Creativity comes with great responsibility. The enhancement of technology urges authors to sell their books on a global platform and educate readers about the missing gaps in every possible language. Whether fantasy, thriller, fiction, non-fiction, or any other genre of writing, every piece of writing educates the readers differently.
The art of writing lives on readers’ passion for a particular genre. Making a book available to the readers in an easily understandable language is one crucial task for every author. This could be achieved by hiring professional translation services. Geoffrey Taylor rightly said, “Translation increases readers’ awareness of shared human emotion and experience.”
To have it all, you have to do it all. The journey of a successful author is no less than a farmer who puts in all his sweat and blood to have that one successful harvest. In today’s digital era, with endless authors, leaving an impact on the readers is of grave importance. However, impactful writing is celebrated by readers of different cultures following different languages. Authors must deeply study their competitors’ marketing, translation, and publishing strategies to reach them all.
This blog would guide you through the golden time of an author’s success if their texts were translated into suitable languages at the right time.
Lookout for your competitors
To make any business sustainable, market research is the key. Hence, before producing a fresh piece of writing, you must conduct profound research on your competitors’ purpose, release and publishing strategy, preferred geographical areas with maximum readers, and sales and distribution strategies.
Here are four key points to remember while looking out for your competitors:
Scan through Amazon
Amazon is an excellent research tool for authors to trace and understand their competitors. Once you purchase a book/audiobook, amazon suggests similar books/audiobooks of the same genre. Hence, you can look for similar books as they are your most significant competitors.
Consider Goodreads suggestions
Go to Goodreads recommendations or consider recommended lists from other readers interested in a similar genre. Another advantage of using Goodreads as a research tool is finding reliable reviews of your competitors and improving by learning from what the readers do not like.
Keep track of their website
Having a website for an author is vital as it gives your audience a straightforward approach to reach out to you and look out for your rewarded works. But, before designing a website, first, scan through your competitors’ websites and benefit by filling the gaps they have left. For example, if your genre is comprehensive in three major languages, go for website translation and localization services.
How translation has increased their success rate
Knowledge should be more concise to more than one group of people. Everyone should have the right to comprehend what an author has written, but only some are well-versed in one language.
However, an author can make his writings available in different languages with the help of translations. But, the catch lies in translating in the right language at the right time. Study your competitors well to understand the right translation, marketing, and publishing time if you plan to translate your book.
Make your book stand out from your Competitors
Study reader’s psychology
To make the readers pursue your book, primarily, you must understand their psychology as to what they are looking for and why? Readers remain very particular about the formatting, style, layout, and quality of books they read.
Whether it is a printed book or its digital version, they are looking for a text that is comforting to their eyes while reading and interesting enough at the same time. Once you have cracked what your reader expects, you are at the win.
Translate at the right-time
Go ahead of your competition by translating at the right time. The right time may vary from author to author. However, factors like the book’s popularity, availability of translators, marketing, promotion, and the author’s interests should be considered before translating the text.
Hire a professional translating service
If your book’s genre resonates with a specific group or culture and you want to expand your reach, hire a professional translating service like VerboLabs. Where your book connects with your target audience in their native language, your brand value improves, and you build a strong connection with them before your competitors.
Sell in the right direction
Navigating sales in the publication business is arduous as you must go through deep research patterns to find your readers. You may have an audience in a foreign country you need to learn about. Here, competitor analysis will be of substantial backing. Track your audience and crack the algorithm of reaching them at the right time with the proper translations to maximize sales.
Three case studies to understand the power of Translation for the success of an author
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe’s African classic novel Things Fall Apart was published in 1958. Soon after its publication in English, the novel secured immense popularity, so much so that it got translated into French after a year. Since then, the book has been published in over 50 languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, etc.
Translation has been pivotal in making Things Fall Apart a classic; here is how?
Improved readership
The book has become a global literary phenomenon available in 50 languages. Its readership was wider than readers of the English language only. Hence, the world knows what Nigerian novelists can produce and how their creativity can unite the world.
Preservation of Nigerian culture
The translation of Things Fall Apart has been a win for the widespread popularity of Nigerian culture. People now know and recognize the Nigerian culture of Igbo, which is heavily described in the novel, as its roots remained intact even after translations.
Improved Literary reputation for the author
Achebe was soon known as a giant novelist in Nigeria and worldwide. Also, with his book read globally, Nigeria became well known for having great writers who can leave a strong impact through their words worldwide.
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is a celebrated series of books with translations crossing over 80 languages. It is one of the most widely translated book series in the history of literature.
The success of Harry Potter lies in its mass translations; here is how?
Localization
With the story available in over 80 languages, the book got localized into numerous cultures/ Languages, creating a sense of a global Harry Potter community having varied characters in a magical universe. This helped in making the story more accessible and readable across different countries in different languages.
Expanded franchise
The fan base of Harry Potter in different countries opened the doors to expand the franchise from books to movies, merchandise, themed parks, and more.
Boost in sales
The unbeatable sales of Harry Potter are a history to remember. There are more than 500 billion sold copies of Harry Potter worldwide, and a good chunk of this insane number goes in favor of translated versions.
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho was initially published in 1988 in Portuguese. The themes of spirituality were heavily celebrated in the novel and hence became immensely popular. As a result, The Alchemist was translated into English in 1993 and later into 83 more languages.
Additionally, the book has been honored with two Guinness World Records for the most translated text and the most translations of a single title signed in one sitting. Here’s how translations helped construct a wall of fame for The Alchemist, and its author, Paul Coelho:
Global appreciation
The Alchemist brought the desired fame to the Portuguese writer Paul Coelho. Factors such as inspirational themes, translations, celebrity endorsements, etc., extracted all the fame.
Improved sales
The Alchemist has scored sales of 150 billion copies worldwide to date, credited to the astonishing number of translations. Moreover, the book is also available as an audiobook narrated by Jeremy Irons on platforms like Google Play Books, Apple Books, and Audible.
Literary appreciation of Paul Coelho
With The Alchemist translations into over 80+ languages, Paul Coelho became a sensation in Brazil and worldwide, leading to a high reputation of Latin American writers.
How VerboLabs could be a game-changer for you
VerboLabs is your success companion in the publishing business, Bringing linguists together across the globe. We are the ultimate trestle in all language-related issues. As an author, you may require services that we specialize in. Our prominent services include localization, translation, dubbing & voice-over, content creation, subtitling, video creation, editing, and more. Look at VerboLabs’ services to leverage your upcoming/running book.
Translation services
You select your target audience, and we will translate in multi-languages. With a strong team of 80+ translators, we assure you of the best language translation services.
VerboLabs believes that when accuracy complements efficiency, the outcome is fabulous. This is why we provide 100% human translations, followed by three-step quality checks to ensure your text has been translated beautifully without any scope of errors.
Dubbing for audiobooks
Leverage your business as an author by offering an audiobook to your readers. In the age of digital media, audiobooks have become immensely popular. You can also get your audiobook dubbed into other languages to reach readers who need to be well-versed in the original text or cannot read.
“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” Let them breathe into your story. Translate at the right time in the correct language with VerboLabs’ professional translation services.
