| דפים בנושא: < [1 2] | Poll: Would you like to be a literary translator? מפרסם התגובה: ProZ.com Staff
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Kristina Cosumano (X) 
גרמניה
Local time: 05:37
מגרמנית לאנגלית
Being the opposite of "tech-minded"...
| | | | Usch Pilz
Local time: 05:37
מאנגלית לגרמנית
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I am already a literary translator (though what qualfies as literature?) and I am very passionate about my chosen profession.
I love the intense involvement with one text over a long period of time. It's not about the words, it is about the tone and the spirit.
I enjoy collaborating with authors, editors, colleagues. Despite the many lonely hours at your desk you have to be a teamplayer at heart.
It is great to just work for weeks or even months on end without having to ... See more I am already a literary translator (though what qualfies as literature?) and I am very passionate about my chosen profession.
I love the intense involvement with one text over a long period of time. It's not about the words, it is about the tone and the spirit.
I enjoy collaborating with authors, editors, colleagues. Despite the many lonely hours at your desk you have to be a teamplayer at heart.
It is great to just work for weeks or even months on end without having to write bills or having to look for new projects.
I like solving the riddles, untangling the threads. It may sound romantic, but every book is a quest. Even if it is "just" light entertainment.
Only a few of us get prestigious artsy award-winning projects that make it to the feuilletons. I get a lot of mystery, some fantasy and even more romance. But - hey - someone's got to do it with dedication. (If you want to check out what I mostly do, just google Usch Pilz or my pen name Teresa Hein.)
On the downside:
The work load is INTENSE, and given the hours you put in, the pay is low. (Often no time for those G&Ts that somebody would have to buy for you anyway  ). There is cutthroat competition in my language pair. You have to be super industrious and really lucky to be able to make a living out of literary translating. Meaning you have to have a set of regular clients who like your work a lot, so that you can translate books or other literary pieces back to back.
I do marketing texts, too. Sometimes educational science texts, school textbooks, journalism, tourism and travel. I enjoy those breaks from literary translating but always return to it happily.
Can I recommend this line of work?
Only to people who are as adventurous as they are studious, and only to those who don't have dependants to support.
Now back to my two love birds in small-town Colorado ...
[Edited at 2016-06-02 15:15 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
ברזיל
Local time: 00:37
חבר (2014)
מאנגלית לפורטוגזית
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| I enjoy it very much | Jun 2, 2016 |
Although I have specialized in technical areas, so 90% of my work is technical, I enjoy it a lot when I have the chance to do literary work and exercise my creativity. I wish I had more of those.
However, I'm talking about text here. I'm not consiering dubbing and subtitling as literary work, in case they are considered as such. The risks are beyond my standards.
I also don't think I'd have the competence or the patience to translate poetry.
But novels, s... See more Although I have specialized in technical areas, so 90% of my work is technical, I enjoy it a lot when I have the chance to do literary work and exercise my creativity. I wish I had more of those.
However, I'm talking about text here. I'm not consiering dubbing and subtitling as literary work, in case they are considered as such. The risks are beyond my standards.
I also don't think I'd have the competence or the patience to translate poetry.
But novels, short stories, and the like, as well as non-fiction, will always be welcome.
[Edited at 2016-06-02 15:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
ברזיל
Local time: 00:37
חבר (2014)
מאנגלית לפורטוגזית
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[Edited at 2016-06-02 15:18 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:37
מאנגלית לספרדית
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| Literary and literary | Jun 2, 2016 |
Chris S wrote:
I know some literary translators and they're not short of a few bob. It may pay less per word but those words can be very straightforward.
There is literary and literary, of course. These guys are translating Nordic Noir thrillers, not the Bible.
It doesn't appeal to me, though. I prefer to churn out black-and-white texts with minimal involvement of brain cells and then go out and have some fun.
Next up, The translator girl with the motorbike tattoo, a Nordic noir thriller.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:37
מאנגלית לספרדית
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| Those literary brain muscles need some work | Jun 2, 2016 |
I loved reading many of the answers here. I still don't know what G&T means (gin and tonic?). I'm a Virgin Mary kind of guy.
I would love to try my hand at literary translation. I once approached the publishing house for Mister Rogers books (it's not high lit nor self-help, but it's a series of reflections for the common man) without much to show for. I also approached another author whose book, The cult of the a... See more I loved reading many of the answers here. I still don't know what G&T means (gin and tonic?). I'm a Virgin Mary kind of guy.
I would love to try my hand at literary translation. I once approached the publishing house for Mister Rogers books (it's not high lit nor self-help, but it's a series of reflections for the common man) without much to show for. I also approached another author whose book, The cult of the amateur I found powerful, useful and quite quotable. That also went nowhere.
It's not like authors don't want their works translated; it's the publishing houses that hold the translation rights (among other rights). Trying to get to talk to someone at a publishing house is quite an exercise in patience. And then there are bills to pay and cups of coffee to sip in my living room, so I stopped doing that exercise.
Sometimes I think that people (including many translators) assume that a translator gets to be creative only with literary texts. My experience has shown me otherwise. I can be highly creative with the technical, health, medical and marketing documents I translate regularly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Usch Pilz
Local time: 05:37
מאנגלית לגרמנית
+ ...
Mario wrote:
"I can be highly creative with the technical, health, medical and marketing documents I translate regularly."
I absolutely second that!
G&T?
Gin and Tonic. Yes!
Finding work:
It is usually the publishers who approach translators (not so much the other way round), once all the legalities of licensing and who owns the rights to what are settled.
In theory you CAN suggest a book that you think needs to be translated to a pu... See more Mario wrote:
"I can be highly creative with the technical, health, medical and marketing documents I translate regularly."
I absolutely second that!
G&T?
Gin and Tonic. Yes!
Finding work:
It is usually the publishers who approach translators (not so much the other way round), once all the legalities of licensing and who owns the rights to what are settled.
In theory you CAN suggest a book that you think needs to be translated to a publisher. They might even get interested, do the research and find that they can buy translation rights. And do the book. But hardly ever with you. Instead they assign the project to one of their tried and tested translators whom they have been working with for many years.
There is a market for translators with self-published authors. But drafting contracts in these cases can be a work of art. And naturally budgets are even tighter here than with the big players in the publishing scene. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:37
מאנגלית לספרדית
+ ...
| Literary translation was back in the day | Jun 2, 2016 |
Usch Pilz wrote:
Mario wrote:
"I can be highly creative with the technical, health, medical and marketing documents I translate regularly."
I absolutely second that!
G&T?
Gin and Tonic. Yes!
Finding work:
It is usually the publishers who approach translators (not so much the other way round), once all the legalities of licensing and who owns the rights to what are settled.
In theory you CAN suggest a book that you think needs to be translated to a publisher. They might even get interested, do the research and find that they can buy translation rights. And do the book. But hardly ever with you. Instead they assign the project to one of their tried and tested translators whom they have been working with for many years.
There is a market for translators with self-published authors. But drafting contracts in these cases can be a work of art. And naturally budgets are even tighter here than with the big players in the publishing scene.
I've read of a translator who translated a new version of an old text ('old' as in 'book that has already been translated decades ago) and sent it to a publisher. Apparently they liked the new translation so much that they hired him.
I suppose there's always the market for translators who want to self-publish their own works. Oh, well…
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| The average literary translator is a 60 year old white male | Jun 3, 2016 |
I would definitely love to. While at uni, I took some classes on translation theory, and remember being told that the average literary translator is a 60 year old white male, and that it is very hard for newcomers to find a way in, especially as there is no formal training, mentorships etc.
It seems to me that the translators of popular literary works are usually writers themselves. This of course makes sense as they would have the language skills, contacts and proven credentials al... See more I would definitely love to. While at uni, I took some classes on translation theory, and remember being told that the average literary translator is a 60 year old white male, and that it is very hard for newcomers to find a way in, especially as there is no formal training, mentorships etc.
It seems to me that the translators of popular literary works are usually writers themselves. This of course makes sense as they would have the language skills, contacts and proven credentials already, and probably makes for a good combined income. Again though, this trend doesn't make it any easier for a no name translator to get a foot in the door.
Ideally I'd love to live exactly that setup, but with a family to feed and living in one of Europe's most expensive cities, I seriously doubt that it's feasible at the moment. ▲ Collapse
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Yes, I would love to translate works of literature but I'm well aware that competition is fierce for such work and, probably, pay is poor, and I probably couldn't make a living at it.
I love the theatre. I read somewhere that the 18th century French play "Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard" was deemed impossible to translate. For my own amusement, I decided to translate it into English. Challenging indeed, but most enjoyable. We read it at one of our play-reading sessions. It's one of those ... See more Yes, I would love to translate works of literature but I'm well aware that competition is fierce for such work and, probably, pay is poor, and I probably couldn't make a living at it.
I love the theatre. I read somewhere that the 18th century French play "Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard" was deemed impossible to translate. For my own amusement, I decided to translate it into English. Challenging indeed, but most enjoyable. We read it at one of our play-reading sessions. It's one of those esprit-rich comedies where the characters don't recognise one another when dressed as someone else. Copy available free of charge on request. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Katrin Bosse (X)
גרמניה
Local time: 05:37
מהולנדית לגרמנית
+ ...
Dittebd wrote:
the average literary translator is a 60 year old white male
My year-long research into the literary translator community in Germany has given me a slightly different impression: the typical [German] literary translator is a 50 year old white, childless female (alternatively: with children long flown from the nest).
Germany has a long-standing tradition of literary translation and there are multiple institutions where one can apply for grants for specific translation projects or week-long workshops in which participants discuss particular translatory problems. Very enriching, and absolutely impossible to attend when one is the single working mother of a minor.
The literary translator community is not geared to translators being parents. If you have small children and want to be a literary translator, you
a) need a partner to take care of the off-spring while you are off taking part in workshops/seminars/meet-ups,
b) need a partner to help you pay the bills because however hard you work the money just doesn't cover it,
c) need a partner when, without warning, the publisher dumps the page proof on you with three days notice for 1000 pages to proofread.
Unfortunately, since my life is not structured accordingly, literary translation is off the table.
| | | | | Indefinite no | Jun 3, 2016 |
I am mostly marketing translator, dealing often also with IT and technical and sometimes ecological texts. Marketing translation and transcreation (which I do as well) is, to my mind, somewhere in between literary and technical type.
I tried to translate some blog posts on popular psychology and on ecology, which as I guess, could be considered a kind of modern form of literature. Those were quite challenging to me, but both me and my clients were happy with the result. Currently I... See more I am mostly marketing translator, dealing often also with IT and technical and sometimes ecological texts. Marketing translation and transcreation (which I do as well) is, to my mind, somewhere in between literary and technical type.
I tried to translate some blog posts on popular psychology and on ecology, which as I guess, could be considered a kind of modern form of literature. Those were quite challenging to me, but both me and my clients were happy with the result. Currently I have a writing job at hand, about Verona, one of my dream cities, but limited with tight web localization instructions, though.
However, those jobs haven't inspired me to dream of literature translation career yet. Maybe, when I'll be "a 60 year old white male" something may change, God knows. But now I am quite happy with that golden balance of creativity and accuracy which is marketing translation for me. ▲ Collapse
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