Translation Guidelines

The Process

Step 1. We are contacted by a foreign publishing house interested in translating and publishing a domestic edition of our work. Sometimes, we get contacted by a professor or a student who can get a publishing house or publishing department of an organization interested in acquiring the rights, this is also a viable option for us.

Step 2. After checking if the language rights are free, we proceed with negotiations. The fee gets calculated depending on the first print run and retail price provided by the foreign publisher. It is also down to the foreign publisher how much they will price their edition, as they have better knowledge of their market. We understand that for our authors the main objective is to have their content disseminated and made available as widely as possible, so we try to be very reasonable with our quotes. After the fee has been agreed we issue a contract which is signed by both parties.

Step 3. The translation itself is a responsibility of the foreign publisher. They are fully in charge of the translation of the work, most publishing houses have their own translators but some of them would appreciate help with finding a suitable person, author’s recommendations are welcome.

Step 4. When the translated edition is published, we will receive complementary copies from the foreign publisher which we forward to the author(s).

For a book to sell in translation, it should...

• Have generic or/and international examples (foreign publishers don’t consider examples from UK, US, New Zealand, Canada and/or Australia as international). Not be too UK/US specific
• Not tackle niche subjects, the more specific topic the less publishers can be targeted
• Be of the interest to foreign publishers, subjects popular in the English speaking world may not be popular in other countries
• Appeal to a wider audience, more diverse readership can generate better sales
• Be unique in the field it covers, must be different from other books already available on the market
• Take into account the current political/economic/social situation of the potential foreign market

Please note

• Some territories/markets are difficult to sell to, especially countries with a strong academic publishing history such as Germany, please seek advice from our Rights Team if there are specific markets you are interested in.
• The above information acts as a guideline to aid a greater understanding of the process, if in doubt please contact our Rights Team on translations@springer.com.