To think translators shouldn't be paid royalties?

[Thisfeelslikearipoff]

I'm a published author and one of my books is about to go into another language. This book has been published in several languages already and I am familiar with the international translation process. To my astonishment, for the first time, this translator has tried to make her being paid royalties from book sales a part of her contractual agreement.

My immediate instinct is that no, she shouldn't be claiming royalties here. That is not to diminish her role in any way; I fully acknowledge the effort involved in translating thoughts and concepts from one language to another, and I fully acknowledge the obviously crucial nature of the translators role in a translation. A translation involves several individuals and entities doing their part in a professional manner. There is the author, the translator, the publisher, the distributor, the PR and media company etc etc. Everybody's role is crucial.

After I got this request I did some research and found that yes, for some people this actually is a thing, and I even came across a bizarre argument on a translators website where translators were forcefully asserting that they ought to be "fighting for our rights" to be paid royalties on book sales!

My take on it is this - the translator deserves to be properly compensated for their work, but only once. I really am feeling put out by this, and honestly the financial aspect is the least of what bothers me. I am annoyed that she feels she has a right to royalties on my work. She did not come up with these thoughts and concepts; her role is to bridge the gap between one language and another. AIBU to think she shouldn't be paid royalties on each copy sold?

You’re making it a moral question when actually it’s a legal one. And she would have full moral rights to her translation as well.

Well except that like I said, depending where she is, royalties might be a contractual obligation.

In that case, the OP can choose not to publish in that country. It seems that she is dead set on the translator not having any royalties, as it is 'not fair', so that seems to be the logical solution.

Contracts will be with the publisher anyway not with you. Otherwise dead authors would never get translated.

This is my field and to be honest it does vary. I do know of lots of royalty contracts for translators though. It makes sense to me-the ongoing success of the book depends how good the translation is.

And you're under no obligation to accept if you don't like her terms.

This point is so blatantly obvious I'm surprised anyone thinks it's worth making.

My feeling is that they are entitled to something as it is their skill that will or will not manage to bring your thoughts and art to readers.

Of course they're entitled to something. They're entitled to be well paid for their service. That's not at issue at all.

And depending on jurisdiction they may or not be entitled to royalties. It really depends where they are.

You’re making it a moral question when actually it’s a legal one. And she would have full moral rights to her translation as well.

This. At the end of the day, it actually doesn't matter whether it's a set fee or royalties. It's all money. The risk is greater for your publishers if they pay her a set fee and fail to earn out. The risk is greater for her if she takes a set fee and the book does brilliantly. But there isn't any particular reason why one person involved in the process should get royalties and another get a fixed fee. Anyone can negotiate for either, depending how they think it will play out best for them.

It’s an interesting one. I’m not an author, publisher, translater or lawyer so I have no idea about the ‘official’ laws or best practice.

But imo, no, it doesn’t seem fair that a translator would get ongoing royalties.

Paid once, for a job completed once....specialised/difficult though it may be, translation is essentially an admin job and not one that I think deserves royalties for someone else’s creation.

Again no. In some countries you have to pay royalties for translations. By law.

Paid once, for a job completed once

Just like writing a book then

You might think it’s an admin job, but the law disagrees.

YABU. Translation is invaluable and it can make or break your book.

The fact that you haven’t come across this before just shows you’ve only been dealing with inexperienced translators, not true professionals who are experienced and have honed their craft.

You don’t value their skills, their work or their time; that’s clear from your attitude across your thread, but that’s okay because by walking away from her and sticking with lesser experienced flat fee translators you’re paying the price for that.

Oh man, translation is only an admin job of the text has little to no literary quality. If any of its meaning is carried by its style, you need a translator who can write.

Maybe you should be flattered OP? I'm a translator and if I was negotiating on a book I didn't think would do that well I wouldn't bother asking for royalties. Nice flat fee up front, and job done. But as has already been said more than once, it's a negotiation, not a reflection on your creative work or anyone else's. As it happens it doesn't sound like you do value the work of a translator much so perhaps leave the negotiations to someone else who won't bring emotion to the party.

Admin job😂😂😂

This point is so blatantly obvious I'm surprised anyone thinks it's worth making.

As is much of your OP but, hey, here we are discussing it.

Anyway, I’m not the one trying to conduct business transactions on the basis of emotions and what’s ‘fair’, or seeking professional publishing advice from the section of a parenting website more commonly used for petty squabbles and neighbourly disputes, so I’ll leave you to it.

It sounds to me like you need some professional assistance and probably a different attitude.

Good luck.

TBF she has had plenty of advice from seasoned professionals. Not sure she likes it though...

I speak 2 languages and people ask me all the time to translate. I hate it as people assume that one word can simply be replaced by the equivalent in the other language. It doesn't work like that especially if your trying to translate the subtleties of the language and subcontext of what's being said. And If I don't perform an immediate translation they doubt my abilities! (Which, to be fair, are clearly not that good)

@BurneyFanny

The translator is free to negotiate any deal they can

No. Depending on the country / language, a flat fee may well be illegal in terms of intellectual property laws.

By any deal they can, I meant within the limits of the law.

I speak 2 languages and people ask me all the time to translate.

Oh god, yes! This is the second most annoying thing right after "There ia this person from your native country living 50 miles from here. X something. You surely know him being from the same country!"😂

My instinct is that you should be incentivising the translator to do a good job, because that will have the greatest benefit to your income.

I agree with this. Do you speak another language reasonably well @Thisfeelslikearipoff? Translation a fiction book is intricate and crative work as you want the character and plot to be conveyed in a way that makes sense to readers in another language. It's more than just translating words it's translating a feeling and perspective. In a way the translator is the co-artist. I say this as someone who has family members who are very successful translators and who do not translate fiction. To sell your story in another language and culture who need someone who rewrites the story so that it makes meaningful sense. If they do a great and skilled job you will sell more books.

So YABU. in my book

*translating

I'm nearly fluent in French and have read a fair few English books in French. The quality of translation makes a massive difference to the readability of the book. The Harry Potter books were really well done, Independence Day was ok, Bridget Jones Diary was hilarious, especially the footnotes 'explaining' British popular culture. Star Trek, Buffy and Angel were all fairly meh, much more mechanical translations than the others mentioned...

Ok my taste isn't/wasn't exactly highbrow (year in rural France in early 2000s) but the difference in quality between Harry Potter and Buffy's translation was massive, suggesting you very much get what you pay for!

There is a huge amount of creativity and original literary input from a literary translator. Try comparing between translated editions of classic works from different translators.

translation is essentially an admin job

I would never agree with this. Translation is a highly skilled role that involves artistry, but then so is the art of cover production, and nobody in the creative department is looking for royalties per copy sold although their art is stamped on the cover of the book.

The fact that you haven’t come across this before just shows you’ve only been dealing with inexperienced translators, not true professionals who are experienced and have honed their craft.

The fact that you'd make such an assumption-based judgement call on a career you know nothing about renders all of your opinions here irrelevant.

translation is essentially an admin job

How fucking ignorant.