Translation subsidy?

[thehighking]

Hello kind folks,

I just got an inquiry from ASP (Academic Scholars Press) about translating a book of mine into Russian. As part of the process they seem to want me to pitch in with a subsidy. At first, I almost deleted it since I thought it was a sort of scam, but I see that this is a real press. Is this common for translations? I have never had a book of mine translated ... is this what folks generally do? I have research funds and so could likely pay for this if necessary, but just wondering if it is even worth it. Anyone had experience w/ this press? Such a process? I do think there's likely a use/market for the book in Russian.

[Ruralguy]

If they need you to subsidize, it probably means they expect only a small amount of interest.

[ciao_yall]

Can you shop it to other publishers? Or the Russian affiliate of your current publisher?

[Hibush]

If they need you to subsidize, it probably means they expect only a small amount of interest.

"Как свергнуть диктатора, не получив другого такого же плохого."

[jerseyjay]

I was thinking about pursuing the publication of my book in Latin America in Spanish translation and what I found out was that (a) you need to make sure that you have (or can get) the rights to foreign publication and (b) it is very unlikely that a foreign press is going to pay for a translation. In my case, it looked like the most likely route would have been to try to get some sort of grant to translate it.

(Since I know various translators, I will note that translation is really hard and translators usually do not get paid nearly so much as they should.)

I think one of the key variables is the last sentence: is there a market/use for the book in the foreign market. Not so much to make you any money, but to justify the publisher's putting money into a product. If an argument could be made that there is some specific reason why Russians might find your book interesting/useful (e.g., if it is about Russian history or culture) you might be more likely to get some support in Russia to bring out a Russian edition.

Of course, things work differently for literary fiction, mass market fiction, and famous academics.

And of course, the relationship between the U.S. and Russia is somewhat tetchy now, which no doubts affects such things, but I am not entirely sure how.

[secundem_artem]

My team's publisher was requested by a Venezuelan publisher to do a Spanish translation.  They just sold the rights for the Spanish edition and our royalties were peanuts.  At least we were not asked to subsidize the Spanish version.  I have no idea how well it sold.  My guess would be a few hundred copies if that.

I believe the translation was actually performed by a graduate student in translation who was doing it as an MA project or something.

[AvidReader]

A colleague of mine who works in France recently asked if she could translate one of my academic articles into French--apparently she is required to have a translation as part of her promotion dossier. I don't know if similar things exist in other European countries, and an article is a lot shorter than a book, but it's possible that someone else might see the translation piece as beneficial to them, too.

AR.