Domestication vs. Foreignisation via Red Rage
A guest post by Rachel Ward

One of the eternal debates in translation studies is whether to favour the domesticating or the foreignising approach, and one of the most famous quotations on the subject comes from Friedrich Schleiermacher’s On The Different Methods of Translating of 1815:

“Either the translator leaves the writer in peace as much as possible and moves the reader toward him; or he leaves the reader in peace as much as possible and moves the writer toward him.”

(For a more detailed look at the article as a whole, check out this excellent post by Susan Bernofsky at Translationista, which I discovered while making certain I’d remembered the wording correctly.)

On only my second ever book translation, I got the chance to see a practical application of each approach. Allen & Unwin in Australia and Annick Press in Canada had jointly bought the rights to Rote Zorn by Brigitte Blobel and I was approached to translate it. Relatively early on, I enquired whether to use the metric or imperial systems for weights and measures, given the differing approaches of the varying readerships to metrication. Leave them as they are, I was told. We’ll sort that out later.

But that was only the start. In the end, the two editions of the translation came to exemplify the foreignisation/domestication debate. Red Rage is the story of Mara, a sixteen-year-old girl, her dysfunctional family and the problems caused by her uncontrollable anger. The Canadian publisher decided to leave the reader in peace and move the story to a generic city high school somewhere in North America. The Australian publisher decided to leave the writer in peace and keep Mara in her post-war estate in Essen.

Now this is where things start to get interesting. If we move the writer towards a North American reader, as well as using miles, we have to change most of the characters’ names. Mara stays the same, but her parents Günther and Beate become Gary and Beth, for example. The nationalities of the immigrant neighbours change. Suddenly sixteen-year-olds can no longer (legally) drink beer or ride a moped.

It is certainly true that anger, fear, dysfunctional families and rough estates can be found anywhere. Perhaps it is easier for a North American teen to identify with a character if they don’t have to worry about cultural differences. All the same, I regret the loss of Mara’s father’s back story. His one great achievement had been to escape to the West from East Germany; after that, though, he’d never amounted to anything, and this goes a long way to explaining the way he acts now. Obviously, once the translation is no longer set in Germany, this section has to go. It’s only a couple of paragraphs, doesn’t affect the main plot. But it does add something. The author put it in for a reason…

I’ve gained more experience since then. Perhaps if the situation were to arise again I’d argue the case for leaving the writer in peace. It depends though. The balance between the writer and the reader shifts from book to book. I recently translated a series of detective novels set in London. As a result, I aimed to make them as smooth as possible. To use the imperial system, to make the dialogue sound British so as to avoid jarring the reader. But maybe it would have been interesting to see ourselves as the Germans see us?

No, there isn’t a simple answer, but I’d be interested in what anyone else thinks about it!

Since gaining her MA in Literary Translation in 2002, Rachel Ward has been working in Norwich, UK, as a freelance literary translator from German and French to English. She specialises in children’s and young adult literature as well as crime novels, fantasy and other contemporary fiction. She blogs on reading and translation at http://adiscounttickettoeverywhere.blogspot.com/ and is on Twitter as @FwdTranslations. Both editions of Red Rage are available on Amazon and elsewhere. Her most recent translations, the Nea Fox books by Amelia Ellis, are available as e-books from Amazon and www.neafox.com.

Pastries, Bacon and Beer — No Way Back
A guest post by Fi Benson

I have never been to Denmark and until recently my knowledge of all things Danish was limited to pastries, bacon and beer.

But that has changed since browsing in my local library and coming across a book with such a compelling title (to me) that I had to take it out and read it. No Way Back is written by Theodor Fontane and translated from the German by Hugh Rorrison and Helen Chambers (Angel Classics, 2010). 

The story tells of the happenings that befall the eccentric Count Holk, member of an old German Schleswig family and gentleman-in-waiting to a Danish royal princess.

The tragi-comic style of the writing and the nature of Holk’s bizarre behaviours make this an enchanting read, but it is the context in which the tale is set —  Copenhagen and Schleswig-Holstein on the eve of the Prussian takeover of the region — and the relationship of the characters to that context, that has had the biggest impact on me, evoking a strong sense of empathy between myself and the main characters.

An empathy that doesn’t arise because I have experienced national occupation, because thankfully I haven’t.  But when the people in the story are talking about ‘Old Denmark’ , I understand fully their passion and affections for the traditions and heritage of their birthplace . 

Since my sister took up genealogy  over a decade ago I have held a deepened interest in the local rituals and social geography that combine with national and global states of affairs to create the ‘story’ of any particular place. Inspired by my sister’s activities I have undertaken ongoing  informal research into the heritage and evolved culture of the north-east of England, my home region. Extending beyond this, whenever I visit other areas of the UK or abroad I love to find and explore the ‘old parts’ of these areas,  to see what facets of their story I can find. 

No Way Back allowed me to enjoy the feeling of being linked to people in a country that up until reading the book I hadn’t thought much about.  The book kindled in me an interest in Denmark beyond its contemporary exports.

My appreciation goes out further to translator Helen Chambers for her interesting and informative ‘Afterword’, through which I became sufficiently  acquainted with and intrigued by Fontane and his role in German literature, to make me want to seek out  further translations of his work.

What about you? Have you ever been inspired by a work of fiction to explore the history of another country? Or have you felt strong links to a previously unfamiliar culture? Tell us about it.

Fi Benson is a writer & dramatist based in the Forest of Dean, England. Her plays and sketches have been performed in theatres around the UK and she performs her own poetry and prose in open mic events. Her paperback ‘From Wear To Wye’ is now published on Amazon for Kindle under the title of ‘Hang On A Minute! Tales Of A Writer’s Life In The Ancient Forest of Dean‘. She blogs at http://fi-benson.blogspot.com and twitters at @FiBenson1.

Considering self-publishing? Excellent!
It’s a rewarding experience, but be prepared to work hard!
A guest post by Dawn Curtis

The idea behind my immensely satisfying foray into self-publishing was hatched in a kind of casual way. Two summers ago, while attending Yoga as Muse ^TM for Authentic Writing facilitator training, one of my fellow trainees and I decided that we would publish an anthology of the group’s collective work. Landing a traditional publishing deal was never one of our goals. Though some of us have indeed been published in the usual way, our intention was to use this book to promote the Yoga as Muse ^TM methodology we used to create the work and would all soon be teaching.

As writers, coming up with the content was by far the easiest part of the process. And most of us are professional editors as well, so that part was also painless. However, like most writers, we also had little to no money to finance our venture. So when the free print deal we had lined up for the book fell through, I embarked on a steep learning curve into the full spectrum of options available today for authors who want to bring their own works to market.

And realized very quickly, that I knew absolutely nothing. Author was one thing. Author as “literary entrepreneur” was something else altogether.  I do like a challenge, however.

The first thing I discovered was that all self-publishing is not created equal. In self-publishing, as in life, your motivation matters.

Vanity publishing vs. self-publishing

Before deciding to self-publish, begin by asking yourself this:  Why do I want to self-publish?

If you just want to have a few printed copies of your book on hand to give family and friends as gifts, or perhaps sell to a few acquaintances, then what’s commonly known as “vanity” publishing might be a solution. Vanity publishers typically provide a complete package of publishing services (ranging from $600 – $5000) and sell your book on their website, taking a hefty percentage for the privilege. Most offer print on demand, and take care of distribution to major retailers.

Or are you, like me and my co-authors, looking for more control over the process, including keeping more of the dollars you earn from book sales? If so, you need to answer a second question:  Do I have what it takes to be a publisher? That’s right. A publisher. When you choose to self-publish, you are effectively taking on the responsibility to perform all the tasks that a traditional publisher performs. Besides printing your book, real publishers make sure it is professionally edited, designed, promoted and distributed. Self-publishing shouldn’t be a short-cut designed to get around these elements. If you’re going to self-publish, you’re selling yourself short if you accept anything less than the same level of professionalism.

All this can be time consuming, and a steep learning curve for most of us writers or translators. We’d rather put our time and energy into our craft, and leave the nuances of graphic design, website creation and marketing to the experts.

But in the last few years, the publishing industry has been turned on its ear. Even if you’re lucky enough to land a traditional publishing deal, the power of social media dictates that you will be expected to market yourself. And many publishers are only interested in signing authors with a proven self-publishing track record, evidenced by the sales numbers for their books. During my research, a sales representative at Balboa Press (the vanity publishing arm of Hay House Publishing) told me that Hay House (a traditional publisher) routinely gets new titles to publish from the top-selling self-published books on Balboa Press, because the sales figures prove that the authors understand how to market themselves.

Going for it

Decided to take the plunge? Good for you! What are the elements you need to consider?

Financing
As publisher, bank rolling the whole shebang will be up to you. Everything listed below costs money. If you’re short on cash, consider exploring creative financing options, such as bartering for editing, design and website creation services. You may also be eligible for grants, depending on where you live and the work you are publishing.

Editing
You owe it to yourself to put out as professional a product as possible, so spend the time and money it takes to have your work professionally edited. This is perhaps the most important step. You may have the most interesting book in the world; however, if it hasn’t been properly edited and proofed, no one will want to read it to find out.

Design
Most people do judge a book by its cover. Readers have more books than ever clamouring for their attention, and if they pass yours over at first glance, or worse, get turned off, you likely won’t get a second chance to capture their attention. Pay for a professional cover design. It’s worth it. And make sure that your cover art looks as appealing online as it does on the actual paper cover.

Printing and distribution
How do you want to publish your book? As an ebook? Paper version? After much research, I decided to do both, and recommend the following services:

Lightning Source – print on demand, distribution to major retailers. Charge you for cost to print books only, plus shipping. You can order as few or as many books as you want. Can also do larger, offset print runs. Mail directly to customers, or ship to you and you send them out.

CreateSpace – Full-service vanity publisher, but one of the most reasonably-priced; also handle distribution to major retailers.

Smashwords – eBook publisher; you keep 85% of sales from their site; also distribute to all major ebook retailers; unlike with Amazon and Kindle, you’re not locked in to one retailer only. You’ll need to format the eBook yourself, or have someone do it for you.

Marketing
Change in the publishing industry, fuelled by the digital revolution, is in general a good thing. Self-publishing gives authors much more power, and enables us to make more money on a per-sale basis. However, you still need to sell your work.

Books on display in brick and mortar stores, along with book readings and a bit of media coverage used to be enough to get the word out. However, far more is expected of authors in today’s very competitive book market.

Along with the tried and true methods of book signing events, author appearances and readings, there are vast potential untapped readerships out there that won’t find out a thing about your work unless you discover how to reach them. Online marketing, via blogs and other social media, can be a great way to generate sales. At minimum, you will need a website for the book, a Facebook page, and an electronic press kit including a press release. But remember –these devices won’t sell books for you. It’s the relationship you create with readers that will pique their interest.

Author and innovative literary marketer Brad Listi, interviewed by John Warner in a post on Jane Friedman’s blog entitled  How “Literary” and “Entrepreneur” Are Becoming Intertwined, explores the brave new world of being a writer in the 21st century. He has this sage advice:

“But then there’s still the issue of marketing and making actual sales. And as far as that goes, my view is that word-of-mouth trumps all. Same as it ever was. Nothing is more important when it comes to selling books. So first and foremost, you have to be really, really good. And then secondly, you have to be really, really lucky; you have to catch that magical cosmic wave that certain books and authors seem to catch as a function of timing and the mood of the collective subconscious. And thirdly, you have to be proactive and effective in letting people know about your work.”

There are some very good, free resources available to help you out. Particularly helpful is information from author Joanna Penn’s sample book marketing plan, available for free, that provides sound advice on book marketing techniques. For a timeline of when book launch activities should occur, take a look at some free tips offered by Saundra Mitchell.

And remember–above all, have fun! Even if you do decide to pursue a traditional publishing deal down the road, it helps to know the role of a publisher inside and out, and you will, once you’ve brought your own book to market.

The long, dark winters in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, where Dawn lives with her daughter, are perfect for delving into the creative realm. Dawn has a BA in French translation and is a certified yoga teacher in the Sivananda tradition. She provides editing services, writing mentorship, self-publishing consultation services and Yoga as Muse^TM workshops to clients and participants in Canada and the United States.

Her most recent work, Stories We Keep: A Yoga as Muse Anthology, was published in December, 2011. To purchase a copy, or to find out more about Dawn and Yoga as Muse ^TM, contact Dawn through her website at www.dawncurtis.com.

Have you ever noticed — or felt — that the end of your current work in progress gets much less revision than earlier chapters? I have. It’s something I’ve noticed with every literary translation I’ve done.

In the beginning, I’m supremely excited about the new project; I have energy galore and focus extraordinaire. After every paragraph translated, I revise the English. After every chapter translated, I revise the English. Before moving on to the next chapter, I revise the English in the previous chapter. And so on. You get the picture: I revise a lot.

Until, that is, I’m three quarters of the way through the book and getting tired. Deadlines are usually tight. I’m having to fit in other work since my 50% advance on the novel translation is gone and the second 50% is still a couple of months away. Day-to-day personal distractions slip in more often.

As a result, these later chapters get less attention than earlier ones. I revise the English after every few paragraphs. I don’t always revise one finished chapter right away before moving on to the next because I can hear the clock ticking… Time is running out.

When I’m all done, yes, I revise those slightly neglected chapters once or twice more than earlier chapters, but it still feels inequitable.

I’ve therefore often thought that my very final revision of the whole English might be better done if I went from the last chapter back to the first. I never actually tried it; until now, that is, on my current work in progress.

Here’s my rationale for revising the novel backwards:

* I have more energy when I start a full revision, so the end chapters will finally get their due.

* I’ve looked at these chapters, in order, what seems like a gazillion times so I’m no longer really seeing what’s on the page or screen, but what’s in my head. Shaking up the order might give me fresh eyes to see anything I might have missed.

* Psychologically, counting backwards might fill me with anticipation and glee, like a New Year’s Eve countdown, rather than looking at all that lies ahead while the deadline zips up to meet me.

What about you? Have you ever revised your work in progress from back to front? Did it work? Would you consider giving this crazy method a try? Why or why not?

Translating I Hate Hockey for Canada
A guest post by Peter McCambridge

The Commitments by Roddy Doyle

The back cover of Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments describes his first novel as “funky, rude, unpretentious,” tracing the “short, funny, and furious career of a group of working-class Irish kids who form a band.” I wanted my translation of I Hate Hockey to be all these things (well, maybe not so funky), describing the “short, funny, and furious” lives of the working-class losers of small-town Quebec.

I’ll drop the parallels with The Commitments from here on in (the comparison only came to mind in the first place because of the punctuation). This is, after all, going to be an article on what it was like to translate I Hate Hockey for the Canadian market. And the first thing I would say is that, although the entire process was incredibly straightforward, I think I could write a whole book on it! But space is limited so I’ll focus on just two key points here.

Using em dashes to mark conversation is commonplace in French novels and not so common in English. But I knew it could be done—and to great effect—because I remembered it from Roddy Doyle. And I wanted the conversations of my characters to keep their spontaneity, the back-and-forth that I knew could be so effective in English.

And so I was able to get exchanges like this:

—You didn’t kill Moisan then?

Jonathan bursts out laughing.

—No! What made you think that?

—Your left winger told me.

—Kim told you that?

—Yup.

As you can see from the above, I also kept the present tense (again, common in French novels, not so common in English ones). I actually started my translation in the past tense, but once I hit Chapter 2 I went back and changed it all. The past tense seemed to imply that the story was over, that the narrator was looking back on everything that had just happened—and looking back tends to imply some sort of hindsight that he might have learned from the experience. This was at odds with the novel.

I Hate Hockey is solidly, unapologetically noir. Before coming to the genre, I understood noir to mean dark. In other words, bad things happen. In noir, bad things happen to bad people. When I was first promoting the book, I would describe it as a dark comedy. But this seemed to send too many readers (especially in English Canada) off in search of laughs. Score: A Hockey Musical it is not. So keeping the present tense is a good way of allowing the narrator to experience everything at the same time as the reader, deepening the irony as we look on while he puts two and two together and makes five.

Despite hockey being as familiar a theme as they come for Canadian readers, plenty of minor changes had to be made to tweak the vocabulary, the turns of phrase, the punctuation, even, for a new audience. And I couldn’t be happier with the result.

Peter McCambridge blogs on literary translation at literarytranslationqc.blogspot.com. For the record, he loves hockey. I Hate Hockey can be purchased from Amazon, Chapters, and direct from the publisher at Baraka Books. It is now available as an ebook.