How much to charge to translate a 250-page book? Thread poster: Naomi Rodgers
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Hi everyone,
A colleague of a friend has expressed some interest in me translating (German to English) his book on marketing and I wondered if you have any tips on how much I should charge/how I can go about calculating the amount I should charge.
I have read that for books people tend to charge either per chapter or as an overall sum, but I am struggling a little as I usually charge per word or per line! ... See more Hi everyone,
A colleague of a friend has expressed some interest in me translating (German to English) his book on marketing and I wondered if you have any tips on how much I should charge/how I can go about calculating the amount I should charge.
I have read that for books people tend to charge either per chapter or as an overall sum, but I am struggling a little as I usually charge per word or per line!
I haven't inquired yet about the deadline nor received an extract from the book, but I just wanted to collect some ideas about this before I reply.
I know this question has been asked before, but it would be great to get some more up-to-date responses, as well as some ideas about charging in Berlin/Germany/euros.
Thanks in advance!
[Edited at 2021-09-29 10:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 11:37
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Have you checked samples from the book or tried translating them? Are you familiar with the particular subject-matter and/or writing style? You need to figure out how much time it'll take you, then compare a total sum (based on the total hours) vs. based on per word rate and see if there is a significant discrepancy.
| | | | Hayley Wakenshaw
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:37
Member (2018)
Dutch to English
| Book translation rates tend to be lower | Sep 28, 2021 |
I translate popular fiction, and the rates are quite a bit lower than for the other translation work I do, even though the books I translate demand an awful lot of research. However, with a book, you advantage of guaranteed work for a few months, not having to keep setting up new projects, and the increase in speed that comes with being familiar with a text and its author.
My rate for genre fiction is about $0.07 per word. That rate could be your starting point.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 11:37
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| This is marketing. | Sep 28, 2021 |
Hayley Wakenshaw wrote:
I translate popular fiction, and the rates are quite a bit lower than for the other translation work I do, even though the books I translate demand an awful lot of research. However, with a book, you advantage of guaranteed work for a few months, not having to keep setting up new projects, and the increase in speed that comes with being familiar with a text and its author.
My rate for genre fiction is about $0.07 per word. That rate could be your starting point.
I don't think marketing and fiction books are comparable at all in terms of pricing, audience, purpose, etc. She should be charging much more than that.
OP, have you ever worked on a large project before? They tend to tire you more, you should factor that in when thinking about the price, too.
[Edited at 2021-09-28 08:56 GMT]
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| | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 05:37
German to English
| Don't work for promises of royalties or percentage of sales | Sep 28, 2021 |
There is little likelihood that a book by a German author on marketing will be a big seller in the English-speaking world – German companies often tend to hire British or American firms to market their products abroad. You're better off to enter into a work for hire agreement with the author. Leave the headache of trying to sell the book to the author.
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 03:37
Dutch to English
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I agree with Kevin and I would add that it would provide more security that the project will succeed and that you will get paid if there is a publisher in place. Searching for an interested publisher is up to the author and could take several months. It would be helpful if you translated (for pay), the table of contents, the abstract, the introduction, and a few pages from elsewhere in the book. The author can then use these materials in his search and at the same time convince the publisher to ... See more I agree with Kevin and I would add that it would provide more security that the project will succeed and that you will get paid if there is a publisher in place. Searching for an interested publisher is up to the author and could take several months. It would be helpful if you translated (for pay), the table of contents, the abstract, the introduction, and a few pages from elsewhere in the book. The author can then use these materials in his search and at the same time convince the publisher to take you on as the translator.
Once the author has found a publisher and the publisher accepts you as the translator, the project can really take off. Then there needs to be a written contract re the total amount of payment, interim payments, timelines, copyright, etc. I think you can charge about $08 to $10 per word. In my case, there was a separate contract between the publisher and the author, and one between the publisher and myself. If you want, you can make it a condition to have your name included and where in the book. Depending on how many pages the book is, count on the translation taking 2-3 months plus review of the proofs later on. During this time you will not be able to take on much other work. Make sure you have some people you can refer clients to but count on losing or missing out on a few clients.
I could go on and on, but these are the main points I think you need to be aware of. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| What's a page? | Sep 30, 2021 |
MS Word page? Paperback page? Fullsize textbook page?
To start, get a word or symbol count
[Edited at 2021-09-30 17:31 GMT]
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TTilch
Local time: 11:37
English to German
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| Just think about how much time it'll take you and what your target turnover is | Oct 1, 2021 |
Well, I would not worry about counting characters/words at all. I'd say you'll just need to think about how much time you'll need to complete the job and then charge the usual hourly rate for self-employed people (which on average is around 60 euros net for craftsmen and even more for learned professions).
After all, if you have ever done any cost calcuation and want to achieve an annual turnover of 100,000 euros, then you'll have calculated how much money you'll need to earn per day to ma... See more Well, I would not worry about counting characters/words at all. I'd say you'll just need to think about how much time you'll need to complete the job and then charge the usual hourly rate for self-employed people (which on average is around 60 euros net for craftsmen and even more for learned professions).
After all, if you have ever done any cost calcuation and want to achieve an annual turnover of 100,000 euros, then you'll have calculated how much money you'll need to earn per day to make that target. And you would not want to have to pay double your rate when needing a craftsman or an IT service provider yourself.
Best,
Tanja ▲ Collapse
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