Why does the translator have to be named in the book? In contrast to translations of technical or specialized materials, the translation of literature is an art. This principle applies to poetry, novels, and biographies—and even to non-fiction works. It logically follows that translated books constitute works of art, and all works of art have […]
Can you translate a book with DeepL?
The simple answer, of course, is yes, you can, but can it also save you time and money? I tested it out. Recently, I had the unexpected opportunity to actually test whether using DeepL (an online machine translation tool like Google Translate) can save an author or publisher time and money to translate a novel. […]
Editing of translated novels
Editing a transated novel differs fundamentally from editing a work draftet in the original language—primarily because the plot of a translated novel cannot be altered. Of course, minor details may sometimes be changed, and indeed might have to be—for example, to iron out mistakes in the original text, or to adapt the plot to the […]
How is the price for a specialist translation calculated?
The cost of a specialist translation can vary quite considerably depending on the translation provider. This is, of course, due to the fact that each freelancer sets their own rates—in the case of translators, there is no fee regulation, not even more or less official guidelines. In addition, the rate always depends on the type […]
Editing is not merely editing!
When it comes to editing, I essentially distinguish among four different types: (1) editing a text composed in its original language, (2) editing a text that is purely linguistic in nature, (3) editing the translation of a technical text, and (4) editing the translation of a novel. Before the selection of an editor, it makes […]
How are the costs of a literary translation calculated?
In contrast to technical translations, whose prices are usually calculated by line (usually 55 characters including spaces) in German and by word in English (and many other languages), literary translations are charged by the page. During typewriter times, a page consisted of 30 lines, with a full line having exactly 60 keystrokes. However, incomplete lines […]
Translating for self-publishers: how I proceed
Whenever I translate a book for a self-publisher from English into German, the project includes significantly more than mere translation, as would be done for a traditional publisher—I offer a complete service package. First of all, the author benefits: usually, authors do not have a strong command of German and have already experienced enough difficulties […]