Book Translation
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My first steps into literary translation from German to English – a personal account
I’ve just finished my first book translation, of Der Energethische Imperativ by Hermann Scheer. My English translation is due to hit the bookshops in December 2011.I was very excited to be asked to translate the German original, for I think it’s fair to say that, in many ways, “literary translation” is regarded as the pinnacle of the translation profession.
So how did I get this German translation job?
Well, to my complete surprise Earthscan, the UK publisher, emailed me directly and asked if I was available.
They had found me thanks to this, my SBI website. Having the right sort of website has really boosted my business! This book translation is certainly my biggest one-off job, making the time invested in my website more than worthwhile.
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As this was my first book translation from German to English, I thought it might be helpful to other translators if I report on the experience.
First off,...
| Hermann Scheer’s Der Energethische Imperativ was published in 2010 by German publishers Antje Kunstmann (ISBN 978-3-88897-683-4). Hermann Scheer, German parliamentarian, renewable energy pioneer, and the founder of EUROSOLAR (www.eurosolar.de), was the driving force behind the German government’s Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) which came into force in 2000, stimulating growth of the renewables industry and providing incentives for individuals wishing to invest into renewables. In view of the Fukushima disaster of March 2011, his arguments about the folly of clinging to nuclear and fossil energy are prescient. The English translation, The Energy Imperative, is being published by Earthscan, the UK’s leading independent publisher, and is due out in December 2011. Hermann Scheer died too young, in October 2010, after a short illness. |
What is literary translation?
Well, according to the CEATL survey, there are 2 definitions of literary translation. The majority of European countries, including the UK, Germany and Austria (i.e. our English and German audiences), define a literary translator as someone who translates any work published in book form and protected by copyright. This covers scientific books, text books, non-fiction etc. Other European countries limit the definition to pure literature, i.e. works of fiction, plays and poetry.
Amazingly, for a small country with a population of only 8 million, Austria has around 280 active (i.e. one publication every 2 to 3 years) literary translators and Germany, as you’d expect, has more, at around 2,000. The figure for the UK is only 50, with only 3% of annual publications being translations into English. This is an exceptionally low figure, and not promising for anyone wishing to make this field of translation into a career.
Charging for a literary translation from German to English
As I was being commissioned by a publishing house which had already published two of the author’s previous books in translation from German to English, they knew the market rates. I didn’t, so I did some research. A big Thank You to the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (www.ceatl.eu) who have surveyed the income of literary translators in Europe (which you can download here). They outline methods of charging, royalties, rights etc. in each European country.
In brief, fees are calculated either:
• On a per page basis, where 1 page = 30 x max.60 keystrokes = 1,800 keystrokes (e.g. Austria, Switzerland and Germany)
• On a keystroke basis (=Zeichen mit Leerzeichen)
• On a per word basis (e.g. UK)
• By folio/printer’s sheet, where a folio is roughly 16 pages x 2,000 keystrokes
The survey outlines the minimum, average and maximum rates in each country. Unsurprisingly, literary translators appear to be lowest paid in Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia and then Greece, with the highest paid literary translators in Norway, then Switzerland, Belgium and France. The UK was in the middle field.
The nuts and bolts of book translation
Payment
• Generally a portion of the translator’s fee (up to 50%) is paid when the contract is agreed, the remaining portion when the completed translation is delivered to the publisher. In a few countries payment is entirely upon final delivery, and in Lithuania the translator is only paid when the book is published.
Royalties
• Generally royalties only provide additional income where a book sells over 10,000 copies. Not all countries offer royalties, and rates are low, varying from 0.2% to 2%.
Contracts
• Normally signed between the translator and the publisher. Some literary associations provide sample contracts to which publishers tend to adhere. Where this is the case, rates are generally higher. Some associations also publish recommendations for fees and royalties.
Free copies
• The average number of free copies of the translated book that the translator can be expected to be given is 5 to 10.
Can I make a living as a literary translator?
Literary translators’ income comes from three basic sources:
• The basic fee – calculated by the number of words, pages, or keystrokes
• Royalties – e.g. shares of the proceeds, or public lending rights (PLR) (although they are often offset against the basic fee and thus only kick in when book sales are significant)
• Grants and subsidies (my publishers received an EU grant to have the book translated into English) although in many countries these are almost negligible
You don’t become a literary translator to become rich - the CEATL survey even uses the term “bread line”. Many translators also have other careers, as lecturers, teachers, etc. with literary translation from German to English more of a sideline. It’s also a form of reputation building for linguists, similar to the way in which academics are expected to publish regularly to maintain their professional profile.
Some pros and cons of literary translation
Pros:
• The feel good factor
Having your name in print has to be the ultimate form of recognition for a German to English translator, even if your name is only on the inside cover (the limited profile of the literary translator is another industry sore point). It’s “official proof” of your abilities. So, it feels good.
• Time planning
You have a set amount of time available for your book translation from German to English and can allocate your working time as you wish. Plus you can use your time more efficiently by continuing to accept other work, thus reducing your overall non-translation “downtime”.
• Efficient working
Whatever the length of a translation, you must first analyse the style of the German text and research the terminology of the subject area before deciding best how to render this into English. However, the longer the translation, the relatively shorter this research time is, and increased familiarity with the subject area means that the translation process tends to become quicker the further you get into it.
Cons:
• Income
No one translates books to get rich. Translator incomes in the UK are around half of average incomes in the manufacturing and services sector. This is unlikely to change, and so you’ll probably need to boost your income with other forms of translation, or language-related work (as I do it with this website). Grants are also available for funding literary translation.
• Cancelling work
You may need to refuse work from some of your usual clients where time schedules clash. (But look on the bright side – this may be your chance to start your own agency, by contracting extra work out. And it is a good way of reminding your clients just how in demand you are!)
• Physical volume of work
A book = generally a lot of text = a lot of typing. This is something I have only recently been forced to consider, after a bout of tennis elbow which made typing painful. However, speech recognition software is a great solution – I solved the problem by using Dragon Naturally Speaking software which even had the added benefit of speeding up the translation process.
| TIP! Would you make a good literary translator? Why not judge your own translation skills by practising some translation from German to English? Use some of the free German translation resources available on the web. Choose a German text, have a go at translating, and then compare your translation from German to English with the published one. A great learning source. |
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