Define the scope first
Connect sample approval, full-manuscript translation and editorial production while maintaining authorial voice and specialist terminology.
Tell us the target language, purpose, receiving audience and desired timing. Related files for the same matter can share a contact, spellings, terminology and delivery plan; main text, attachments and supplementary records are checked separately.
Maintaining voice and knowledge throughout a book
Book translation involves more than completing chapters in sequence. Characters, concepts, quotations and notes recur throughout a volume and need continuity alongside the author’s voice.
Narrative perspective and character speech
Check narrator, time layers and relationships before choosing address, tone and syntax. Changes in a character’s speech may serve the plot and should not be flattened for stylistic consistency. Explain alternative treatments of dialect, wordplay and cultural references and their effects on meaning and reading.
Specialist concepts across chapters
Track concepts from introduction and definition through later use, including captions, sidebars and glossaries. Similar terms in different chapters may carry distinctions and should not be automatically replaced. Refer substantive questions to authors or editors rather than rewrite the author’s position.
Notes, quotations and appendices
Keep original, editorial and translator notes distinct and check markers against their text. Editors should supply or confirm existing translations of quotations and their treatment. Scope appendices, index terms and end matter separately so continuous narrative does not obscure essential supporting content.
Carrying sample decisions into editing and proofs
Publishing needs reusable style guidance and handoff records that locate pages and edits. A completed translation, an edited manuscript and a typeset proof are different document states.
Representative samples and style records
A sample should cover narration, dialogue, technical passages and a note type, with recorded decisions on names, punctuation and voice. One easy page cannot settle a whole book. Extend rules for new characters or concepts and record chapters affected by changed decisions.
Chapter deliveries and editorial feedback
Share a contents list, name register and query log across chapter deliveries. Distinguish wording preferences from content checks and consolidate comments through the nominated editor. Apply decisions to both later and delivered chapters; conflicting advice needs resolution rather than different rules by chapter.
References and indexes after layout
After typesetting changes pagination, check cross-references and indexes against proofs rather than copy source page numbers. Track image text, cover copy and contents where commissioned. Locate proof comments by page and text position; manuscript delivery does not automatically include unlimited proof rounds.
Materials and content
Literature
Use a representative sample to agree style, proper names, notes and manuscript handling.
Specialist books
Review continuity across chapters, characters or concepts throughout the complete manuscript.
Editorial proofs
Define responsibility for the translated manuscript, captions, indexes and proof stages before delivery.
Translation and review priorities
- Use a representative sample to agree style, proper names, notes and manuscript handling.
- Review continuity across chapters, characters or concepts throughout the complete manuscript.
- Define responsibility for the translated manuscript, captions, indexes and proof stages before delivery.
Delivery, price and timing
Price and timing are assessed against language direction, word or page volume, subject matter, source clarity, editability, layout, review and supporting requirements. Changes to the source, languages or supporting work require a revised scope and plan.
Agree Word, PDF, Excel, subtitle or other formats, including any editable files, paper copies, statements or signatures actually needed. Supporting arrangements are defined for the particular purpose and receiving requirements.
A clear process at every stage
- 01
Define the purpose
Specify files, languages, volume, receiving requirements and timing.
- 02
Agree the plan
Confirm scope, references, review responsibilities, supporting work and delivery.
- 03
Translate and review
Use subject references and check terms, numbers, tables and versions.
- 04
Deliver and coordinate
Deliver the agreed files, consolidate feedback and confirm later updates.
What should I prepare?
Provide a clear, complete source and relevant references. Include approved translations, required terms or name spellings where available. Share special receiving formats, statement or signature requirements and other supporting needs for individual confirmation.
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Confirm the project details
Can one chapter establish the style before the full book?
Choose a chapter with representative difficulties and add dialogue, notes or technical figures if needed. Turn approval into specific rules and exceptions while leaving room for different narrative layers later. The fluency of opening pages alone cannot settle every treatment.
Can names follow an existing translation?
Supply the existing edition or publisher’s list and verify identity and version. Adopt confirmed names with references while preserving alternate forms or intentional distinctions. An unverified familiar spelling must not override relationships in the source or merge different people.
Are indexes and page references final with the translated manuscript?
Index terms can be prepared with the manuscript, but final locators need typeset pages. Scope index compilation and proof checks explicitly and use stable layouts. Later chapter or contents changes require renewed checks; source pagination is not final translation pagination.