More in this series: Agent | Ghostwriter | Editor | Library Assistant  | Publicity Assistant | Typesetter | Cover Designer | Foreign Rights Manager | Blogger |Scout |Translators | Book charity | Copyeditor

I have a very exciting interview this week! I’m talking to two of the foreign translators of The Next Together! Franca and Hein are a married couple who work together to translate texts into German for publication. As they are currently working hard to turn all of my ‘that’s what she said’ jokes into something that makes sense auf deutsch – which is definitely a formidable task – I knew I had to ask them how they do it!

What does your job involve?

Our job involves reading, translating and localising all sorts of texts – e.g. marketing letters, manuals, non-fiction and fiction – from a source language into a target language, in our case English and Dutch into our mother tongue German.

(Never the other way round, because English and Dutch are not our native languages and we will not be able to translate a German text into a foreign language as good as a native speaker of English or Dutch).

By the way: Our sincere apologies for all language mistakes and typos we are going to make while answering these questions.

How did you get started in translation? Did you do any work experience?

We started translating while still studying foreign languages at the University of Cologne: We did some test translations for a publishing house in Cologne. They were happy with our work and gave us our first contracts. Our translating work evolved from there and let to setting up our translation agency in 1988.

How does working in a team with another translator affect your work?

Since we are not only partners in business but also a married couple we have to be very careful while discussing translation issues. A »fight« over the question where to put a comma (and where not!) can easily run out of hand and affect the evening at home …

On the plus side: you have always someone to review a text and to re-enact love scenes 😉

How do you approach translating things that are specific to a certain language – like idioms, jokes and metaphors?

We intend to »rescue« as much as possible, but some jokes – especially puns and play on words – just don’t work in another language. So we try we build in these kind of specific aspects at other parts of the text, so that in the end the »sum« of idioms, jokes and metaphors is still the same.

Would different translators approach translating a text in unique ways? How do you think that this changes the finished work?

Give a text to 10 translators and you’ll get 10 different translations – especially since German lends itself to a quite flexible sentence construction. But they all strive to stay true to the original as much as possible!

How has the experience been of translating The Next Together so far? How do you approach translating the epistolary elements of the book?

The Next Together is quite demanding to translate, because you’ll find three (or four) different periods of time – 1745, 1854 and 2019/2039 – and they all require an appropriate style of speech. So we have to jump between an »old fashioned« way of talking and a very modern way of expressing oneself including internet slang and abbreviations.

Is there anything you would like to see happen more in the future of the publishing industry?

Well, we can’t speak for the publishing industry in general, but for translators a closer working relationship with living authors (obviously) would help a lot. And a bit more recognition for translators and their work couldn’t hurt either 😉

What are some of your favourite translated books? Are there any books you’d love to see translated which haven’t been?

That is really hard to say. Of course all books we have translated during the last twenty odd years are our »babies« and we love them all.

And we would love to see an English translation of a new series of children’s book by German writer Sonja Kaiblinger: »Scary Harry«.

It is about a Grim Reaper (Harold who is fed up with his job) and his young friends Otto and Emily (and their pet bat named Vincent) solving all sorts of mysteries, e.g. who kidnapped the ghosts which were living in Otto’s house? The story and characters are really funny and cute and not at all creepy!

What advice do you have for anyone looking to get into translation?

Of course you should have a passion for foreign languages (and the culture of other countries and all other aspects of daily life there), but much more important is a love for your own mother tongue. A lot of people tend to forget: It is not enough to be rather good at a foreign language, you need to have a solid foundation in your own tongue in order to be able to translate all kind of texts and stay true to different styles.

Has being involved in publishing changed how you read books for pleasure? Which language do you prefer to read in?

Since we read a lot for our work, reading books for pleasure has changed for us: First of all we need to find time to squeeze in any reading that is not work related. And secondly it is hard not to think about the question whether the book might lend itself for translation. We are always on the lookout for new exciting manuscripts.

There isn’t any language we prefer to read in. If we do speak the language we prefer to read the original. If we pick a book which has been written in a language we can not make sense of we take the German translation. For us it is the easiest way to get to know the content and to get an impression of the style of the author (hopefully).

Franca Fritz and Heinrich Koop have been translating for more than 25 years. They have translated in excess of 200 books as well as working for several well-known German and international clients from a wide range of sectors. They live in a small village on the Isle of Man. You can find them on their website at: www.linguafranca.im

The German edition of The Next Together will be published by Loewe Verlag in 2016.

More in this series: Agent | Ghostwriter | Editor | Library Assistant  | Publicity Assistant | Typesetter | Cover Designer | Foreign Rights Manager | Blogger |Scout |Translators | Book charity | Copyeditor

I have an extra special interview today, with the infamous Queen of Contemporary, Lucy “the Reader” Powrie! Lucy is a blogger and vlogger, and is a force to be reckoned with in the UKYA community, having kickstarted many, many incredibly successful campaigns such as Project UKYA, UKYA day and #UKYAChat– she’s definitely earned the title of queen!

Apart from that she’s a really lovely, sweet person – I’ve filmed a couple of videos with her and had the best time ever. I’m going to be the guest author in tonight’s #UKYAChat on twitter, starting at 8pm. We’ll be discussing what the definition of YA really is, so don’t miss out on that!

Onto the interview….

How did you get started in blogging?

I was 12 when I first started my blog and the community was a lot smaller then so it was easier to get started: there wasn’t so much pressure to have super high numbers immediately, and it wasn’t too well-known. I sat down, made my blog on Blogger (I now use WordPress), and made a cringe-worthy first post. The rest is history!

 Does vlogging vary from blogging in content and audience? Which do you prefer?

My enjoyment of both varies from one month to the next. My creative process is pretty similar with both. I’ll have an idea and then I work out if it will work better as a blog post or a video. After that I procrastinate a bit too much, and then I’ll get to work on transferring the idea from my brain to the Internet. I think my audiences are different – some people read my blog but don’t watch my videos, and vice versa. That being said, I’m sure there are people who read and watch both, and some who only follow me on Twitter but don’t read my blog or watch my videos.

 What’s your favourite thing about blogging?

Getting to meet lots of lovely people who then become friends! I’ve met so many people (including you, Lauren!) who I have lots in common with and it’s lovely to get to meet everybody in the flesh at events and gatherings. I’ve been able to get to know some of my favourite people in the world, and also figure out what I want to do later on in life. I’ll forever be grateful for that!

 What causes do you feel most strongly about supporting with your blogging?

I’ve recently started a new series on my YouTube channel where I talk about topics relating to feminism. I’ve been discussing menstruation, what it means to be a woman on the Internet, and giving feminist book recommendations. Feminism is something that I feel very strongly about, and I like to think I have something different to say from many other people on the Internet, as I’m a teenager. It’s important to me that I speak honestly about the things I’m most passionate about!

You recently did some work experience in a bookshop! How did you find it? How did you go about asking to work there?

I LOVED it! It was amazing to be surrounded by books for the week and I learnt so much. I got to unbox the books each day and put them out on the shelves, speak to a sales rep from a publishing company, and serve the customers. It definitely gave me a greater appreciation of books! I was lucky as they don’t usually take work experience students, but I mentioned my blog and that I would like to work in publishing in the future, and they were happy to take me.

 You’re also a writer yourself, and a very good one, from the tidbits I’ve read! How does this effect your blogging? (And can you give us any details of what you’re working on at the moment?)

 Writing, unfortunately, always comes last in my list of priorities. Whilst I love writing, my blog and YouTube channel need constant work, so I find it hard to find the time to write. I am currently working on a novel that deals with mental health and alcohol abuse, but I’m not very far into it at the moment. Hopefully I’ll finish it one day! Maybe for NaNoWriMo this year?

 What are some of your favourite children’s books now and from your childhood?

I grew up reading the likes of Beatrix Potter and the Brambly Hedge books (which I re-read this year!) – I’m an animal lover, so anything that has amazing illustrations and talking animals is a big hit with me. The first YA books I read were Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries series, and recently I read the 11^th book and I love them just as much now as I did then.

 Has blogging changed your reading habits? Does engaging more critically with literature increase the enjoyment you get from reading?

I read far more widely now than I ever did before. Before I started blogging, I would re-read the same books over and over again, whereas now I spend more time reading books that are new to me. I don’t think I read particularly critically – in my reviews, I like to touch upon my enjoyment of a book instead of analysing it to death and sucking out each individual thought I had about the book. I like to treat my blog as a journal, so my reviews are my thoughts at the time of writing or filming them.

 You recently made a very interesting video about vlogging called ‘Be the change you want to see’. What do you hope to see happen in Children’s publishing in the future?

 Can I say me in it? 😉 It’s my dream to one day work in publishing! On a more serious note, I’d like to see publishers take more notice of their backlist because there’s a huge potential to use social media to publicise the wealth of books that have been published in previous months and years. This is one of the jobs that bloggers and booktubers do best, so I’d like to see publishers taking notice of this too. There’s also a very big need for children’s books and YA to be featured and reviewed in the media. This is definitely something that needs to be worked on!

As a huge supporter of UKYA, what do you think in particular is unique about the UK publishing industry and UKYA?

The amazing, unique thing about UKYA readers and the UK publishing industry is that we’re all one big, friendly community. We don’t have any ulterior motives; we get along well and talk about the books we love the most. One of the loveliest things is that it’s still growing! I feel very lucky to be a part of it.

Lucy Powrie is the teenage blogger behind Queen of Contemporary, based in Bath, England. Since her blog’s creation in April 2012, she has won the UKYABA Champion of YA award, and spoken at both the Cheltenham Literature Festival and Oxford Literature Festival. She grew up reading the likes of Bob the Builder and Beatrix Potter and has since advanced to reading young adult fiction. Lucy is the creator and host of #ukyachat, which runs weekly on Twitter.

You can find her on youtube, twitter @lucythereader or her website.

More in this series: Agent | Ghostwriter | Editor | Library Assistant  | Publicity Assistant | Typesetter | Cover Designer | Foreign Rights Manager | Blogger |Scout |Translators | Book charity | Copyeditor

I’m back today with another interview with a publishing industry professional. Claudia Medin works at my publishers, Walker Books, as a Foreign Rights Manager. English books are often translated into other languages so that they can be read around the world, and Claudia works with international publishers to try and make that happen! She has been doing an amazing job of sharing The Next Together with publishers around the world (more on that soon! 😉 ) and I’m so pleased she’s taken the time to talk to me about her work.

What does your job involve?

As a Foreign Rights Manager, I need to know our list, and I need to know our customers. The goal is to bring them together in order to close a deal and to make everyone happy: the author and illustrator and in-house editor in anticipation of a foreign language edition of their work, the foreign publishing house in adding an exciting title to their list, and a foreign readership to be able to choose exactly that book to read in their language.

We are constantly working on presentation material to share with our customers and once a customer has expressed sincere interest and we have negotiated the terms, the more bureaucratic process begins; we draft and sign a contract, issue an invoice, send out digital assets, and monitor royalty statements and payments. It can sometimes be a real challenge to find the right book for the right publisher and although the majority of submissions do not result in a sale, it’s rewarding when it happens.

How did you get started in Foreign Rights?

I studied different languages and was always asked where that would lead me to… I had heard about Foreign Rights during my studies, but it was difficult to get an internship, as people advised me to start in editorial and then move on to Foreign Rights – but I didn’t want to “steal” an internship from someone who really wanted to go into editorial.

I was very lucky in 2005 when I got a three months’ internship with a brilliant publisher in Germany. The Foreign Rights team there prepared me for everything coming, and encouraged me to stay on that path. I am still very grateful for that experience. I then got my first job right away with another fantastic German publisher, and even climbed up the ladder 2 years later, being Rights Director for 6 years, dealing with both book and merchandising rights. I joined Walker Books 2 years ago, going back to book rights only – and I couldn’t be happier about it!

 Have you ever wanted to write yourself?

No, never. I will stick to reading and selling rights, and leave the writing part to those who are good at it.

 What’s your favourite part of your job?

There are probably three different things: getting an unexpected offer in, especially when you know that the customer fell in love with a particular book, receiving finished foreign language copies, and developing new sales strategies. These can be creative, subtle or bold. And it is so rewarding when it finally works out!

 Do you get to travel much for your job?

Yes, I do. There is not only the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Spring and the Frankfurt Book Fair in Autumn, but also a number of business trips around the year. Book Fairs are hard work, with back-to-back 30-minute-meetings to see up to 50 customers in 3 to 4 days, plus all the preparation and follow-ups, but it is also great to see customers, colleagues and friends.

Visiting our customers in their offices gives us the chance to learn more about how they work, to get to know each other better, and to have more time to discuss the new titles. And it is always helpful to go to book shops in other countries and get a better idea of how the market works.

 What do you hope to see happen in Children’s publishing in the future?

Well, what we are seeing is the growing interaction between books and digital content. I hope to see mutual support of those two, instead of digital technique taking over completely. If we share the pleasure of reading an actual book with young kids, it will hopefully spark their love for reading as well, no matter what the general reading behaviour will be like in the future.

Apart from this, if I am perfectly honest, I would hope for a reduced amount of new books to be published every year. The amount of new books being published is just rising and rising, and in my opinion it would do the market good if we could slow down a bit, for selected titles to blossom and flourish.

 What are some of your favourite children’s books now and from your childhood?

My mother used to read to me and my brother every evening before bedtime. We grew up with a lot of Astrid Lindgren, but my favourite series was probably “Schnuepperle” by Barbara Bartos-Hoeppner (not translated into English, unfortunately) – I still own those books and read them from time to time. My family also kept our very first books, small format “Pixi” books about a dog and a fairy tale book. We chewed 30 % of the pages and they nearly fell apart, so it’s hardly readable anymore, but they are a family treasure.

 Are there big differences among the territories you work with?

Yes there are! It starts with the topics of the books, as not all territories will embrace books on what they might consider to be more controversial subjects. We need to be aware of any cultural sensibilities and try to match the right book to the right customer. The international business approach and etiquette can be different too and it’s good to be aware of the various nuances, but ultimately the passion and enthusiasm for children’s books can bring us together and strengthen our global understanding.

 Has being involved in publishing changed how you read books for pleasure?

I’ve always been a keen reader and I wouldn’t want to live without books. I can spend hours in a good book shop, looking at new and old titles, carrying a pile of books to the till in the end, anticipating happy hours of reading. However, I have to admit that I only allow myself to read books for pleasure over the summer and at Christmas time, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to cope with the amount of books I need to read for work. Over the years I have become a very fast reader, and I try to slow down again when reading for pleasure.

 What advice do you have for anyone looking to get into publishing?

What I noticed over the years is that few people know about the different departments in a publishing house – most people know about editorial and marketing departments, but are not so familiar with the work of sales, export, production or foreign rights departments! Think about what strengths you have and what you’d really like to – and then find your path and follow it. It might not always be easy, especially in the beginning, but it is worth it – publishing, especially children’s book publishing is a fantastic area to work in!

Claudia Medin has worked in Foreign Rights in Germany and the UK for over a decade, and is now the Foreign Rights Manager for Walker Books.

A rebloggable version of this post can be found here.