Translating books can certainly be a great supplement to the income received from your commercial translation business.

Most translators involved in book translations face the reality that book translations will never pay as well as commercial translations, unless of course you get in on the ground floor of the next world-popular children’s series! The reason for this is that the clients who seek book translations (meaning authors and publishers) are generally earning a lot less money than people who seek commercial translations. However, that being said, translating books can certainly be a great supplement to the income received from your commercial translation business.

Our experience is that there are two types of book translation clients: those who are prepared to pay for a professional translator, and those who have budgets so low that they’re really looking for a pro bono translator. If you just love translating books and you don’t need the money, then you will never be short of work because there are so many authors out there waiting just for you!

Finding Authors and Publishers Who Require Book Translations

For the purpose of this post we’ll assume that you’re looking to be paid for your translating services. To find someone who’s prepared to pay for your translation services we highly recommend either of the following –

Contacting publishers in your target language; the ones who publish the kinds of books you’re interested in; or

Working with self-published authors who have allowed for translations in their budget.

Working for Self-Published Authors Can Be Financially Rewarding

It appears that non-fiction books pay better than fiction; probably because non-fiction books generally sell more copies and have a longer shelf life. However, fiction can pay quite well too. Translating for self-published authors can be very satisfying, particularly when the author is translating into a language with potentially higher sales than the original. You’ll find that some authors are happy to self-fund the translation process, with the plan of recouping this investment through royalties – while other authors are mainly interested in getting their book out there in front of a new audience.

So How Does a Translator Find These Clients?

There are many ways to find book translation clients, however we would recommend advertising on your own website, with a dedicated page to book translations. Of course the other obvious method would be to contact publishers that are producing the kinds of books you’re interested in translating. Other methods of finding book translation clients might be personal recommendations from friends or colleagues, through agencies, and generally being proactive in the same way other people find clients in their field.