Dreams of Translation:Crazy enough that it just might work…

When I first wrote my book, I imagined that it would have a small audience with a small reach. I thought that it would mainly appeal to people who knew me personally or local people who were thinking about working with me professionally. I was surprised then, when I first started to get positive feedback from people who lived in other states or who did not know me. Then, I even started hearing from English-speakers in other countries! When I received word that my Russian Postcrossing friend (who I mentioned in the book) was almost halfway done translating it into Russian so that his wife could read it, I realized that it was potentially a book that could help people around the world!

But translating a book is a big undertaking, and it’s an expensive process, especially with little-to-no financial rewards. (Most independently published books never even break even on costs.)

But I have an idea… 💡

Everyone knows that Google translate is less than perfect - sometimes hilariously so! But still, it does “pretty good” for what it is. So, what if…

What if I put my entire book through Google translate and then had volunteer native readers help to clean up the parts that don’t make sense? That way, instead of someone (or various someones) having to translate a whole book from scratch, people are just helping out bit by bit where the translation doesn’t look right? It will still take a while, but, I think that over time, it can work!

Do you want to help?

If you want to help, I will e-mail you a .pdf of my book in English along with a Word (.doc or .docx) copy of the book in your language, which can be edited. When you have done your part of the editing (however much you feel you can do within a certain amount of time) then send the .doc file back to me, and I will have it ready for the next person to read and review. When it is deemed “ready for print” in that language, then I will have it formatted for e-reader as well as print editions and add your name as a contributing editor. You will get some free copies of the book in your language, for sure!

I am open to any and all languages that are supported strongly enough in Google Translate.

Use the form below to let me if you’d like to help. Let me know what language you are wanting to help with and how much time you may be willing to devote to the project. Thank you so much - I have a good feeling about this!

-K