Advice needed (work related)

[7catsandcounting]

OK, I'll try to summarize this as best I can.

I translate books. Romance. Aimed at young women /teens.

They're pretty basic. Choose your own adventure. Romance. Some sex (soft).

I'm freelance. I rely on this stuff as my only source of income. It's well-paid. I'm a single mum, so I don't want to rock the boat. I'm very lucky to have this job.

BUT...

The latest book: The heroine falls for a guy. The ex-wife doesn't like it. The ex-wife tells the heroine that the man used to beat her up and that she suffered years of abuse. The story splits into two versions. In one version, the heroine doesn't believe the woman and stays with the guy. In the second version, the heroine does believe the woman and splits with the guy. In both versions, it turns out the ex-wife was making it all up to try and get the man back.

The heroine was also married at one point to a man who really did beat her up and so has done a lot of work with women's charities.

Somehow, I find this problematic. The main focus is on how this woman lied and has caused great harm to the woman's cause. And the guy turns out to be alright and they all live happily ever after.

Would you have a problem with this? Would you say something (they want me to give my opinion and tell me whether it's ok for an anglophone readership)? Or would you just let it go because you have a kid and need to pay the mortgage? I've already translated it, it's just whether I send a follow-up email or not. My thought was that the ex-wife could say he stole from her (or something else?)... rather than beat her up. It makes it slightly less triggering. Any other ideas? Am I overreacting?

I just feel that the focus is on women lying rather than women actually suffering domestic abuse.

It sounds like a bloody awful book. Would it appeal to teens? Christ...

I have to say that I think in your role as a translator I'd keep my opinions to myself but if they asked I would share your thoughts. Even though feedback, whether good or bad, should be welcomed for learning purposes, unless I asked for it from an editor or a reviewer I wouldn't be inclined to hear from a translator.

If it's got to that point that it's being translated then the writer and publisher must be happy with the final copy and probably don't want to change the ending.

Do you work for them often, as in, are they a regular client? Maybe this means you have a good enough relationship to offer some thoughts more off the record, so to speak?

May I ask was the writer male or female?

It's a team of writers. A huge team. There are women on the team, but the two lead writers are men (I think). They churn these books out. There are several series going on at the same time. They're like Mills and Boon. That kind of thing. Very simple language (very stress-free for me!) They're aimed at late teens/women in their early twenties.

They did ask me to let them know if some things wouldn't work for the English market. But, I think they meant the odd thing e.g. if they say in French, "What the fuck are you doing, you prick?", I might say that's a bit to much for the U.S. and change it to "What the hell are you doing, you jerk?"

Everything I've said so far has been based on the language rather than the actual ideas.

I think I should just leave it. I just wondered whether or not I was letting the side down. :-(

I work for them full-time at the moment (more or less) and have done for a year. I've put all my eggs in one basket, to be honest, so I'd probably be better keeping my thoughts to myself (and just making sure I never let my DD read the books). :-)

Let us know when it’s published and we can then write to the publisher about the problematic plot.

Sounds delightful! But I don’t think you can have any influence over them publishing it if it’s at the translation phase. It sounds like any feedback they want is linguistic. It sounds poor but I don’t think there’s a thing you can do, and you can’t loose your job - in a world with 50 shades of grey it won’t stand out.

Yep. You're right. I need to pay my mortgage. I'll just calm down a bit. Thank you! :-)

I work as a business writer, editor and translator. Have on occasion been asked for feedback (business stuff not fiction though). Marketing related. Localisation; stuff that doesn't work the same way in both languages.

I've politely declined a few things that I didn't want to be associated with, but when I was on a permanent basis as a contractor work on things I didn't want to be associated with. I raised my concerns once, then let it go. They were paying the money, they called the shots. When they decided to go in-house after my contract ended, I was a little relieved because of that.

The very most I would do in your situation would be to say that there has been much reporting about domestic violence rising by more than 70% in lockdown, a steep rise in women murdered and that this is maybe not a plot point that will be well received right now by the UK market.

Then send them your finished translation. Let them come up with a different solution, but if I were in your situation, I would not do more than that. If they come back to you on that, I would not add anything else. It's their product, you're just preparing it for the UK market.

And no, even if you decide not to say anything at all, you're not letting the side down. If you can't pay your bills, you'll probably have far less capacity to join in any of the ongoing women's rights campaigns.

^worked on things

@CharlieParley Thank you! All great points. I have declined work in the past. I refused an author last year (when I really needed the money) because of his stance on Palestine. He was self-publishing and I just couldn't have my name next to his. This story is just one among many though. I have a contract with the publisher for two years. I'll have to let it go. Covid has hit the industry hard and I feel fortunate to have this job.

I'm glad you found my comment useful. I find your reasoning perfectly reasonable, and what you say is true for me, too. Work's pretty much dried up for now. I would not risk the contract and I would not risk my reputation either. I mainly work for small businesses and the marketing budget for those is always precarious. Before lockdown hit, I'd gone to part-time for other reasons, so it's not as bad for me as it is for others, and my DH has been able to continue working full-time from home.

So yeah, If I was a single parent I would not say anything at all. And as a feminist I wouldn't blame another woman for biting her tongue to keep putting food on the table for her family and a roof over their heads.

P.S. what language(s) are you translating?

I do French to English. :-)

Isn't this very outing OP? Given the number of people who watch this board? Just a thought.

@persistentwoman

Isn't this very outing OP? Given the number of people who watch this board? Just a thought.

I've never got the impression the 'monitors' are particularly concerned about the subject of this thread, violence against women.

@7catsandcounting

I do French to English. :-)

Is there a discernible difference between the stories that originate from the UK vs those from France, or does it just differ in local flair?