How to calculate prize for book of short stories. It is my first literary translation project Thread poster: Maria de los Ángeles Esteves
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Hello,
I am new to this. A friend asked me to translate his book of short stories from Spanish (Argentinean) to English American. It is my first professional literary translation job apart from translations of my own literary works. It has 16.749 words in total. What would be a reasonable rate and time of delivery? I am willing to charge the absolute minimum since I have very little professional experience, but I might want to ask someone more experienced to check it before I deliver it. ... See more Hello,
I am new to this. A friend asked me to translate his book of short stories from Spanish (Argentinean) to English American. It is my first professional literary translation job apart from translations of my own literary works. It has 16.749 words in total. What would be a reasonable rate and time of delivery? I am willing to charge the absolute minimum since I have very little professional experience, but I might want to ask someone more experienced to check it before I deliver it. Is this something that is usually done, and if yes, how much that person would want to be paid so I include it in the asking price?
Thank you in advance!
Angeles ▲ Collapse
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 01:31
English to Russian
+ ...
A Spanish native living in Netherlands to undertake first literary translation into US English for a friend... Does your friend intend to sell the book in the US? Is it the first book? Self-publishing in mind?
Book translation is a grossly underpaid area in general, and often brings only 6-7 cents/word. How much below $1000 you are willing to go for a friend is up to you. It should be doable in a month considering a much slower pace for literary translation and lots of gobacks, but... See more A Spanish native living in Netherlands to undertake first literary translation into US English for a friend... Does your friend intend to sell the book in the US? Is it the first book? Self-publishing in mind?
Book translation is a grossly underpaid area in general, and often brings only 6-7 cents/word. How much below $1000 you are willing to go for a friend is up to you. It should be doable in a month considering a much slower pace for literary translation and lots of gobacks, but working for a 1000/month will not pay your bills so it would be better to spread it over 3-4 months to make ends meet in between.
I would suggest to start with translating a couple of pages and sending it to a serious professional editor native in US English... You can find a few good... humans here on Proz. Just pay for 1 hour of reading and quick feedback, ask for willingness to accept future editing, and rates. I can guarantee at least 60 and up to 80 dollars an hour (for a SERIOUS professional), or a drop dead minimum of 5 cents/word = $850 but no serious editor would accept per word pay for literary work unless you would entrust it into someone from the US but without any experience, also willing to accept minimum charge for "checking".
Literary translation does not get "checked", it gets edited in a full sense of the word. Even Tolstoy, Dickens and Mark Twain had editors
Mind it, I am not a member of "into native only" club but there are things to be considered in certain fields and under certain circumstances. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Thank you for your answer. Just a few more points | Mar 25 |
Thanks Irina. Yes, I also have my doubts because I am not "native", but I lived in the USA for 10 years and did a MFA in Creative Writing. But yes, I know my limitations. It is a friend but the work is paid and it will be published in the USA, but I do not know the publishing house. And yes, an editor, not "checked", sorry for my ignorance.
If I take this is not to make a living. I make my living doing something else. So I was thinking that it would take me 3-4 months, and that is somethi... See more Thanks Irina. Yes, I also have my doubts because I am not "native", but I lived in the USA for 10 years and did a MFA in Creative Writing. But yes, I know my limitations. It is a friend but the work is paid and it will be published in the USA, but I do not know the publishing house. And yes, an editor, not "checked", sorry for my ignorance.
If I take this is not to make a living. I make my living doing something else. So I was thinking that it would take me 3-4 months, and that is something also for the publisher to consider. They want someone from Argentina or that knows "Argentinean" to translate it.
But I am also willing to recommend someone if I can find here the right person. I still didn't officially take the job. I am investigating in order to decide that. Sending a sample to an editor seems like a good idea.
IrinaN wrote: A Spanish native living in Netherlands to undertake first literary translation into US English for a friend... Does your friend intend to sell the book in the US? Is it the first book? Self-publishing in mind? Book translation is a grossly underpaid area in general, and often brings only 6-7 cents/word. How much below $1000 you are willing to go for a friend is up to you. It should be doable in a month considering a much slower pace for literary translation and lots of gobacks, but working for a 1000/month will not pay your bills so it would be better to spread it over 3-4 months to make ends meet in between. I would suggest to start with translating a couple of pages and sending it to a serious professional editor native in US English... You can find a few good... humans here on Proz. Just pay for 1 hour of reading and quick feedback, ask for willingness to accept future editing, and rates. I can guarantee at least 60 and up to 80 dollars an hour (for a SERIOUS professional), or a drop dead minimum of 5 cents/word = $850 but no serious editor would accept per word pay for literary work unless you would entrust it into someone from the US but without any experience, also willing to accept minimum charge for "checking". Literary translation does not get "checked", it gets edited in a full sense of the word. Even Tolstoy, Dickens and Mark Twain had editors Mind it, I am not a member of "into native only" club but there are things to be considered in certain fields and under certain circumstances. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 08:31
French to English
Has the book already been published in Spanish or not? Who will be paying you?
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Would perhaps asking for a tiny percentage of the sales revenues (instead of a fixed rate/price based on word/volume) be adequate in this context? Or perhaps a fixed amount for every copy of the book that is printed or sold?
That way, the friend would not need to pay much or anything in advance, and the translator would have a bigger stake in the quality.
| | | | | yes, a couple of years ago in Argentina. | Mar 25 |
Kay Denney wrote:
Has the book already been published in Spanish or not? Who will be paying you?
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I don't know about this. I will have to ask.
Thomas Johansson wrote:
Would perhaps asking for a tiny percentage of the sales revenues (instead of a fixed rate/price based on word/volume) be adequate in this context? Or perhaps a fixed amount for every copy of the book that is printed or sold?
That way, the friend would not need to pay much or anything in advance, and the translator would have a bigger stake in the quality.
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