The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022 - 29

Collaborating with
Self-Published
Authors
The following was original published on The Savvy Newcomer blog,
written to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions.
One way to build the foundation under the château of literary translation
is to collaborate with self-published authors.
By Beth Smith
M
any of us first
became interested in
translation because
we wanted to translate
books or, more specifically,
novels. Even if we ended up
specializing in marketing,
insurance, or patent
translation, we never quite
Another
Option for
Literary
Translation
gave up that literary dream.
The thing is, if you don't
already have a track record
as a literary translator,
the chances of a publisher
emailing you out of the blue
to translate the current
bestseller in your source
language are slim to none. I
don't know about the rest of
you, but, so far, nobody has
asked me to produce a new
version of any of the French
classics I love so much.
Does this mean you're
doomed to pine away as
your bookish hopes slowly
crumble like a gothic ruin?
Not at all! As Henry David
Thoreau said, " If you have
built castles in the air, your
work need not be lost; that
is where they should be.
Now put the foundations
under them. " One way to
build the foundation under
this château of literary
translation is to collaborate
with self-published authors.
Where Can You Find
Self-Published Authors?
Lots of places. I've gotten
projects through online
platforms (like Upwork),
my listing in ATA's Directory,
and a post on a translator
listserv. I also belong to
Facebook groups for selfpublished
authors, and
although that hasn't brought
me any work yet, I've chatted
with authors who showed
interest in hiring me in
the future. Another option
(which I haven't tried) is to
approach successful writers
and ask them if they would
be interested in having
you translate their novels.
Finally, there are platforms
like Babelcube. Under their
model, you're only paid
in royalties. While I'm not
willing to spend weeks or
months on a translation with
no guaranteed payment, if
your goal is the satisfaction
of translating a book and you
don't care so much about
payment, then it's worth
knowing it's out there.
Can You Make Money
Working with SelfPublished
Authors?
Yes! Will you make as much
per word as you would if you
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American Translators Association 29
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The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022

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