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.

This post may contain affiliate links

Carolina García Stroschein

English > Spanish Literary Translator

Contact me

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

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!

This post may contain affiliate links

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 »

Translator’s Life