There has been some discussion lately on the LTAC listserv (do join if you’re a member…) about rates for literary translation, the issues of copyright and royalties. It’s a worrying situation, really, and I’m wondering how and when it might ever change.
I have only published literary translations with US publishers thus far, and so have never been eligible for any of the Canada Council’s grants. In fact, even if I did publish in Canada, I would not be eligible for these because the authors I work with aren’t Canadian and that is a stipulation. I could get into a rather long rant about that matter (ie. the fact that I, the translator, am Canadian and that doesn’t count…) but will leave that for another time. In any event, the Canada Council pays decent rates ($0.14/word for prose) but I don’t think anything I’ve earned from US publishers matches that.
Copyright is almost never offered by a publisher, but it in my experience all I’ve had to do was ask for it and it was given to me in the contract. There were no arguments and I was thankful. Royalties, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter. On the first book I published, I didn’t dare even ask for royalties. I was completely ignorant about what price to charge, as well, and picked a number basically out of a hat. The publisher said that was too much and asked if I could do it for their budget. I did. On the second novel (same author, same publisher), I increased my contract fee and it was accepted without question. I asked for royalties and was flatly turned down. I insisted but got nowhere. The editor made it sound like the author wouldn’t accept my receiving royalties because that would decrease his percentage. I think I brought it up with the author, but didn’t want to rock the boat and simply let the issue drop.
There is the possibility that I will have another couple of contracts coming up this year (fingers crossed and double-crossed). I’m at a point in my literary translation career where I want to insist on royalties, but haven’t quite decided how far I am willing to push. I heard a man at an ATA conference say that he simply refused any contracts that didn’t include royalties. Well, in my case that would have meant I’d never have been published at all thus far! So I don’t want to be quite that extreme. But, more than the money, I want publishers to acknowledge that my work contributes to how well a book will sell, and I therefore deserve part of the profits. I believe it will be a miniscule amount, at least to start, and I’m OK with that. I just want to be recognized. I wonder if I’ll win the battle?
