There's an interesting article over at Three Percent this morning that got me thinking about my own experience with Baraka Books.
My last post on this blog was to say that I'd just sent my final translation of Radisson off to the publisher. There then followed a few intense weeks of revisions as Baraka essentially held my hand, offering me all kinds of invaluable advice and support to polish the translation - without rewriting it on me, imposing wholesale changes, or ever making me feel as though it was becoming less and less my own.
In short, it was everything I hoped it would be - and knew it would be after my experience with I Hate Hockey.
There must be a name for the "I'd do it all again syndrome" but I really couldn't be happier with how things have worked out so far. My one piece of advice for anyone deciding to translate literary fiction from Québec would be to find a small publisher. For a start, it's easier. The bigger a publisher, the less likely it is to accept unsolicited submissions. But in my experience, a smaller publisher...
- Will be more likely to be passionate about the same things as you
- Will be more interested in your book and making it a success
- Will have more time to answer your questions and give you advice
- Will be able to give you more input into publishing and marketing your translation
At any rate, the Three Percent article deals with some big issues this morning on the relationship between the translator and editor and is well worth a read.
