Books and the dynamics of collaborative translator-revisor teams

Over the course of their decades-long careers, panellists Virve Juhola, Sandra Lustig and Linda Jayne Turner have worked on dozens of published books as translators and editors. Collective revision is a necessary and valuable part of the translation process to bring these books to readers.

The idea for this discussion emerged after moderator Allison Wright lifted a hefty tome off the “Show and Share” table at METM24: the 577-page Enduring Enmity. The Story of Otto Kirchheimer and Carl Schmitt, translated by Sandra and copy-edited by Linda.

Underscoring the importance and relevance of events like METM, it was interesting to hear that each of the translator-editor pairs met at professional events: Sandra and Linda at a translators’ gathering, and Virve and long-time collaborator Pamela Kaskinen (High Stakes) at a seminar. Trust between partners is key to a successful project. Among the practicalities of book projects, the panellists mentioned choosing their communication channels wisely (including cloud storage), creating checklists to keep the “craziness” of the process under control, being vigilant about file-naming conventions, and tracking terminology and style choices.

Good communication is vital between the author and the translator-editor team as well as the publisher and any in-house or freelance editors who may be brought in. This last point led to deeper discussion of what can go wrong when translators aren’t given the chance to sign off on changes. Linda mentioned a book she had co-edited, The True Way Out, by Patrik Banga. Due to time constraints, the translator didn’t get to sign off on the final proof, and “The True Way Out” was rendered as “The Real Way Out” on the back cover – which, after months of painstaking work, was disappointing to say the least. To avoid such issues, Allison and Virve said they always insist that the contract should require the translator’s approval of changes.

When it comes to terminology, extended glossaries can be crucial for book projects. For Enduring Enmity, Sandra discussed the need to explain “Nazi German” to readers: under the Nazi regime, the meanings of words were changed or used in very specific or vague ways; sometimes new words were created. Without this background knowledge, readers would misinterpret the text.

When asked whether they would take on their most challenging project if they had to do it again, the answer was a resounding “yes” from everyone. With book projects, there often comes a point when you can start to feel bogged down by the process. But sometimes feeling the “burden of importance” for certain projects – that a book simply has to come out – can be a powerful motivator to see it through.

The discussion was then opened up to audience questions. When asked about being credited for their work, the panellists all agreed that both the translator and copy editor deserved to be named, whether in the acknowledgments, translator’s preface or front matter. That said, there have been instances when the panellists have refused to include their name in the publication: for Virve, it was when a self-publishing author did not understand what a translator does and made many changes after the fact; for Linda, it was a rush project for a book on censorship in Russia.

Although publishing does come with occasional hiccups, it must be said that there is nothing quite so satisfying as being able to pick up a book and hold it in your hands as a tangible reflection of your work.

This METM25 panel was chronicled by Teri Jones-Villeneuve.

Featured photo by METM25 photographer Julian Mayers.