You’ve written a book, went through revision and typesetting (perhaps with our services), published it, and found your audience – fantastic! However, there’s a “but”: you haven’t been able to reach all the people you desire. Someone may have told you that they’d like to read your book, but they can’t read it in the language in which you’ve written it. Or perhaps you’ve identified a potential audience in a specific country, but you feel that language is a barrier. You’re right, as people usually prefer to read in their native language.
If you want to reach an audience that speaks another language, the best choice is to translate your book. Let’s see how to do it in the following sections:
- What if your book was published by a traditional publisher
- Looking for a foreign publisher for your book
- How to translate a book and self-publish it
- Finding the right translator for your book
- Negotiating translation rights
- Don’t forget about the review!
- Entrusting the translation of your book to an editorial agency
What if your book was published by a traditional publisher
Let’s assume you’ve published your book with a publisher in your country. Unless it’s a massive international player like Random House, they probably focus on the national market and aren’t interested in translating your work. When you signed the publishing contract, you probably didn’t transfer the translation rights to the publisher, so you are free to translate your book without asking for their permission. It’s crucial to verify this point carefully because if you’ve transferred the translation rights, only the publisher is allowed to negotiate the rights to translate your book.
Naturally, if you’ve self-published the book, the translation rights are yours, and you can go ahead without worrying about translation rights ownership.
Looking for a foreign publisher for your book
Assuming you have the translation rights, you can choose to contact foreign publishers to see if someone is interested in translating and publishing your book. We suggest you target publishers specialized in your field and to focus on countries where you have a potential audience (you can find more guidance on this on our translation service page).
Identifying specialized publishers in another country isn’t easy, finding the contact information for the responsible editor is often a challenging task, and responses can sometimes take months. To simplify the process, you can approach a literary agent, whose job is to find foreign publishers interested in translating and publishing an author’s books. They will save you a good chunk of the work but, of course, will charge a commission for their services.
How to translate a book and self-publish it
If you prefer not to be tied to a publisher and would instead self-publish the translation of your book, here are some tips on finding the right translator.
But first, let us remind you of the reasons for choosing self-publishing. We’ve discussed this thoroughly in our article on “Why self-publish”: In summary, self-publishing allows you to maintain full control over your text in terms of creativity, cover price, promotion methods, and metrics. Consider also that self-publishing has typically much shorter launch times than traditional publishing.
If you decide to self-publish your book in another language, you’ll have to cover the cost of translation, which can be expensive for particularly long texts. On the flip side, you can reach a broader audience and be read by those who already know and follow you but aren’t comfortable or lack the language skills to read your book in the original language.
Finding the right translator for your book
If you want to translate your book, the first thing to do is find a translator. But where do you start? It’s important to know that professional translators work only in specific fields they are knowledgeable about. Some translate legal texts for notaries and lawyers, while others work on pharmaceutical texts, and so on. There are also translators specialized in fiction or non-fiction texts. Unless you’ve written a highly technical essay directed solely at professionals, we recommend looking for a translator specialized in the publishing sector. They will be able to maintain the clarity and fluency of the original text and best capture the author’s voice.
It's also crucial that a professional only translates books into their native language.
Be cautious of anyone who claims to be able to translate into two languages (except in cases of true bilingualism) or even more, and don’t trust those who present themselves as experts in all knowledge areas. To be safe, we recommend consulting the database of a translators’ association, such as ATA (American Translators Association), and selecting only those professionals who have passed an internal examination within the association (Certified Translators in the case of ATA).
If you don’t know how to find a professional translator for your book or don’t have the time to handle it, contact us, and we will take care of it!
Negotiating translation rights
Once you’ve identified a translator that suits your needs, remember that it won’t be enough to agree on compensation and delivery times – you must also manage the translation rights. Literary translators work under copyright law, just like authors. The specifics vary from country to country and include payment conditions, which might include a percentage of royalties, the number of years for which an author can have the translation rights (yes, you can’t use that translation forever, even if you are the author), moral rights like mentioning the translator’s name, and more. You can find some contract templates online, with PEN America’s being one of the most common. However, you must ensure which conditions apply in the country where the translator resides.
If you’re unsure about what to include in a translation contract for your book, you can consult a lawyer specialized in publishing law, or rely on our expertise in the field.
Don't forget about the review!
Once you’ve found a native-speaking translator who specialises in editorial texts and you agree on all terms through a specific contract, it’s time to look for a reviewer. What, it’s not over yet? No, it’s not! A book is a complex text, and the translation must be reviewed by a professional editor who understands both the original and the translated language to ensure there are no mistakes or mistranslations. Just like when you wrote the book, you surely had it read by an editor or a proofreader before publishing it (and if you haven’t, you can still remedy this with our proofreading service).
A good reviewer is essential to guarantee the highest quality of the translation. In some cases, the translator will be able to recommend a colleague with whom they’ve worked before; otherwise, you’ll have to find a suitable professional for this role. Usually, translators also work as reviewers, and vice versa, so you can rely on the databases of translators’ associations again. In the case of reviewing, there’s no copyright involved so the process is a bit easier on your side.
When your book is translated and reviewed, it needs to be typeset in the new language before publishing it (you can see our typesetting service). Once it is ready, you’ll have to promote it in the new language by creating specific marketing content or translating the material you had prepared for the initial launch in your country. If you need some inspiration, read our marketing guide.
Entrusting the translation of your book to an editorial agency
After reading all our advice, you probably feel a bit overwhelmed. How can I be sure to find the right translator? And what about the reviewer? Not to mention the clauses in the translation contract! Plus, you hadn’t factored in that you’d need to prepare materials to promote the book in the new language or translate the materials you’ve already prepared for the launch of your book in the original language. Is it too much? Don’t worry, we at Canary Editors are here to help!
If you choose to translate your book with us, you can rely on an attentive and personalized service that includes:
- Translation of the book handled by one of our trusted native-speaking translators
- Professional native-speaking review included in the price
- Management of the translation contract
- Help with the self-publishing process in the new countries
- Premium assistance
Additionally, you can choose to entrust us with the promotion of your translated book through our editorial marketing service.
Do you want to translate your book with us? Contact us to book a free 30-minute call.
