Babelcube Q's

Guest · 2015-05-12

Anyone go through Babelcube for a translation? Pros or cons?

Steve Voelker

· #2 · May 12, 2015

I have books going through for a few languages.

Pro:
It's money that I would not have gotten otherwise.

Con:
Not all translators are created equal.

Aside from the fact that the actual translation part is very difficult, you also want to find a translator who is willing to help you promote afterwords. Since I don't speak any of the translated languages, it is tough for me to post to facebook groups, or do any sort of promotion.
One of my translators actually started a mailing list for the translated books, and had all of my english promo materials translated so she could use them to pimp the books, which is fantastic.

You may want to talk about stuff like that up front. Or at least mention it in your author bio.

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Philip Gibson

· #3 · May 12, 2015

I have Babalcube translations of the first two books in my signature line in Portuguese, Spanish and French. The Babelcube process is extremely slick, easy to use and doesn't cost anything so it's definitely worth it for me.

Where it falls down is in promoting the books in the may foreign stores since there seems to be no way to effectively influence that. Still it nets me a few quid each month that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Philip

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Barbara Morgenroth

· #4 · May 12, 2015

How do you check the translator's work?

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J.B.

· #5 · May 16, 2015

My biggest concern for using Babelcube is the fact they distribute to over 300 retailers. Which means the book can NEVER go into KDP select, because good luck getting it taken down at all those retailers.

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Drake Green

· #6 · Jul 27, 2015

JullesBurn said:
My biggest concern for using Babelcube is the fact they distribute to over 300 retailers. Which means the book can NEVER go into KDP select, because good luck getting it taken down at all those retailers.

This is an interesting point, but we should keep in mind that it would only affect the foreign language versions of the book. The English version is a separate entity and could go into the KDP, if I'm not mistaken, since the rights are considered separately based on language. In my opinion, having access to all those other markets for a Spanish or German edition outweighs the advantage of KDP select for those languages.

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German_Translator

· #7 · Jul 27, 2015

Let me add a translator's perspective (one translation published through BabelCube, one forthcoming).

PRO:
- you can choose to contact the author, and you can accept or reject proposals
- the royalty structure is staggered, with the translator receiving more at the beginning

CON:
- no upfront payment, so if the book is not successful in the target-language market, the translator worked for almost nothing
- if the author decides to make the first book in a series free, translator gets nothing from that point on
- as someone already mentioned, BC does not promote the books, so the translator has to help promote it
- translator might only see years later whether the project was profitable (I know that applies to the author, too, but is different from how translators are usually paid)
- interface for searching potential books is clumsy and does not offer any sort options beyond rather large genres

So, my verdict is still out whether it is worth while for a professional translator.

As so much depends on the sales, I would recommend that authors of successful novels/series should really stress that in their BabelCube descriptions.

German Translator $:-\$

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SomethingElse

· #8 · Jul 27, 2015

I've had translations done into Portuguese and Italian. I have someone I know read the translation to let me know it's good. I have a friend who reads/writes Italian and my husband knew someone who could read the Portuguese. Plus when I accepted the Portuguese offer to translate she had over twenty-five 5 star ratings, some with comments that said they had a friend read the translation and it was great.

I agree with the PROs and CONs mentioned. So far the Portuguese translation that has been live for three weeks hasn't sold anything. I haven't been able to promote it because I can't write in Portuguese. The Italian one will be easier since my friend will be able to help with that.

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Violet Haze

· #9 · Jul 27, 2015

I am having some books done in Portuguese and others done in Spanish. I was approached each time by someone wanting to do it, and mainly chose those who wrote out their qualifications, and genuinely seemed thrilled to be able to translate.

I don't have any for sale yet, but one (novel) is almost finished, and I am excited! I have one serial being done, another is doing the first and wants to do the other two when they are done as well (I wanted to keep the translations in a serial done by same person for whole thing), and all have communicated with me and kept me in the loop.

Since some have mentioned promotion techniques, I think I will make sure to ask my translators for a few "promo" texts to keep on hand so I may promote them using my social media.

I say it's like anything else in the self-publishing world, you want to take chances but also do it with a little caution as well.

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Gertie Kindle

· #10 · Aug 12, 2015

JullesBurn said:
My biggest concern for using Babelcube is the fact they distribute to over 300 retailers. Which means the book can NEVER go into KDP select, because good luck getting it taken down at all those retailers.

That was my concern as well so I contacted KDP and this was their answer.

Thanks for taking the time to contact Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). I hope this email finds you well!

Yes, you can translate your books in any language other than English and publish on other platforms without losing on the KDP Select exclusivity rights.

I hope this information helps. In case if you have more questions, do not hesitate to contact us back, we are here to help and we will gladly assist you.

Looks like it's not going to be a problem at all.

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