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Any book that you publish is only bringing you a portion of its potential benefit. You invest so much time in putting together all the right words, and then you only release them to one group of people. Selling a book in a single language means that you’re essentially missing out on the ability to connect with whole new audiences, and to earn money from sales to them. Whether you are selling a printed book or releasing an electronic publication, it makes sense to have it translated if it’s popular in your own language.
Getting a Good Translation Service
The tough part of having a full book translated is that it’s not cheap. Books are thousands of words long, and translating a high volume of text can cost quite a bit. That’s why you want to make sure your book is profitable before taking it into another language. It’s a good idea to assume that it won’t be as profitable in translation as it is in English, which means you should be able to earn a return on your translation investment even with only part of your profits. When you do begin the translation process, it’s important that you use an expert translation service who will preserve the message of your book, while helping to make it appealing to a new culture of readers.
Do Your Research
If you’re considering translating your book, you’ve probably already done this, but make sure you research the culture and the expectations of any area where your new book would be selling. Something as simple as investigating which books are already selling well will give you an idea of how much success you can expect with your book. It’s tough finding the right market for an already successful book, but, with a good amount of research, you will be able to turn up the opportunities that are worth pursuing.
Several Languages at Once
If you do decide to have your book translated, it often makes sense to have it translated into several languages at the same time, if this is feasible. Go with the foreign markets where you think the book’s prospects are the best, and your project may be eligible for a volume translation discount. If you can’t afford to have multiple language translations performed at the same time, or you simply don’t know if translating for multiple markets is the wisest course of action, then it makes sense to stick with translating into one language at a time.
