Let’s talk Book Translations!

Let’s talk… in a different language… or in my case let my books talk. I have just a smattering of French, German and Russian at my disposal so that I can order a beer in those three languages and say thank you in a few more. Impressive – it is not. However, my books have been or are being translated into thirteen languages other than English: Dutch, German, French, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Latvian, Serbian, Czech, Turkish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Hungarian. In fact my first book, The Cornish House, sold first to The Netherlands then to the UK, then, most exciting, it went to auction in Germany.

Translation sales are a wonderful thing because the book is written, you don’t have to do anything and you are paid. When the first translation sale arrived, it was modest. So modest my husband said it would buy a fine lunch in Paris. Yet he wanted to post a world map on the wall and plan global domination! Now my translated rights make between a third and half of my income depending on the year.

It is so cool to think that my books are read in so many places and I’ve even been the equivalent of The Sunday Times bestseller in Serbia. But I have no idea how well they are translated. Only once has a translator contacted me to check to verify they had my meaning correct. Though a Dutch friend has kindly read both the English and Dutch translations for the first two books and said they were brilliantly done.

Titles are another thing that can be lost in translation. Cornwall doesn’t translate well into all languages and this problem appeared on The Cornish House, which was the perfect title for the book. My Portuguese editor contacted me directly via Facebook with some words suggested by the translator… secrets and dreams. I immediately suggested House of Secrets but she said it wouldn’t work as that was the title used for their reality television programme based on Big Brother. Over a bottle of wine my husband and I played with titles until he hit on The House of Dreams or A Casa Dos Sonos.

That same book became Stars over Cornwall in three other languages and Le Rivage Des Secrets in French. As you can see from the French covers they have taken on the darker side of the books, where most others have embraced the brighter side. I love both and I have to trust that my publishers know what sells in their markets. Even my UK publisher has changed covers from one edition to the next with The Cornish Stranger. I loved the large format cover, but wasn’t so keen on the paperback. I was proven wrong as it has sold beautifully. It was a lesson in trusting my publisher.

With thirteen foreign language translations, I’m far away from the world domination that my husband hopes for, but I’m thrilled with each new country that wants to read my stories.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Publishing, On Writing