Off topic: Translated sth in my free time, original author wants to buy the translation. What should I ask for? Thread poster: Niels K.
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Hi,
I am translating an indy-tabletop-role playing game for my son as a present during Christmas time from English to German. I offered the original author the translation because “why not”. The translation is done anyways.
I am not a professional translator; I only have some experience because I had to do a lot of translations (another language pair though) while studying.
The translation feels like translating a short novel and I don’t have to really trans... See more Hi,
I am translating an indy-tabletop-role playing game for my son as a present during Christmas time from English to German. I offered the original author the translation because “why not”. The translation is done anyways.
I am not a professional translator; I only have some experience because I had to do a lot of translations (another language pair though) while studying.
The translation feels like translating a short novel and I don’t have to really translate cultures or subtleties. Thus it is actually pretty easy compared to what I had to translate in the past.
The original author wants to pay me for the translation. I wonder what the right price would be. Even $0.08/word which I found as the lower bound for translations seems to be a lot for something they might not have done in the first place and I am not a professional. And I won’t do more translations in the future. At the same time I know that translations are often under appreciated from people who don’t do translations and I don’t want to undercut the professionals by too much.
It was suggested to me by a professional translator to ask here what other people think the right price would be. Thanks for any replies. ▲ Collapse
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Hi Niels,
There is actually a 'why not?' that you may not have thought of. If the translation turns out to be inadequate and the game owner has gone to a lot of expense for publication, distribution, etc. you may be liable for the costs. A lot of translators have insurance to cover them for such claims.
So you should definitely charge a rate that compensates you for taking that risk. If you are selling your work then you ARE a professional and will be expected to provid... See more Hi Niels,
There is actually a 'why not?' that you may not have thought of. If the translation turns out to be inadequate and the game owner has gone to a lot of expense for publication, distribution, etc. you may be liable for the costs. A lot of translators have insurance to cover them for such claims.
So you should definitely charge a rate that compensates you for taking that risk. If you are selling your work then you ARE a professional and will be expected to provide a professional product, even if you don't see it as your main occupation.
I'm afraid I don't know this field well enough to know what a normal rate would be. I hope someone else will be able to help with that.
Rachel ▲ Collapse
| | | | Elena Feriani
Italy
Local time: 18:49
Member
French to Italian
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Thanks a lot for your help. I thought a bit about liability but you are right Rachel - if I sell it I get into pro-town and that's not where I want to be.
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Ian Mansbridge 
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:49
Member (2012)
Italian to English
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| Professional revision | Nov 23, 2021 |
Could you find a professional translator to revise it, and agree a price together?
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:49
Serbian to English
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| Don't underestimate yourself | Nov 23, 2021 |
Niels K. wrote:
Hi,
I am translating an indy-tabletop-role playing game for my son as a present during Christmas time from English to German. I offered the original author the translation because “why not”. The translation is done anyways.
I am not a professional translator; I only have some experience because I had to do a lot of translations (another language pair though) while studying.
The translation feels like translating a short novel and I don’t have to really translate cultures or subtleties. Thus it is actually pretty easy compared to what I had to translate in the past.
The original author wants to pay me for the translation. I wonder what the right price would be. Even $0.08/word which I found as the lower bound for translations seems to be a lot for something they might not have done in the first place and I am not a professional. And I won’t do more translations in the future. At the same time I know that translations are often under appreciated from people who don’t do translations and I don’t want to undercut the professionals by too much.
It was suggested to me by a professional translator to ask here what other people think the right price would be. Thanks for any replies.
Without going into a long list of examples and counter-examples, "being a professional (whatever)" is at times grossly overrated, so "not being a professional" and "it's my first translation" in itself doesn't necessarily mean "this is not good as any other average translation"
If, being honest with yourself, you are fairly sure that you didn't miss anything in the English version, and that your translation is "fit for purpose" (as in: you can play the game the same way as in the EN version) there is absolutely no reason not to charge an "average price" - somewhere in the middle of the usual price range.
You or the game author could ask for "a second opinion", but that is a double-edged sword, a kind of linguistic "Russian roulette". A "reviewer" might spot genuine omissions OR might start nitpicking and "improving downwards" just to prove its own usefulness.
As for the typically UK obsession with having "insurance" to cover your ***, you didn't translate some manual for operating dangerous machinery or handling explosives, so that aspect is for you irrelevant.
IOW either keep it as a "personal gift" to your son or if you sell it, sell it at a "normal" price.
[Edited at 2021-11-23 18:06 GMT]
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Daryo wrote: Niels K. wrote:
Hi,
I am translating an indy-tabletop-role playing game for my son as a present during Christmas time from English to German. I offered the original author the translation because “why not”. The translation is done anyways.
I am not a professional translator; I only have some experience because I had to do a lot of translations (another language pair though) while studying.
The translation feels like translating a short novel and I don’t have to really translate cultures or subtleties. Thus it is actually pretty easy compared to what I had to translate in the past.
The original author wants to pay me for the translation. I wonder what the right price would be. Even $0.08/word which I found as the lower bound for translations seems to be a lot for something they might not have done in the first place and I am not a professional. And I won’t do more translations in the future. At the same time I know that translations are often under appreciated from people who don’t do translations and I don’t want to undercut the professionals by too much.
It was suggested to me by a professional translator to ask here what other people think the right price would be. Thanks for any replies. Without going into a long list of examples and counter-examples, "being a professional (whatever)" is at times grossly overrated, so "not being a professional" and "it's my first translation" in itself doesn't necessarily mean "this is not good as any other average translation" If, being honest with yourself, you are fairly sure that you didn't miss anything in the English version, and that your translation is "fit for purpose" (as in: you can play the game the same way as in the EN version) there is absolutely no reason not to charge an "average price" - somewhere in the middle of the usual price range. You or the game author could ask for "a second opinion", but that is a double-edged sword, a kind of linguistic "Russian roulette". A "reviewer" might spot genuine omissions OR might start nitpicking and "improving downwards" just to prove its own usefulness. As for the typically UK obsession with having "insurance" to cover your ***, you didn't translate some manual for operating dangerous machinery or handling explosives, so that aspect is for you irrelevant. IOW either keep it as a "personal gift" to your son or if you sell it, sell it at a "normal" price. [Edited at 2021-11-23 18:06 GMT]
This is a fair comment and I didn't mean to put Niels off. I was really just making a point that once you do make the switch from doing something as a hobby to taking money for it other things come into play that you need to think of, such as tedious stuff like invoicing and possible liability - you just need to take the job seriously, basically. All this needs to be factored in to your pricing so I wouldn't recommend selling at a low price because of being 'not a professional translator'.
| | | | Recep Kurt
Türkiye
Local time: 19:49
Member (2011)
English to Turkish
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| If I were you | Nov 25, 2021 |
I would just ask them to add something to their credits, like "German localization provided by [your kid's name]'s dad Niels". Way cooler, if you ask me...
[Edited at 2021-11-25 08:27 GMT]
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Ian Mansbridge wrote:
Could you find a professional translator to revise it, and agree a price together?
I don't know any professional translators - at least not for English-German; only for Japanese-German and this is then probably in the end more work and time consuming than the payout I would get.
| | | | | adding attribution | Nov 25, 2021 |
Recep Kurt wrote:
I would just ask them to add something to their credits, like "German localization provided by [your kid's name]'s dad Niels". Way cooler, if you ask me...
[Edited at 2021-11-25 06:37 GMT]
That's a good idea. And I got already promised a layouted version - so like the original one. Thus it will be better looking then what I would produce.
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