“Words travel worlds. Translators do the driving.”-Anna Rusconi

The number of online resources available to Indie authors is often overwhelming. Everything from editing tips, to eBook formatting, to marketing advice is there at your fingertips, but sorting through it can be a daunting task. You can even have your book translated into hundreds of languages; each additional language means more potential markets and revenue streams for your work!

Translation sites offer the services of human translators, they aren't automated like Google Translate, so there's no worry about inaccuracy. These services fall into two broad categories based on payment structure. Sites like Babelcube.com and Tektime (www.traduzionelibri.it) require no payment beforehand, taking their fees from sales. Sites such as Fiverr.com and Upwork.com connect the author with translators who charge an upfront fee, either by word count or by the hour.

Sites offering no payment up front allow the author to choose the translator or translators, offer multiple languages and sell the author’s work to retail and subscription outlets all over the world. Tektime even offers narration services. In both cases, authors may choose more than one language. Royalties are split between author and translator through Babelcube, while Tektime structures payments on a profit-dependent sliding scale with the translator earning the lion’s share in initial sales. Both sites also handle formatting, publication, and distribution.

With sites such as Fivver and Upwork, the author searches through translator profiles which can be filtered for things like price, average turn-around time and customer reviews. Fivver translators charge $5+ based on word count, while Upwork translators charge $25+ per hour. The author contacts the translator directly and arrangements are made with no intermediary. These are strictly for-hire situations with no assistance as far as distribution. Translation into more than one language would require more than one transaction.

No-cost options require no investment and handle formatting, publication, and distribution. But some authors might prefer the “no middle-man” approach of a site such as Fivver and Upwork in which they can maintain complete control of the finished product. In either case, having your work translated into another language opens up foreign markets, and new markets are never a bad thing.

No matter which option you choose, always read the terms of service carefully. Each site and each translator will differ as far as royalties, royalty sharing, and possible format limitations. The world can truly be your oyster, just make sure to check the fine print.