Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat are the possible variants to translate a book?
What are the possible variants to translate a book? I've just written my first novel and need to find a reliable publisher, but most likely, I will choose the local one (in L.A.).
I found some comments about Babelcube on https://kindlepreneur.com/book-translation/ and https://www.writemyessayfast.org/ by Dave Kinsella. Other book translation services start from $20 per page and I can't simply afford it..
Answers
The purpose of localization during translation is to adapt your text to the needs of a particular language or culture. After a document is localized is should have the “look-and-feel” of the target language. It should appear that the information was actually written or developed within the local culture.
Consider the following translation of a document from Japanese to English. You want your document to meet all of the rules of the language, the culture, and the region. Without more information, however, this is not possible. The English language is too vast. Some machine translators have accounted for language variants, as have some CAT systems, but the majority of computers simply translate to “English”. Sometimes there is a choice of British English instead of American English, but even this is not universal. The same is true for Portuguese, where European and Brazilian Portuguese have any number of differences.
In Spanish, there are many variations in the language, and not all countries follow the rules of Castillian Spanish within their official language. Even within Spain there are distinct language groups such as Catalan and Basque (which is actually nothing like Spanish). The Spanish of the Canary Islands has many Portuguese influences, Latin American and Caribbean Spanish are both close to Castillian Spanish, but still different than each other. Argentina and Uraguay speak a variant that is almost closer to Italian than Spanish.
While there are dozens of Arabic dialects, and Chinese dialects number in the hundreds, all official documents in these two languages are written in Literary Arabic and Mandarin, respectively. This makes translation to and from these languages much easier.
When selecting a translation service provider, it is important to look beyond the direct language pairs listed on the website and ask questions about the ability of their translators to localize your documents when the source language has distinct variations. An American may speak English, but it would be almost impossible for them to translate a document into a Scottish dialect


If it's your first book, I would recommend publishing and marketing in your native language (I'm assuming English), before worrying too much about translations.
It's hard enough to market your book in your native language and market. Doing so in another language and market is generally more trouble than it's worth, especially if you have the privilege of being a native English speaker in the golden goose of the U.S. market.
I know self-published fiction authors who went through the trouble and expense of getting their books translated, and had a bad time.
I did talk to a non-fiction author who writes titles that are keyword rich (in other words, they're about things that people are searching about a lot on Amazon), and he said Spanish and German-translated books sell themselves.
So I personally ran a test with one of my shorter books, one that is keyword rich. I got 7,000 words translated into Spanish on Upwork, for about $250.
That was several months ago, and I'm nowhere near turning a profit. Amazon won't allow me to run ads for the book, and even though I have native Spanish speakers on my email list, few of them bought.
Now, if you can get a publisher in another territory to translate, publish, and market your book, then that's great. They know the market and can do the marketing. But, I wouldn't recommend putting much energy into that.
Long story short, I recommend concentrating on your native language and market first, and sell so many books that a foreign publisher reaches out to you and asks to buy translation rights.
I hope that helps. Feel free to book a call if you have further questions.
Related Questions
-
What would be better, publishing my novel on Kindle Direct Publishing or publishing it through Penguin?
If you are a self-published author, you may want to consider publishing via both options. I just remembered a survey I did with US-based readers when I published my book. I initially wanted them to just be on print versions to hold a special offering for the books. However, 80% of the readers say they rarely read print books nowadays and most of them consider continuing the books via Kindle. Though, one answer struck me the most. One guy said, it's not up to us to decide the definition of "reading." It's up to your audience. So, if you're thinking of publishing your book, it's better of have it either way because the end goal, aside from profit, is having your books read by your audience. Whether it's on kindle, android or live book, they should have the option to choose.
-
What is the best way to go about outlining a fiction book?
When it comes to writing a book, there's some groundwork that needs to be done beforehand. There are even a few things you need to know before you begin to outline. Every good story is comprised of... 1.) A protagonist 2.) main goal/conflict of the book 3.) multiple tries and fails to accomplish said main goal and overcome main conflict 4.) satisfying resolution There are obviously more moving parts to this outline, but that would take a really long time to get into, and I'd rather have you go watch the video tutorial I did on how to outline a novel since it's free, it isn't too long, and it will break up the process of outlining a novel into actionable steps that make sense and are easy to understand. You're welcome! https://youtu.be/rlQDW9n0NyE
-
Personal branded domain (mattpeplinski.com) or a branded domain (empiricspirit.com) to promote books?
Both domains are very important. I suggest that you use both of them in different ways. If you believe that your empiric spirit domain is a "company" that you would like to support in social media and in articles, etc., for years to come, support it on its own domain separately from your personal domain. However, I surmise that your personal domain is where you will (and, in my opinion, should) be driving up your social media presence and content. So, I recommend that you direct all book traffic there. So, create a subdomain for your site, or a subfolder, and "point" your book domain to that subfolder. Write about the book in your social media and blog, and all traffic will come where you want it to ultimately come - your website. It's important to maintain a website for the success of your book - for informational purposes, and to show people where to purchase the book. But it is important that you use social media like a pro, and become a guest blogging expert and frequent guest on radio programs... Those things matter much more. Direct all traffic where you want using bitly links, and track what is most effective. Good luck! Enjoy the journey :)
-
What's the best way to launch a market research/analyst firm?
Hi: To start, think concentric circles: * At the core, you have those you know well in the space—individuals who will take your call, most likely be your first customers and, hopefully, will be your champions. * Next ring out, you have acquaintances—people you have met briefly at conferences, industry events, etc., who were interested enough to share a business card. * And at the outer ring, you have the bulk of the industry—these are the folks who will be the target of your broader content management campaigns. As you gain traction in the inner two circles, it will make approaching the industry masses much easier. If you wish to discuss, send me a PM through Clarity for 15 free minutes. Cheers, Kerby
-
What are the best CPM networks to use on my site?
In my experience, CPM ads pay much less than CPC. I think that your issue with AdSense was poor optimization / ad placement. I have a client who had very low CPC with high traffic website, and was making well over $10000 per month with AdSense. Before we optimized his site, with same traffic he was making less than $3000 (which is still pretty good). There may be some good CPM networks out there, but overall, CPC should yield much higher income. What was your RPM (revenue per 1000 impressions) with AdSense?