Monday 9 June 2014

Blanket call for translators--

I am also open to translations of all my work, including poetry, fiction and non-fiction

into
Burmese, Thai, Cambodian, German and French.

Initially, these will be Kindle books, and if you take it on, you will need to provide me with a open (not pdf) finished and edited manuscript.

I will then show it to an independent referee who will tell me if it's up to the mark or not (for languages other than Burmese and English).

I reserve the right to reject the work if it does not grab me, or if I feel it does not do justice to, nor comes up to the standards of the original.

At such time the permission to translate will also be withdrawn.

I have already withdrawn permission to translate into Burmese, my The Lovers from someone who had it for about 6 years.

Each project may take months to years depending on how fast you can work.

so far I cannot pay you, your payment will be one copy in print+the opportunity to have an on-going Master Class with someone like me, and your name on the book cover.

FYI, this is what many many publications, including Amnesty International, Rattapallax, and Norton have given me.

So don't get your nose out of joint.

As top flight literary translators will tell you, there is no money in translation.

I myself am not being paid for ANY of the major translations I have taken on (3).

And I have to see to their publication also.

So--you'll have to do it out of love for the work, at least till I sell in substantial numbers and get a mainstream publisher.

Even then, the sales might not be high.

For instance, how many of you have read

--Orhan Pamuk in translation.
--Rattawut
--Mo Yan--
Alai's Red Poppy?
--Ma Jian?

How many of you know the name Howard Goldblatt?

So there, that's the Offer for now.

You will have to sign a contract with me, and I will give you a formal letter of permission to translate a specific work.

You will start with a 3 page sample for a novella and one chapter for a novel.

I won't be able to pay you for the sample either.

Sincerely,
KMKaung
6-9-2014

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