Translate your eBook, Part 2: The Translation Process - EditionGuard

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Translate your eBook, Part 2: The Translation Process

Turgay Birand

April 19, 2016

globe-110774_1920When you decide to translate your eBook, you have to take certain steps to accomplish your goal. The first step is to choose a language in which you want to translate your eBook. You may already know what language your eBook should be translated into, but you may need to do some research or conduct reader surveys to determine which language would be most popular for your genre. As we mentioned in part one, a good translation requires more than an automated converter. The steps are simple, but they are necessary for a successful translation. Hire a Translator Translating an eBook can be expensive, but there are many freelance translators available that partner with indie authors. Freelance sites can allow you to post a job request online and receive proposals from those capable of translating your eBook. Such sites will often have reviews of these freelance translators, showing a history of their previous projects and the ratings they earned from previous clients. Your post should also include a test of some sort, asking for a translation of direct quotes from your eBook before you make your selection. A crucial detail related to hiring a translator is in creating a non-disclosure agreement for the translator to sign. This legal statement ensures that your translator will use your eBook content for translation purposes only and that you, as the writer, will maintain sole ownership and copyright. You’ll also need to write up an agreement regarding the price and timeline, to make sure expectations are clear on both sides. Don’t Forget Small Details When asking for a translation, don’t forget the small details that are still essential to your eBook, like the eBook description and author bio, and even your copyright notice. These are essential parts of your eBook that should not get lost in translation. If you’re thinking ahead, you may also request the translation of a few social media posts that you can use later for marketing, but you can also use quotes from the eBook once the translation is complete. Hire a Proofreader Even though you should expect your translator to do a good job, you still need that second set of eyes to catch typos, grammatical errors, and punctuation errors, so you will need someone to proofread the eBook in the new language. The proofreading is an investment worth making to ensure that you have success with the translated eBook. Translating your eBook can broaden the scope of your hard work and increase the opportunities for you as an indie author.  

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