One of the things I never anticipated when becoming a published author was the unexpected blessing of having my books published in other countries and sold (and read!) in languages other than English. How fun! Sometimes I receive fan mail I can’t even read. (At least I hope it’s fan mail… 🙂 ) Thank goodness for Google translate.
Covers as published in the U.S., Slovakia, Germany, and the Netherlands
So, just for fun, here are a few of my books in different languages. You can see that often publishers use the same cover, simply translating the title, but sometimes they come up with a completely new and different cover design. Apparently, what sells in one country does not always “translate” well into others.
Thorndike Large Print, Dutch (the Netherlands), English (US)
Which of these do you like best? I’m torn!
New German edition vs. original English edition
Dutch version vs. original English version
Unfortunately, all I can do is admire these book covers–I can’t read any of the translations. Years ago, I studied French, Spanish, Russian, and sign language, but sadly, retain little of any of them. Just proves the adage: use it or lose it!
Do you speak a language other than your native tongue? If so, I admire your ability!
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Beautiful covers, Julie! And like you, it’s something I’d never dreamed of when I started writing. My first translation was to Swedish, and one of my best friends in high school was a foreign exchange student to Sweden her senior year. It was fun to have her read and translate a few paragraphs back to English and feel good about how the translation had been handled.
I speak pig-latin fluently (it was my parents’ secret language, and my mom was NOT happy when Daddy taught us kids to speak it! LOL!) But it is on my bucket list to learn to speak a real second language. I took three years of French in high school, and can usually decipher bits of French in American novels, but I’d be lost if I went to a French-speaking country and tried to converse!
Hi Deb, I haven’t had any books published in Swedish–cool! And yes my college French failed me when I finally reached France a few years ago. I tried a few times, was mocked, and resorted to pointing and gesturing. 🙂
interesting to me!
Great! Thanks, Anna.
It is interesting to see the other covers. Thanks for sharing those. I sort-of like the New German cover on ‘The Maid of Fairbourne Hall’ best. I do not know any other languages, nor have I ever tried to learn them. We were not required to take a foreign language when I was in school. I did help all (5) of my children study when they were taking them, so I can pick out a word or two of Spanish and French. My grandmother was Amish until marriage to my Mennonite grandfather and she spoke on the phone in Amish Dutch, but my mother and her siblings never learned it either. And we have had 3 foreign exchange students but I must be too busy or lazy to try to learn them. Hats off to those who know more than one language!
Interesting background, Susan. And I agree, when I have the chance to travel overseas, I am always to impressed (and chagrined) by how many people speak 2 or more languages.
Ik geniet elke keer van je boeken. Ben echt blij dat ze vertaald zijn. Ik zit te wachten op het volgende boek. Deze verschijnt hopelijk volgende week.
Veel plezier met schrijven! God bles!
Great example! I had to translate your comment, Jeanette. 🙂 Thank you. I hope you enjoy the new book when it releases there in the Netherlands!
Congrats! That’s so fun! I do love what the Germans did with your Maid of Fairbourne Hall. There’s such a wistfulness and anticipation when you only see her back. The Dutch version of Milkweed is also enticing, especially with their choice to call it “Unconditionally” as Bing Translator tells me. We love faces on our covers in America, but notice what they could say with body language.
Thanks, Mindy. And yes! I love the title the Dutch publishers gave the book, especially since “unconditional love” is its theme.
I’m in Europe right now and have had a hard few days ” hearing” German and Dutch again, so loved reading your experience.
The covers are lovely in all languages although startlingly different in some cases.
Love your stories and this blog.
Ohhhh! Europe. Lucky you, Jen. Have a wonderful time!
It is so much fun to see these different covers available in other languages and the cool covers that they have. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed seeing the covers, Sydney. Thanks for commenting!
Love your books!
Have read 4 now, in dutch:
De dienstmeid van Fairbourne Hall
De jongedame in het poorthuis
De apothekersdochter
Onvoorwaardelijk (Milkweed Manor)
Next in line wil be:
De juffrouw uit Devonshire ( The tutor’s daughter)
De dansmeester
Het geheim van Pembrooke Park
De stille gouvernante.
Most of the titles are direct translations, the others I put the English title behind the Dutch title.
My favorite was Fairbourne Hall, as it gives the feeling of Downton Abbey.
Your books are so popular at the library, that you have to reserve some of the titles.
So you have a lot of fans here!
Hi Jolanda. Fun to see all the Dutch titles together. Thanks! Glad to hear I have many fans in the Netherlands. My husband and I had a wonderful visit there a few years ago.
Cool that you got your books published in other languages. 😀
I am curious, however, how those books read in other languages. I mean. . .part of being a writer is figuring out how to tell the story in ‘your’ way, with the right words so you can pace the story properly and make it ‘tell itself’ while the reader takes it in. (AKA – so the words play the movie in the reader’s mind) I am curious how a translator would take that story and put it into different words and yet still retain the original ‘flavour’ of the story without changing what the author meant and intended. Most languages cannot be translated directly, word for word, so I am curious how this would work.
I don’t speak any other languages myself. Bits of French, bits of Spanish, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh (read anyway), ASL. But nothing that would make me conversive in any way. Mostly I have ZERO need for anything other than English, so tend to forget whatever I learn fairly quickly. Unfortunately, this does little to satisfy my curiosity about the translations. lol
Congrats on the extra publications, though. That is awesome, however it works. Means your work is read by that many more people. How cool is that? 😀
And. . .apparently its not brilliant to write comments when I’m not fully awake yet. I get redundant. rotflol
Hi Elentarian. Not at all! Thanks for your question. I don’t know much about the actual translation process, though I have met the translators for the Dutch and German editions and have exchanged emails with the woman working on the Slovak edition (she messaged me with a few questions). I believe the foreign rights contract has a clause in which publishers agree not to change the original intent without approval from the author, but beyond that, I’m sure you’re right that some things translate better than others, as is the case in any translation.
That clause does sound helpful. At least it would aid in preserving the general ‘atmosphere’ the author intended and created. Its also really good to hear that the translators actually do contact you if they have questions. Probably a good thing they are translating it now, rather than 100 years from now when all of us are dead. lol (What do they do when translating something from times past, I wonder? ‘Wait a sec. What was he/she trying to say there? I’m not sure I’m clear on that point. Oh well, I’ll just take a guess!” O.O ) I’m going to assume they would have to be REALLY good in both languages to actually be trusted to translate.
My first language is actually French, but as you can see I also speak English. I actually mostly read books in English, especially since not many Christian books are translated in French. On the other hand, it practices my English and make I don’t lose it 😉
Hi Samantha, I imagine it is wonderful practice, but probably difficult at times. You may be glad to know that in a year or two there will be a French-language edition of The Secret of Pembrooke Park.
That’s great 😀
Most of the time my English is good enough for me to understand my reads. I also listen to music in English and watch TV. But I have to admit from time to time I have to look words up because I don’t know what they mean 😉
I hear the same from some native English-speaking readers, too, Samantha. I’m sure the fact that my books contain some objects/terms/sayings from 200 years ago makes it that much more challenging!
I read books in Dutch(my foreign language) and in English when they are available on internet or amazon etc. Most of the time the translations in Dutch are very accurate and they never really change the story. The only thing I find annoying are the double translations. If, for excample, a book speaks of dollars this is sometimes translated to euro’s or miles to kilometers. About speaking a second or third language, in Holland it is very normal to learn at least English. They often start to learn English at the age of 4.
Hi Marilien, We were very glad so many people we met when we visited Holland spoke such good English, or we would have been lost indeed! I can’t even pronounce some of the Dutch titles, let alone converse. Glad to hear you find the translations accurate for the most part.
I studied French, German, and Russian in college, and even 5-7 years later, a lot has disappeared! But my French is still good enough that I like to read a book in it on occasion (though it takes a LONG time). Would that more christian fiction was translated into French!
Kudos on being able to read in French, Rachael! And hopefully more books will be translated into French soon.
Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed seeing the different spellings/languages on the covers!