Looking for a translator from English to German

[David VanDyke]

So, Frank Dietz (Hi Frank!) who is "German Translator" here and also on KBoards was my translator for many of my books, 30-ish of them. He's great, and fast, and conscientious. I highly recommend him.

Unfortunately, because his fees are high (heck, I'd charge his rates too if I had a PhD and his resume) I've only ever roughly broke even on earnings in the German market for my books. I hope that over the coming years there will be an overall net profit, but frankly (pun intended) while it's been great fun, it doesn't make sense to keep translating books that only break even.

I found another translator for several books of a new co-authored series, one who charges less, and as far as I can tell from early reviews and from Frank himself (who also proofread and vetted these new translations) they are up to a similar standard. The initial reviews and ratings for the Book 1 German release are good, including a compliment on the translation and writing.

Win for me, right?

But unfortunately, due entirely to my own delays, that translator ended up committing to a different author and series and now I'm trying to find another translator.

Anyone have a recommendation?

If I don't get a lead here, I'll post a similar item on KBoards and eventually elsewhere.

Thanks in advance.

[Arooooo]

If you want recommendations, you kind of need to tell us how much you're willing to pay per word.

[David VanDyke]

I'd prefer to discuss that directly with the potential translator rather than any third party.

Any translator will know the going rates for genuine fiction translation. I am not looking for bargain basement rates. Here's a couple sites that give ballpark rates:

https://transcriptionus.com/translation-rates.php

https://search.proz.com/employers/rates?source_lang=eng&target_lang=deu&disc_spec_id=&currency=usd&view_old_rates=1&submit=Submit

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Also, there are plenty of substandard "translators" out there that either simply aren't skilled enough, or attempt to pass off machine translations for cheap. I'll be asking native German speakers I know to evaluate any samples, and I have German editors for the finished drafts. What I need are the good base translations, from people with some experience translating and/or writing fiction in German, rather than just (say) technical manuals and reports.

[Crystal]

I've seen a pretty big range of rates in German, French, and Italian. (Within the languages, not between them).

So far, I haven't seen a big difference in quality (judging by reviews).

I wouldn't lowball people, but I don't think you necessarily get what you pay for with translators either.

[David VanDyke]

I've gone the route of posting on the FB page of some of my state's German clubs/organizations and I've got some applicants doing sample translations. Should b interesting.