Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3]
Translating a novel: price range?
Thread poster: Fannie Poirier
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 17:59
English to German
+ ...
Let's just agree do reject automatic discounts and rock-bottom rates Nov 15, 2016

Chris S wrote:

Bernhard Sulzer wrote:

Well, when it comes to translating, your basic economics doesn't always apply. especially, if you're applying it for all the wrong reasons.


If you quote a piecemeal rate (per word), then it has to, otherwise you won't be competitive.


As others have already said, the value of your time is constant, so the rates you charge should reflect that. If something can be translated quickly, or is large enough to reduce idle time, research and admin, you should charge less per word to get the same per hour. Because if you don't, someone else will. In the real world of imperfect markets, you will sometimes be able to get away with charging more, but not indefinitely.

Believe me, I'm as stubborn and mercenary as you are when it comes to pricing, but I recognise that I'm living on borrowed time and it could come back to bite me. Sadly the rules of economics don't cease to apply just because you don't like them.


hey Chris,

My argument is with a situation where someone suggests that simply because they can translate something faster or simply because the text is larger, that it warrants an automatic discount. The process of calculating a fair rate is more complex than that as I know you are aware of. Of course one takes many factors into account when quoting a price and while competing with other professionals (not amateurs mind you). But we're discussing already the bottom of the barrel (10 cents and less for translating).


 
Marie C.K.
Marie C.K.
Local time: 00:59
Italian to English
+ ...
Appropriate Rates for Book series? Jul 3, 2020

Hello,

I hope I get a quick reply as I gauge an offer for ENG - ITA translation of a fiction book series project that would last 5-9 months:

Is 0.015 USD / word a market offer for this type of a project?

It's 0.005/wo for proofreading

Thank you for any clues!


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 21:59
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
How many words per hour do you expect to do? Jul 3, 2020

Marie C.K. wrote:
Is 0.015 USD / word a market offer for this type of a project?

It's 0.005/wo for proofreading

Have you worked out what you expect to earn per hour and per month? Can you hope to live on it? I know I couldn't. Book translation is known to be quite poorly paid, but even with possible royalties (and they are never guaranteed) I don't see how it's possible, personally.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:59
Member (2008)
Italian to English
never accept royalties Jul 4, 2020

Sheila Wilson wrote:

Marie C.K. wrote:
Is 0.015 USD / word a market offer for this type of a project?

It's 0.005/wo for proofreading

Have you worked out what you expect to earn per hour and per month? Can you hope to live on it? I know I couldn't. Book translation is known to be quite poorly paid, but even with possible royalties (and they are never guaranteed) I don't see how it's possible, personally.



I once agreed to write a book for a small advance payment + royalties. The publisher never bothered to send me the sales figures, which made it impossible for me to work out whether I was due royalty payments. I never got any royalties. Then the publisher went bust. About a year later I found that my book had been selling like hot cakes and had been translated into Chinese. This project was a complete loss-maker for me - never mind all the hard work and time I put into it. Now print the following message on a large piece of paper, and tape it to the ceiling above your bed:

NEVER AGREE TO BE PAID IN ROYALTIES

[Edited at 2020-07-04 08:14 GMT]


Jennifer Forbes
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
No white elephant for all Jul 4, 2020

Tom, sorry to hear that even such a thoughtful and careful reader as you could buy into tricks.

I happen to know a colleague who was contacted by a not so big publisher, translated a book, and won not only decent rates and favorable terms, but also some 3% royalties. Certainly, sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry. However, when a bigger publisher came, she got a pretty sum as her “passive income” for reprints and e-sales too, not to mention good publicity and respect.
... See more
Tom, sorry to hear that even such a thoughtful and careful reader as you could buy into tricks.

I happen to know a colleague who was contacted by a not so big publisher, translated a book, and won not only decent rates and favorable terms, but also some 3% royalties. Certainly, sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry. However, when a bigger publisher came, she got a pretty sum as her “passive income” for reprints and e-sales too, not to mention good publicity and respect.

She didn’t depict it as something rare or extraordinary, yet noticed there’re rather many such literary translators. Meanwhile, many freelance writers, journalists, and photographers mostly live off the previous works, risking their financial and psychological stability. It always depends...
Collapse


 
Ines Abrunhosa dos Santos
Ines Abrunhosa dos Santos
Portugal
Local time: 21:59
English to Portuguese
+ ...
rate for the whole project Dec 27, 2023

Hey everyone and happy holidays!

So let's say I were to be offered to translate a whole book novel however instead of being asked for the hourly rate I had to give the whole project rate as if I knew long it'd take me. Can anyone here give me an approximate time of how long it took them to translate the 117,000 words so I can understand +/- how long it could take for 49472 words? I was thinking if I charge 0.10/word it makes approx. 4947.2€ however unsure if doing the right math
... See more
Hey everyone and happy holidays!

So let's say I were to be offered to translate a whole book novel however instead of being asked for the hourly rate I had to give the whole project rate as if I knew long it'd take me. Can anyone here give me an approximate time of how long it took them to translate the 117,000 words so I can understand +/- how long it could take for 49472 words? I was thinking if I charge 0.10/word it makes approx. 4947.2€ however unsure if doing the right maths and seems also a bit overwhelming to ask. On another hand it does take work, time and FYI I don't use CAT tools. Really not keen on those.. So then I got lost because I'd have to think how long it could take me to think of a fair price for both parties. If not imposing how much did it cost to the client translating those 117,000 words? No deadline mentioned yet so that had to be considered as well.

Also anyone knows of a free calculator online which tells us that, like.. if we had to translate those many words I mentioned how long it'd take to do it or an estimated minimum time?


Any heads up are welcome:)

Thanks
Collapse


 
Evgeny Sidorenko
Evgeny Sidorenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:59
English to Russian
+ ...
It all depends Dec 29, 2023

I'm not sure what kind of tips you would expect without others knowing if this would be you sole occupation, or working only part time and taking up other smaller jobs. Also, I would never think of an hourly rate for novels. I don't think any publisher would accept an hour-based justification. It must be based on a per word rate. I translate books as a kind of hobby (self-publishing, not really earning anything from it), but the time it takes me always depends on how busy I am with actually paid... See more
I'm not sure what kind of tips you would expect without others knowing if this would be you sole occupation, or working only part time and taking up other smaller jobs. Also, I would never think of an hourly rate for novels. I don't think any publisher would accept an hour-based justification. It must be based on a per word rate. I translate books as a kind of hobby (self-publishing, not really earning anything from it), but the time it takes me always depends on how busy I am with actually paid work. E.g. in the spring it took me about 2 months for a book of 90000 words, but this was a significant decline in paid jobs, and I had plenty of time I could assign to it. Again, hours on a particular day/week can vary greatly. I would be happy now if someone could offer me a book translation which would be paying my average income from smaller jobs for a few months, it would mean a steady workload and not having to chase all the smaller projects in the shrinking maket... but it's not the case. On the other hand, the average income also is quite different every year/quarter. I guess it's just a situation when you cannot calculate and consider everything in advance and have to take some chances.Collapse


 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:59
Member (2007)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Scam? Dec 30, 2023

Ines Abrunhosa dos Santos wrote:

Any heads up are welcome:)

Thanks


Are you sure whether that dream offer isn't a scam? Take care.


Jorge Payan
 
Laura Haydon
Laura Haydon
France
Local time: 22:59
French to English
Hourly rate Jan 1

I've recently translated a memoir and a novel, both for a well-known and very big publisher. However, it was done via an agency. The agency imposed a per hour rate of 30 euros. They also insisted that I work at a rate of 1,000 words per hour. I was required to time each translating session and submit a timesheet. If I seemed slower than required, I got rapped over the knuckles.

I was also required to use a platform called Phrase which is not actually a CAT tool but simply a platfor
... See more
I've recently translated a memoir and a novel, both for a well-known and very big publisher. However, it was done via an agency. The agency imposed a per hour rate of 30 euros. They also insisted that I work at a rate of 1,000 words per hour. I was required to time each translating session and submit a timesheet. If I seemed slower than required, I got rapped over the knuckles.

I was also required to use a platform called Phrase which is not actually a CAT tool but simply a platform linked to DeepL. It was not possible to set it to UK English for the memoir so all the US English had to be corrected. So, frankly, MTPE rates shouldn't really apply.

The memoir was 34,456 words long and took me 45 hours. So I was paid 1,350 euros. It was a last-minute rush job that I completed in a week, working over a bank holiday and a weekend. When I asked if it might be possible to paid a bit extra for the rush job and working over a holiday weekend, I was told no and the agency complained that it shouldn't have taken me as long as it did. The rate per word worked out as 0.039 euros.

The novel was 177,140 words long and took me 170 hours. So have billed for 5,070 euros. That's a rate of 1,048 words per hour and a per word rate of 0.029 euros. I was regularly castigated for 'taking much longer than the other post-editors'. The book was fascinating but my experience with the agency was less than pleasant.

Why the hell did I take that second job, given my experience first time around? Well, I had no other work, plus I want to be able to put those books on my CV so I can approach publishers. Would I take work from this agency again? Depends whether I'm desperate for work or not but I very much hope that I'll be in a position to say no.
Collapse


Tom in London
 
Pablo Strauss
Pablo Strauss  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 17:59
French to English
Canadian practices Jan 6

https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/rates/#:~:text=The%20LTAC%20recommends%20the%20following,per%20word%20for%20other%20genres

Book translations in Canada are paid by the word.
The recommended rate of .25 per word for prose is just that, a recommendation, the Canada Council grant rate is currently .18 pe
... See more
https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/rates/#:~:text=The%20LTAC%20recommends%20the%20following,per%20word%20for%20other%20genres

Book translations in Canada are paid by the word.
The recommended rate of .25 per word for prose is just that, a recommendation, the Canada Council grant rate is currently .18 per word. Anything below 0.18 per word is low, in Canada.
I tend to be wary of authors who want to pay for the translation themselves. The publishers are the ones who should pay, through the grant, which authors cannot get. Few authors can afford to pay the true cost that would make it worthwhile for the translator. Fiction is time-consuming to do well.
Good luck!
Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:59
Member (2008)
Italian to English
That's $11,400 Jan 6

Jack Doughty wrote:

I translated a novel earlier this year, 114,000 words, and I was paid (on time, no problems) at a rate of $0.10 per word.


That's probably a lot more more than the Author got as an advance. Unless we're talking about mass market bestseller stuff (the dreadful Dan Brown etc).


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:59
Member (2004)
English to Italian
I don't think... Jan 6

Tom in London wrote:

Jack Doughty wrote:

I translated a novel earlier this year, 114,000 words, and I was paid (on time, no problems) at a rate of $0.10 per word.


That's probably a lot more more than the Author got as an advance. Unless we're talking about mass market bestseller stuff (the dreadful Dan Brown etc).


Jack will be able to answer you.


 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3]


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Translating a novel: price range?







Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »
TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »