by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Thought I’d provide a somewhat belated update as to the translation platforms I’ve been working with alongside my Spanish translator, Freddy Moyano.
As you may remember (and here’s a link if you don’t remember), I wasn’t exactly pleased by my experience working on the most well-known royalty sharing translation platform, Babelcube. I found the customer service slow and didn’t like the fact that the contract was a bit constricting. Freddy and I wanted to have a translated book in audio format but the terms of the Babelcube contract precluded that. Also, I thought the distribution was a little too limited. I’m still at Babelcube though, because my other translators did not feel they could leave the platform.
Freddy and I started a new project…easy-reader versions of my Myrtle books for English speakers interested in learning Spanish. This time we decided to try something else. Here are my thoughts on BundleRabbit and TekTime (known in Italy as Traduzione Libri):
BundleRabbit Pros:
It’s very easy to get an account set up there.
The terms are good. You’re free to distribute your book elsewhere besides BundleRabbit.
You can set up the royalty split as you like it. (Translators usually make more than the author, having absorbed all of the risk on the project.)
You can have more than one collaborator. (For example, if you have an anthology.)
Excellent response times. The owner of BundleRabbit, Chuck Heintzelman, has written me back within 5 minutes before.
No upfront cost, just revenue sharing. (10%)
BundleRabbit Cons:
I wish there were more distribution channels. From what I’ve seen of this business, I’m sure more are on the way. Again, though, you’re free to distribute outside of BundleRabbit.
TekTime Pros:
Set-up is easy.
Response time is quick. The owner of TekTime, Danilo Clementoni, responds incredibly quickly, despite dealing with a significant time zone difference.
The distribution is wide. They have many more channels than Babelcube or TekTime.
They have audiobook distribution to Audible, as well as other channels.
No upfront cost, just revenue sharing (10%).
TekTime Cons:
The contract you’re signing is in Italian (you can find an English version online, though: narration agreement, translation agreement) and pretty long. A representative said that the fact that it was in Italian was because of Italian laws. The contract process is a bit tedious. You must also submit your photo ID. That being said, it’s a pretty standard contract.
To publish an audiobook through TekTime, you must also publish/distribute your book through them.
With all this trouble, you may wonder why we didn’t simply set this up so that one of us acted as a publisher and then split the royalties with the other through PayPal. The problem with that is that whomever the publisher is must also send out 1099s and handle all the administrative work of opening dashboards, getting the earnings reports, and paying out. Maybe you actually have that kind of time. But what happens when you pass away…leaving your family to manage this for you? It wasn’t something that I felt I could take on.
Are you exploring translation? Which platform are you using?
Translation Alternatives to Babelcube: Share on XPhoto on Visualhunt
You’ve certainly given everyone some more options.
Leaving your family to manage all that on TekTime sounds like a nightmare for them.
Options are good!
And no, Tektime wouldn’t require that, but doing it independently of a distributor/aggregator would, for sure. On a monthly basis, that would be a real pain. At some point, I’m expecting Blockchain to fill in that gap where we *wouldn’t* need someone to manage that type of royalty share after our deaths. But my understanding is that the tech isn’t quite there yet.
Thanks for the update, Elizabeth. TekTime does sound a lot more complicated than I want to handle, at least right now. Still, it’s always worth considering what one might do about translation. It opens so many new markets that it’s worth researching to see what’s out there.
It’s great to have the option to exploit our book rights as far as we can…it’s just sometimes tricky to do so!
Hi Elizabeth,
Turning your Myrtle books into easy-readers to help people learn Spanish seems like a wonderful way to expand your product line.
Kudos to you and Freddy Moyano for coming up with the idea!
It’s all Freddy’s idea! That guy is always thinking. I’m glad to be along for the ride!
Hi Elizabeth – thanks for updating us and sharing the alternative ways of promoting via a translation service … with the pros and cons … great you’ve someone (Freddy) to join with as you explore this area … cheers Hilary
There are lots of ins and outs, but the end result is worth it, I think. And Freddy is great..a Big Idea person. :)
Hi Elizabeth, I have Japanese on my radar for translation. Been looking into it for a while and can really go with it at any time. Just need the time to do so.
It’s easy on the author’s end. We only have to pick the translator, approve the chapters, and publish it through the platform. You should give it a try!