Some of you may have seen platforms advertising their need for literary translators, only to find that these platforms aren’t offering agency work or any type of paid projects you might come across elsewhere (think marketplace platforms like Upwork or Proz.com).
What’s up with that? Is it a scam?
Well, the answer is: it’s complicated.
The only translators who should consider working with/on such platforms (the most famous of them being TekTime and Babelcube) are:
- newbies
- experienced translators seeking to add book translations to their existing list of specialties
- translators seeking to add easily publicly accessible work to their portfolio for the sake of publicity and credibility
Why is it a bad idea?
Anyone who doesn’t fit in one or more of these categories will be sorely disappointed.
You’re going to invest your time, energy and money (yup) into a book which might not even get a single sale (so much for revenue-sharing).
You’re still going to be dealing with the usual client/translator issues and just because they’re not paying you doesn’t mean you should stop displaying a professional attitude at all times.
Most platforms put a time limit on your ability to collect royalties for these translations.
Most customers you’ll get from these platforms are either new indie writers with small or inexistent budgets or experienced ones who just prefer to invest their coins in other self-publishing areas (like merch production or Facebook ads) instead of paying for professional translation, even when they can afford it. Similarly, you might find a couple of small presses or vanity publishing companies out there.
Why mention the type of customers?
If you intend to go ahead and try this for yourself, you need to know what to look for to increase your chances of avoiding situations where no one buys the translated books.
You also need to be prepared to pitch in when it comes to promote the translated book to its target language audience as most indie writers are ill-equipped and ill-prepared in this department.
The benefits
It is possible to benefit from working with such platforms but you might have worked out by now that there are caveats a-plenty.
- Getting your name and your work out there
Those of us who worked for agencies and other direct clients will be familiar with the ever-present NDAs most of them make us sign. It becomes an issue when trying to expand our pool of clients and have to tell our prospective customers we cannot send them samples of our existing work.
Well, in most cases you’ll just have to send them the link to the Amazon page for the published target language book. Your name will/should be listed right besides the author’s and the look inside feature allows anyone to have a peek at your translation.
- A different revenue stream
If you’ve done your homework before accepting a project, you may get royalty payments from time to time. The amounts aren’t typically huge but that money can come in handy.
- A potential for a fruitfuil long-term working relationship with your authors
Again, if you were careful when selecting the lucky author who was going to benefit from your expertise and if you have other skills and services to offer than just translation, this might just be your opportunity to build a business relationship with the authors who can afford it (see mention above) but who only chose this route to invest their money in something else. Letting them experience the quality you bring to the table, especially if you can bring added value with marketing, design or other specialized tasks, is a step that could turn them into your next ‘off-platform’ client.
Safety tips
Whenever you pick a book (or if you are contacted by the author), always check their published books by Googling them or the author’s name. You’ll get a sense of their popularity.
Ask the author to share their book sales numbers with you (a PDF printout of their author account on the self-publishing platform they use should do).
Most authors who are experienced will share these with you without giving you time to ask, as they know that’s the best way of securing the involvement of a good translator.
Check the online popularity of the author in your target language.
Always keep an eye on the sales numbers.
One last word
Should you feel adventurous, you may decide to offer revenue-sharing contracts to your new indie writer clients without using one of the above-mentioned third-party platforms. Make sure to follow the same safety tips and to protect yourself and your rights when drafting that contract.
Best of luck!
