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Indie Book Translations

Category Archives: Translations

The Importance of an Advance

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Ernesto in Translations

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advance, translations

A few days ago, a potential client contacted me with a job proposal. We met on Skype and talked for a while. We agreed on the rates, the method of payment… everything seemed perfect. Until I told them that, like many translators, I normally ask for an advance before starting on a new project. Their reply was that, although they understood my position, the company’s policy wouldn’t allow that. I would had to wait up to 30 days after the completion of the project before being paid.

Despite everything else being alright, I was forced to turn the client down.

There are several reasons for which I, and most other translators, ask for an advance. The first one is merely financial: a translation takes time, usually a lot of it. In the case of the job offer I’m talking about, the documents I was supposed to work on totaled about 80,000 words in length; that would translate into 20 days of work spent exclusively on the client’s project, during which I would be unable to accept other jobs. Then I was supposed to wait 30 more days before I saw any money. You can see why this isn’t much feasible.

An advance is also the guarantee, or at least a promise, that the client will pay for the job in full. The translator is most often the weakest part in the deal, especially when they are working for people from the other side of the planet. Paying an advance shows commitment on the client’s side, and if they end up trying to cheat the translator, finding excuses to not pay or to pay late… well, at least the freelancer got something for their work.

I talked a lot about advances from the client’s point of view, but I thought it would be useful to explain what an advance means for us translators. We do not ask for advances because we are greedy or desperate for money: they are a way to protect ourselves from non-payers and to make sure we have a little money in our pockets in case we have an emergency. The client, in turn, can spread the payment over two or more installments, alleviating the burden on their finances. As usual, this is a kind of deal that, when done right, benefits both parties.

Do you have any questions about the work of independent translators? Perhaps are you looking for one to translate your book into Italian? 🙂 Contact me and tell me everything.

Newly Published: “La Prova del Compagno” (“Mate Test”)

12 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by Ernesto in News, Translations

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Amber Kell, Italian translation

The partnership between Amber Kell and yours truly is producing translated books faster than butter melts in a hot pan. The Italian translation of her novel Mate Test just hit Amazon.it. I’m currently working on another book by Amber, but you will have to wait to know which one. 😉

“How Much Should I Pay for a Translation?”

07 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by Ernesto in Translations

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how much should a translation cost, price of translations, translating your books

Price and quality are the most important features of a translation. Since “How good should a good translation be?” is the most complex question, let’s begin with the other one instead: how much is a good translation worth? Rates and payment methods vary greatly from translator to translator. Some will ask for thousands of dollars and royalties to translate your books; others will content with the monetary equivalent of breadcrumbs. Now, before I go on, let me say one thing for honesty’s sake: in this article, I won’t tell you how much you should pay for a translation. It would be all too easy to copy the content of a certain page on my website and advocate for why that’s exactly how much you should pay. Since I’m trying to do useful posts here, I won’t do that.

After establishing that, I can give away some secrets.

Here’s the trick: when you are looking at any translator’s rates, you shouldn’t read them as money that will go out of your pocket if you choose to work with that particular person. You should, instead, see the rate per word as the amount of attention, care and love the translator is going to give to your work. In other words, a rate of 1 cent per word means that every word in your book is going to receive 1 cent worth of qualified effort. The primary question then becomes: “How much attention do I want each word of my book to be invested with?”

Of course, your economic resources are still a primary factor. You can’t buy what you can’t afford, and if you believe you’re being overcharged, then by all means negotiate or look for someone else. However, changing your primary question allows you to see the issue from a new point of view. Instead of looking for the cheapest translator, you should decide on a budget and look for freelancers according to that budget. You’ve already decided how much you are willing to invest; now it’s time to get the most out of it. Scout for translators, and ask for test translations and/or references to all of them. Then pick the one who suits your need.

Take a moment to assimilate the first secret. When you’re done, go on and read the next one.

Here it is: money spent on translations has diminishing returns. The difference between Google Translate and a bad translator is larger than the gap between the latter and a mediocre translator, which, in turn, is larger than the difference between a mediocre translator and a good one (going from “obscure mess of random words” to “obviously bad, but readable translation” is a bigger jump than the one from “bad, but readable” to “everything in its place, just doesn’t lit me up”). You don’t need to invest dozens of thousands of dollars in the translation of a book; chances are that a 0.12 $/word translation isn’t twice as good as a 0.06 $/word one. But at the same time, if you have cash to invest, well, use it. As the old saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. Choosing to save money on translations means spending a little less now, and potentially lose a lot later. In essence, it’s betting against yourself.

Looking for a translator? Check out that famous page and contact me for more informations on what I can do for you.

Who Should Check Test Translations?

30 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Ernesto in Translations

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test translation, translations

In a previous post I stressed the importance of test translations – short texts you give a translator so they can prove their skill to you. But who should verify the quality of these translations? Certainly not you – if you were that competent in the target language, you probably wouldn’t need a translator. So, who?

My first recommendation is: don’t ask an agency or another translator to review test translations. First, because it’s disrespectful: you’re throwing into their face that you’re employing someone else. Second, because – since they are your translator’s competitors – it’s in their best interest to say the test translation is bad. This way, they can offer their services as an alternative and make money out of you. “The piece you sent us is decent, but we believe we could do much better” is a pretty common answer, and why shouldn’t it be? If the second translator or the agency can convince you to work with them, they earn a new client; if they can’t, they’re still getting paid for reviewing the test. It’s a win-win situation for them, but not for you.

Guaranteed, many people out there are honest and would call a good translation good, but you should never rely on someone to act against their interest in order to do you a favor. So, I would recommend avoiding asking translation agencies and freelance translators to review test translations.

My best advice is to ask a native speaker of the target language to review the translation. You don’t need a specialist: the vast majority of your future readers will not be specialists either. You need someone who is representative of your target audience and will read the translation with the same eyes. The best choice would be one of your fans abroad: someone who read your work in the original language, but is also a native speaker of the target language. They will be able to tell if the translation is good, and merciless in critiquing it. Of course, it would be even better if they had translation experience themselves.

When possible, don’t give the reviewer the original text. Many people, especially those who are not translators, will often consider the slightest deviation from the original text as an unforgivable sin, even if said change improves readability and even if it’s actually required by the target language’s rules. Italian, for example, has longer words and sentences than English, and it doesn’t generally use the Oxford comma, so breaking up sentences is often required in order not to end up with unreadable paragraphs; but an overzealous reviewer, confronting the translation with the original text, might consider this a great wrongdoing. Of course, if a person you know to be competent asked you to see the original text, you should give it to them. Chances are they had good reasons for asking.

Test translations are a great way to scree out bad translators and find the one you need to reach an entirely new public. Use them without fear.

 

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The Translation Diaries, Episode 2: Courtesy Forms

20 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Ernesto in Translation Diaries, Translations

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courtesy forms, english to italian, Italian, Renaissance, translation

In English, when you are talking to someone and want to show respect, you mostly do so by adding words. Calling someone “sir”, “madam” or “Your Majesty” means that you hold the person in front of you (or the person you’re writing to) in a certain consideration. But for the most part, the structure and content of your sentence remain the same: “Good morning” and “Good morning, madam” differ only for the honorific, but are otherwise the same sentence.

Italian, on the other hand, gets crazy with courtesy forms. The most shocking thing about it is that you show respect by changing person. That’s right, the actual, grammatical person of the verb you’re using. Sometimes you even have to change the gender! Let me show you.

Suppose that you meet a friend on the street, and you want to greet him. To say “Hi! How are you?” in Italian you could go with:

Ciao! Come stai?

Now, let’s say that you want to use the same greeting, but the person you meet is someone you’re supposed to show respect to (your teacher or your boss, for example). First of all, you need to use a more formal salute; not the colloquial “Ciao!”, but a more formal “Buongiorno!” But after that, to show your interlocutor the proper respect, you also have address them as “her”… even if they are the person we’re talking to and they happen to be male!

Here’s how you can say “Hi! How are you?” in a formal way:

Buongiorno! Come sta?

“Sta” is the third person singular of the verb “stare”, which is what we use for “to be” in this case. Now, if the honorable person were to reply “I’m fine, and you?”, and they wanted to use the same courtesy form, they would say something like this:

Io sto bene, e lei?

Which literally means “I’m fine. What about her?” Even if they’re talking to you and you happen to be male.

If English is your native language, this will probably seem absurd. But this courtesy form actually has historical roots: during the Renaissance, nobles were addressed as Sua Signoria or Sua Eccellenza, meaning respectively “His Lordship” and “His Excellency”. However, signoria and eccellenza are female in Italian, so female pronouns were used. Centuries later, we still use the third person singular (female) in lieu of the second person as a form of respect.

But it gets weirder (yes, there is weirder). It’s rarely used nowadays, at least in official Italian, but there’s a courtesy form that consists of adressing the other person with the second person plural (“voi”). That’s right, we’re making two (or three, or legion) of one person.

(we’re not alone in this, though. The French do it as well)

Here’s how you might greet, say, the Pope if you met him down the street:

Buongiorno, Santità! Come state?

State is, of course, the second person plural of “stare”, while Santità is “(Your) Holyness”.

You will almost never see this courtesy form used today. There are notable exceptions in some dialects, especially those from southern Italy (Neapolitan being the most notorious one), but for the most part it’s considered obsolete. It is, however, still considered the “right” form to adress royalty (although we have no royalty) and some important figures, mostly religious ones.

In italian there are also words like “signore” and “signora”, which are sometimes used were you would expect to see “sir” or “madam”, but the changing of person and (sometimes) gender is the thing that shocks foreigners the most. Many people think we’re crazy (and, being Italians, we might well be).

Courtesy forms come up a lot in translations. With three different levels of formality, it’s a pain to decide which one you have to use at a given point in a translation, especially when the English text gives you no clue about it.

What’s the appropriate form to use, for example, when a werewolf speaks to her pack alpha? Second person plural (from now on SPP) would seem right, since pack alphas are a kind of royalty, but it also might sound archaic. On the other hand, third person female (TPF) risks sounding like the character is addressing her accountant, not someone who could very well rip her to pieces. The translator has to look the contest and employ every little bit of his cultural awareness to make sure the translation is flawless.

It gets easier with other genres. Fantasy generally uses SPP, which is perceived as more “ancient”. Stories set in the contemporary present usually go with TPF, because that sounds more realistic. But then again, no two stories are alike, and translating courtesy forms the correct way can be sometimes challenging. But challenges are, after all, among the things that make translating a beautiful work.

 

Did you write a story were etiquette and formality make all the difference? Give a look here to see how I can help you reach new readers, and contact me for information and business proposals.

How to Avoid Bad Translators and Scammers

12 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Ernesto in Translations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

avoiding scammers, freelancer, scam, translations

There is a common denominator in the mails I get from self-published authors, a concept that might be summed up with: “I had issues with other translators in the past, so I am more cautious now.” Sadly, I understand all too well: scammers are common in all places on the Internet, while people who are just bad at their jobs are simply uncountable.

I hate scammers and bad translators. They hurt me and the other honest professionals by giving our entire category a bad name. I always did my best to denounce them and – when I worked as proofreader – make sure they weren’t paid for the butchery they called “work”, but they seem to pop up like mushrooms after the Autumn rain. Without being as tasty.

What makes a bad translator? Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer. A shady-looking person might be simply inexperienced at communicating with perspective clients, while the most cordial and seemingly competent freelancer could be a very good scammer. There are, however, some indicators that might tell you that you’re dealing with a dishonest or incompetent person.

 

Inability to Provide References

Bad translators usually cannot provide good references. When someone boasts a long translation experience, but refuses to give you the contact(s) of someone who could vouch for them, you should become very suspicious. “I worked with these guys, but they’re very busy people and don’t like to be pestered, so I’m not giving you their emails” is a silly excuse: if someone allowed you to list them among their references, then they are willing to spare some time to tell people how good you are.

Even when a translator does provide references, it wouldn’t hurt to check on those names and see if they are people who work in the field (editors, authors, other translators, etc.) or just average Janes and Joes who happen to be among the translator’s friends on Facebook. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Boasts of Incredible Speed and/or Very Low Rates

The Internet is full of offers that are too good to be true. Someone who promises to translate your work in no time and for almost no money isn’t probably telling you the whole truth.

Between direct witnessing and firsthand reports, I know there are many ways for unethical translator to cut corners, from using low-end translation tools (or even Google Translate), to cutting out entire portions of the text, to simply not revising the translation before sending it out. I’ve even been told of one case in which a translator “subcontracted” a job: they had several people translate one chapter each, then melded everything together. I’ve never seen that particular translation, but I suspect it wasn’t very consistent.

In short, if someone tells you they can translate your 200,000 word novel in a week, I wouldn’t bet on the quality of the final product.

For the same reason, someone working for rates that cannot make a living wage is most likely either quite naive or producing low-quality translations. This isn’t always true: one of my best friends doesn’t charge much for their translations (which they do in their free time, having a 9 to 5 job as well), yet those are among the finest I have ever had the privilege to read. But generally speaking, you shouldn’t expect excellent work for a low price, just like you wouldn’t expect Michelin Star cuisine from a cafeteria. Quality has its price, and translators have bills to pay like everyone else. Everyone saying otherwise is selling something, and you probably shouldn’t buy it.

Refusal to Do a Test Translation

A “test translation” is a short text (usually between 500 and 1,000 words) that the freelancer translates as a proof of skill and goodwill. When in doubt, always ask for a test translation before working with a translator, especially if they have no references and/or previous experience. If they refuse, do not contact them anymore. If they accept, ask a native reader to check their work; do not give this “test reader” the original, just ask them if the writing looks good and fluent. Most people will do this quick favor for free, and it could save you money, headaches and drama.

On a sidenote: some translators might ask you to pay for a test translation. I never would, provided that you’re not going to sell the translation or otherwise make money out of it. It is, as I said, a token of goodwill.

Asking for All the Money Up Front

Most translators, including myself, will ask you for an advance before starting a job. However, be very, very aware of anyone who wants you to pay the entire sum immediately. Few honest translators (indeed, few honest professionals) would ever do such a thing. If the freelancer you contacted insists on that, avoid them like the Plague.

This should be an obvious point, but I keep reading on the Internet of clients who cry out in outrage because the translator disappeared with the money. A little investigation turns out, most of the time, that those clients had paid everything up front. Never make this mistake. Always keep part of the money as an insurance that the job will get done.

Refusal to Sign a Contract

Another obvious (but oh, so overlooked!) fact. Informal agreements may look nicer, but are way less legally binding and can lead to all sorts of trouble. When someone says that you don’t need a contract, or straight out refuses to sign one, you might want to avoid them. A contract guarantees both parties, and anyone who gets outraged because someone on the other side of an ocean “doesn’t trust them” isn’t probably the kind of person you want to do business with.

 

Remember that no list is all-encompassing, and that scammers find new ways to rob people of their money almost every day. This post is just a way to give you some advice, but is by no means a complete guide. If you know other telltale signs, or you want to share your experience, leave a comment to this post or send me a mail.

 

Coming soon…

04 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by Ernesto in News, Translations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ebooks, indie translations, Italian, suspence

A new fruit of my hard work might be out soon. Stay tuned. 😉

“Vaporteppa”: a Successful Translation Case

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Ernesto in News, Translations

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Amazon.it, bizarro fiction, Carlton Mellick III, ebook market, fantasy, Italian, Michael Swanwick, science fiction, steampunk, translations, vaporteppa

Today I want to talk about a case of Italian translations gone right. Vaporteppa is an Italian editorial project dedicated to the translation of Steampunk, Sci-Fi and Bizarro novels. The success of this project shows the opportunities offered by the Italian ebook market.

There are currently 11 Vaporteppa ebooks in the Ialian Kindle store. Among these, Gli dei di Mosca (The Gods of Moscow) by Michael Swanwick managed to breach the global top 200, and is still, as I write, nr. 21 among Science Fiction ebooks. This is a significant accomplishment for a book by an author who didn’t have any “live” Italian translations (just pirated scans and some stuff you could find only on eBay), and that belongs to a genre (Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi) traditionally not very well known in Italy. The quality of the translation and a smart price (5 euro for a medium-length book) made it possible for the ebook to be chosen for Amazon’s monthly deals, which is a huge sign of success (and also the reason you’re seeing it priced at 1,99 euro).

10660344_758358164206517_3944336954247319036_n

Another author for which Vaporteppa’s head editor, Marco Carrara, has reported very satisfying sales is Carlton Mellick III. Before Vaporteppa, Bizarro Fiction had a grand total of one book available in Italian (Help! A Bear is Eating Me!, with the translated title of Missione in Alaska), and Mellick was unknown to the Italian public; yet his translated books proved quite profitable.

All this shows there is room for translated authors in the Italian market, even if they were previously unknown to the Italian public. Check out my “What is it that you do?” page to know how you can have your book translated into Italian for a very reasonable price, and contact me for questions and business proposals. 🙂

The Top 5 Reasons for Translating Your Book

27 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Ernesto in Translations

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english to italian, indie authors, self-publishing, translations

#5. Because no one will do it for you

When you publish in the traditional way, your agent will most likely deal with such pesky things as translation rights, finding the right translator, settling for the cheapest option, and ignoring comments about how the poor translation sucks. But since you are self-published, you have to take care of this side of the business – a side that can be very rewarding. All you need do is take one step forward.

#4. Because you are in control

As a self-published author contracting a translation, you follow the process more closely and have  clearer control over how your book gets translated. You develop a personal relationship with the translator without having to go through a third party who can slow the process down, meaning any questions or doubts the translator has are resolved quickly and clearly. As a result, the translation could be better than a commercial one.

#3. Because the time is right

Italian publishers are as fast as starving turtles when it comes to adapting to change. Less than half the books published in our country are available in ebook format, while many old titles are impossible to find online. The Italian ebook reader is dedicated and interested, but they need more books! This is where you come in, with your newly translated and more readily available ebook. You might even have more visibility than some of the Big Names who didn’t even receive an ebook version of their last translated book!

#2. Because no one knows you are there until you are there

While many people might say they understand English, most will have significant difficulties reading something written in a second (or lesser known) language. This will lead them to avoid non-translated authors, because reading should be a pleasure, not a toil. Add in the fact that most influential blogs don’t review foreign-language books and you’ll realize that you might have thousands of potential readers who don’t even know you exist. Having your book translated will open up a whole new world, to you and your new potential public.

#1. Because you can sell more books this way

Self-publishing is a business, and like every busines out there it demands and relies on sales. By restricting your books to your native language, you are ignoring potential markets in favor of… what? There is no upside in not having your book translated, and yet a lot of potential negatives. Sure, translations require investment, but once the ebook is available at online stores (tip: there is an Amazon.it), it will start generating money at no extra cost, and then will keep doing so forever. Once you break even, every cent earned is a cent you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t translated.

 

Please check out this page to see how I can help you, and feel free to Contact me! 😉

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