“How do you feel about having one of your novels translated into another language? Is there a particular nationality of reader that you think would enjoy your novels more than others?”
I really don’t think I’d mind. It would be very nice to think my book was available to a whole new population. It isn’t about more sales that would bring more money. It’s all about sharing my book with others who might enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I think this is true for most authors. We write because we love it, not because we expect to become rich and famous for our books. Of course if you want to buy more books and make me rich and famous go for it. LOL. I promise I won’t complain.
One real issue I can see is that cultures vary so much from country to country. I think Americans are a lot more casual and liberated than many people so I wonder if they’d relate to my hero or heroine. It’s quite possible that they wouldn’t understand our lifestyle or our values. On the other hand that might be one reason they’d be interested in reading a foreign book. Maybe they’d like to see how other people live. I’ve had people from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America who’ve visited my blog so maybe they’d like to read my books in their own language.
Another issue would be the finer points of language. Some common expressions in use in the United States might not be understood by people in other countries. Some of those people might be very offended by what they read. I sent a book to a lady in Sweden who speaks English, but after I sent it I worried about it. I wrote about some sensitive issues, and I hope she reads English well enough to fully understand my treatment of those issues.
Would a translator be able to correctly convey what I was trying to say? I’m not sure. I would be worried about it, but i don’t think I’d let it stop me from letting the book be translated.
I don’t know which group of people would enjoy my novels more than others, but I’m thinking maybe people in European countries such as France, Spain, Switzerland, etc. Life in industrialized countries is probably the same as ours in many respects.
What about you? Would you enjoy reading a novel translated from another language?
I've read many translated books, most of them classics. I had to read The Iliad for school and hated it. Years late if picked up a different translation for some reason and I loved it. The translator mattered.
ReplyDeleteA couple of my books have been translated. The only translation I could read even a bit was the Dutch version. From what little I could tell, it caught the spirit of the book . . . but it was 50 pages shorter! How the heck did that happen?