Best way to calculate how much to charge for a book translation 100,000 words Thread poster: Pia Merlo-Schmucker
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I am having a hard time deciding how to best calculate in a fair manner a quote for the translation of a book from English into Spanish. Is my best option the use of the calculator provided by ProZcom?
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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| From $1500 gross to $5000+ with royalties | Jun 18, 2020 |
Pia, unlike mechanized/technical translation, literary translation is a very low-paid job with too many requirements and collateral tasks, considering the languages/structures difference, audience, era, author, allusions/metaphors, facts, researches, and so on.
At the bare minimum, if you can translate some 500 words an hour for $35, then it will take some 45 hours, making about $1600 gross (before taxes and expenses). However, you could win favorable terms and explain the au... See more Pia, unlike mechanized/technical translation, literary translation is a very low-paid job with too many requirements and collateral tasks, considering the languages/structures difference, audience, era, author, allusions/metaphors, facts, researches, and so on.
At the bare minimum, if you can translate some 500 words an hour for $35, then it will take some 45 hours, making about $1600 gross (before taxes and expenses). However, you could win favorable terms and explain the author/copyright's holder that it involves not mere translation, but a tribute rewriting in a different language for different people. So, a successful presentation is a must for winning co/author's fee and royalty.
Good luck) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pia Merlo-Schmucker 
United States
Local time: 04:50
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you so much for the answer! | Jun 18, 2020 |
That was exactly what I needed to know and was very helpful! Thank you so much for your prompt answer!
| | | | Ying-Ju Fang
Taiwan
Local time: 18:50
Member (2012)
English to Chinese
| I don't understand the calculation. | Jun 18, 2020 |
DZiW wrote:
... if you can translate some 500 words an hour for $35, then it will take some 45 hours, making about $1600 gross (before taxes and expenses).
500 words an hour x 45 hours = 22,500 words
But the book has 100,000 words. With the same logic, it should take 200 hours. With an hourly rate of $35, one would make about $7000 gross, no?
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DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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Lynn, right you are--depending on the edit and preferences, it may take some 40 days (200+ hours), but number are still about the same.
* If the translator is able to prove she offers not a mere translation but rather a turn-key solution as an L2 co/author, then sometimes it would be better to negotiate $8000+ once, sometimes $5000 + royalties is more lucrative, depending on the terms and the number of copies.
* However, if they apply 'fuzzy match/volume/discount... See more Lynn, right you are--depending on the edit and preferences, it may take some 40 days (200+ hours), but number are still about the same.
* If the translator is able to prove she offers not a mere translation but rather a turn-key solution as an L2 co/author, then sometimes it would be better to negotiate $8000+ once, sometimes $5000 + royalties is more lucrative, depending on the terms and the number of copies.
* However, if they apply 'fuzzy match/volume/discounts' and other CAT-like tricks, it may easily go under $1600 gross. Indeed, some publishers use 40,000 characters as a reference to pre/calculate the author's fee, which means 2.5 author's pages.
Not sure about the USA today, yet the wordcount is but one of the tentative points in translation, especially if they offer a McDonald's freshman small fee under $25/hours as a rough guide.
Take it easy for now only a few can understand the highly qualified specialist is no bottom-feeder; nor how working harder really correlates with earning more.
Cheers ▲ Collapse
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Easy way to calculate:
How much do you want to earn as a freelancer for an full-time assignment of at least 1.5 month?
Tip 1: an employee taking home EUR1000/month for his/her personal expenses costs his/her employer about twice as much
Tip 2: a self-employed professional is not an employee
Philippe
| | | | Platary (X)
Local time: 12:50
German to French
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| More info needed | Jun 19, 2020 |
Hello,
The cost of translating a book is rarely per word, but in order to give an appropriate answer it would be necessary to know:
1 - What is the nature of the book (novel, essay, technical work, ...)
2 - To whom should you make a proposal (an individual or a publisher)
3 - Is there a question of a one-off payment or is copyright prevailed
Without knowing more, it is impossible to give a satisfactory answer.
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