book and Audiobook: Offer your book in multiple formats, such as e-book and audiobook, to reach a broader audience. Diversify your source of income!

7. Engage with the Community

*Reader Engagement: Engage with your readers through social media, forums, and book clubs. Respond to comments and participate in discussions.

*Reader Contests: Run contests and giveaways to create excitement and word-of-mouth promotion.

*Local Partnerships: Partner with local libraries, schools, and literary organisations to increase your book’s reach.

8. Monitor and Adapt

*Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor the performance of your book and the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. Focus on the things that are working and let go of the ones that are only time-consuming and not producing any results.

*Flexible Strategies: Be willing to adapt your strategies based on feedback and market trends.

Final Thoughts

Of course, each book has its own reasons for not performing as expected in a foreign market, and each case needs to be carefully assessed to find the root of the problem. By taking these steps, you can address the issues causing poor performance and create a more effective strategy for promoting your translated book in a foreign market. However, nothing you do can absolutely guarantee your book will turn into a huge success overnight (even if you commission a new translation and relaunch the title with a new cover, blurb, etc.)

At the end of the day, before doing anything, carrying out some good research on the market is the best place to start. If you find it has potential, but your translated titles still aren’t performing, you might want to translate a different series with a new translator (if the reviews pointed out any of the issues outlined here), and this time use some of the strategies we have listed above. And only when things start to pick up, you might want to assess relaunching your previous titles or translating them all over again.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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How to Promote a Translated Title and Conquer a Foreign Market

Leave a Comment / Marketing Tips for Translated Books, Translation World / SBT / 09/09/2024

How to Promote a Translated Title and Conquer a Foreign Market

A comprehensive guide covering everything —
from pre-launch to launch week and post-launch strategies to promote your translated title!

Promoting a translated title in a foreign market involves a multifaceted approach to reach the target audience effectively. As overwhelming as this might sound, you should not lose focus on one important detail: if you succeeded in your home market and are ready to move on to foreign ones, you have all the skills required to succeed again!

Today, we are going to analyse a lot of different ways to help you successfully promote your translated books. You don’t have to do them all at once. In fact, planning ahead is key. You want to get the word out about your translations as soon as you decide to take the first steps and build buzz all the way to launch week, where you will focus on other ways of promotion. And after that? There is always something you can do to keep promoting your books. So, let’s start, shall we?

NB: Even though this article is mainly focused on Spanish audiences, you will find most of the advice here relevant for other markets, so whereas you have translated titles to German, Italian, French or any other language, you’re going to find it useful!

Pre-Launch Phase:

This is the phase that starts right after you find the perfect translator that aligns with your genre and requirements. You have crossed the Ts and dotted the Is, the contract has been signed, and the manuscript has been sent for translation.

Now is the time to sit back and relax for a few weeks or months until your translation is ready to be released, right? Well, actually, no. This is the time to focus on one thing: generate buzz about your coming book among foreign readers and start building your audience.

“But how can I do this when I don’t even speak that language?” you might be wondering… Well, it is actually not that hard. In fact, all you need is a little help from an expert. And guess what? You just hired a translator! So, who better to do this for you? (Remember to stipulate marketing materials in your translation contract or to ask your translator to keep count of all additional material and add it to your invoice.)

Here is a list of things you can do in the following weeks to start building momentum:

Get your website translated from the get-go (this is where your foreign audience will find official information about you and your future releases). You do not have to spend a fortune here, and you definitely don’t need to translate every single blog article you might have posted for your home audience. Please, keep it simple, but let your new audience know who you are and what you are up to. Make sure to mention any other translations you may have on the works (are you planning an entire series? Let your readers know right away!)
Set up a Newsletter for your foreign audience. This will be key to gathering all those precious email addresses from potential buyers.
Announce your new venture into the foreign market. Send out a Newsletter to your current audience in search of those loyal fans who are also speakers of the language you are translating into. Get them on board ASAP; they will be your sidekicks! Ask them to join your foreign Newsletter so you only send your news to those who want to receive it, and don’t risk overwhelming your existing audience.
Remember the Newsletter announcing your exciting news? Ask all your readers to help you by leaving a comment on your best-performing social media platform to generate engagement and reach more people! (They are your fans and will be thrilled to contribute to your success, even if they won’t buy your foreign books.)
When you have your professionally designed book cover for the translated title… Share a cover reveal on social media and in the Newsletter! What’s more, ask your readers their opinions. Or get them to vote between two different cover options! Or even ask them to sign up as your first reviewers!
Now that your audience is visually hooked, it is time to captivate their hearts with your words (or, in this case, your translator’s). Share your blurb and let them know what to expect from your first release!
When the translation is well underway, ask your translator to send you a few chapters carefully edited (if possible, by the book editor as well) and share a first chapter in your Newsletter!
Share some catchy taglines and calls to action on social media. Work with your translator and designer. This is not the time to scare your readers away with poorly edited content.
Invite your fans to join your launch team.
Set up your translated novel on pre-sale(*) and make sure your fans add it to their “Want to Read” lists on Goodreads and StoryGraph. (Remember, these are readers who have friends who share reading interests and probably enjoy books in your genre, so this is as close to “word of mouth” as you can get before even releasing your title.)
(*) Make sure you choose a release date that far exceeds your translator’s deadline (especially if this is your first international release). Life happens, deadlines are missed, you are still getting to know one another professionally, and you do not want to put out readers and Amazon by not having your title available on the promised date.
Have a reader magnet ready. This can be a prequel, a novella, a few sample chapters of your next release or a lot of other creative ideas. Check out this website for more lead magnet ideas.
Get your ARCs ready for your launch team.
Start planning your promotions for launch week. Plan ahead. If using promo sites (**), book your dates. Choose where you will advertise and design your ad campaigns with plenty of time (again, ask your translator and designer to help you with this).
Contact bloggers regarding blog tours and review opportunities (you might need your translator’s assistance to get the message right).

(**)Some paid promotion sites for Spanish titles include:

Ebrolis: According to some, this website is “the Spanish Bookbub”, and their website is translated into English.

Qué libro leo: Even though they don’t offer much information upfront, this popular website among Spanish-speaking readers offers promotional opportunities for authors.

Lecturalia: On their website (only available in Spanish), they mention that you can email them regarding promotion opportunities (get your translator to help!)

Many Books: You’ve probably heard of this one, or maybe even used it to promote titles in your home market. But did you know they also promote Spanish titles?

Launch Week:

This is probably the most anxious time you’ll have when it comes to this venture of entering a whole new market. Hard as it might be, try to avoid just refreshing your sales board and focus on other more important and productive endeavours:

Now that your book is live, reach out to your ARC readers and ask them to post their reviews on online retailers, social media and Goodreads or StoryGraph.
Participate in interviews and features with bloggers, vloggers and influencers.
Take the time to thank bloggers, vloggers and influencers in a comment on their posts or social media related to your launch. Share their stories and their content!
Set up a giveaway! Who doesn’t love a giveaway? Extra Tip: If you are translating into Spanish and wish to reach a broader audience, make sure to contact lecturalia.com/contacto regarding giveaways and promotional opportunities!
Create targeted social media campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
Create Amazon ads/ads for your foreign title.
Send out a Newsletter to your foreign audience announcing your new release!
Consider Promotions and Discounts: Run promotions, discounts, and limited-time offers to attract new readers.

Post-Launch Marketing Strategies:

Now that your book is out there, we can focus on other strategies that will help you get the word out and get new subscribers into your mailing list:

Encourage readers to leave reviews on local review sites and platforms like Amazon, Goodreads, and local equivalents.
Translate more books: If you have been at the writing game for a while now, you know that a writer’s long-term career is built on sell-through, or in other words, on readers loving your books and coming back for more (either your backlist or your next series). Releasing constant new books on a foreign market will keep your audiences hooked and help you develop your author brand overseas.
Promote in your books: Once your audience has finished reading your book, there are some key pages you don’t want to leave out:

Call to action: Direct your new readers to your NL or website.
Call to review: Ask them to leave an honest review of your book.
Reader magnet page: Collect other materials you've written and share them, or maybe add some teasers for your upcoming releases!
Thank you: Let them know how much you appreciate them for choosing your book
Teaser: Do you have more translations in the process? Make sure to let your new audience know! Include the cover and blurb of your next release, as well as a link to a pre-order. If available, add a few sample chapters of your next book.

Research local success stories: Look at local authors and how they have successfully marketed their books, and learn from their approaches.
Promote on Goodreads and on StoryGraph. Read this interesting article on all the resources Goodreads offers in the most subtle ways.
Promote on Babelio.

Final Thoughts:

By now, we have covered quite a lot of marketing ideas to get you started on the right foot in a foreign market. By employing these strategies, you can effectively promote your translated book in a foreign market, ensuring it reaches and resonates with your target audience.

However, you should always remember no venture is without risk, and there is no amount of marketing or the right formula that can 100% guarantee the success or failure of a book.

What is for sure, though? Without marketing, your translated book is set up to get lost in the sea of releases that hit the shelves every day, every hour, every minute, and you have little to no chance of a successful launch.

Bonus: Where to Find Foreign Book Buyers?

Did you know that Spanish book readers do not always rely on the vendors that are popular in your home market, such as Amazon and Apple Books?

For Spanish readers looking to purchase books, several retailers offer extensive selections of books in Spanish, ranging from physical stores to online platforms. Here are some of the best book retailers catering to Spanish readers; make sure your books are available to purchase on:

Online Retailers

Amazon:
Amazon.com (for USA Hispanic readers), Amazon.mx (for Latin-American readers) and Amazon.es (for European Spanish readers)
- - Offers a vast selection of Spanish books, including bestsellers, classics, and new releases. Amazon’s Kindle store also has numerous Spanish e-books.
Casa del Libro:
- - One of the largest online bookshops in Spain, offering a wide range of books in Spanish across various genres. They ship internationally.
Librería Gandhi:
- - A popular bookshop in Mexico with an extensive online catalogue of books in Spanish. They provide shipping options to many countries.

Fnac:
- - A well-known European retailer with a strong presence in Spain and France. They offer a wide selection of books in Spanish, both online and in physical stores.
Barnes & Noble:
- - While primarily an English-language retailer, Barnes & Noble has a good selection of Spanish books, especially for learners and bilingual editions.
Librería Porrúa:
- - A historic Mexican bookshop chain that offers a wide selection of Spanish books online.
La Casa Azul Bookstore:
- An independent bookshop based in New York that specialises in books by and about Latinos, offering a good selection of Spanish books.

Digital Platforms

Google Play Books:
- - Offers a wide range of e-books in Spanish, including bestsellers and classics.
Kobo:
- - Another excellent source for Spanish e-books, with an extensive catalogue available for various e-readers.
Storytel:
- An audiobook and e-book subscription service with a significant collection of Spanish titles.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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How to Promote a Translated Title and Conquer a Foreign Market Read More »

Know Thy Author: A Translator’s Guide to Working with Self-published Authors

Leave a Comment / Tips for Translators / SBT / 02/09/2024

Know Thy Author: A Translator's Guide to Working with Self-published Authors

It seems quite obvious that taking the time to know your translator or to know your author is a must. Over the years, I have been working as a freelance literary translator and have figured out what kind of professional I want to be. And, like lots of things in life, I have learnt most of it by making mistakes I never ever want to repeat.

Thankfully, those mistakes gave me the chance to try different approaches in my career and to question contracts, emails, and even sentences that, either spoken or written, could lead to a future misunderstanding.

In the beginning, I was eager to translate books for as many customers as I could to build a name for myself. But now, I am eager to translate books while working with the right authors for me.

When it comes to work, for this literary translator, there are few things as rewarding as bringing quality books to readers and building a professional relationship that will significantly grow an author’s presence in the Spanish market and expand the literary horizons of many readers.

Being a literary translator who works almost exclusively with self-published authors, I find it essential to get to know my authors properly before getting started. Hence, throughout my career, what started out as a short exchange of emails discussing fees and contract terms with new customers has evolved into a kind of video call interview.

Among other things, discussing the projects over a video call allows me to understand: who the author is, how their career has been progressing so far, how much effort and marketing they are willing to put towards exploring a new market, how much risk they are willing to take, how many books they are planning on translating for the foreign market, what research they have done and what their expectations regarding the translated book are.

Truth be told, this approach might not be what most translators do, but the way I see it, this first introduction might be a great way for both parties to know whether we will be a good match or not.

If things go right, this could be the beginning of a long-lasting professional relationship between an author and their translator, so skipping this is a big no-no for me.

If the interview doesn’t go the way I expected? Well, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles! You might think this sounds a bit intense, but understanding my authors’ unique needs and perspectives is vital in creating the best collaboration possible.

So, since today’s article is about my personal experience, I would like to address what usually happens after an author contacts me requesting my fees, accepts them and shows interest in starting to work together.

Know Thy Author

Here are (some of) the questions I tend to ask authors before signing any contracts:

1. Have you ever had any other books translated into any language?

This is something I can research beforehand (and I always do), either on the author’s website, on Amazon or on Goodreads. However, since sometimes authors write under different pen names, it is always a good rule of thumb not to assume anything.

And if the answer to the first question is yes…

2. How was the experience? Did you hire a translator, or did you sell your foreign rights?

This allows me to understand the author’s past experience and their possible causes for concern. Do they already have an audience in my target language, or are we starting from scratch? A few scenarios are plausible, and they are all worth exploring further:

If the rights were sold and handled entirely by a third party, even if the author already has a brand in the target market, they will have to start from zero, building relationships with their audience, creating a newsletter to announce new launches, building social media presence, etc.
If the author worked independently with a bad translator or had a bad experience, we can discuss what could have gone wrong and what we can do together in order to achieve better results.
If the author has already conquered another foreign market and is now looking into exploring the Spanish market, we can discuss deadlines, marketing techniques, reader magnets, etc.

3. If the book you want to translate is part of a series, are you considering translating the other titles in the series?

Book marketing experts agree that there is nothing more effective than writing another book after releasing the first one, in order to promote yourself, build a read-through and market your titles.

So why shouldn’t it be the same when it comes to a foreign audience? Do foreign readers want to start a series only to find out the author is waiting to see how sales are before commissioning more translations? Wouldn’t authors lose all momentum if they released book 1 in a series only to release book 2 a few years later? We’ve all been left at that cliffhanger ending, only to languish, waiting for the sequel that never comes.

Book marketing experts also agree that stand-alone books are far harder to market. However, when it comes to a foreign market, they might be a safer choice if you want to play it by ear – at least you won’t burn your audience if you choose to wait.

4. What’s your ideal deadline for releasing titles in the Spanish market?

Since releasing a translated title in a foreign market takes as much prep and marketing as releasing a new book in your home market, the answer to this question should be clear from the beginning. Is the deadline set in stone? Can I, as a translator, commit to said deadline without compromising quality? Do we need to negotiate the dates?

5. If you’ve worked with other translators in the same series, is there a glossary available?
Also, is it possible to read their translations and contact them if I have questions?

Even though I am not a big fan of picking up from where someone else left off, if I commit to something, I want to get it right. And sometimes that means doing extra work and research. In order to keep a series consistent and an audience hooked, if you change translators at any point in a series, you will want the translator to keep up with what already happened (in some genres, like paranormal and fantasy, this might be more pressing than in others, like romance).

6. Is there any software or format you require?

In my experience, most authors ask me how I prefer to work, and they hire a professional formatter, but it’s better not to assume anything and get even the smallest details straight from the beginning.

Final Thoughts

This approach isn’t for everyone. Expanding into a new market is an investment, and it takes time, resources, and the right team to have any chance of success. Sadly, many authors don’t realise this, and sabotage their own success by cutting corners with amateur linguists, jilting readers with inconsistent narratives, and missing their shot to capitalise on peak reader interest. It’s not really their fault – writing novels is hard, and not everyone has the time to spare, or maybe they simply don’t know the dangers!

That’s why I share my experiences in this blog, to give you the knowledge you need to choose what’s right for you, and maybe, sometimes, that choice is waiting until you can give your all to exploring new markets. I may not be churning through clients with this approach, but the stories I do bring to life for Spanish readers are all the better for it.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Know Thy Author: A Translator’s Guide to Working with Self-published Authors Read More »

What’s Behind a Professional Translator’s Fee?

Leave a Comment / Translator's Life / SBT / 14/08/2024

What's Behind a Professional Translator's Fee?

Even though a lot has been said regarding how much a translator should charge per word on a project, the reality is that this is a far more complex matter than it appears on the surface.

So, today’s goal is to dig deeper into this controversial subject in the hopes of shedding some light on the matter.

While researching for this article, I came across a lot of misleading information in different articles and ebooks. And more often than not, those writing about this matter don’t take into account key elements that make up a professional translator’s fee. Instead, they seem eager to reproduce ideas like “how to get the cheapest translation service”, without knowing or addressing the problems and headaches this sort of mindset can end up costing authors.

While some authors choose to follow this path, others, who are more prudent, will continue to read this article and, hopefully, research even further afterwards.

To begin with, pricing a freelance service is a rather intricate matter. When a literary translator gives an author a quote for a project, they are not simply charging for the time it will take them to replicate a certain number of words into their native language.

In fact, there are many factors a freelancer must consider when setting up their fees.

A professional translator’s fee consists of:

Education

In my opinion, one of the most horrifying myths is the belief that any bilingual speaker is qualified to make a living as a translator.

The truth is that a professional translator usually has a degree in Translation or Translation Studies, meaning a person who spent at least three to four years of their life training, learning and studying the complexities of their language pairs (the language they translate from and into.) A professional translator can also have a degree or equivalent knowledge and experience in Languages or Literature – particularly the grammar of both languages!

Additionally, literary translators develop their narration skills in order to tell your story to your foreign audience in an engaging and captivating way. This sometimes means resorting to different literary devices, changing structures and altering word order so that the reading flows in the most natural way and your foreign audience experiences the same feelings your original readers did when reading your book. Regardless of how many changes they make, professional literary translators will be loyal to the author, the tone, the plot, the settings, and the characters.

Specialisation

After getting a degree in Translation Studies, many professionals continue to specialise in a specific area of translation: Medicine, Law, Literature, IT, Finance, Tourism, among others. Just like authors write in niches, translators who specialise become experts in their “niche” specialisation, gaining tools that allow them to perform better jobs and deliver higher-quality translations readers will undoubtedly love.

Experience

As literary translators gain experience in a specific genre or niche, they become masters of their craft. They know which words speak to specific audiences.

In the globalised world we currently live in, there’s no reason why translators should be invisible figures, often left out of the credits or almost ignored. Most self-published authors can find a great ally in their translator by understanding they have followers on social media or on their Amazon Translator or Goodreads translator profiles. These followers, who are readers that love the genres these translators specialise in, tend to trust the quality of their work.

Let me share my literary translator experience using my Amazon Author Central Profile (thanks to being credited as a translator in most of the books I translated). This useful tool not only allows me to add all of my translated books to my portfolio (or Amazon page), but it also allows readers to discover other authors I have worked with by accessing my profile and maybe clue them in to their next big read!

Additionally, Amazon Author Central allows me to keep track of my followers (yay!). These readers, in turn, get a notification every time one of my translations is released to the Spanish market, making it a great sales tool for new and old authors working with me.

To this day, I have 385 followers on Amazon and counting!

Office (Home-office)

People tend to believe freelancers save tons of money by not commuting or eating out because they work from home.

However, working from home has its pros and cons, as well as its own costs. In order for a freelancer to be able to work from home, they’ll need to pay rent or a mortgage, then set up an office, buy the proper equipment, and pay the bills (Internet, heating, electricity, water). Freelancers can’t take advantage of the economy of scale like larger agencies, and these expenses can quickly add up.

Equipment + software

Depending on their specialisation, a translator will need different things. A literary translator requires, at the very least, a laptop, a proper desk, a good internet connection, an ergonomic chair, and some word-processing software. Some might even use extra software for quality checks. Others go on to take new courses to continue to develop and update their skills. All of these things cost time and money.

Taxes

As any freelancer, a literary translator needs to keep a tidy economy. This means paying taxes, social security, holidays, retirement, sick days, etc. This entails a lot of time spent on careful administration – no one wants a surprise visit from the tax department! So, naturally, any person making an income from this profession will need to take these things into account when it comes to quoting a project.

Final Thoughts

No professional translator can do without these key elements that make them a competent professional, who is constantly developing their skills and improving the quality of their work. Each project, course, device, or software acquired adds value to the final quality of their translations.

So, next time you get a suspiciously low quote for a translation project, it might be worth asking yourself if the person who offered you said quote is a fully qualified and equipped linguist trained to deliver a quality translation that speaks to your audience. The alternative is wasting money on a translation readers won’t want to read and risking your chance to make a good first impression with an entirely new foreign audience.

As a matter of fact, professional translators tend to avoid customers looking for cheap quotes: no matter how good a quality product they deliver, they know without a doubt that sooner or later, they will be dumped for a linguist offering lower prices. And no self-respecting literary translator will want their name associated with a low-quality book.

Now you know where your investment is going when you choose to work with a professional translator. Hopefully, you feel confident in choosing the right professional to bring your story to fresh readers and can protect yourself from the pitfalls of working with bargain-basement amateurs.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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What’s Behind a Professional Translator’s Fee? Read More »

Just Finished Translating My First Series…

Leave a Comment / Success Story / SBT / 21/04/2024

Just Finished Translating my First Series

I remember it like it was yesterday… and yet, it was in February 2021 when International Best-Selling Time-Travel Romance Author Mariah Stone contacted me to discuss the possibility of translating her 10-book Highlander series into Spanish.

Two and a half years later, we have brought 9 full-length novels, 2 novellas, 1 reader magnet, and an author website to Spanish-speaking readers worldwide.

The journey has been amazing. Both my editor (Ayelen) and I (Carolina) have learnt and grown a lot since we started working together on every book Mariah has published for the Spanish-speaking market so far. Moreover, this blog, which has been in the making for the last two years, finally came to life.

Even though parting with these books and these characters, which have made so many Spanish-speaking readers dream of highlanders and adventures in the Scottish Highlands, is sad, we are also excited about embarking on new projects and continuing to work with Mariah on her other series.

To round up an era, today, I want to talk about my experience translating this series. A while ago, I wrote an article to answer a question many authors have asked us: “Should I hire several translators for my series?”. Based on my professional experience, I believe there are countless advantages of having one trained, experienced literary translator working on a series. While in that article I explained why hiring several translators is a bad idea from a theoretical standpoint, today I’d like to focus on the practical one, providing examples from my own experience with this series.

Theme:

Called by the Highlander is a series of historical romance books with a third-person narrator: this omnipresent narrator focuses on one of the characters’ points of view at the time. There is one rather naughty matchmaking Highland faery, Sìneag, present in every book that likes to send modern people back to the Middle Ages to meet their soulmates.

Even though each book features a different couple as the main characters, the series consists of three families (or clans) that fight for the independence of Scotland, so many characters are present across the books.

Being the translator of the whole series allowed me to know each character and their relationship to other characters in the series, as well as their unique traits, the way they talk, the things they’ve been through (sometimes traumas mentioned in previous books), the experiences that torment them, their ambitions, their strengths, and weaknesses, etc.

If another translator were to take over midway, or even just a single book in the series, this would potentially introduce a dissonance in characters’ behaviours in different books.

Language consistency:

When the translator already knows the author’s voice, terminology, and narration style, it’s easier to keep a consistent voice throughout a series.

In the case of Mariah’s series, choice of vocabulary plays a major role. On the one hand, modern characters are trying to blend in in the Middle Ages, but when caught with their guard down, some modern expressions, concepts, and ideas slip out. On the other hand, there are the Highlanders from the Middle Ages who lack the contemporary interpretation of time, modern devices and technologies, but possess a very traditional belief system, so everything they fail to understand must be an artefact of magic or witchcraft.

Understanding this and keeping language consistent throughout the series is absolutely key to the foreign audience, and being in charge of the translation of every book allowed me to successfully reproduce characters’ expressions and mindsets in Spanish (even when some tweaking was necessary here and there).

Plot and character consistency:

In a long series, it is utmost important that the translator is familiar with all the characters’ stories and traits in order to avoid omitting essential details due to lack of context.

When it comes to the main plot in Mariah’s series, it’d be brave Highland warriors (both female and male) fighting alongside Robert the Bruce for Scottish Independence while falling in love with heroes and heroines out of their time. (Or the other way around: modern women and men falling through time and falling in love with brave Highlanders.) This plot is present and developing in each book to different extents. So much so that as the books go on in the series, the years pass, and we see Robert the Bruce fighting minor battles in the first books (with important victories) until he fights the historical Battle of Bannockburn in book 10, alongside all the brave warriors readers fell in love with during the series.

The first example of character consistency in Mariah’s series that comes to mind (though there are too many) is in book 4, Highlander’s Love (El amor del highlander). The author cleverly introduces readers to characters that will become highly important in later books, namely brothers Angus and Ragnall Mackenzie (books 5 and 7, El deseo del highlander and La novia del highlander, respectively). These completely different brothers are first introduced in a rather short chapter full of information, so their descriptions must be accurate and reflect their personalities (which are very different from one another, as one is an outcast whereas the other one would make the perfect laird), their brotherly support for each other, their family drama and conflicted past. As they’ll become the main characters of their own stories, readers won’t be at all satisfied if their first impressions of these heroes clash with their later representations.

Author vision:

When working on a complete series, the translator becomes familiar with the author’s style and better understands their vision. The translator can clearly identify the texts’ subtleties, the tone of the narration, and the intention and meaning behind words and faithfully express them to the foreign audience.

In Mariah’s series, for instance, Sìneag (that mischievous faery I mentioned earlier) has some traits that are never described (because the author shows, she doesn’t tell). So, readers learn throughout the series that Sìneag has some psychic powers and that she can read characters’ minds, know their names and look into their souls without it ever being mentioned. Instead, the narrator has Sìneag talking to different heroes and heroines in the books, and that’s how readers come to learn so much about this faery, who also happens to take bribes in the form of food.

Sìneag’s example is perfect because if you take each book separately, she’s by no means a main character (in fact, she appears for a few pages at the beginning and then for some pages towards the end, and that’s that). But when you take the whole series, this matchmaker is the character that ultimately brings all the books together.

Productivity:

Contrary to some authors’ opinion, having one translator for a specific series accelerates the translation process. When the translator becomes familiar with the text’s theme and terminology, they spend less time researching for the following titles.

In the case of Mariah’s books, this proved to be ultimately true when it came down to Middle Ages setting descriptions, historical names, battles, and events.

Each book required some degree of research, though. In book 7, for instance, the heroine is a modern woman who has diabetes and travels back in time with her kit. So, I needed to do some research on medical terminology.

In my translator experience, working with the same books (or books in the same universe or series) helped me increase my productivity a lot, keep a constant translating rhythm, and avoid any delays in deadlines (except when my computer died, and I almost lost the whole translation of La novia del highlander, but that’s a story for another day.)

Feedback and constant learning:

One of the most enriching experiences for a translator working in a whole series is reading feedback from editors and reviews from readers. Much like writers, translators are curious creatures; feedback and reviews help us improve our craft, especially when we can incorporate them into the next titles we’ll be working on.

In the case of Mariah’s books, in book 9, El reclamo del highlander, I mistakenly wrote the name Angus instead of Aulay on two occasions, which my sharp editor caught (and this helped me double check that I didn’t repeat the mistake in other instances).

Readers of the series also mentioned in the reviews the translation of specific words sounded rather childish for adult characters (such as mamá and papá instead of madre and padre). Even though this feedback is related to the region readers are from, I decided to take it into account and keep these terms more neutral in the following books.

Audience:

Much as a home audience gets hooked on a series and seeks a consistent narrator voice, plot, theme, character development, etc., when a foreign audience gets hooked on a translated series, it is crucial all this remains consistent and the only way to guarantee that is by working with the same translator throughout the series. Readers will get used to characters talking in a certain way, places described with specific terminology, and the narrator’s storytelling style. So introducing a new voice (that is to say, a new translator) in a series might end up causing a lot of damage, costing a lot of readers that will find the new book strange and drop the series never to pick it up again.

My conclusion:

All the advantages mentioned above of choosing one translator for a whole series and sticking to them are beneficial not only for the author and the translator involved, but also for the foreign audience. They greatly improve the reading experience of your new readers.

From my perspective, I must say this has been a gratifying experience for me. I’m very excited about releasing new titles in the new series. Mariah continues to thrive in the Spanish market with her Duques y secretos series (Dukes and Secrets), a daring change from time travel to the Scottish Highlands to the ballrooms of Regency London.

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

Contact me

Just Finished Translating My First Series… Read More »

10 Things I Love about My Translations Editor

Leave a Comment / Translation World / SBT / 08/09/2023

10 Things I Love about My Translations Editor

For those of you who have been following our work and this blog for a while now, this article will surely come as no surprise. After all, you’ve already read me preaching about the importance of translation editors on several occasions. Like when I discussed whether you should hire several translators for your series or my life as a literary translator. My favourite, though, is the last article, a success story that would likely not have happened without my amazing editor’s skills.

You might be here because you’re curious about the translation world, or you’re an indie author wondering whether it’s time to navigate a new market. Alternatively, you could be a translator (or a translation student) who’d love to make a living translating books. Regardless of the situation, read on to learn more!

In this article, I’d like to speak from my personal experience working with my peer and colleague Ayelen Lapettina, whom I met at university more than a decade ago and who has been editing my translated books for the last two years.

No doubt, the experience of working together on the translations and editing of a best-selling time-travel author who’s killing it in the Spanish market has been enriching for both of us. But far from talking about that experience, today, I’d like to focus only on her: my quality-seeking translations editor. Her work might go unnoticed to the average reader, but without her fantastic feedback and careful notes my translated books wouldn’t be half as good.

Without further ado, let’s go over the ten things I love most about my translations’ editor, Ayelen:

1. Her communication skills

As with most things, the way Ayelen and I work has changed and evolved naturally over the course of the last two years. The one thing that remained constant? The fact that we’ve always had great communication from the very beginning. Upon receiving a project, she would read the whole translated manuscript and come back with notes and questions for me to answer. Once she gets these answers – they help avoid assumptions and mistranslating – she goes over the translation twice more and continues with her editing process.

2. Her ever-so-curious mind

If you ask me, this is a skill any translation editor should have: the need to question and research even the things you think you know.

3. Her comments always full of information and explanations

Every time I get a manuscript back from my editor, it’s a delight to find out just how detail-oriented and precise she’s been. She doesn’t just point out corrections, but she also makes suggestions on ways to improve the quality of the translated book, and whenever necessary, she adds relevant links in her comments to sources of valuable information.

4. Her way of challenging me to research further, learn more or refresh old lessons

Following point 3, it’s through this meticulous feedback that I find myself learning new things or revisiting old lessons from university. And it’s largely due to this I feel my work as a literary translator has improved significantly.

5. Her language knowledge and available resources

My editor not only possesses great knowledge, which she’s been cultivating since a young age, but she also has a well-equipped library with lots of academic textbooks, and she knows where to go to research different topics.

6. Her sharp eye

In addition to all that, Ayelen is amazing at spotting repetitions (which pose a big problem for Spanish readers), borrowed words or phrases from the original text (something even most trained translators can sometimes struggle with), making the right adjustments to give the translated text a natural flow and (my personal favourite) she’s excellent at spotting inconsistencies either in a book or in a series. Did I mention the importance of working with a translators team in a previous article? Read all about it here!

7. The fact I can fully trust her knowledge and criteria

Since I met my translations editor in college and we spent five years studying together, taking the same classes, sitting for the same exams, and exchanging notes and knowledge, I’ve known for quite some time what kind of person she is. So, qualities such as her curiosity, her thirst for knowledge, and her detail-oriented eye never came as a surprise to me. But it wasn’t until we started working together that I realised just how reliable she is and how lucky I am to be working with such a devoted professional.

8. She’s down-to-earth

Sometimes, it’s very easy for a translator to get lost in the text and to lose sight of certain things. This is when a down-to-earth translations editor comes in handy. Being more detached from the source text allows editors to provide accurate and objective feedback, which Ayelen simply excels at.

9. She loves her profession and is always up to date with the latest debates and happenings in the academic world

Living in different countries, Ayelen and I do regular video calls to catch up, discuss our projects and obstacles we might be dealing with, share things we’d like to achieve in the short and long term, the books we’re currently working on, and life in general. Being well-read, an avid researcher and always on top of the latest news, she rarely fails to mention what’s happening in the academic world, which topics are being discussed, and what her opinion is on the matter. As I usually get caught up in whatever book I’m translating and life itself, I truly love this about her.

10. She’s a huge nerd and loves to learn about whatever topic we’re translating

My translations editor doesn’t just focus on the correct grammar of the translated text and its natural flow for the native Spanish readers, but also on the veracity and consistency of its contents, something even the authors I’m translating for appreciate.

To sum up:

To be honest, and in case you haven’t noticed by now, I could probably go on and on about how amazing my translations editor is. However, I’d like to know what you, as an author or as a translator, love the most about your editors. Is there anything particularly outstanding about the professionals you’re working with? Don’t be shy and praise them in the comments!

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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Success Story: New Launch, New #1 Best-selling Translated Title!

Leave a Comment / Success Story / SBT / 10/08/2023

Success Story: New Launch, New #1 Best-selling Translated Title!

#1 Best-selling Translated Title

Less than a month ago, on July 16^th 2023, we released the Spanish translation of Highlander’s Claim. It is Mariah Stone’s ninth book in her time-travel Highlander series, Called by a Highlander. A week later, El reclamo del highlander made it to the number 1 bestseller in its categories on Amazon:

We are thrilled to point out that this success story is not unprecedented. Just like all the other releases in the series, El reclamo del highlander proved to be an audience’s favourite from launching day, hitting number 1 bestseller for several days. Readers of Al tiempo del highlander series have been anticipating each new launch since the first book, La cautiva del highlander, was translated into Spanish and launched back in May 2021.

What’s behind Each Launch

It is a dedicated team of professional linguists working with an author fully committed to her new audience.

Ayelen and I have worked closely on each title of the series. We have spent the last two years translating, editing, and proofreading each new book to make sure readers fall in love with each story. Our translation process involves a lot of communication and brainstorming to keep the series consistent in terms of tone, setting, terminology, and characters.

And each new launch, and each audience review has filled us with pride for everything that’s been accomplished through hard work and passion for what we do. Of course, this success wouldn’t have happened without Mariah’s skilful craft in storytelling and worldbuilding. Or without her marketing knowledge and our expertise to translate the best ads and marketing campaigns that engage her foreign audience.

How a New Release Impacts Global Sales

Since we launched El secreto de la highlander (book number 2 in the series) in August 2021, Ayelen and I have been keeping a close eye on reviews. At first, we wanted to see how readers reacted to this title (one of the first projects we ever worked together on), know what reviewers said and analise their input.

However, we couldn’t help noticing something else with each new launch. Whenever a new book in the series became available, all the other books in the series started to sell better and become more visible to readers.

As an author, this might not sound surprising. You might have noticed this in your home market, especially if you write in a series. But, for us, it was the first time to experience such success as literary translators. We wish we had more screenshots to be able to illustrate the process.

We have, however, captured the impact on sales with the release of book number 8, El protector de la highlander:

This screenshot was taken on April 16^th 2023, eight days after the release of “El protector de la highlander”. It shows how the first three books in the series (launched two years earlier) became bestsellers shortly after the release. The titles in the ranking are:

#3 La cautiva del highlander (book 1)

#5 El corazón del highlander (book 3)

#6 El secreto de la highlander (book 2)

What the Future Holds

With book number 10, Highlander’s Destiny, this series will sadly end, and parting with it will be as hard for us as for its readers.

But not everything is bad news. Mariah is currently working on her Dukes and Secrets series. Book number 1 in the series, All Duke and Bothered, was launched a few weeks ago (July 25^th 2023). And it has fast become a bestseller in its home market:

Luckily, the international bestselling author has already shown interest in having it translated into Spanish. So, if everything goes according to plan, her Spanish readers can expect to be leaving the Highlands soon. But only to be transported to the ballrooms of London in this new Regency series.

And we couldn’t be more thrilled!

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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6 Effective Ways for Professional Literary Translators to Find New Projects and Customers

Leave a Comment / Tips for Translators / SBT / 02/08/2023

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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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

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My Life as a Literary Translator: Pros and Cons of Translating for Self-published Authors (and not for Publishing Houses)

Leave a Comment / Translator's Life / SBT / 25/07/2023

My Life as a Literary Translator:

Pros and Cons of Translating for Self-published Authors (and not for Publishing Houses)

In previous posts, we’ve mainly focused on the theoretical aspects of literary translation. We’ve also analysed different scenarios in order to provide accurate information for authors to make smart decisions regarding the exploitation of their foreign rights.

Today I want to talk about my personal experience. My life as a literary translator. And why I chose to work with self-published authors instead of trying to submit my CV and cover letter to publishing houses. So I’m going to share my list of pros and cons of translating for self-published authors.

A Little Background

It may surprise you to find out that this wasn’t really a conscious decision. I started working with indie authors in order to stay in touch with my profession as I travelled. So, I offered my translation services through Babelcube (something I strongly advise translators and authors against, but we will discuss this in another post). I wasn’t looking to make money; and of course, I didn’t.

Fast-forward a few years, and my situation has completely changed. Nowadays, I work directly with self-published authors who pay me a fair fee for my work. And there are hardly words to describe the satisfaction I get from creating a professional product that reaches thousands of readers: readers who would not be able to read those stories “without me.”

First of all, I’d like to say that translating is a profession, not a hobby. Only trained professionals with perfect command of their language pairs (the source language and the language they translate into) should be considered for this kind of job. As such, they should be paid a fair fee for their skills, education, experience, and creativity. All of which are unique to each literary translator.

Luckily, I’m one of those professionals. So, today I want to share my list of pros and cons of translating for self-published authors (and not for publishing houses).

Full Disclosure:

Since I have never even applied to a publishing house, I base some of my ideas on the testimonies of fellow translators that are crowding the media these days. Bear in mind, this article revolves around the situation literary translators face when dealing with publishing houses based in Spain and Latin America. That is to say, those in charge of creating books for the Hispanic market.

The Pros and Cons of Translating for Self-published Authors:

The Pros

Direct contact with the author

This one is by far my favourite pros. Is there anything more inspiring for a Literary Translator than to be in direct contact with the author? (If there is, somebody please tell me!)

What is better than being able to ask them as many pertinent questions as necessary, brainstorm marketing techniques, and discuss possible titles? Or get further information if some elements in the plot are not yet clear? (Especially when the author writes in a series.) All of this will ultimately result in a better book for the foreign audience.

More often than not, this is not the case for translators who work for publishing houses. Think of A Song of Ice and Fire, for instance: something as small as a character’s name, Hodor, gained so much importance much later in the series. And yet none of the translators who worked on the series in multiple languages were in the loop…

Successful self-published authors in their home markets know the importance of being in touch with their readers. Among other things, their careers depend on knowing what their fans want and writing it. On releasing several titles a year. On creating content on social media. On promoting their books…

When an author is interested in translating their titles into Spanish, they will do whatever it takes to be successful in this new market.

And they will continue to put out new translations to keep their new readers happy.

Working with authors committed to their audience

Total trust on both parts

Undoubtedly, trust is something you gain as you work together on several projects (and this is true of any human relationship). But there’s no feeling like knowing an author trusts you with their creations. This trust is usually reinforced when good reviews start to roll in, and the author finally starts engaging with a whole new audience. Only then do they realise the real extent of their translator’s skills.

Almost all self-published authors start small. Successful ones manage to make a living out of their passion.

And helping writers achieve new goals and making new dreams come true is definitely one of the most stimulating aspects of my job.

The satisfaction of being part of somebody else’s success

No undignified working conditions

This is something I came to realise recently as I read multiple testimonies of fellow professionals working for publishing houses. These companies state all the terms of the translation contracts (in many cases, even illegal clauses.) They also refuse to negotiate fees, royalty shares, deadlines, or respect copyright laws.

Lastly, but not less shocking, they offer a “take it or leave it” sort of deal, putting translators in an impossible situation, and making millions of dollars with the translation but refusing to share with the translators. Think of bestselling series with multiple film or tv adaptations and massive merchandising deals, I doubt that the people who actually translated these titles, page by page, saw a fraction of the royalties accrued by the publishing house or the copyright holder.
Fortunately, when I deal directly with a customer, we negotiate all the contract terms so both parties can benefit and be satisfied. And if an author refuses to negotiate or accept my terms, then chances are we’re not a good match.

The author and the translator work together towards the same goal: creating a great product for the foreign market. The translator’s success is the author’s success and vice-versa. Naturally, a lot of communication is involved. And not just regarding the terms of the contract or the content of the book itself, but also regarding marketing strategies, research of keywords, and social media presence.

The author-translator-editor team

Constant workflow

Any freelancer knows one of the most challenging parts of being a freelancer is getting projects or customers. So, it’s a great relief to work with someone committed to bringing new titles to their foreign audience. If I’m working with an author that has already published several books or series in their home market, odds are they’ll be interested in having them all translated into Spanish (provided their first books released in the foreign market are successful, of course). And if they liked my translations so far, chances are they’ll hire me for future projects. Yay!

I left this one for the end, though it is equally important to the rest items listed here. In the past, I’ve worked for subtitling and translation companies offering impossible deadlines. This meant staying up late translating, missing social events, or working non-stop for several weeks to meet those deadlines. And the reality is, more often than not, this affects quality (something most professionals are unwilling to negotiate.)

Fortunately, since I started working for self-published authors, I am the one establishing the deadlines. After explaining my process of translation and edition before the manuscript is ready for another professional to edit it, authors are usually happy to accept them. They know the product they’ll get in return for waiting a bit longer than they sometimes expected is completely worth it.

Choosing the deadline

The Cons

Even though I don’t have a long list of cons, not everything that shines is gold. So, I thought it’d be worth mentioning a few not-so-positive things.

Hard to get customers

To be honest, this is true for any translator (and probably for any freelancer.) In fact, most literary translators struggle a lot before they land an opportunity with a publishing house. And it is especially hard when you’re just starting out, don’t have a lot of contacts, and don’t have much experience. But none of this should make you give up!

There are lots of things a freelance translator could (and should) be doing in order to get customers.

And we’ll dig into them in our next post, so stay tuned!

Due to all the misleading information out there, sadly, many authors are led to believe things that are not true regarding foreign rights. This mostly affects delivery times, fees, royalties, and copyright laws (all of which will be discussed in depth in our upcoming ebook.)

When authors are unfamiliar with a translator’s work, they might find fair rates too expensive or deadlines too long.

Especially if they know a friend of the neighbour’s daughter who took Spanish in secondary school and can do the job faster and cheaper. In all honesty, these kinds of authors are not my potential customers, as they are not interested in creating a professional product for the Spanish audience, and readers will notice.

I found that blogging about literary translation, self-publishing, book marketing, the translation process, and the freelancer’s life helps my ideal customers find me. Through this blog, authors can learn about the translator’s profession and respect my job.

Authors might have misleading expectations

Uncertainty about payments

Truth be told, I have never had a customer miss a payment deadline. However, we are all humans, and uncertainty is a universal feeling when we establish a new professional relationship. Whereas the author might feel uncertain about the quality of my job or about me meeting my deadlines, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I put up three months’ work on a project that won’t get paid…

Building professional relationships
takes time.

That is why, as a rule of thumb, I never chase potential customers. Instead, I let them find me. I might on occasion reach out to an author whose books I particularly enjoy and tell them about my services in the hopes of working together. But I would never overwhelm authors by sending them a thousand emails or PMs on different social media, or cold calling them. If they’re not replying after I send them my fees, chances are they’re not ready financially or time-wise. And if that should change in the future, they’ll contact me when they are.

Well, that’s about it for today.

But before I go, I’d like to know if you have any pros or cons I have not included in this post.

Let me know in the comments!

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Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

Contact me

My Life as a Literary Translator: Pros and Cons of Translating for Self-published Authors (and not for Publishing Houses) Read More »