Novel Translation

Overview

What does an English-language (ENG) novel translator do?

The ENG publishing industry operates in a unique and complicated way that often confuses Japanese publishing professionals and authors. In the West, it is often expected that novel translators will act as unofficial literary agents in the early stages of novel acquisition. Translators will identify potential publication markets for their client’s novel, “pitch” the novel to ENG publishers, and—if the publisher is interested—translators will handle initial communications between the Japanese and ENG publishing houses until a deal is struck.

Most Japanese novels translated into English have been randomly selected by freelance translators who happened to enjoy the novels in question. The translator reads an interesting book, contacts the Japanese publisher to confirm that translation rights are available, then embarks on the arduous and time-consuming process to create a “pitch pack” that they can send to ENG publishers. A “pitch pack” usually consists of a:

Pitch Letter (1-page persuasive letter which makes an argument for why this book would succeed in English translation)
Novel Summary (2-page detailed summary of every major character and plot point)
Sample Translation (15- to 50-page sample translation of the book)

Why are so few Japanese novels translated into English?

When a freelance translator chooses their own novels and pitches them to ENG publishers, all of the work I just described above is completely unpaid. Even if a translation deal is eventually struck between two publishers, there is no guarantee that the translator who pitched the novel will be chosen to translate the novel. In this case, the translator will have contributed around 100 hours of unpaid work only to emerge with nothing to show for their efforts. As such, there are not many freelance translators (with the requisite foreign language and creative writing skills) who are willing to take such a risky financial gamble. Most English-to-Japanese novel translators work a full-time dayjob—such as university professor—and only translate in their limited free time.

In many European countries, publishers proactively commission ENG translations of their bestselling novels. Some publishers pay a translator to create the pitch pack, then independently handle negotiations with their ENG counterparts. Other publishers might commission a translator to create a pitch pack as well as hire them to work on their behalf as a submissions agent with ENG publishers. Many publishers even employ in-house translators to take on this work. However, in Japan this practice is fairly uncommon. This lack of proactive translation commissions is one of the major contributing factors to the relative dearth of Japanese fiction in English translation.

My Goals and Services

In the future, I hope that Japanese publishers will commission more literary translators to proactively pitch their bestselling novels in the ENG market. I would love to see Japanese novels translated with the same frequency as their European counterparts. As such, I offer the following services:

Sample Translation
Pitch Pack
Submissions Agent
Full Novel Translation

1. Sample Translation

I am open to commissions from Japanese or ENG publishers to complete a Sample Translation. These usually range from 15 to 50 pages of the work (though my commission rate will be calculated by character count). Most sample translations will consist of the first consecutive pages of a work, though this can vary in some cases (such as with short story collections).

Reach out through my Contact page if you would like to request a rate quote. Please include:

the exact character count of the to-be-translated novel sample
a .PDF or .DOC of the novel sample

2. Pitch Pack

I am open to commissions from Japanese or ENG publishers to complete a pitch pack. A pitch pack consists of a:

Pitch Letter (1-page persuasive letter which makes an argument for why this book would succeed in English translation.)
Novel Summary (2-page detailed summary of every major character and plot point)
Sample Translation (15- to 50-page sample translation of the book)

In order to create a pitch pack, I will first need to read the entire novel. Then I will research background information on the novel’s author, its commercial success in Japan, and its potential niche in ENG publication.

Reach out through my Contact page if you would like to request a rate quote. Please include:

the exact character count of the entire novel
the exact character count of the to-be-translated novel sample
a .PDF or .DOC of the first 50 pages of the novel

yellow sticky notes beside white apple magic mouse and white apple keyboard

3. Submissions Agent

If you are a Japanese publisher commissioning a pitch pack from me, I can also be hired to submit this pitch pack to ENG publishers on your behalf as a submissions agent. This would include:

Researching ENG publishers to create an ideal submission list
Confirming this submission list with my client
Submitting the pitch pack to all publishers on this submission list
Providing my client with regular updates on the submission process
Connecting my client with any interested ENG publishers
Providing communications support until the point at which both parties agree to enter into contract negotiations

Please note that I am not a legal professional and I cannot provide legal advice on how to draw up a rights contract. My aim is to assist both publishers up until the point that they both affirm their interest in working together. I cannot assist on negotiating the details of that contract. I also cannot guarantee that an ENG publisher will express interest in the novel on submission.

If at this stage both publishers are interested in hiring me as the translator of this novel, I will join the negotiations as an independent freelance novel translator.

When you reach out through my Contact page to request a pitch pack, please indicate your interest in submissions agent support.

4. Full Novel Translation

If you are an ENG publisher who has acquired the rights to translate a Japanese novel, or if you are a Japanese publishing press who publishes books in English translation, I am open to full novel translation commissions.

I do not currently accept full novel translation requests from Japanese-language publishers who do not have the capacity to publish books in English translation. If you have secured a publication contract with an ENG publisher and would like me to translate the novel, please have the ENG publisher reach out to me directly.

Reach out through my Contact page if you would like to request a rate quote. Please include:

the exact character count of the entire Japanese novel
a .PDF or .DOC of the first 50 pages of the novel

****Please note that some novels are far more difficult to translate than others. This can be caused by complex subject matter that necessitates extensive research (such as a historical novel set in Edo-era Japan), stylistic writing (such as metaphoric or lyrical prose), or simply because that novel does not fit a translator’s personal strengths. My rate quotes will take all this into account—as such, I cannot provide a general cost-per-character translation rate.

****Please also note that a translator always retains the copyright to their translation, including sample translations. You will need to specify what you hope to use this sample translation for, and purchase the rights to use my translation for that specified purpose and that specified purpose alone. For example, you might purchase the rights to submit my sample translation to potential publishers. If you decide later on that you would like to publish my sample translation on your website as a novel excerpt, or publish it with a literary magazine, you will need to purchase additional usage rights at that time.