On June 10
th
Amazon Crossing, a division of Amazon Publishing, released two German
translations:
SPIELZUG INS GLÜCK by
New
York Times/USA Today bestselling author, Theresa Ragan, and
DES NEBELS KINDER by international bestselling author, Cheryl
Kaye Tardif. Today these authors are going to share their experiences with
foreign translations by interviewing each other.
Theresa:
Do you mind telling us a little bit about the process of getting your book
translated? For instance, when were you approached, and how long did it take to
get your book translated?
Cheryl:
On August 24, 2011, I was contacted online by an
agent who had a client that wanted the Turkish rights to THE RIVER. That deal
went ahead and GIZEMLI NEHIR was released about a year later as well. It was
actually prominently displayed at the Frankfurt Book Fair. In March 2012, I
signed a two-book deal with a Chinese company for the translations of CHILDREN
OF THE FOG and WHALE SONG. I believe it took about a year for the ebook
editions to come out. However, they are illustrated inside and much went into
their production.
On October 18th, 2013, I was
contacted by a representative from Amazon Crossing. Here’s what she said:
“We’re launching an invite-only beta program focused on literary translation
for select KDP authors to translate their works into German. We think your
title, Children of the Fog, would be a good fit for this program.” I was
elated! It took just under 8 months before DES NEBELS KINDER was released.
I was paid an advance for my German and
Turkish translations. I received no advance for the Chinese editions, but I did
not have to pay them. I did pay for
the Spanish translation of my non-fiction marketing book.
How
about you, Theresa? When were you approached, and how long did it take?
Theresa:
In October, 2012, Amazon Crossing translated
Abducted which I had sold to Thomas & Mercer. Abducted, IM NETZ DES
SPINNENMANNS: THRILLER, hit #1 on Amazon.de and stayed there for over a month.
The book did so well I decided to look into finding a German translator and
having my KDP books translated. I ended up finding the Libelli Agency in March
2013 and I signed a contract to have them translate HAVING MY BABY, a
contemporary romance. Nine months later, in November 2013, Having My Baby
(Plötzlich Vater) was released. The entire process for that one title cost me a
little over $8,000, but at 70% royalties, I made my initial investment back in
the first week! Getting 70% royalties is nice, but it takes money to make
money.
By the time Amazon Crossing approached me
in July, 2013, I had already signed with the Libelli Agency to translate two of
my books. Since I like to try everything, I signed three of my books with
Amazon Crossing. I signed a contract in October and eight months later, on June
10th, SPIELZUG INS GLÜCK was released! Two more books are coming soon.
Cheryl, what was your
first reaction to seeing the cover? Did you ask for any changes?
Cheryl:
My first reaction was absolute joy when I saw the
cover for DES NEBELS KINDER. Like most authors, I am very particular about my
covers, and since Amazon Crossing was new to me, I was hoping I’d get a cover I
liked. Not only do I “like” it, I LOVE it! They perfectly captured an element
of the story, the mood and the atmosphere. Then there’s the way they stacked my
name. Funny thing, I had once stacked my name like they did, and for some
reason I didn’t like it, so I changed it. Yet on the cover of DES NEBELS KINDER it
works. Maybe it’s the font, I don’t know. The cover was perfect, so I had no
reason to ask for any changes. I am also very happy with the covers for my
Chinese, Spanish and Turkish translations.
Theresa,
how do you feel about your cover? Did you suggest any changes or tweaks?
Theresa: My biggest problem with being an independent author is choosing a
great cover. I go back and forth and I swear I can’t always tell a great cover
from an okay cover. It’s so subjective, in my opinion. Anyhow, I didn’t like
the font on one of the books, so we played with that for a while and then I
wasn’t sure about the color of the font, so I ended up choosing black for the author
name. I am so original. Ha! Lucky for me, Amazon Crossing is easy to work with.
And patient!
Did
you do anything different with the editing process, Cheryl? How involved were
you in the process?
Cheryl:
Amazon Crossing was very easy to work with and very
diligent about keeping my story intact. We had a minor challenge in one chapter
where we had to come up with different items as the first letter of each was to
spell out a message. But we were able to agree on those items. And there was a
poem in the English version that had to be replaced with a different poem so
that everything would flow. Other than these, I left it up to my translator.
Trust goes a long way to making the process easy. All in all, I would have no
problem with them translating any of my books.
With the Turkish and Spanish translations I
trusted the process. With the Chinese ebooks I did have to explain a few times
what a character was doing or saying. I had a fair amount of input into the
editing and the creation of the illustrations, which are beautiful.
How
about you, Theresa? Was your editing process challenging?
Theresa: The editing process for all of my translations have been fairly simple
and straightforward. Like you, I did have one problem in that one of my
characters, a small child, had a lisp. That lisp did not translate well, so we
had to do some tweaking to make it make sense for German readers. I believe the
character ended up having a problem with “S” instead of “L”. To tell you the
truth, any of these foreign books could be someone else’s story altogether. I
don’t mean to scare anyone. I took two years of German when I was very young,
but unless you are Tina Folsom and you speak the language, how can you be sure
every sentence is your own? It’s called trust. I trust the people at Amazon
Crossing and I trust the people at the Libelli Agency. I trust them to care
about the books they put out and their reputation. So, overall, it’s been fun.
Is
there anything else you’d like to add, Cheryl?
Cheryl:
Just my extreme gratefulness to my translator, Ingrid Könemann-Yarnell, and my Amazon Crossing representative, Katrin
Mueller, for making my first German translation such an enjoyable experience. I
hope to have more works with Amazon Crossing soon. I love that my works are
available to those who speak/read other languages. Now if only I had some
French translations—half of Quebec might buy them (all the Tardifs). J
Any
last words, Theresa?
This has been fun, Cheryl. I’m so glad
we’ve had a chance to meet and blog together. I must say I do love your cover
for Des Nebels Kinder. Very eerie…which I love. Congratulations on your success
in the foreign markets. I would also like to thank Katrin Mueller with Amazon
Crossing, and Birte and Ute with the Libelli
Agency. I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with.
One last thing…I also had a book translated in Spanish. The book is doing great. I have 15 five stars, which tells me that my translator did a great job.
También es hijo mío has been doing well in the U.S. and Spain. For anyone interested in having a novel translated in Spanish, feel free to contact Angeles Aragón. Her website is
http://www.elregalodesuvida.com. You can email Angeles at
geleraragon@gmail.com and ask her for a quote on what it would cost to have your book translated.
Author
Bios:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Theresa
Ragan grew up with four sisters in Lafayette, California. She has garnered
six Golden Heart nominations in Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden
Heart Competition for her work. After writing for twenty years, Theresa decided
to self-publish in March, 2011, and has sold over one million books since that
time. In 2012, she signed with Thomas & Mercer and is having the time of
her life. Theresa writes medieval time travels, contemporary romance, romantic
suspense, and thrillers under the name T.R. Ragan. OBSESSED, the fourth book in
her bestselling Lizzy Gardner series is available for pre-order. To learn more
about Theresa you can visit her website at www.theresaragan.com.
Cheryl
Kaye Tardif
is an award-winning, international bestselling Canadian suspense author
represented by Trident Media Group in New York. Her novels include Divine Sanctuary, Submerged, Divine Justice,
Children of the Fog, The River, Divine Intervention, Lancelot’s
Lady (written under the pen name of Cherish D’Angelo) and Whale Song, which New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice calls "a
compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart...a
beautiful, haunting novel." Cheryl also has three Stephen King-inspired
works: Dream House (short story), Skeletons in the Closet & Other Creepy
Stories and Remote Control
(novelette). Cheryl is also the owner/publisher of Imajin Books, a hybrid
publishing company.
Booklist raves,
"Tardif, already a big hit in Canada…a name to reckon with south of the
border."
Cheryl's website: www.cherylktardif.com
Imajin Books:
www.imajinbooks.com
UPDATE from Cheryl (June 13): I have just received a 4-book publishing deal for German translations of THE RIVER and my Divine Trilogy! I am super excited!!!
Nach dem Bestseller DES NEBELS KINDER ist WILDER FLUSS die zweite deutschsprachige Romanveröffentlichung der kanadischen Erfolgsautorin Cheryl Kaye Tardif.
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