Why translation isn’t magical: What you MUST know before you translate your book into English…

The US market needs diverse books, and that includes the voices of those who live elsewhere, speaking other languages, and living different lives. It’s also great that authors are willing to invest money, time, and effort. If you believe that strongly in your book, there’s a chance it can succeed.

But not if you rush into submitting it the second it’s translated into English.

Working as a translator for the last four years, unfortunately, I’ve met many writers who believe that all it takes to break into the U.S. market is to translate their book into English and sit back waiting for offers to roll in.

Unfortunately, translation isn’t a magic bullet that’s going to shoot your story straight into the heart of an agent or publisher.  And even if you self-publish, having your story translated into English is not a guarantee of success.  It’s not a magic wand that you wave to let those big US bucks start rolling in.

So I want to ask you to pause, just for a second, and ask yourself: Is my book ready to translate? Am I giving it the best possible chances of success?

Here are three issues you might want to consider first.

1. Physical expectations

Be absolutely certain that you know what publishers in the U.S. market are expecting. The standard for picture books is 32 pages, and word count ranges between 600 and 800 words (plus or minus). However wonderful your book is, if it doesn’t look and feel like what they’re expecting, agents and editors will be far more likely to say no without giving you a fair chance.*

To be submission-ready, your book should also be in “bare naked” format—a plain font like Arial or Times New Roman, 12 points, double-spaced, with no fancy graphics. Understand the basics of English punctuation, which may be different from what you’re used to. Sure, your translator should know this, but

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Are your characters going nowhere?

It’s a pitfall even in adult books, but in kids’ books, where action is everything, going nowhere can be deadly.

But I don’t just mean walking around for no reason!  Your main character needs motivation; a great reason to get up out of his armchair (or bed, or couch, or floor), and leave the safety of “home “ (wherever that may be) for distant, more exotic, more challenging surroundings.

I’m sure you already know that the main character must solve his own problem.  But it’s not usually enough to have him “think” of a solution… far better if he can arrive there, on his own two feet (or wheelchair, or tank, or tenspeed).  A character who moves is more likely to be a character whose journey moves us (your readers). 

Here are 3 ways to make sure your characters really MOVE. 

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Lost in Translation: The Giving Tree

Sheesh!  Some kids’ books translate beautifully into Hebrew, the works of Dr. Seuss surprisingly among them.  But tonight in Hebrew class, I had my first encounter with the Israeli version of an old, old favourite, Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree (Hebrew version here)… and came away slightly bruised and beaten.

You can read all about it here on my Aliyah (moving-to-Israel) blog because I’m not about to live through it all again by typing the story anew over here, too!

Click here to get the full scoop.

Have you ever read a so-called “translation” of a favourite book that just didn’t click in the other language?  Which book(s) and why???

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