Price recommendations are necessary
As D. Daugirdiene said, translators still do not dare to speak regarding this topic for one reason. Around 2004, the LLVS under her leadership had made public the recommendations for translation rates, but the Competition Council drew attention to it.
“It’s not like we can’t publish the numbers publicly because it hinders the competition between publishers. This is highly debatable, as the recommended rates can be published, – commented D. Daugirdiene. – Just recently I spoke with the president of the Association of Lithuanian Art Creators, Jonas Stasel (this is not only a matter for us to take care of), he will apply to the Competition Council on behalf of all associations and get a clear answer whether it is prohibited or not.”
According to her, it is important to talk regarding rates because “quite often very good translators living in the province work for a salary that is long forgotten.” For example, up to 200 euros per sheet (40,000 printing marks with spaces).
“It is very little, but a person who is uninformed, who is not a member of our union, simply does not know the situation. Most of the time, these are people who are absolutely dedicated to translation and who work day and night. I think it’s unfair”, said D. Daugirdiene.
Normal reward
However, what rates are adequate? The chairperson of LLVS stated this on her Facebook account.
According to her, “professional literary translators who want to not only translate, but also make a living, translate 3 or 5 pages of prose a day. Some more.”
“This is when the book is valuable in an artistic, cultural, historical or other sense and when so-called artificial intelligence translation and writing assistants are not used,” she writes.
“The fee always depends on the competence of the translator and the duration of the translation. I would say from 200, if the translator(s) are completely green, up to 600 euros for the author’s bow (40,000 printing marks with spaces). If the language from which it is translated is not very exotic. If extremely, then different numbers and different negotiations,” said D. Daugirdiene.
Amounts are before taxes.
Depends on the quality
The rates also differ depending on the artistic value of the book being translated.
“It is important for us that what we do is art,” said D. Daugirdiene. – I am not saying that popular literature is not needed. It must exist and be enforced by such professionals as Jovita Liutkutė.”
The interviewer said that historically and artistically valuable books are very difficult to translate: “That’s why I don’t believe that it is possible to translate more than 5 books in a month. I translate regarding 3 hoops myself, but I work part-time, because I still hold the position of chairman of LLVS.”
“If we want a very good translator to earn at least an average salary, the rate should be 300-400 euros per bow. However, such amounts are already received, especially if supported by some foundations. And the 600 euros, which caused a discussion on my Facebook account, is an aspiration. As far as I know, publishing houses would agree to pay that much to a very good translator if the work was supported by the Lithuanian Culture Council,” explained the LLVS chairwoman.
When asked if it is possible to survive from translations, D. Daugirdiene smiled: “It doesn’t matter what your lifestyle is.”
“If the translator works at 8 a.m. a day, 5 days a week and a month a year on vacation, then he can hardly survive”, the interviewer continued.
Earned regarding 30 thousand. euros
However, it is possible to earn an above-average salary from translation work, but you need to choose a different path. About 15min said the translator from English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and German J. Liutkutė.
According to her, approximately 75 percent the books she translates are popular literature. “I choose to do that because it pays more,” she said.
J.Liutkutė might not detail how much the publishing house pays her for the bow: “I have signed a confidentiality agreement and I cannot make the terms of the agreement public.”
J. Liutkutė’s translations include “50 Shades of Grey”, “My Story”, “Zelensky”, “Einstein in Time and Space”, “Jonatanas Livingstonas Žuvėdra”.
Commenting on D. Daugirdienė’s post on Facebook, J. Liutkutė said that in two years she received regarding 30 thousand for the translation of “50 Shades of Grey”. euros.
“It was 2013-2014, so there was still litas in Lithuania. The euro came only in 2015, so this amount is preliminary. Anyway, I earned a lot”, – 15min said the translator.
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2024-07-19 20:56:52
