Publishing operations
Translation: a book rebuilt in another language, not converted into one.
Literary translation is a form of writing. A translator is making thousands of judgements about register, idiom and rhythm that a conversion tool cannot make at all.
What this is
We work with translators who are native speakers of the target language and who translate into it, because translating out of your first language reliably produces text that reads as translated. Every translation is then independently reviewed by a second linguist.
Beyond the text, a translated edition needs its own typesetting — text length changes, sometimes dramatically — and often its own cover treatment for the market it is entering.
Book Translation
What you get
What book translation actually delivers
Native-speaker translators
Translation into the translator's first language, in the subject or genre they work in.
Independent review
A second linguist reviews the translation against the source before it is signed off.
Cultural adaptation handled deliberately
Idiom, references and humour addressed as decisions you are consulted on, not silently flattened.
Re-typesetting for the new text
Layout rebuilt for the translated text, which will not be the same length as the original.
Market-appropriate presentation
Cover and metadata considered for the market the edition is entering.
How it runs
The process, stage by stage.
Each stage finishes before the next begins, and you see the work at the points where your decision changes what happens next.
Scope and language
Target language and market confirmed, along with any terminology or naming decisions.
Translation
First translation by a native-speaker translator working in your category.
Review
Independent review against the source, with queries returned to you where a judgement call is needed.
Typesetting
The translated edition laid out for its new text length.
Proof and output
Proofread in the target language, then output for print and digital.
Questions
About book translation
Not as the translation. Books translated by machine read as machine-translated to native speakers, whatever the marketing claims.
Availability depends on the language pair and the category. Tell us the target language and we will confirm whether we can do it properly — and say so if we cannot.
A translated edition is a distinct edition and is conventionally recorded as one. We set out the identifier implications before registering anything.
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