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| | Gioia Marini 
Netherlands
Local time: 19:41
Member (2016)
Dutch to English
| Question about workshop Breaking into the book translation market | Feb 6, 2023 |
I would like to edit/translate more books in the academic sector, specifically in the social sciences and humanities field (I have a strong background in international relations and Asian studies). Will this workshop cover how a freelancer should go about approaching established academic publishers?
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 13:41
Japanese to English
+ ...
| Book translation | Feb 7, 2023 |
The best advice I can give is to plan to be independently wealthy. Book translations do not pay well. They are more in the realm of hobbies.
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Michael Newton wrote:
The best advice I can give is to plan to be independently wealthy. Book translations do not pay well. They are more in the realm of hobbies.
I agree with this. I did some non-fiction book translations when I was starting out and it was not particularly lucrative but OK. Nowadays, people seem to do them for virtually nothing to build their reputation.
I'd love someone to tell me I'm wrong, but this is my impression.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Michael Newton wrote:
The best advice I can give is to plan to be independently wealthy. Book translations do not pay well. They are more in the realm of hobbies.
You need to be a tenured professor in an American university. That's the only way for you to live whilst translating.
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| To answer your questions... | Feb 7, 2023 |
Hi there, this is Corinne, the class instructor, with a few thoughts for you:
-I've never translated for an academic press, but I will give information on how to contact publishers in general (via the acquisitions or foreign rights departments), and I believe that would be applicable to academic presses as well.
-In terms of the income potential from translating books, I think it's important to distinguish between book translation that pays little to nothing (often that... See more Hi there, this is Corinne, the class instructor, with a few thoughts for you:
-I've never translated for an academic press, but I will give information on how to contact publishers in general (via the acquisitions or foreign rights departments), and I believe that would be applicable to academic presses as well.
-In terms of the income potential from translating books, I think it's important to distinguish between book translation that pays little to nothing (often that applies to fiction, plays, poetry, etc.) and book translation that pays less than commercial translation but does pay somewhat decently. As an example, all of my direct clients pay 20-25 US cents per word, the few agencies I work for pay 14-16, and for non-fiction book translations I find that publishers will often offer around 10 US cents per word. I would never work for a commercial translation client for that rate, but for a large project with a long deadline, where you're earning probably $6,000-$9,000 total, I find it viable to translate one to two books per year.
-I do agree that if you want translate fiction, plays, poetry, etc. there is a lot of competition from people who really don't need the money (as someone mentioned, this is a common sideline for people who work in academia and might see a few hundred dollars as a totally acceptable payment for translating a book). And you'll see sites like Babelcube based only on royalties, where I would assume that most of the translators are earning little to nothing. However I do find a pretty steady flow of non-fiction book translation work at around 10 US cents per word.
Let me know if that helps!
Corinne McKay ▲ Collapse
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