| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | What do you think about babelcube? Thread poster: Juliano Martins
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Juliano Martins 
Brazil
Local time: 13:36
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
It could also be that since I am faster then I can do more work. How about it? I work mainly for European and American translation agencies, many of which probably are the clients of everyone here. So I think it would be very unlikely that I would be cheaper.
If I offered something in exchange for the lawyer, cleaner, etc., maybe they would accept. The same thing as in this website.
Yes, work is an investment, and probably one of the best investments ever existed.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:36
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Of course, it would be useful to know... | Apr 21, 2015 |
... that I only work an average of 10 days a month. (I take on one or two large projects a month). I don't like small jobs.
Juliano Martins wrote:
Hi Diana,
Even if I were cheaper (which I think I am not, actually I earn between 5K to 6K USD per month, which is a very good salary in Brazil, by the way), it would be completely irrelevant for the speed calculation. To translate the same amount of words (and we’re talking about 10 million words) in 1/3 of the time (that is, 7 years instead of 20 years) is to be faster, regardless of how much money one makes.
And, by the way, I am not working for free. I don’t know why everyone is saying that. The proposition of the website is a partnership opportunity between translator and writers, and it may work, depending on the sales. Let’s see in a few months.
[Edited at 2015-04-21 20:48 GMT]
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 13:36
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Working days | Apr 21, 2015 |
I shall work around 22 days a month, and I take on 120 to 150 projects a month (including very small ones and big ones). I know this calculation involves many variables that we probably are not considering. But, anyway, I type fast and I translate fast.
| | | | | STRONG DISCUSSION | Apr 21, 2015 |
Juliano Martins wrote:
It could also be that since I am faster then I can do more work. How about it? I work mainly for European and American translation agencies, many of which probably are the clients of everyone here. So I think it would be very unlikely that I would be cheaper.
If I offered something in exchange for the lawyer, cleaner, etc., maybe they would accept. The same thing as in this website.
Yes, work is an investment, and probably one of the best investments ever existed.
I wish you success.Please let me know about your experience.
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Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:36
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
[Edited at 2015-04-22 20:02 GMT]
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 13:36
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I turn down too | Apr 21, 2015 |
I must say I also turn down many projects (or simply ignore the email when it’s sent to a pool of translators and not specifically to me and I am not interested). I have an Excel spreadsheet to organize my jobs, and I only input projects that I accepted. I don’t keep track of the projects I turn down. If I would add them up (accepted + rejected), maybe it would be over 200 projects a month. My projects vary from a few words (the minimum would be 1 word, for mathematical reasons, no job can b... See more I must say I also turn down many projects (or simply ignore the email when it’s sent to a pool of translators and not specifically to me and I am not interested). I have an Excel spreadsheet to organize my jobs, and I only input projects that I accepted. I don’t keep track of the projects I turn down. If I would add them up (accepted + rejected), maybe it would be over 200 projects a month. My projects vary from a few words (the minimum would be 1 word, for mathematical reasons, no job can be smaller than 1 word) to many thousands of words.
Yes, I enjoy it. I’m sorry that it’s just work for you.
[Edited at 2015-04-22 00:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Diana Obermeyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:36
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
That discussion went off-track quickly!
Is this a competition?
| | | | | To each his own. | Apr 22, 2015 |
"Mine's bigger!"
"No, mine's bigger!"
"Well, mine's better!"
"No, mine's better!"
Come on, we're all adults here. Let's get back on topic.
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Diana Obermeyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:36
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
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If we take the short book of 38,000 words and assume a net sales price of 10 USD, then I would assume that the minimum target profit would be around 3800 USD = 0.10 USD/ word. The book would have to sell 1700 copies to earn that amount.
1100 USD earned through sale of first 200 copies. (55% royalties)
1200 USD earned through sale of next 300 copies. (40% royalties)
600 USD earned through sale of next 300 copies. (20% royalties)
900 USD earned through sale of next 9... See more If we take the short book of 38,000 words and assume a net sales price of 10 USD, then I would assume that the minimum target profit would be around 3800 USD = 0.10 USD/ word. The book would have to sell 1700 copies to earn that amount.
1100 USD earned through sale of first 200 copies. (55% royalties)
1200 USD earned through sale of next 300 copies. (40% royalties)
600 USD earned through sale of next 300 copies. (20% royalties)
900 USD earned through sale of next 900 copies. (10% royalties)
The book would have to sell 5500 copies for the translator to earn 0.20 USD/ word.
Now, it may be that most books are significantly longer and that the kinds of projects that go through websites of this kind tend to sell for a fraction of 10 USD and to sell a fraction of 5500 copies, but translating through this site can make sense under more or less conceivably realistic conditions.
The question is: Why bother to do it with babelcube?
Bablecube is not claiming to do any marketing, their services are limited to bringing together authors, translators, editors, and agents (salespeople), regulating the procedure of sharing royalties, and placing the books with 300+ online retailers. Why not find the author or book that you yourself consider most important of all the untranslated books in your source language and why not self-publish it with any of the numerous available platforms, place it with the three to five online shops that account for 90% of international e-book sales and three to five relevant "local" online shops (which babelcube is unlikely to include)?
That way you could select a better book, you could pursue the project as a genuine business venture or cultural contribution, and you could have real chances of making it work financially.
I don't see anyone working for free here and I would be the last one to discourage translators from showing at least a touch of entrepreneurial spirit, but this particular offer does not seem very interesting. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 13:36
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for the math | Apr 22, 2015 |
Thanks for the helpful math and tips, Michael.
I didn’t have any idea on how to start translating books. Babelcube was suggested by a friend. I learned about it in January this year, but only now I have really looked into it. I think we can find interesting authors there with lots of potential. I’m glad I created this topic. I appreciate the insights very much. Thanks!
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:36
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
that the earnings are NET earnings. If the book is printed, then there are printing costs involved.
Michael Wetzel wrote:
1100 USD earned through sale of first 200 copies. (55% royalties)...
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| the fine print | Apr 22, 2015 |
"The royalty revenue is based on the Net Sales Receipts* received by Babelcube from the retailer."
"*Net Sales Receipts means the monetary amount received by Babelcube from sales of each unit sold by Babelcube and Babelcube’s sub-distributors, less any cash incentives, promotional discounts, sales or use taxes, excise taxes, value-added taxes, duties, distribution fees, and returns."
... is what it says on the site. I overlooked the asterisk, because I have only eve... See more "The royalty revenue is based on the Net Sales Receipts* received by Babelcube from the retailer."
"*Net Sales Receipts means the monetary amount received by Babelcube from sales of each unit sold by Babelcube and Babelcube’s sub-distributors, less any cash incentives, promotional discounts, sales or use taxes, excise taxes, value-added taxes, duties, distribution fees, and returns."
... is what it says on the site. I overlooked the asterisk, because I have only ever seen royalties contracts based on the net sales PRICE. Obviously that makes their largely uninteresting offer even less interesting. The fact that it is based on the net figure (in the sense of after tax) is perfectly normal, but who knows exactly what "distribution fees" are.
Still, my conclusion remains more or less the same: babelcube is uninteresting (I'll add a "very"), but I genuinely believe that other avenues of speculative self-publishing might have potential for translators (particularly miserably paid book translators). ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Still, as a starting point... | Apr 23, 2015 |
It might still be a useful place to identify authors in your language pair who are interested in self-publishing. If you work together on babelcube and things go reasonably well, you can take future projects off the platform and work directly with each other. At worst you can still put the project on your CV for future book translation projects. Or so most translators on babelcube are hoping, I suspect.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:36
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Who retains the rights to your translations | Apr 29, 2015 |
in the unlikely event the author does become popular and is picked up by a brick and mortar publisher?
Do you have any rights when the author unilaterally decides to distribute the book for 0.99 or even for free? You have no control or guarantee regarding pricing...
Can the author unilaterally decide to stop marketing / delete your translation because they are no longer interested in selling the book and/or because they have made editorial changes and/or they get (unjus... See more in the unlikely event the author does become popular and is picked up by a brick and mortar publisher?
Do you have any rights when the author unilaterally decides to distribute the book for 0.99 or even for free? You have no control or guarantee regarding pricing...
Can the author unilaterally decide to stop marketing / delete your translation because they are no longer interested in selling the book and/or because they have made editorial changes and/or they get (unjustified) complaints/criticisms about the quality of your translation and decide to just remove it?
Do you have any rights to file claims when your translation becomes available for free on torrent and other book piracy sites?
[Edited at 2015-04-29 15:54 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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