Chinese Medicine, Shiatsu book translation rate Thread poster: fanny akira
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fanny akira
Italy
Local time: 05:41
Italian to Japanese
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Hi
my friend received a request about translation of 80s book about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shiatsu (with a little bit of general Medicine History and Phycology, literally an universe!), Japanese -> Italian. (about 970 words/page; in total 408pages, no images)
I read same pages, it was very hard to understand them (not only for the arguments, but also for old Japanese and twisted way to write).
The most shocking aspect was the price: they will pay 4000 US... See more Hi
my friend received a request about translation of 80s book about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shiatsu (with a little bit of general Medicine History and Phycology, literally an universe!), Japanese -> Italian. (about 970 words/page; in total 408pages, no images)
I read same pages, it was very hard to understand them (not only for the arguments, but also for old Japanese and twisted way to write).
The most shocking aspect was the price: they will pay 4000 USD (just at the end of translation). Is it a proper? Or are they trying to fool him?
(hoping to be in right forum)
Thank you.
Akira ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 21:41
Dutch to English
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| Not worth it | Dec 10, 2017 |
Hi Akira, is this an offer from a publisher or from a private client? Either way, that price does indeed seem shockingly low. Your friend could check if there is a misunderstanding but if that amount is correct, it is not worth the trouble that this project is likely to be. If I was your friend, I wouldn't even think about accepting it.
| | | | Quentina Chan
Malaysia
Local time: 11:41
Member (2015)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Agree with Tina | Dec 10, 2017 |
I could only make a rough calculation based on the info you had given here.
Assume that 970 words x 408 pages = 395 760 words
then, I rounded it up to 400 000 words for easier calculation
and the rate per word would be US 4000/400 000 words = US 0.01/word
for me, US0.01/word is way TOO low even for a general content translation, and the job offered to your friend is a much more difficult one (it is related to medical field, a much more professional k... See more I could only make a rough calculation based on the info you had given here.
Assume that 970 words x 408 pages = 395 760 words
then, I rounded it up to 400 000 words for easier calculation
and the rate per word would be US 4000/400 000 words = US 0.01/word
for me, US0.01/word is way TOO low even for a general content translation, and the job offered to your friend is a much more difficult one (it is related to medical field, a much more professional knowledge required), the rate should be much more higher than that.
Either your friend could negotiate with the client again to get a "proper" rate, or just reject it (I would suggest to accept a job only if one is confident to handle it, and the rate is acceptable).
[Edited at 2017-12-10 06:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | fanny akira
Italy
Local time: 05:41
Italian to Japanese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you, I agree! | Dec 10, 2017 |
Hi Tina, Hi p1q01,
thank you for the reply.
>to Tina
I think they are a publisher (small one), and the amount is "correct" (as they said) but I just listened with bated breath to the conversation between my friend and them: they are very happy because they weren't (and still) able to find no-one for this book...for years!
Anyway, I am totally agreeing with you, it IS too much.
>to p1q01
Thank you for the simple and clean explanation. US... See more Hi Tina, Hi p1q01,
thank you for the reply.
>to Tina
I think they are a publisher (small one), and the amount is "correct" (as they said) but I just listened with bated breath to the conversation between my friend and them: they are very happy because they weren't (and still) able to find no-one for this book...for years!
Anyway, I am totally agreeing with you, it IS too much.
>to p1q01
Thank you for the simple and clean explanation. US0.01/word is very low as you said.
> to both, and of course to all Proz.com users with any experience in this field,
I do not have much experience about book translation and I know it may be rude to ask, but approximately how much he would ask?
Just a last-minutes news, I heard that my friend will discuss about this book (because it is too much complicated), hope to be able to rationalize about this topics with your help.
Thanking you in advance. Have a nice day.
Akira ▲ Collapse
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Woodstock (X) 
Germany
Local time: 05:41
German to English
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| Book translation rates | Dec 11, 2017 |
Hi, fanny!
Book translation rates are all over the map, but one thing the translator should definitely insist on is a contract that includes royalty payments, especially when the initial translation rate is so low. That type of contract is - I believe - common practice. I know this because I once toyed with the idea of pursuing that line of work, but ultimately rejected it - primarily because it is a) hard to break into, b) a lot of work over long periods of time for uncertain incom... See more Hi, fanny!
Book translation rates are all over the map, but one thing the translator should definitely insist on is a contract that includes royalty payments, especially when the initial translation rate is so low. That type of contract is - I believe - common practice. I know this because I once toyed with the idea of pursuing that line of work, but ultimately rejected it - primarily because it is a) hard to break into, b) a lot of work over long periods of time for uncertain income. That is, unless you are lucky and it becomes a bestseller...a highly unlikely scenario!
While researching at the time, however, I did find a sample contract for literary translations on the PEN International website http://www.pen-international.org/, but after a quick look just now I couldn't find it. However, it might still be there if you have time to look for it more thoroughly. I would also recommend googling "literary translation rates" for an extensive list of information sources. That's how I found that the UK, for example, has a group called The Society of Authors, which in turn has a sub-group for translators: http://www.societyofauthors.org/groups/translators. That webpage has good information on rates and other things a book translator needs to know. While the UK may not be relevant to you, there may be similar organizations in the translator's country (I gather that is Italy) that you/he can turn to for more information and/or some kind of guideline. By the same token, googling "book translation contracts" should also yield relevant results. Sources like that will help your friend make a more informed decision and subsequent proposal to the publisher, should he decide to pursue / negotiate for the job.
Best of luck
woodstock ▲ Collapse
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p1q01 wrote:
I could only make a rough calculation based on the info you had given here.
Assume that 970 words x 408 pages = 395 760 words
then, I rounded it up to 400 000 words for easier calculation
and the rate per word would be US 4000/400 000 words = US 0.01/word
for me, US0.01/word is way TOO low even for a general content translation, and the job offered to your friend is a much more difficult one (it is related to medical field, a much more professional knowledge required), the rate should be much more higher than that.
Either your friend could negotiate with the client again to get a "proper" rate, or just reject it (I would suggest to accept a job only if one is confident to handle it, and the rate is acceptable).
[Edited at 2017-12-10 06:05 GMT]
There is no way there are 970 words per page in a book, unless it's the size of a large coffee table album. That has to be 970 characters. In which case the rate might be OK, depending on how long Japanese words are on average.
400,000 words would make an enormous book. It would give War and Peace a run for its money.
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