I am more than happy to translate your self-published novels from English into German. A list of the books I have already translated can be found under “Books”.
But there’s more to translating a novel than “just” the translation. All authors writing a new book are required to submit their finished text for editing and proofreading, and this is no different when it comes to translating novels.
The editing process polishes the style. Four eyes will always see better than two, and an editor who is not as painfully familiar with the source text as the translator can always find room for improvement, even in the best translations.
During the proofreading process, a third person reads the novel with a view to eliminating all typos and spelling errors. These are a natural occurrence in every book, but once the translator and editor have read the entire text through a couple of times, they become so used to it that they fail to spot the typographical errors.
To ensure that none of my book translations from English into German are ever published without having undergone both of these processes (the result could otherwise damage my reputation), I provide all three services – translation, editing and proofreading – as a single package. This means peace of mind for you, as all you have to do is commission the translation and wait for your print-ready version to arrive.
So how much will it cost you?
It is not, of course, possible to give a general answer before having seen the text. However, a good rule of thumb is to assume a cost of approx. 25 euros per standard page (1,500 characters incl. spaces), plus statutory VAT.
What about further services? Again, I am more than happy to offer professional typesetting services for both printed and electronic texts. I even have access to a pool of professional designers so that I can find someone to create the perfect cover for your book.
It goes without saying that the names of the translator, editor, proofreader, typesetter, and cover designer will be listed in the book; all these points, as well as the issue of royalties, will be clarified in a contract.
Too expensive?
OK, so you’d prefer to keep things cheap? Well, have you ever read the reviews of badly translated books on Amazon and other portals? Do you really want to take that risk? A potentially reputation-ruining risk? A novel does not live by its plot alone – the narrative element is equally important, regardless of the language used. You no doubt know how difficult it can be to find just the right way of saying something. So don’t skimp on the translation. Remember that a good translation will lead to much higher sales than a bad one, so in that respect, you will quickly be able to recover the higher costs of a good translation.