Babelcube: One translator’s experience
This is a guest post by Ligia Ribeiro. Ligia is Brazilian, lives in in São Paulo and is a freelance translator working from English and Spanish into Brazilian Portuguese. In this post, Ligia describes her experience working as a literary translator through Babelcube, a website that matches authors with translators, for royalties-only literary translation assignments. Note! This post is not meant to promote working for free or on a royalties-only basis, or to promote Babelcube. It’s simply meant as one translator’s experience with that option should you choose to pursue it. I (Corinne) had received several inquiries from translators wanting to hear from someone who had actually completed a translation project through Babelcube, including the financial details. I appreciate Ligia’s honesty here in sharing the details about her work.
For many years, working as an executive assistant for leading global companies, I was often asked to translate corporate documents for the pharmaceutical and food sectors. Since 2016, I have dedicated my time and effort exclusively to translation. I need to confess that it had never crossed my mind that I might translate a book. In fact, I had a lot of questions, such as: “How would I find a book to translate? How would I get in contact with authors and ask them to let me translate one of their books? Would it be possible to translate a book even though I didn’t have any experience with literary translation?” Lots and lots of doubts–and then one day, browsing the internet I found Babelcube.
Babelcube’s site is pretty simple to use; it didn’t take long to put up my own profile there. One of the icons on the menu bar is called “Teams,” in case you want to share the translation of one book with other translators, which was not my case at that time. So, I clicked on the “Books” option and I felt like there was a real chance of getting a book to translate. On that page, I saw that there were several book genres available. One tip about those options: there are genres in which you will be able to find many books available for translation at that time. However, in others, you will find none. So, be open to more than one option of book genres in case you don’t find what you’re looking for on the first try.
My first book translation
I decided to choose a mystery novel, one of my favorite genres. Following the instructions on Babelcube’s website, I translated a short sample page plus the first 10 pages of the book and sent them directly to the author. The whole process is done through the website, so you do not need to exchange messages by using your private email.
Nearly five days later, having not received any reply from the author, I decided to choose another book. I should also mention that I had no intention of translating a book with hundreds of pages. It was my first experience and I did not want to it to be frustrating. My second choice was a book of 7,320 words in a genre I felt more familiar with (business), on the topic of finding a job. I started all over again. I translated the sample page plus the initial 10 pages of the book. Less than five days later, I received the author’s approval and the complete book to be translated. The translation took me about two weeks, and I then sent it to the author– and three days later he wrote me an email praising my translation and asking if I could translate another book of his, which I did.
However, I had other questions popping into my head: “Two books translated, but what about the royalties? When would I receive them? How would I know how many books had been sold?” All these questions were answered sooner than I thought. Nearly five days after the delivery of the final translation, I was informed by Babelcube about which online sales channels the books had been published in. Here’s a suggestion. Marketing is everything. When the book is published, depending on the subject you choose, it can attract the readers’ attention and, consequently, increase the sales volume and also the royalties. So, letting people know about the book you have just translated through social networks is vital for its success.
Royalties for your translation
With regards to the receipt of royalties, in my case, it took me a while to receive them–nine months. The completed translation of the second book was delivered to the author in July 2016 and the first royalties ($1.31) appeared in my account balance in December. The disclosure I mentioned above–about the importance of marketing–could have made all the difference, but as I was involved in other projects (technical and audiovisual translation), I did not invest time nor enough effort in letting people know about the books I had translated.
You might wonder: “Why did it take nine months to receive your money?” This is because Babelcube allows you to collect your royalties only when the balance is over $10. Otherwise the balance will be carried over to the next month until you reach $10. And that was I did. In April 2017 my royalties balance reached more than $10 and I could have the money transferred to my PayPal account. Babelcube pays you via your PayPal account. If you do not have one, you can access PayPal directly or via Babelcube’s link, set up an account and link it to your bank account. It is a very simple process.
As I am not a US citizen and my country (Brazil) does not have a tax treaty with the US, I could not receive the total amount of my royalties. In fact, I had withholding tax deducted at a rate of 30% of the royalties. So I could withdraw $7.86. On Babelcube’s site, there is more information about the taxes and a list of countries that have a tax treaty.
Every month you will receive an email from Babelcube with your royalties account balance information. After receiving the money, I received a message informing me that my account balance was $5.54. When I reach $10 again I will be able to withdraw it. If you ask me if I would recommend Babelcube, I would definitely say “Yes.” Overall, Babelcube is an interesting way to find book translation projects. I believe that receiving royalties is always welcome as an incentive, but it is also gratifying when the author says you did a great job and asks you to keep on translating their books. Not to mention that those translations can be included in your portfolio. If you are interested in literary translation, you might consider giving Babelcube a try, and tell us what your impressions are!
Thanks for sharing this experience. I am still confused, though. You spent two weeks on a translation assignment and made HOW MUCH money? Were you informed from the beginning the amount you would receive for each copy of the book sold? Thanks again.
Rena
Thanks, Rene! Ligia can answer this too, but I’ll chime in that Babelcube is definitely transparent about how much/little the translator receives in royalties. See this page: http://www.babelcube.com/faq/revenue-share. However the kicker (to put it in a non-literary way) is that most self-published books sell very few copies unless the author and/or translator promote them very heavily, which most people do not. The example on that page gives a gross sales figure of $8,000, and that the translator would receive $2,900. That’s certainly not out of the question; my self-published book for translators is in its third edition and I still make $300-$500 per month in royalties. However, various sources will tell you that the average self-published author earns around $500 total in royalties from their book. So on a platform like Babelcube, the translator’s portion of that is going to be a couple of hundred dollars, if that. I think that Babelcube should be seen as *a way* to find literary translation projects if you’re interested, not necessarily as a lucrative sideline to your commercial translation work.
Hi, Rena.
Unfortunately, there is no way you have this information because the amount depends on the sales volume. And every month you will receive an email with an updated statement. Once the amount reaches USD 10, you will be allowed to withdraw it. The more copies sold, the more royalties.
Very interesting piece. Nice to learn about this platform, Corinne. Thank you, Ligia.
Thanks, Gio!
Thanks, Gio.
This does not sound very profitable at all – in fact, it sounds more like a great way for self-published books by people with a certain ego to feed to get their books translated into other languages.
I can see it now, complete with guru capitalisation: “Life Coach – Profitability Expert – Published Author with Books Translated into Five Languages”.
And all the poor translators might get, if revenue works out at an optimistic $1000 (twice the average) for a relatively short book – say 7,320 words like the shorter of the two examples given – all the translator will ever get is $550, or $0.075 a word. And that’s assuming the translator *didn’t* hire a reviewer (which of course would be highly unprofessional and risky for a published work that will be a record of their bad work, in print and perhaps online, forever).
But what’s the likelihood of any book translated via Babelcube making that much anyway, given how little Ligia has made? Part of the issue is of course that you are expected to promote it yourselves, whereas normally there’d be a professional publisher, agent, etc. involved. Similarly, I gather you don’t have any input on the price charged.
A question for you, Corinne: didn’t you get your book translated into other languages? Did you use Babelcube for that? Or did you do it some other way? I’d be interested in your reasoning, whatever decision you actually made.
I’m also curious if you’ve ever translated via Babelcube yourself, Corinne? If so, how did that work out?
I hope the readers of your blog realise this is not a viable way to earn a living as a translator.
Thanks, Rose! As I mentioned, this post is not meant to endorse working through Babelcube; my hope (in response to questions from readers) was to find a translator who had actually completed a project through Babelcube and would discuss the logistical and financial details, and I appreciate Ligia’s willingness to do that. I’ve never translated through Babelcube. For my own book, I sell the translation rights and then the translators who purchase them can publish and promote the book however they want. Personally I prefer that method, because I think it gives the translators the freedom to market the book in the formats and channels that they think will be most successful. The details are here: http://www.thoughtsontranslation.com/book/translate-hsft/
Thank you to Corinne McKay and Lígia Ribeiro for this very insightful and very important post that has helped me a great deal. I’m currently working on a much bigger translation with Babelcube and I found this publisher through Facebook as well. By this time I know I am granted the translation of another book from the same author but I was intending to see first how the amount we are paid in royalties is worth the effort. I would like to stay in touch with Lígia, since we share a common interest and the same native language, the portuguese (as regards to me, from Portugal).
Great, thanks Ana Maria!
Thanks, Ana Maria.
In fact, I can tell you and also other readers that translating books from Babelcube has positive and negative aspects.
Negative: in order to get substantial royalties, the book you translated needs to be purchased by a great amount of readers. And for that to happen you need to promote it. People need to know about it and be interested in buying it.
Positive: the author of the book you translated might indicate you to publishers or other colleagues who work for publishers.
In Brazil, there are several translators who have translated books on Babelcube website. They have been also not well-paid but they like that kind of experience.
I cannot see where there is any advantage whatsoever to the translator who decides to work via the Babelcube platform.
In summary, Lígia’s experience so far:
1. She translated 10 pages as a “sample” of a mystery novel, for which she received no acknowledgement from the author, and no payment. Does anyone know what happened to this translation? Lost in cyberspace, perhaps?
2. Two more assignments totalling 22,361 words, both by the same author. The reward for all this effort to date has been US$7.86 after a nine-month wait.
In all seriousness, who wants “literary translation projects” like that?
Books I have translated (okay, not all literary as such, but in the 77,000 to 125,000-word range) have all kicked off with a fat advance payment landing in my bank account, and progress payments thereafter. All those assignments have involved direct contact with the authors, and the occasional free lunch costing a lot more than US$7.86. Oh, and one other teeny-weeny detail: these works had collaborating editors or revisors; an essential part of any translation. Now, those are things I would recommend – at an absolute minimum.
Thanks, Allison! As I mentioned in the introduction to the post and in responses to other comments, this post isn’t meant to endorse Babelcube or royalties-only work, only to give a realistic view of what it’s like to translate through Babelcube.
I read your introduction, Corinne, and I realise that you yourself are not endorsing Babelcube.
Lígia Ribeiro, however, is endorsing them, and I quote:
“If you ask me if I would recommend Babelcube, I would definitely say “Yes.” Overall, Babelcube is an interesting way to find book translation projects. I believe that receiving royalties is always welcome as an incentive, but it is also gratifying when the author says you did a great job and asks you to keep on translating their books. Not to mention that those translations can be included in your portfolio. ”
I thought I would comment merely to ram home the point as bluntly as I dare in a public forum (without attacking Babelcube, naturally) that there are a WEALTH of other options out there. And those other options can include – and have done so for years – royalties, compliments from the author, the chance to translate the author’s next work, and a boost to one’s portfolio, amongst other things.
Thanks, Allison! Thanks for those points (and you can ram the point home, it’s OK!). I’d venture a guess that most translators would say, as Ligia says here, that working via Babelcube helped them connect with an author who needed a translation, or saved them the headache of going through the traditional publishing process, or gave them exposure, or gave them the confidence to go out on the “open market” and look for better-paying book translation work. And those are touchy topics. My personal policy is that I don’t contribute to other people’s paying projects for free, and I don’t ask other people to contribute to my paying projects for free (i.e. I pay the guest post writers for my blog). And when people say that the ‘exposure’ angle doesn’t fly in other types of professions, they’re right. You don’t ask a newly-minted attorney to do some work for you for free, for the exposure. I actually don’t think that Babelcube’s royalty structure per se is terrible; it’s just that their example of $8,000 in sales is going to apply to a very, very tiny sliver of the self-published book market. Personally I’d like to see them give average or typical royalties payment figures, which are probably closer to what Ligia mentions here. Thanks for your comments!
You pay guest bloggers to write pieces for publication on your blog, Corinne?
Don’t tell everyone, please, because I don’t.
I ever expected anyone to pay me to write a guest post. I was under the impression that writing on our own or other people’s blog was part of the system of honour among professionals for the benefit, chiefly, of others in our profession.
Nevertheless, I am now thoroughly confused:
It is seen as okay to pay someone – in this case, Lígia – to write a guest blog in her second language about a platform that does not actually pay her to translate into her mother tongue? By doing the translation work for free, the translator is *undercutting* someone else, who might, actually, have wanted to charge a peanut or two for such a service.
While you have already said that you “do not endorse” Babelcube, etc., I am beginning to feel that someone has landed me in the middle of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, if you will pardon the literary allusion.
Hi, Allison.
Just for you to know, I am not a blogger. I am a translator who, one day, accessed the Babelcube website looking for a book to translate and according to their system, when the book is published, you receive royalties for the book sale. Of course, it depends on the volume sale. And that was what happened to me. I received royalties for the book and it was fine for me.
My intention here is tell other translators about my experience using Babelcube. I do not understand your negative reaction. If you do not want to try it, you are not obliged.
“While you have already said that you “do not endorse” Babelcube, etc., I am beginning to feel that someone has landed me in the middle of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, if you will pardon the literary allusion.”
Allison, I don’t believe we have met, so forgive me the intrusion. But I see no Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
All I see here is a colleague (Corinne) attempting to shed light on a new practice by making available to others the first-hand experience of a colleague (Ligia). Period.
Ligia liked her experience, but it doesn’t seem that this is her main source of income ($7+ in 9 months is not income, right?). Corinne has provided us with the service of living the experience vicariously through Ligia, so we can, without creating a profile or otherwise exposing ourselves to Babelcube, make an educated decision as to whether we would like to go through that experience or not.
Thank you Corinne and Ligia for introducing me to Babelcube. I like being able to learn from the experience of others.
Hi, Gio.
Thanks again and thanks Corinne for having invited me to share my experience with other translators.
Rgds
Ligia
Hi, Allison.
The project might not bring financial benefits, but it allows you to have visibility, mainly for beginner translators. Firstly, it is an opportunity for you to see if that kind of genre is adequate for you, if that what you want to do. Secondly, you can obtain a portfolio, including the authors’ feedback about your performance, to be presented to publishers.
You won’t receive what you would receive for direct projects with publishers, but it is an interesting project.
Thanks, Ligia!
What other options have you tried, Lígia, apart from Babelcube? I am referring to options which would allow you to discover what genre suits you best, which would allow interaction with the author and which would give you something to write on your CV, as well as pay you more than the price of the meal of the day in a local diner. Have you asked more experienced literary translators in your language pair what is the best approach to take? Or are you hoping that Babelcube will cover all of that for you? I ask because you might find other options more rewarding, and more sustainable.
Hi, Allison.
Let’s just take it one step at a time. My post tells what my “personal” impressions about Babelcube are, based on my experience and that kind of experience was a good thing for me. I didn’t accept to translate eBooks because of the money but because I wanted to try a new genre of translation. I received very good comments from the author of the books and it was rewarding to me.
With regards to asking more experienced literary translations about it, I don’t see relevance in doing this because I do what I think it is best for me. I don’t run with the crowd. If your intention is to make a lot of money translating books, Babelcube is not the best way.
You asked me about other options, and unfortunately I can only tell you that I haven’t translated books anymore because I have worked with other genres of translations, such as translation for dubbing and technical ones.
The last thing I would like to inform is that I endorse Babelcube for beginners or someone who is curious to know how the literary translation is. But I don’t have any intention of “selling” the website. It worked for me, it was a good experience and that’s all. Everyone knows what the best for themselves.
Dear Corinne,
I am somewhat concerned at someone in your position – by which I mean president-elect of ATA, and who also has a huge following of new and established translators – has published a post such as this. I believe the hosting of such a post can only be viewed as tacit endorsement of the procedures outlined therein – despite your disclaimer. I’m surprised – I was genuinely intrigued to find out who had impressed you enough with theIr translation skills (or business skills) to warrant a guest post on your blog, which I imagine is the most widely-read blog about working as a translator.
I’m not going to criticize the post author, as she was simply sharing her experiences working under an exploitative system which leads to derisory ‘payouts’ if and when you hit the giddy heights of $10. I do, however, question the wisdom of promoting (in the sense of putting forward for public consumption) this platform on your esteemed blog.
Best wishes, Jane
Thanks, Jane! I guess I can only reiterate that my hope–in response to questions from readers who wondered what it was like to actually complete a project on Bablecube–was to present that information in a factual way. When I looked for a translator to write this post, I specified that the person *had to* be willing to discuss the financial details of their project so that people could make an informed decision about whether they’d want to translate through Babelcube or similar sites. I put that request out on Twitter, and anyone (or even Babelcube themselves) could have responded. If you feel that Babelcube and similar sites shouldn’t be given any airtime at all, of course that’s your viewpoint and I respect it, but I would disagree: I’d rather see the reality than no discussion of it at all.
My God. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party describes it rather well, Allison.
My lady shared a thought with me yesterday – I think it was a quote from Simone de Beauvoir, but could just as well be an observation from her long, experienced life – that oppressors would not be so strong if there were not so many willing accomplices among the victims. If I want “exposure”, I’ll go to the beach and take my clothes off. By participating in or facilitating such nonsense as Babelcube, you become part of the problem of deprofessionalization in translation. Once is philosophy, perhaps, but repetition is simply foolishness.
But loud and clear: “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”
Hi Corinne,
I translate from a number of languages (6), but am studying Italian as a major at university here in Western Australia. With one unit to go, I took on a translation via Babelcube knowing exactly what I was doing, i.e. essentially a pro bono translation for someone else’s benefit, and with little likelihood of monetary reward. Why? Because it seemed an excellent way of doing “active improvement” my Italian, by which I mean expanding my lexicon and general working knowledge. I’ve subsequently added Italian as a working language. I wouldn’t advise it as a general tactic, but for specific purposes, such as that outlined above, it worked well for me.
Very interesting example, thanks Andy!
Thank you, Corinne, for including this interesting topic in your blog. I’m not a literary translator and had never heard of the Babelcube platform, but I found the information quite enlightening as an enhancement to my general knowledge about the translation industry and the different pricing strategies in play. I can also fully appreciate how this would be an attractive option for people wanting to give literary translation a try without expecting any financial gain. Or simply as a fun side project, similar to what Andy is saying. I certainly agree that the lack of review mechanisms and, as it appears, collaboration with the author during the translation process is unlikely produce the highest-quality output. And it’s clearly not financially advantageous either. But I don’t necessarily see Babelcube as undercutting experienced literary translators working with professional authors because, as Allison quite succinctly explains, there appear to be far better avenues for such translators to pursue. However, all of our opinions on whether Babelcube is a good or bad idea would seem entirely irrelevant here. The point is that Corinne’s readers were asking for this information, and she took the trouble to respond to those requests by finding, and even paying someone, to provide exactly that. Do any of us actually believe that less information is better than more? The information itself is neutral. It’s up to the reader to make what they will of it. The phrase “don’t kill the messenger” comes to mind here. 🙂
In any case, I feel very fortunate to have someone of Corinne’s caliber, who is willing to provide open and unbiased information, as president-elect of the ATA, as such a forthcoming attitude can only benefit our organization and the translation industry as a whole.
Thanks very much, Susan! Yes, that’s exactly the spirit in which this post was intended; thanks a lot for your comment.
Comments on this post are now closed, as I think that all sides of this topic have been presented here. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion.