Translation - art & business » Business issues »
Publisher's offer - What do you think?
Thread poster: Nora Escoms
Nora Escoms
Nora Escoms  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 02:24
English to Spanish
+ ...
Jan 25, 2005

Hi. I have been contacted by a Spanish publisher that bought a publishing firm I used to work for. They want to re-launch a book I translated many years ago and they are offering me 1,000 euro to use my translation. This is the first time it has happened to me so I'm not sure how this works. Do any of you have any experience with this?

TIA

Nora
 
lien
lien
Netherlands
Local time: 07:24
English to French
+ ...
Yes Jan 25, 2005

+ a % on every copy sold.
 
Kirill Semenov
Kirill Semenov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 08:24
Member (2004)
English to Russian
+ ...
Consider the proposal Jan 25, 2005

Nora Escoms wrote:
Hi. I have been contacted by a Spanish publisher that bought a publishing firm I used to work for. They want to re-launch a book I translated many years ago and they are offering me 1,000 euro to use my translation.


Dear Nora, the proposal looks fine, as for me. I don't know how it happens in other countries, but I usually "sell" my book translations to a publishing house without any conditions except that it has no right to pass/sell my translation to any other publisher. Getting additional money for a translation you did years ago seems good to me -- unless you owe all the rights on the translation and plan to sell it to some other publishing house.
 
Özden Arıkan
Özden Arıkan  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 07:24
Member
English to Turkish
+ ...
Hi Nora Jan 26, 2005

I do not know about Argentinian legislation, but I believe this is a universal copyright principle: you are the owner of your translation, and no one can use it without your consent. Please check the related laws first. Once you've made that sure, whether 1,000 euros is acceptable will be determined by the market, as opposed to legislation. It might be good or poor, according to the number of print copies and book price. Good luck!
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 07:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Nice offer... unless your country has different rules Jan 27, 2005

Nora Escoms wrote:
I have been contacted by a Spanish publisher that bought a publishing firm I used to work for. They want to re-launch a book I translated many years ago and they are offering me 1,000 euro to use my translation.


I assume you were employed by that company. If so, then unless your contract states otherwise, all work done by you for the company is the property of the company. Therefore, I fail to see why would offer you any money to use your translation. The translation does, after all, belong to the company.

The fact that they're offering you any money either means that they're being very, very generous, or that they've spotted a loophole in the contract which might cost them money and they're trying to buy you out of that loophole. If you can, have a second look at the contract you used to have with that company.

Also, keep in mind that publisher law differs from country to country. I work for a newspaper's advertising department, but I don't (and can't) expect to receive commission for every advertisement I translated. My work belongs to the company.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Margarita[Call to this topic]
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Publisher's offer - What do you think?







CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »