Book translation is a unique field that requires both deep knowledge of the languages and the culture involved. It is not even translation but rather “rewriting” in another language or “re-authoring”, a process which is now referred to by many as transcreation. A book translator does their best to deliver the same idea as the idea of the original text, conveys the style and the energy of the original, and even may create new words in order to show a reader the fantastic world that the author created in their masterpiece.
Translating a book requires time for inspiration and investigation, as it is a special type of translation process, different from processes one may use for non-literary translation. It is a special zone that a translator needs to get into. Usually with not as much time pressure as with non-literary translation (let’s call it commercial translation), and a book translator becomes an ambassador of the author, of their story and philosophy.
Pros and cons of working in literary translation
Here at ProZ.com more than 30,000 language professionals report literary translation as one of their fields of expertise. The top 5 languages that are being translated from or into are English, German, Italian, French and Spanish. Literary and book translation opens tons of opportunities to language professionals with texts for translation of different genres and for different tastes. It can be poetry and plays, literary books, novels, and short stories, as well as comic strips, children’s books, biographies, eBooks and audiobooks, and many more.
As they say, the sky is the limit and a language professional can choose their own way of entering into or developing in the literary translation industry. Book translation may become a hobby and volunteer work, it can be a good resource of inspiration and a possibility to switch from “dull” tech instruction translation to something more alive or magical. A translator may test the waters of voiceover with the translated book or may even become a self-publisher! There are different ways to apply one’s talents.
Even though every linguist finds their own reasons for satisfaction from book translation, there are some advantages and disadvantages that most translators name when talking about this translation domain.
Advantages:
- Daily work with top-notch, well-written literary texts that a translator may read for pleasure. A book translator is likely intrigued by the plot themself and enjoys the translation process. While “regular” commercial translation may involve work that does not require that much thoughtfulness or intellectual and emotional work in comparison.
- Book translation gives a good source of additional revenue. Book translation presents a huge variety of genres such as poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, and prose. It can be a book for children, a travel guide, a comic book, and even an audiobook that one will translate and then do the voiceover for! Globalization processes open new markets so the need for books to be translated into different languages is constantly growing.
- Book translation gives pride and joy to the translator as they are bringing the work of the author to a new audience, and their name is specified on the book as a translator.
There are a few disadvantages that a translator may face though:
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The process of book translation tends to be much longer than other types of translation. Of course, this can be considered an advantage for some translators as well.
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The cultural and demographic mismatch. In this case, a translator will need to have good negotiating skills working with editors, or a publishing house.
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Book translation tends to be priced lower than “regular” commercial translation.
As it is mentioned in DayTranslationsBlog, the translation of literary works into English is increasing. Many of the works that are being translated into English were originally written in Japanese, Arabic, Norwegian, Dutch, and Swedish.
The European Council of Literary Translators' Associations reports that the majority of translated literature works available in smaller countries were originally written in English. There is currently a significant gap in literature translation from one minor language to another.
As it is covered in the ProZ.com blog post "Trends in the language services industry: Global concerns, part two", due to the global crises caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, some with the skills for translation or interpreting who were not practicing were able to pivot and put those skills to work as freelancers. Due to the war itself, the need for the services of language professionals working into or out of Ukrainian and Russian also increased, and not just in relation to content being generated about the conflict. For example, worldwide interest in the history and cultures involved boomed. At the same time, many of the people affected by the conflict, and with spotty or no internet access, turned to reading for comfort. Since many books in Ukrainian had long been published in Russia and now many Ukrainians were refusing to buy from these publishers, new translations and editions were needed. As a result, overnight the publishing industry found itself hard-pressed to cover its translation needs into and out of Ukrainian.
A Book Translator’s skillset
There is a certain set of skills that a book translator needs to have. It is obvious that a good literary translator has advanced language knowledge, deep cultural understanding and a feeling of context, excellent writing skills, solid research skills, and translation experience that should be enough to make the right decisions. To achieve success in this type of translation, translators keep on immersing themselves in the culture as language is constantly changing as well as the cultural realities. Books for children and youth may reflect the most current trends that appear in the country of the source text and may not be available or known in the country where the target language is spoken. How can one understand and explain objects that do not exist in your culture? What about idioms? A well-read translator with good awareness of specific traditions will feel the tone of the context and the right translation will bridge the gap between the cultures.
How many liberties can be taken when translating? Does a translator have to make the text more contemporary for his readers if she translates old texts? There are so many questions that a book translator considers on a daily basis, keeping in mind the end client—a reader.
What’s next?
As many book translators say, they accepted their very first book for translation almost accidentally. There are plenty of ways of starting one’s book translation career. First of all, it is highly recommended to join dedicated directories, international and regional associations of literary translation and forums to stay up to speed on industry trends. Secondly, one cannot overestimate the virtues of word of mouth and social networks. Be present on the Internet with your comments about books that you have read in the original, about your excitement about a certain topic or an author, and about your interest in this field in general. You may wish to sign up for social media groups of the publishing houses that published the books you have recently read and remained excited about them. Don’t forget to use hashtags!
If you don’t have much experience yet but are building towards this kind of work, you may consider joining the mentoring program or the Pro Bono program to gain experience and start building a portfolio. Consider joining ProZ.com translation contests that offer a fun way to take a break from your normal routine while testing and honing your literary translation skills with fellow translators.
How to break into the book translation market
Watch this short video to find out..
"Even if you find your job as a commercial translation interesting, which I do, would you still do it if you weren't paid to translate?"
Corinne McKay is an experienced ProZ.com trainer and freelance non-fiction translator with extensive experience.
In this video interview with Paul Urwin, Corinne revealed her journey into translating books. Please find a short script of the video below:
Paul: How did you start translating books?
Corrine: 15 years ago, I was approached by a translator from Colorado. She signed a contract to translate a dictionary about Native Americans and was unable to do so. And so she asked me: "I'm looking for a person whose name I can tell the publisher when I say that I have to abandon this idea. Would you be interested in it?". Although I had never translated books before, I agreed because this topic was interesting to me.
Paul: How do you feel about the translation process? Do you go through different stages when you get bored or when you've had enough, or do you break the work into parts, or do a little bit each day, or how are you up to the project?
Corrine: I think the key to making book translation work for me, both financially and psychologically, is to negotiate really long deadlines. Book translation is not very profitable, unlike commercial translation. I think that for me, translating non-fiction books comes with financial opportunities. If you negotiate long terms, you're not giving up a higher-paying job to translate this book. My enthusiasm for translating books is fueled, in some cases, by an intrinsic interest.
So, I think what's really indispensable to me about translating books is the aspect that many of them are fun to read even if you don't get paid to translate, which I don't think most of us can say about our commercial work, even if we find it interesting and meaningful, which I hope people do.
And finally, Corinne talked about what her webinar will be about.
"We will talk about the workflow, the life cycle of a book translation project, starting with translation rights, which is an aspect that many people are completely unaware of, but on which the life and death of a book translation depends." "talk about economic models like upfront payments versus royalties, how to find publishers' associations that are good resources. Basically, the whole life cycle of a book translation project, so hopefully by the end of it you'll know how to jump right into it , if you want."
So, if you are interested in this topic and want to translate books in the future, or are already doing it but want to learn more, you can register for this webinar on ProZ.com
A Podcast About Book translation
In this podcast episode, Corinne McKay shares some of here vast experience in the field of translation.
Click on the link below to listen to the audio (this podcast episode is also available on iTunes, Spotify and other major podcast platforms).
https://anchor.fm/proz/episodes/57--Breaking-into-Book-Translation-featuring-Corinne-McKay-e1ie9r9
Breaking into the book translation market
Click below to find out more about Corrine McKey's excellent book translation online workshop. She really has packed in lots and lots of knowledge from her 20+ year career in translation, and covers all the main topics so that you can get started and make book translation work for you!
voiceover for translators and interpreters
Literary Translation Jobs at ProZ.com
Take a look at the literary translation jobs currently available posted at ProZ.com:
https://www.proz.com/language-jobs?st=1&f%5B%5D=82
Hire Literary Translators at ProZ.com
ProZ.com is the world's largest community of professional translators and also home to many great literary translators (or book translators) from around the globe. If you are looking to hire a literary or a book translator, click below to post a job.
Learn How to Establish Yourself in a Book Translation Industry with ProZ.com's Book Translation Regular Workshop.
The ProZ.com course "Breaking into the book translation market" will help you get started and prosper in book translation. In this nuts-and-bolts three-hour class, you'll learn about the lifecycle of a book translation, from the idea stage to the rights arrangement, to finding a publisher and signing a contract, to marketing the book.
We'll also talk about self-publishing, translating books in the public domain, and submitting translations to literary journals.
For many would-be book translators, doing the translation is the easy part: this class will allow you to confidently approach the not-so-easy, business-related parts of the book translation equation, and to anticipate how a book translation can go wrong.
Open to translators who want to translate fiction, non-fiction, poetry, textbooks, or any other literary media.
