Choosing a specialty- theatre/music/clothing Thread poster: Whitney Maslak
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I am currently studying to receive my certificate in German to English translation from NYU, and I've learned that it is very important to specialize. At first, I was interested in being a legal translator, but after taking two classes in legal translating I realized that I really do not know enough about law, and I don't find it as interesting as I expected.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Drama and German. I used to work professionally in theatre, and now I work part-time as a musi... See more I am currently studying to receive my certificate in German to English translation from NYU, and I've learned that it is very important to specialize. At first, I was interested in being a legal translator, but after taking two classes in legal translating I realized that I really do not know enough about law, and I don't find it as interesting as I expected.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Drama and German. I used to work professionally in theatre, and now I work part-time as a musician. I have also worked professionally as a seamstress for several years. I understand that it is difficult to make a living as a literary translator, but I am wondering if specializing in all three areas would help. It is incredibly frustrating for me to deal with poorly translated plays, and it's been incredibly obvious to me that many of these translated works were translated like any other literary work, with no attention paid to the fact that they will be actually performed. I also find that the majority of translated German plays are translated into UK English, so it would sound silly and awkward for Americans to perform them. I think that my professional experience in theatre would give me an edge with this.
I know that specializing in these areas definitely won't earn me as much money as, say, legal documents would, but I can't stand the thought of devoting my life to something I'm not truly interested in. I know I would also work harder if I was interested in my specialty. Would anyone care to give me some feedback? ▲ Collapse
| | | | 564354352 (X) 
Denmark
Local time: 19:43
Danish to English
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| Follow your heart and market needs | Dec 27, 2012 |
The most important thing is, of course, that you are good at both of your languages, i.e. you need to know a bit of everything or be able to research a great variety of subjects if you want to be a successful translator. So, even if translation of legal documents is not your cup of tea (it's not mine, so I sympathise entirely), you may still need to be able to deal with the odd bit of legal text at some stage. Anything you learn in life may come in useful in connection with your translation at s... See more The most important thing is, of course, that you are good at both of your languages, i.e. you need to know a bit of everything or be able to research a great variety of subjects if you want to be a successful translator. So, even if translation of legal documents is not your cup of tea (it's not mine, so I sympathise entirely), you may still need to be able to deal with the odd bit of legal text at some stage. Anything you learn in life may come in useful in connection with your translation at some stage, so I would say that curiosity is essential as is the ability to absorb many different kinds of information. And while studying translation, I would highly recommend that you focus on learning about as many different subjects as possible. Specialisation comes later.
When it comes to specialising, I would highly recommend that you choose something that you are interested in. Not only will it make your translation work much more enjoyable, but you will also be better at that, simply because your natural interest in your chosen subject(s) will mean that you know loads of details that will come in useful.
However, you also need to consider whether there is a big enough market for your specialist subjects. If you want to specialise in translating German literature and drama, start researching now, find out who puts on German plays at theatres and on TV, which publishers need German literature translated etc. As for clothing, are there any German manufacturers of clothing that market their products in the US? If so, you might find such companies an excellent source of income, as they will regularly need translations of advertising materials, press releases and general business communication (this is where the 'need to know a bit of everything' comes in).
So, basically, you need to do your groundwork and find out whether there is a need for what you want to offer and then start marketing your specialist services.
Good luck  ▲ Collapse
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 19:43
German to English
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| Dramatic literature translations | Dec 27, 2012 |
Hi Whitney, that's a topic I have first-hand knowledge of. I majored in Comp Lit, with a focus on dramatic literature, and in early days as a translator, one of my ideas was to translate plays, as well.
The rights are generally with the publisher, and that is who you have to approach. But let me be very honest - a no-name translator has next to no chance of obtaining permission to do this work, no matter how much better you think you can do it. Second, dialogue is hard to translate ... See more Hi Whitney, that's a topic I have first-hand knowledge of. I majored in Comp Lit, with a focus on dramatic literature, and in early days as a translator, one of my ideas was to translate plays, as well.
The rights are generally with the publisher, and that is who you have to approach. But let me be very honest - a no-name translator has next to no chance of obtaining permission to do this work, no matter how much better you think you can do it. Second, dialogue is hard to translate well - have you ever done it? I worked in the theatre both in NY and Germany as a dramaturg, and one aspect of that job is adapting texts to the director's vision. I worked with Elisabeth Plessen on some classic translations for productions by Peter Zadek, as one my my areas of concentration was Renaissance/Shakespearean theatre. It was a fantastic experience, but Elisabeth was an established translator:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Plessen
I ended up leaving the theatre and giving up my illusions about translating plays professionally once I realized it wasn't realistic or a viable profession for the long term, and turned to other pursuits (there's a bit more info in my profile, in case you are interested).
The upshot is that this is a very difficult field to break into without a lot of luck and/or connections. A really terrific alternative is the games field, and I do translate quality RPGs (role-playing games) now and then, if the price is ok. This is normally a pretty low-paying industry, but growing, and the fun factor is high, so this might be an acceptable alternative for you. Another possibility is working on adaptations for individual plays, if you know any directors who need this kind of work done, but again, unless you already have connections - even in the US - it's very difficult to find these opportunities, and they are probably not well-paid.
I can't say anything about your other choices, but the fashion industry might be interesting, based on your knowledge as a seamstress. Proz jobs sometimes has fashion-related postings.
Whatever you decide - best of luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 18:43
Member (2007)
English
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Whitney Koontz wrote:
I have a Bachelor's degree in Drama and German. I used to work professionally in theatre, and now I work part-time as a musician. I have also worked professionally as a seamstress for several years. I understand that it is difficult to make a living as a literary translator
I don't know anything much about those areas, apart from music (I'm married to a musician), so I don't know that I've anything terribly useful to add. But I agree that it would be horribly boring to sit doing legal translations every day if they don't interest you. As has been said, you will occasionally come across legal work anyway, and it's nice to have enough skill to be able to accept e.g. if you have a regular client who suddenly comes to you with a contract to translate.
If literary translation isn't going to be possible, how about thinking of other sources of translations in those areas? There are all the magazine articles and press releases, the publicity material, etc, etc that surround the theatre and music. Then there are websites of people and organisations, and quite a lot of academic papers (and some of them pay reasonably well). I don't know how much volume is created in those areas, but I do know that there's a lot of fashion work out there. And if you can expand into films, fine art, video games... All in all, there must be a lot of stuff out there that needs someone with knowledge and an interest in the arts, but doesn't want to be a penniless literary translator waiting for royalties to trickle in.
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:43
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| That falls into literary translation | Dec 27, 2012 |
Looking broader into the same field, you can also translate movie or commercial scripts etc, but I haven't found these to be well paid either (at least in my language pair). Actually the lowest rates I have found in the industry are in subtitling. So no surprise you've found all those poorly translated plays since $0.01 translators don't care much about quality work.
Hopefully it will be different in your language pair.
Over here, they usually announce an ad to 3rd and ... See more Looking broader into the same field, you can also translate movie or commercial scripts etc, but I haven't found these to be well paid either (at least in my language pair). Actually the lowest rates I have found in the industry are in subtitling. So no surprise you've found all those poorly translated plays since $0.01 translators don't care much about quality work.
Hopefully it will be different in your language pair.
Over here, they usually announce an ad to 3rd and 4th year foreign language students asking them whether they like translation and whether they'd like to translate some plays. They don't receive a penny out of it. I can only imagine results. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Whitney Maslak
United States
Local time: 11:43
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for some great ideas! | Dec 27, 2012 |
I am definitely not surprised that specializing in theatre isn't a viable career; that's a big reason why I don't work professionally in theatre anymore. I am thinking I will probably see if I can do some theatre-related translating on the side, and then have some better "main" subjects to translate.
Another subject I really enjoy is genealogy, but I imagine that there aren't a lot of people willing to pay any money to find out what great-great Grandpa Klaus' headstone says!
... See more I am definitely not surprised that specializing in theatre isn't a viable career; that's a big reason why I don't work professionally in theatre anymore. I am thinking I will probably see if I can do some theatre-related translating on the side, and then have some better "main" subjects to translate.
Another subject I really enjoy is genealogy, but I imagine that there aren't a lot of people willing to pay any money to find out what great-great Grandpa Klaus' headstone says!
I am going to look into the fashion and clothing industry more and see there is a need for translators there. I am also thinking that advertising would be an interesting subject to translate.
I really appreciate everyone's feedback and honesty. I want to be able to have a career I enjoy, but I have to be able to make a living at it. I have already learned so much from this website! Thanks again. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:43
French to English
Hi Whitney,
Probably about 70% of my work is for the fashion industry.
I too hankered after literary translation but when I was starting out, there was no way I could break in, I had no connections whatsoever.
My mother taught me dressmaking and while my talent is limited to whipping up nightdresses and the odd skirt or blouse for myself, nothing anywhere near a professional level, I did gain knowledge about clothing (most professionals prefer to say apparel BTW), the... See more Hi Whitney,
Probably about 70% of my work is for the fashion industry.
I too hankered after literary translation but when I was starting out, there was no way I could break in, I had no connections whatsoever.
My mother taught me dressmaking and while my talent is limited to whipping up nightdresses and the odd skirt or blouse for myself, nothing anywhere near a professional level, I did gain knowledge about clothing (most professionals prefer to say apparel BTW), the names of the various parts of a garment and information about how textiles work (drape, finishes etc.). So when by chance I was asked to translate a press pack for a textiles trade fair, I found it quite easy to handle and enjoyed researching it, then one thing led to another and it became my speciality, as reflected in my pseudo, which is also the name of my business, and slogan.
If you have the patience to hem by hand then you'll have the patience to hone your translations as near to perfection as is possible
And you need plenty of creative flair to handle fashion translations, including the slogans, press packs that pack plenty of punch, "blind 'em with science" blurb for the sneaker makers and the like, so I find that my creative leanings are well satisfied.
If you can do fashion, you can also do cosmetics, and hair-styling, and jewellery, and home furnishings. You get the same mix of technical terms that you have to get right and fanciful blurb where you can let your imagination run riot. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:43
French to English
If you are a musician, you could try the record companies. They have biographies of international artists translated each time they release a record! I've done quite a lot of that too. I actually translated newspaper articles for one famous rock star for a while (without ever meeting him unfortunately). It was brilliant, I could spend time reading fora where people had nothing better to do than discuss the way he changed the last chords of a 1970s hit at a benefit gig in 1985, and what that mean... See more If you are a musician, you could try the record companies. They have biographies of international artists translated each time they release a record! I've done quite a lot of that too. I actually translated newspaper articles for one famous rock star for a while (without ever meeting him unfortunately). It was brilliant, I could spend time reading fora where people had nothing better to do than discuss the way he changed the last chords of a 1970s hit at a benefit gig in 1985, and what that meant for the future of rock'n'roll, and call it WORK!
And of course with a name like Whitney you're bound to go far with music as a speciality
[Edited at 2012-12-27 19:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Whitney Maslak
United States
Local time: 11:43
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | This gives me some great ideas! | Dec 28, 2012 |
Texte Style wrote:
If you can do fashion, you can also do cosmetics, and hair-styling, and jewellery, and home furnishings. You get the same mix of technical terms that you have to get right and fanciful blurb where you can let your imagination run riot.
Thanks for the great ideas! I had not thought of those areas, but I am interested in all of them. It is exciting to me to think about new opportunities. I want to be able to specialize in some good areas, but at the same time I don't want to narrow it down too much and miss opportunities. This really gives me some food for thought. You are all very kind for sharing your advice and experience with me.
I'm off to update my profile!
| | | | Marvin Sun
China
Local time: 02:43
English to Chinese
| subtitling and voiceover | Dec 28, 2012 |
In addition to the suggestions above, it came to my mind subtitling and voiceover for videos, like TV plays, advertisement clips and training videos; you have the background so you can be very good at them. Of course, you need to tackle the technical, but guess that would be much easier than studying laws.
| | | | Whitney Maslak
United States
Local time: 11:43
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Subtitling/voiceover sounds like fun. | Dec 28, 2012 |
Marvin Sun wrote:
In addition to the suggestions above, it came to my mind subtitling and voiceover for videos, like TV plays, advertisement clips and training videos; you have the background so you can be very good at them. Of course, you need to tackle the technical, but guess that would be much easier than studying laws.
Thanks for the ideas! Though I don't have any background in video editing, I would like to learn subtitling. You're correct in saying that I need to tackle the technical, but I think that would be much more fun to learn than legal terminology.
The funny thing about legal translating is that I took a class on patents and I absolutely loved it. I'm not sure why I like patents and nothing else, but the legal field is so broad that there are many different areas.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:43
French to English
Whitney Koontz wrote:
Marvin Sun wrote:
In addition to the suggestions above, it came to my mind subtitling and voiceover for videos, like TV plays, advertisement clips and training videos; you have the background so you can be very good at them. Of course, you need to tackle the technical, but guess that would be much easier than studying laws.
Thanks for the ideas! Though I don't have any background in video editing, I would like to learn subtitling. You're correct in saying that I need to tackle the technical, but I think that would be much more fun to learn than legal terminology.
The funny thing about legal translating is that I took a class on patents and I absolutely loved it. I'm not sure why I like patents and nothing else, but the legal field is so broad that there are many different areas.
Perhaps because patents can involve just about anything, and they're exciting new inventions?
I personally don't like translating patents because it's all so new the vocab isn't cut and dried.
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Tom Weber
United States
Local time: 12:43
French to English
| Dramatic translation | Jan 3, 2013 |
I have two branches in my translation work; one is business (advertised here on Proz) and the other is drama. My experience in stage translations is that I once worked for the French agency that concerns itself with exporting French theatre. My translations were never produced on stage; I realized that I was working with the wrong end of the stick; you need to start with the English speaking theatres and producers and interest them in a foreign play. Despite what someone wrote here, publisher... See more I have two branches in my translation work; one is business (advertised here on Proz) and the other is drama. My experience in stage translations is that I once worked for the French agency that concerns itself with exporting French theatre. My translations were never produced on stage; I realized that I was working with the wrong end of the stick; you need to start with the English speaking theatres and producers and interest them in a foreign play. Despite what someone wrote here, publishers do not hold the rights to plays; the playwright does. So you might find a living German-language playwright whose work you admire, get his or her OK (this will be EASY to do) and approach US theatres with a pitch. Alternatively or supplementally, identify German plays in the public domain (i.e. old ones) and approach US theatres with your idea. To be avoided are plays not in the public domain but whose authors are dead; the estates are usually stupid, resistant and greedy. (I got authorized to dramatize the memoir of Marc Chagall, the Russian-French painter, but only AFTER I had lined up a professional stage production.)
Then there's film. I have now done a few movie scripts, and going into English, these pay very well. The magic word here is REMAKE. This is what many European film makers and producers dream of: a Hollywood remake. They are kind of rare, but City of Angels was the Hollywood remake of a German film, as you probably know, and was quite successsful. My last translated script was sold to DreamWorks (Steven Spielberg) for a remake. So you might find a recent German movie you think is viable (not an unmade script, but a produced and distributed movie) and tell the producer or director you will provide an English language script for them to pitch in Los Angeles for a remake.
[Edited at 2013-01-03 16:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Whitney Maslak
United States
Local time: 11:43
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Good ideas, Thomas! | Jan 11, 2013 |
I am so excited about all of the ideas I've gotten from this thread. I really like the idea of contacting German playwrights directly about translating their work. I think that my experience in how professional theatre works would be a great asset for me and for them. Thanks everyone so much for your advice and ideas!
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