How to choose a literary translator for your novel
There’s a lot to consider when you’re looking for a literary translator to translate your novel. After all, you’ve poured your heart and soul into your book and now you’re paying someone to transform your work into a whole other language so a new group of readers can enjoy it.
Or perhaps you’ve been approached by a translator who’s keen to buy the translation rights to your novel and you want to ensure they have your novel’s best interests at heart before you commit.
It’s likely you don’t speak the language you want your novel translated into so you may be wondering how you can ensure the translator you work with is a good match to translate your novel. Sadly, there are some dodgy literary translators out there. It’s important you know what questions you should ask and what red flags to keep your eye out for.
Here is a list of things you should look for in your translator.
1. Language proficiency
Your translator should be a native speaker of the language you are translating your book into. For example, if you are translating your book from Japanese into English, then you are looking for a Japanese to English translator whose native language is English.
You may see this written as Japanese>English or Japanese-English. This is also referred to as a “language pair”. The source language (the language your book is written in) is written first and the target language (the language you want your book translated into) is placed second.
A translator usually won’t translate from their native language into their additional language because it’s more time-consuming and it’s harder to produce a quality translation in your non-native language. After all, a minor shift in tone can have a significant impact on the meaning of a sentence.
However, some people are truly native speakers of both languages. Some of my European friends have a better grasp of the English language than I do as a native speaker!
2. Dialects
Keep in mind many languages have dialects, such as Castilian Spanish and Latin Spanish or American English and British English. Some translators will specialise in one dialect while others are capable of adapting their translations to a variety of dialects. I’m Australian and my native lingo is the strange old dialect known as Australian English but I can easily translate a document into US English or UK English if a client requests it.
3. Qualifications
Your translator should have professional training in translation studies. This might be an undergraduate degree, a master’s or a diploma.
Remember, you are looking for someone with training in translation studies: a degree in a foreign language is not equivalent to a degree in translation.
Very few institutions offer specialised degrees in literary translation so it’s likely your translator will have a generalist translation studies degree under their belt.
Language proficiency certificates are another bonus but I wouldn’t disregard a translator for not having one as they can prove their language skills to you through their portfolio.
4. Experience and a portfolio
You want your translator to have experience as a translator but also experience translating novels, preferably novels of your genre. Experience in your genre is important because your translator isn’t just translating words but translating the tone and meaning of your novel so it’s suitable for a different audience. You don’t want a sweet, romantic moment in your novel to unintentionally offend your target reader. A translator needs to rely on their understanding of cultural norms and reader expectations to do this.
You should ask for previous titles of novels they’ve translated and look at the reviews. You can pop the reviews into Google Translate or DeepL to get a feel of what they’re saying. Do the reviews talk about the language feeling stilted or unnatural or did the readers enjoy the translator’s prose?
However, the pool of qualified literary translators is small so you may not be able to find someone who meets all of your requirements in your language pair. A translator who has experience with other forms of creative texts or is a published author in their native language would also be a good option.
5. Samples
A translator should provide you with samples of their past work. You can also pay them to translate a portion of your novel, around 500-1000 words or your first chapter. I strongly recommend you pay for a short sample as it will give you an idea of how the translator works and their writing tone.
Now, chances are you don’t speak the language your book is being translated into so you may not be able to tell the quality of the translation yourself. You can pay a bilingual proofreader or another translator to assess both the source text and the translated sample for fluency, tone and style.
I know spending more money isn’t a fun prospect, but given you’ll spend thousands of dollars on a translator, I would rather spend $200 to make sure the translation will be worth the money.
If you’re lucky enough to have bilingual friends, fans or authors in your life, you could ask them if the translation matches the style and tone of your original book. Be sure to send them a signed copy of your translated book and some merchandise and/or chocolate as thanks if you go down this route!
6. Membership with a translation association
Ideally, your translator should be a member of a translation association or literary translation association, such as the National Australian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) or the American Literary Translators Association.
Some associations also have certified tests translators can take. These are a plus but not essential as I’ve found these tests are abhorrently expensive (over $500 in some cases!) and are only required if a translator wants to translate official documents in their home country.
7. Tools of the trade
A translator can use a variety of tools to assist with the translation process. These are referred to as computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools. CAT tools are not AI. Instead, think of CAT tools as a high-tech Scrivener for translators: they’re programs which help organise content and identify repetition to improve the speed, consistency and quality of a translation.
Each translator will have their preferences for what specific CAT tools suit their editing style. I find asking about CAT tools is a good way to weed out untrained translators. A professional translator won’t be using Microsoft Word to translate your novel! That would be insanely time-consuming or would result in an inconsistent, patchy translation.
Some of the fancy CAT tools are too expensive for your average freelance translator but there are free or affordable options they can use instead. You should ask your translator what tools they use to ensure consistency when translating your novel.
8. Machine translation
Some translators use machine translation, such as Google Translate, DeepL or a paid program. While the paid tools are probably better than Google Translate and might lower the cost of translating your novel, in my experience the overall quality of the translation will be poorer.
No professional translator will use machine translation without your express permission, but sadly there are unprofessional translators out there so it’s worth asking about.
9. Timelines
Of course, you want to ensure you are on the same page about how long it will take to translate your novel. The average translator can translate around 250 words per hour which equals 267 hours, or just under 7 weeks of full-time work, to translate an 80,000-word novel. It might take them an extra 2 weeks to review their translation and if your translator is arranging for editing and proofreading, you can add an extra 4 weeks for each.
Altogether, that’s around 17 weeks to translate your novel.
10. Costs
Translators will either charge a flat rate, per page or word. I know in Europe charging per page is common but given how many words on a page is subjective and per word is pretty self-explanatory I’ll stick to per word costs for this blog post.
You should budget around US$0.1-$0.2 per word, depending on your language pair and the experience of your translator. This equates to $8,000-$16,000 for a novel of 80,000 words. You may receive quotes starkly lower or way above this figure as this is just an estimate based on my experience. The genre, complexity of your novel, and speed of the translator will heavily influence how much it will cost.
If you’d like more information on your specific language pair, ProZ lists the average rates charged by translators for a variety of language pairs but keep in mind this isn’t a literary translation-specific resource.
11. Briefings
A brief will set your translator up to success by making your expectations clear and providing them with all the information they need to translate your novel.
Ask what information your translator will want from you before they start translating. This is usually done in the form of a translation brief. Your brief might be informal over email but your translator might ask for a more formal document following a specific format.
The brief should contain information about the purpose of your text, who your target audience is, a glossary of terms unique to your novel, where you intend to sell your novel, the tone and message you want your novel to convey, resources and technical considerations.
You can find a template for a translation brief here. Even if your translator provides you with a brief this template can help you understand what kind of information you should prepare for them.
12. Royalties
Some freelance translators will ask for royalties, which are a percentage of the profits from each sale of your translated book, in addition to a per-word payment.
If you’re paying royalties, ensure you understand the cost to translate your novel is likely not an advance on the royalties: it’s a separate payment. As a self-published author, you are very unlikely to find a translator who won’t work for a per-word or per-page fee at the minimum.
Think of it this way: if a translator is charging $8,000 for your novel and is instead offered 10% of the author’s royalties on a book that sells for $1, the book would need to sell 800,000 copies before they break even.
Generally, translators get a 10-30% royalty but this will depend heavily on your language pair and your translator’s preferences.
13. Creative licence
It’s important you allow your translator the freedom to change parts of your novel. Puns and humour don’t always translate well and part of your translator’s job is to come up with appropriate substitutes. They will also be on the lookout for things that may be considered inappropriate for your target audience.
Some authors are more than happy for a translator to make changes like these but others will want a more “faithful” translation. Every translator has their own flair so ask them about their translation process and how they they’d solve problems like puns and humour that don’t work in the target language.
14. Copyright
In some countries, it is common practice for translators to retain the copyright of their translated novels. I know that might sound unusual. After all, you wrote the book, right? Why would someone else have the copyright of your work?
The answer is because translation in itself is an art. The translator didn’t just change the words of your novel into another language, they’ve adapted and moulded it to suit a foreign audience.
For example, in Germany, the translator holds the copyright to the translated version of a novel. This means the translator might need to be consulted for any major changes you make to the text and they must be acknowledged in the book and promotional materials.
Literary translators will be based all around the world so their expectations regarding copyright will differ. If maintaining the copyright is important to you, you’ll need to negotiate this with the translator.
While the translator may keep the copyright of your translated novel, since you are paying the translator for a service, you’ll still retain the translation rights. In other words, if you’re unhappy with the translation you can pay someone else to translate our novel into the same language in the future. If you’d sold the translation rights to a publisher or directly to a translator, you wouldn’t be able to translate our novel into that language again.
15. Proofreading
Just like when you wrote your novel, your translated novel will need to be edited and proofread. Ideally, you want another translator to edit your novel as they can check the accuracy of the translation as they go. Sometimes your translator will arrange to do this for you and it will be factored into the price. Make sure you ask your translator if their fee includes this.
16. Contracts
A professional translator will ask you to sign a contract which outlines the cost, timeline, copyright and inclusions of your translation service. Contracts are important because they formalise the commitments both parties have made and they prevent conflict by specifying what will happen and when. This is especially important if you’re negotiating the copyright of your translated novel.
I strongly advise you to only work with a literary translator who will sign a contract with you and if you take one thing away from this blog post, make sure it’s “always have a contract!”
17. Other materials you need translated
Consider if you’ll need help navigating foreign language websites to publish your novel online and to understand your obligations, such as terms & conditions and tax, using these platforms. You might want assistance finding ARCs. A translator may not offer this as a service themselves, but will probably know another professional who can help you out.
18. Acknowledgements
Another thing to consider is how your translator wants to be acknowledged in your translated novel. Do they want their name on the cover, their biography on the back, on all marketing materials, or are they happy to be left off entirely?
Given all the work they’ve done, I think it’s best to give your translator their due credit. I love seeing a translator’s name on the front cover of a book as it acknowledges their efforts and it also highlights the importance of our translating profession. This will be a dealbreaker for some authors who would rather the translator remain unseen in their novel.
19. Communication
Given the complexities of translating fiction, it’s likely your translator will want to run ideas past you or get your perspective on an issue during the translation process. This may require you to respond to their questions within a certain timeframe or attend regular meetings with them.
I’ve always preferred emailing clients as I need to. I find the issue with weekly calls is it’s difficult to fit meetings around time zones and life commitments, and I’d rather email the questions as they come rather than wait a week to get an answer. However, we all have different preferences so if your translator wants to call you and phone calls are not your cup of tea they may not be a good match!
Questions to ask a potential translator for your novel
Here are some key questions to ask your translator before you hire them:
What’s your experience and background in literary translation?
Do you have any formal qualifications in translation?
How fluent are you in the languages you work with?
Are you a member of any translation associations?
Can I see a sample of your past work?
Will you do a paid sample of the first chapter of my novel?
How much will it cost to translate my novel and how long will it take?
Does the cost include proofreading and editing by a third party?
Will you help translate other materials for my novel (such as an author bio, blurb and marketing materials) and how much will that cost?
What information will you need from me before and during the translation process?
How do you like to communicate with clients?
What tools do you use to assist with the translation process?
What are your expectations regarding copyright, royalties, and how do you expect to be acknowledged in my novel?
Do you have a contract you use with clients?
Conclusion
Overall, you want to make sure you’re clear on what your translator expects of you and what you expect of them before you commit to the process.
Key considerations are ensuring your translator has experience translating in your genre, has a degree or equivalent qualification in translation, can show you samples of their past work and has a contract that states the pricing, timeline and inclusions of your edit.
Working with a translator can be a costly and intimidating experience, but the rewards can be great! You’ll be able to share your novel with a whole new group of potential readers.