Don’t let your book get lost in translation

June 15th, 2020 by dutchlink

You’ve written your book, an international publisher is interested and now your book is going to be translated.

But do you worry that your carefully crafted words will get lost in translation?

To avoid costly mistakes, we have compiled the following suggestions:

Work directly with a translator as this is always going to be the most cost-effective solution, effectively cutting out the middle person.

Find the right translator for the job. You can do this by searching amongst members of a professional organisation, such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, the Chartered Institute of Linguists or the Society of Authors.

Always ask for references from a potential translator. After all, you want to choose someone with a proven track record.

Ask for a test piece, although you may have to pay for this. Ask 10 different translators to translate the same words and you’ll get 10 different results. Your aim is to find a translator whose style aligns with your own.

Next negotiate a deal that covers payment and potential royalties and copyright. Then be prepared to liaise closely with the translator. After all, the translator has as much at stake as you do in getting it right.

Finally, remember the reviewing stage. This is as important as the translation process itself for published work.

At DutchLink Translations we have years of helping authors get their books translated from Dutch into English. One satisfied client at Rotterdam University of Applied Science who we helped with the translation of an educational book recently told us that our translation ‘was a pleasure to read, making difficult concepts easy to understand’.

If you think that we can help, why not ask us to carry out a test piece for you.  Just contact Elizabeth or Marion at [email protected].

Email – [email protected]
Phone – Elizabeth +44 (0)7923 482112

Copyright © 2024 DUTCHLINK. All Rights Reserved.