'No regrets, none at all, I wouldn’t change it for anything, you know.'

I have been enjoying the merry month of May and its green leaves and blossom, despite the fact we’ve been having what the Germans call “Aprilwetter” – changeable weather of the kind you’d expect in April! There’s been a lot going on this month: a lot of interesting work, the conference of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, and the launch of a book that I was lucky enough to be involved in over the past six months.

Destination UK - 'No regrets, none at all, I wouldn’t change it for anything, you know.'

While I am lucky enough to enjoy the vast majority of my work, now and again a project comes along that touches and engages me on a whole range of levels and ends up with a very special place in my heart. Photographer Marion Trestler’s  beautiful book Destination UK was one of these. An Austrian living and working in London, Marion travelled the length and breadth of Britain over a number of years to document the stories of Austrian women who immigrated to the UK between 1945 the the early 1960s. It is not widely known today that following World War II, the British and Austrian governments entered into a formal agreement that Austria would supply young unmarried women to work in the British industry, mostly in the cotton mills of Derbyshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. Following this first wave of immigrants, many further young Austrian women came to the UK to work as domestic helpers, nurses or au pairs. Many of them married British men and had families; others recognised there was little for them in postwar Austria and decided to stay in a country they felt offered them better chances of making a good life for themselves. Marion took photographic portraits of the women and recorded interviews in which they shared their experiences, thoughts and feelings. She writes: “My intent has been to paint an authentic portrait of each woman, in pictures and words, and to create a tribute to each of them whilst preserving a part of contemporary history in the form of a book. “ 

I became involved in this project both as a language editor and a translator once the selection of quotes had been completed. It was vital that whoever was involved have an understanding not just of English and German, but also of Austrian dialect and culture – luckily, as I grew up in Bavaria not far from the Austrian border (and have a half-Austrian mother-in-law and a Viennese godmother), I fitted the bill! When editing the interviews, our concern was to “smooth” the oral language into a form that would be easily readable but nonetheless preserve the immediacy and authenticity of each woman’s voice. As some interviewees switched frequently between English and German, we also had to decide on where to translate quotes or parts of quotes and where to leave them. Our little team – Marion, myself and Karina Matejcek of KAMACO – quickly established a method of working on the files that suited us all (thanks the gods for Dropbox!). Excitement grew as our work neared completion and the graphic designers produced the proofs of the book, which contained not only the interviews and Marion’s photographs, but also pictures of the interviewees as young women and reproductions of their immigration documents as well a scholarly introduction by Dr. Jill Lewis of the University of Swansea.

Marion and I met in London on April 18^th and she gave me a first copy of Destination UK, hot off the press. It was an emotional moment! I always feel that being given a book you have worked so hard on is a bit like being given a newborn baby. It was thrilling to leaf through the pages and see everything on paper for the first time. But there was still work to be done – for there was to be an official book launch and exhibition of Marion’s photos in Vienna in mid-May and another exhibition planned for London for November. So a press folder needed to be put together in both English and German and blurbs for the exhibition and the sponsors written in both languages. It was a rush, but finally everything was completed and the Vienna launch took place on May 16^th.

So what was it that touched me most about this project? For one, I had the opportunity to collaborate with some wonderful people (thank you, Marion and Karina!). But above all I was fascinated by the stories told by the women themselves. As someone who has moved around a lot, I recognised some of the themes that appeared, such as intense homesickness ('Heimweh, that can be an illness, it can make you ill') as well as the sense of freedom gained from moving to a different country. I found myself smiling at former au pairs’ descriptions of Swinging London versus staid 1960s Vienna. I was moved to tears by the misery and poverty faced by some of these women back in their home country during and after the War; for many of them, the wages they earned in the cotton mills were the first pay they had ever received. Some of them were forced to leave sweethearts and children behind; others came and found sweethearts and husbands. All of them worked incredibly hard to build new lives for themselves – and luckily, most of them found the British to be friendly and welcoming. I can only echo Marion’s words when she says: “All these women have my greatest admiration.”

To celebrate the launch of the book and exhibition (showing until June 8^th at Galerie base-level, Heinrichsgasse 4, Eingang Rudolfsplatz 13, 1010 Vienna), I am giving away a free copy of Destination UK (normal price £25)! In order to enter, please leave me a comment at the end of this blog post. I will pick a winner from the entries on June 14^th and will post the book out to the lucky person!

Procrastination and how to overcome it

I'm sure everyone in the U.K. is sharing my relief that at long last we have some warmer weather! I'm enjoying the long, light evenings now we have switched to summer time, and walking back home tonight after a yoga class at the village hall I was even pleasantly surprised by a few warm drops of spring rain. Every roadside and garden here seems to be full of cheery daffodils!

Procrastination and how to overcome it

I had originally planned to write about something completely different this month, but as the days passed and I did not feel inspired in the slightest I have decided that in fact writing about resistance to writing and to working might be a more appropriate subject.

All of us who are self-employed or whose work is largely self-directed will have battled at some point with the dread enemy procrastination. When there is noone else in charge breathing down our necks it is often tempting to put off things that need to be done until the last possible moment. And although I'm normally reasonably good at not procrastinating, the fact that this blog post has been so long in coming shows me that I definitely need to think about the problem.

So, why do we do it? Quite simple: we're afraid. We're afraid that carrying out the task at hand will either involve something unpleasant or possibly have unpleasant consequences. And while the thing we're afraid of can be something as simple as we'll not get another sunny day until next year so I'd better get outside and make good use of this one or something as profound as if I complete and submit this paper it might get rejected, which will confirm to myself and everyone around me I'm a failure and will never get tenure, fear is ultimately what it boils down to.

What happens if we do it? Again, it's quite simple: we don't get important stuff done as quickly as we could. This means that paradoxically we spend more time on the unpleasant task than if we were just able to focus on it, and have less time for other, more enjoyable things, like spending time in the sun. Even if we distract ourselves from the unpleasant task at hand by doing something more enjoyable – I'll just play one more round of Spider Solitaire – we're probably not really enjoying the game of solitaire as much as we would if we had finished the unpleasant task first and were free to play solitaire for as long as we liked. Ultimately, we're focusing neither on what we have to do nor what we want to do, which means our brain is stuck in some kind of limbo instead of being in the present moment. Furthermore, this lack of focus means we are actually more likely to bring about precisely the unpleasant results we wish to avoid!

Illustration © C.A. Hiley

How can we avoid doing it? This is where it gets interesting and more complicated. Everyone will probably have their own techniques (which I'd love to hear about – do leave me a comment below if you have any to share!), but these are some that work for me.

Focusing on the real problem: Instead of "Argh, I really don't want to translate yet another 2000 words on XXX", listen in and hear that little voice saying, "I'm scared this client might not like my work and might complain and I might not get any more work from them but I really need another regular client." For me, acknowledging the fear always helps.

Focusing on what the client needs: Think about why the client needs your service. What would the consequence for them be if you didn't do your work well or even didn't do it at all? A sloppy translation or proofreading job might, in the absolutely worst case, cost one of my clients a publication in an important journal, or make the difference between minor and major corrections in their PhD viva. Focusing on what's in the work for others rather than myself can often be really motivating for me.

 Reward yourself: Sometimes I promise myself a reward once I've completed necessary work I didn't feel like doing. This might be something like going for a lovely walk, going out for a meal, or even buying a treat of some kind. Really celebrate when you have managed to get a difficult task done instead of just moving on to the next thing (if you want more inspiring reading on the importance of celebration, here's a great blog post by the fabulous Corrina Gordon-Barnes).

The power hour: This is one I picked up from another brilliant lady, Natalie Fee (she's written a fantastic blog post on procrastination - read it here). You set aside just one hour – short enough not to feel threatening, but long enough to get some serious work done if you focus. Really commit to working just that one hour, with no distractions – no emailing, no web surfing, no social media, no Spider Solitaire. Even though I know from experience this one works, I'm still surprised each and every time how much I get done!

And lo and behold, just by systematically setting out my thoughts on procrastination and why I do it, I've completed the dreaded blog post! Not every piece of work I feel resistance to is so easily overcome, but the same solutions can be applied to all of them.

Wishing you all productive, efficient working days as the days grow longer,

Translation and Creativity

I was hoping that we would be well and truly into spring at this point, but the first part of March has remained cold and frosty here in Rutland. Nonetheless, this year’s first lambs have been born, and their little high-pitched bleats can be heard across the village. I also heard the first skylark of the year when out on my morning walk the other day, so hope that is another sign the warmer weather is on its way!

Translation and creativity

My big excitement for this month has been attending the launch of a new poetry anthology for which one of my poems had been selected (I publish poems as “Meggie Hiley”, and have had work included in publications such as the Earth Pathways Diary and Goddess Pages). From 2001 to 2012, the journal Earth Love Poetry Magazine published nature poetry, donating all money raised to environmental charities. Sadly, rising costs meant the journal had to close down last year, but editor Tracy Patrick wanted to end by celebrating its achievements in a final anthology. I had contributed several poems to the journal over the years and was very excited that one of them was selected for inclusion. The anthology was officially launched two weeks ago at the Scotia Bar in Glasgow, with many of the poets featured present (including me).  The volume contains over 100 pages of poems and some beautiful original artwork, and can be purchased here for the very reasonable price of £6 – all proceeds are donated to conservation charities, so it makes for both an aesthetically and ethically pleasing gift!

This event, among other things, has got me thinking more closely about my creative writing. Up until recently, I did not really see my translation work and creative work as related to one another (maybe because I just had not thought about it properly!). Now, however, I can see that in actual fact most of my translations (if not all) are creative work. Despite the fact that the translated texts I produce are based on an original by someone else, I am still engaged in creating a new piece of writing that, while it needs to approximate the meaning of the original, needs to be easy or indeed pleasurable to read in English. I want my translations to be aesthetically pleasing and “flow”, just like my poetry.

Illustration © C.A. Hiley

With this in mind, I now plan to try and do more creative writing, not just for its own sake, but because it helps me to hone the writing skills I need in my translation work. I am currently experimenting with writing “morning pages” as suggested by Julia Cameron, author of the bestseller The Artist’s Way as a way of getting my creative juices flowing before sitting down at the computer and attacking my translations. I also really appreciate reading examples of good writing – be that journalism, fiction, poetry, or even manuals or instruction – as useful models for my own translated texts. I’m not alone here: most translators I know are avid readers and see reading as part of their professional development, not just because of the content they acquire, but also because it helps to improve their style further. But we shouldn’t just be reading – we should be writing as well, whether that’s blogging, writing articles for trade journals, or writing for our own private pleasure, because when it comes down to it, that’s what we translators do for a living – WRITE.

Hoping that balmy spring days lie ahead for all of us (in the northern hemisphere at least),

A love letter to my clients

The snowdrops are out! How I love seeing their little bell-like heads shining above the dark soil. We have several different kinds of snowdrop in our little cottage garden, each one prettier than the next. Snowdrops mark the beginning of what I think is England’s most beautiful season – spring. Years of living in continental climates have really taught me to appreciate the long, drawn-out British spring, where we seem to move slowly from the blooming of one gorgeous flower to the next – snowdrops, daffodils, bluebells and apple blossom, roses…

But I get ahead of myself. We’re still in February, which is not just the month of snowdrops, but also – if you want to believe what the card and flower industries tell us – the month of love and St. Valentine’s Day. So for this month’s post, I thought I would write a kind of love letter to those people without whom I could not do the job I love doing – yes, that’s right, I’m talking about clients!

A love letter to my clients

So why do my clients deserve a love letter?

Because they are interesting: When I set up my business, I made a conscious choice about the kind of work I wanted to do and the kind of people I wanted to work with. (After all, as a business owner you get to call the shots!) So I have been lucky enough to work with some fascinating people from all over the globe – scholars, researchers, artists, writers, journalists. And through translating and editing their work I am able to gain insight into their interests and passions.

Because they are passionate about their work: I choose the word “passion” purposely, for the one of the things that makes my clients so interesting is their love of what they do. On the one hand, this raises the stakes for you as a translator and editor – your client is making not just a financial, but an emotional investment in your services – but it also makes your work much more rewarding.

Because they give me an opportunity to learn: Why work with people who don’t challenge you and help you to grow? It’s not my idea of fulfilling work at any rate! The texts and the kind of work that my clients provide me with is constantly broadening my horizons and forcing me to “think outside the box” (I don’t really like that phrase, but it fits here). I have learnt huge amounts of fascinating stuff through them – some of which has made me change the way I view and do things in my own life.

Illustrations © C.A. Hiley

Because they appreciate what I do: Last but not least, all of us like to be recognised for the work we do. I am lucky enough that most of my clients really appreciate the work I do for them and let me know it (and let others know it too!). Getting an appreciative email or card really makes my day! In fact, I often print these messages out and put them up round my work space to remind myself of my clients’ awesomeness and why my work is great.

So, dear clients, this is why you are getting this love letter from me! Thanks for being such wonderful people and please keep on doing the wonderful work that you do!

Fellow translators and business folks, let’s share the love – what are the things you love about your clients? I’d love (there’s that word again…) to hear them!

The pleasures of networking

Winter was still here for most of January, and more snow arrived in Rutland! In Bavaria, where I grew up, even the smallest roads were salted and gritted, and snow ploughs did the rounds regularly to ensure life could continue as normal. This being rural England, however, no such service seems available and our village transformed into a large ice rink. I feel very grateful to have a job I can do from home, instead of having to brave the icy conditions to commute into the office!

The pleasures of networking

Despite the poor weather, I have managed to get to three networking events so far this year. The first was a local business breakfast meeting held by the Rutland andStamford Business Network, the second was a get-together (or “fuddle”, to use the local term) of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting’s East Midlands regional network in Derby, and the third was a community networking event held in London by the ever-inspirational business coach Corrina Gordon-Barnes. This means networking has obviously been on my mind, and at one of these events a question arose that made me think about the reasons for and benefits of networking in more depth. In Derby, ITI Board member Anne de Freyman  mentioned that in the past she had attended meetings at her local Chamber of Commerce. One fellow translator, obviously somewhat bewildered by this, asked why you would go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting as a translator. Anne responded: “To make business contacts and get direct clients!” I agreed with her, but some other attendees seemed to find the idea of this kind of networking daunting. But does it have to be? And what are the advantages of the different kinds of networking we might engage in? I had a chat about this with local marketing expert Deborah King, a.k.a. “Mrs Marketing”, and here are our thoughts!

Illustration © Astrid Nielsch

Networking with other translators

I love meeting up with other translators. They are such an interesting bunch of people – most of them have lived in different countries and cultures and have a wealth of interesting stories to share. If you work on your own and most of your work contact is via the internet (which is certainly true for most freelance translators I know), it can be wonderful to meet others who work in the same profession to reassure yourself that you are in fact not on your own. Furthermore, you can exchange industry news and tips and tricks for translation-specific problems. Last but not least, you may be lucky enough to pick up some referrals from colleagues, which can help you to gain business – as Deborah King emphasises: “Think collaboration, not competition!”

Networking in your marketplace

If your niche or target market is fairly clearly defined, attending industry events in this field can be useful, too. Ideally, you’ll be interested in this industry and in the people who work in it, so networking means you get to spend time with interesting individuals discussing interesting subjects! This will help you to stay abreast of developments in the field, get to know some of the industry’s key players and connect with potential clients. You may be able to meet direct clients or people who are in a position to refer your services to others who need them. According to Deborah, one important thing to bear in mind is that at these events, many potential clients may not be in a buying mode, so a “hard sell” probably won’t be effective: “The best attitude to have is ‘What can I do for you?’ rather than ‘What can I get?’”

Networking outside your field

By taking part in business networking events outside of your field, you can help to promote the translation and language industries within the wider business community (aren’t we always complaining that translation has far too low a profile?). These events show you that you are not just a freelancer slogging away in her spare bedroom – you are part of a wider community of entrepreneurs, some of whom may be able to support you and your business (need a web designer? An accountant? You’re likely to find them here). Some of them might even need your services, or know of someone who does! Mrs Marketing’s advice is: “Connect with other entrepreneurs who can be a support network for you and your business – they are a bit like the ‘people you know at work’ when you have an office job!” From a personal perspective, these events help me to gain ideas and inspiration from beyond my “niche”, broadening my perspective and heightening my creativity. Best of all, explaining to other people what it is I do always reminds me how much I love my job, which means I return to my spare bedroom office full of enthusiasm.

Do you enjoy networking? If you do, what are the things you like the best? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s hoping you enjoy the last days of winter,

Why buying translation and proofreading services is hard

It’s winter! The first snow and ice has arrived, sugar-coating our cottage and causing its usual havoc on the roads. The smoke from wood fires rises from the chimneys and festive decorations have started to appear throughout the village. The sheep have been brought into their winter fields and the rams (or tups, as they are referred to here) are in with them, ensuring there will be new lambs in the spring. Everyone is looking forward to the midwinter celebrations!

Why buying translation and proofreading services is hard

This week, I had a rather incredible conversation with a client. A non-native speaker of English, she is writing her PhD thesis at a British university and had been searching for a proofreader for some time when, by a stroke of luck, I was recommended to her by a colleague. After we had each seen a sample of each other’s work and had discussed the services required and a price, she told me how relieved she was to have found someone she could trust her work with: “Margaret, you are a blessing!”

Most of us translators and proofreaders don’t expect to be called a blessing. A lot of the time, we focus on how to do an excellent job working on a client’s language, and on the client’s primary need, which is to have their text translated from language A into language B, or turned from a linguistic rough diamond into a sparkling gem. What we don’t necessarily consider is the great relief our services may be bringing them on both a professional and a personal level. Considering the reasons for that degree of relief can help us to gain a better understanding of the barriers that a potential client faces when buying a language service, which in turn can help us to produce better work. In the following, I will be referring mainly to academics and artists as they form my main body of clients, but I think the issues discussed hold for any field where clients have a high level of personal investment in their texts.

This text is on a subject they are completely passionate about. Whether it’s Gothic literature, Gregorian chant, the archaeology of Imperial Rome, or migrant women workers – this is something your client lives and breathes. For them, it is one of the most fascinating topics there is. They care about it deeply.

They have spent months, if not years, of their life producing this text. A PhD thesis is the result of years of study. Likewise, the author of an academic paper will have spent years researching the field, even if writing the actual article only took a few weeks (which is still a long time!). A photography volume may have taken years to compile. Work on this kind of project will have formed a significant chapter in the author’s life.

They have invested significant financial resources in this text. Whether it’s the university fees for a postgraduate programme (and the loss of income that could potentially have been earned at this time), hard-won funding that needs to be accounted for carefully, or the cost of the field trips discussed in the paper, you can be sure that it’s not just time the client has invested: it’s serious money, too.

Their future careers may hinge on the success of this text. We all know the saying “publish or perish!” As a former academic myself, I know that it’s true. Work contracts are made dependent on how many articles in high-profile journals an scholar can get published. Breaking into the much larger English-language market from the significantly smaller German-language one is of key importance to many of my clients, be they academics, artists or writers.

Now, with this in mind, imagine how it feels to know that in order to achieve what you want with your text, you will have to give it to someone else. You have to hand this text over to someone who will change it. And as you are not a native speaker of the language involved, you will not be able to fully understand or follow those changes. In short, giving your text to a translator or proofreader means giving up control over it.

Illustration © C. A. Hiley

No wonder finding the right translator or proofreader is hard. You need to find a person who not only has the necessary language skills and specialist subject knowledge; you need to find someone who is able to show you they understand just how much you have invested in this text and reassure you that they will be able to do your work justice. In short, you have to be able to trust them with potentially some of the most significant documents you will produce in the course of your entire life.

I believe very strongly that we, as translators and proofreaders, need to acknowledge not just the financial commitment a client makes when hiring us; we need to acknowledge the personal commitment that is made at the same time. We need to think thoroughly about what clients have invested in their texts, and honour the trust a client places in us when they give us their work. When we do this, we ourselves become deeply committed and this in turn enables us to produce our best work, meaning we can truly be a “blessing” for our clients.

Wishing you all a very happy festive season,

Literary Translation

We are heading into the darkest time of the year. Here in Rutland, the trees are starting to lose their bright autumn leaves, the fields have been ploughed up and sown with winter crops, and now there is not too much left to do outside but wait out the cold season until the days start lengthening once more. But the colder and darker it is outside, the cheerier it is indoors. I love strolling through the village at dusk and seeing all the cottage windows lit up – and perhaps even the odd Jack O’Lantern – before returning to my warm house for a hot cup of tea!

Literary translation

This has been a busy autumn for me, and I’ve been lucky enough to attend a number of interesting professional events. One of my favourites was a literary translation workshop organised by the London Review of Books to celebrate Translation Day at the end of September. The German workshop was led by the renowned Anthea Bell (one of the few translators who has her own entry on Wikipedia!). I don’t usually do literary translation (academic and cultural texts being my areas of specialism), but I’ve always been interested in it and thought this would be a fun way of finding out more.

The text Anthea had selected for us was one of Grimm’s fairy tales, “Bruder Lustig”, one of a number of tales about (ex-)soldiers (you can find the German version here and an English version here). We were asked to translate roughly a page in advance and send it in for her to look at. I am a great lover of fairy tales (in fact, some years ago I was lucky enough to be involved in translating a book about fairy tales!) and so this choice was right up my street. Simple as they seem at first glance, I soon found that translating this little tale posed several challenges.

Illustration © C. A. Hiley

Perhaps the greatest challenge was also the first one – was how to render the title. “Bruder Lustig” translates literally as “Brother Jolly”. However, it is (or was) also used as a generic expression referring to a “jolly fellow”. Although older translations into English simply rendered this name “Brother Lustig”, treating “Lustig” as a personal name, I thought this missed out on its symbolic or more generic dimension. In the end, I settled for “John Jolly”, as “John” seemed a fairly generic name (as in “John Doe”) and “Jolly” provided a nice alliteration. Anthea liked “John Jolly”, although she did say that it made her think of a “Jolly Jack Tar” more than a soldier! Other participants went for the more literal “Brother Merry” or “Brother Jolly”. For me, it was simply fascinating to see how much debate and discussion could go into this one small issue – and how important a factor association is in the rendering of literary names. Ultimately, it seemed that any solution we came up with would represent a compromise of sorts; one of my favourite quotes of the day was Anthea’s statement: “I hate compromise, but unfortunately it is something you have to do quite a lot in translation.” Our discussions continued over several other challenging aspects – for example, the difficulty of rendering the difference between the familiar “Du” and the (archaic) formal “Ihr” – although for nearly all we found a compromise that satisfied the group.

After an exhilarating morning and a very pleasant lunch with other participants at the British Museum, I boarded the train back to Rutland and mulled over what I had learnt on this first foray into literary translation. One thing was the sheer amount of time it could take to find a satisfactory translation for even a fairly simple story such as “Bruder Lustig”, which made me think that translation rates for literary translation by rights should be significantly higher than for other kinds of text, rather than the other way around as is more frequently the case. Related to this was the range of factors that needed to be taken into account – cultural and historical connotations, associations, and traditions – for more than with any other kind of text, translating literature truly means translating one culture into another. But on the workshop I had also gained a sense of why literary translation for so many remains the Holy Grail, if you like, of translation – working on a text that is itself a work of art, and finding ways of transferring it into another tongue so that it actually works, is both pleasurable and incredibly satisfying. So I think I may well take up opportunities to learn more about and gain more experience in literary translation! For those who are interested in finding out more themselves, I have provided some useful links below.

What are your own experiences of literary translation? Do you enjoy translating literary texts, and what do you think are the challenges? Have you any other points or resources you’d like to share with readers? I’d love to hear your thoughts – please post them below!

Wishing you all a warm, cosy autumn with lots of time to think about and explore new avenues,

P.S. Many thanks to Megan Onions of Speechmarks Translation – a seasoned blogger! – for reading through a draft of this post!

Useful literary translation resources:

The British Centre for Literary Translation – online resources, talks, workshops, training, networking…the place to get started!

New Books in German – promotes, as the title says, newly published German literary works by providing translations of extracts. Information on translation rights and funding for translation projects, and training for emerging literary translators.

The Translator's Association – the translating branch of the Society of Authors. Professional support and advice, networking, resources and more!

First Steps in Literary Translation – an online course offered by award-winning literary translator Lisa Carter. Lisa’s blog is also an excellent source of information on literary translation.