At 1:19 on the very early morning of the 30th of March 2012, I've pressed the "send" button, whisking away the completed French translation of my manuscript to the one who, I sincerely hope, will soon become my editor.
I've also allowed myself last week to put a new banner-title on this blog. I think the five pictures really do a good job of showing the evolution of the band from the Quarry Men to The Beatles, as described in my novel. It's still missing Ringo, but he'll soon join the band in the second book. I still have a little more research to do before starting it, but I'm always thinking about it, so it's a good sign.
Meanwhile, I think I'll take a small break from writing. Perhaps a week or two. The translation was a lot harder than what I thought it'd be. My hat goes to all those who do that for a living!
And now I wait. Wait for the response from the reading committee, to see if the project will go forward. It's going to be hell waiting for their answer, but as we say, it's part of the game!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Translation done!
That's it. All the dialog has been translated into French. I've just finished re-reading everything and to say I'm satisfied is not a strong enough expression... I've renamed my book to "Le roman des Beatles, 1957-1960" (Literally The Beatles' Novel, 1957-1960) -While I'm pretty sure the editor won't keep that name, for now I'm satisfied with it.
The translation took a lot more work than anticipated. Partly because I was so busy I could not work at it every day, but also because the second part had so many dialog!
The translated manuscript is now in the hands of my two first and most faithful readers. I'll be waiting for their comments before sending it to the editor's reading comity.
It's another step towards publication and I could not be prouder.
Putain de bordel de merde, as we say in French!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Where I'm at...
The last few weeks have been a little busy...
A second publisher manifested an interest in my book. I met him in person two weeks ago. His request was basically this: if I do an all French version, he would offer me a contract. He also wanted total control over the cover and the title, because he wants the book to be accessible to a large audience, on sale not only in bookshops but also places like Zellers and Walmart.
I had ten days to decide if I wanted to translate the thing myself. I knew I would do it, but I spent the time before the deadline researching publishing contracts. It's a lot more complicated than it looks. And then I got lucky. A colleague of mine referred me to a friend who had already published a novel that was sold internationally. He gave me a few pointers, but the more I talked with him about my project, the more he wanted to help. So he gave me the number of his literary agent, one of the few in Quebec.
I contacted the agent who also seemed interested in my project. Now he doesn't know if he wants to represent me permanently, but for now, he's more than willing to give me a hand during the negotiations of a first contract. I don't mind giving creative control over the cover and the title, but I want to keep the international rights of my novel, so I can deal with English publishers myself (or thought my eventual agent...). Having an agent helping me negotiate, I feel confident that I won't get screwed too much for my first time!
This morning, I got a call from the publisher. He asked if I was willing to do the translation myself and how much time it would take me. I said a month. So I have until the first of April to come up with the French version, and then he will submit the book to his reading comity. They will decide if they take the project further or not.
As for the first publisher who was interested, he sent me an email last week saying that with a bilingual version, there was not much of a chance it would sell enough to make it worthwhile. Beside, with all the other publications on the Beatles, it would require a lot of marketing, which is something he was not willing to do. I replied that I was working on a French version and that it would be ready very soon. I asked if it was something he'd be interested in and I'm now waiting for an answer.
As you can see, everything is on the open, everything is still possible. I will take the next month to not only translate the book, but also to keep on sending copies of the manuscript to other publishers. As long as I don't have a contract, it's still fair game, no?
A second publisher manifested an interest in my book. I met him in person two weeks ago. His request was basically this: if I do an all French version, he would offer me a contract. He also wanted total control over the cover and the title, because he wants the book to be accessible to a large audience, on sale not only in bookshops but also places like Zellers and Walmart.
I had ten days to decide if I wanted to translate the thing myself. I knew I would do it, but I spent the time before the deadline researching publishing contracts. It's a lot more complicated than it looks. And then I got lucky. A colleague of mine referred me to a friend who had already published a novel that was sold internationally. He gave me a few pointers, but the more I talked with him about my project, the more he wanted to help. So he gave me the number of his literary agent, one of the few in Quebec.
I contacted the agent who also seemed interested in my project. Now he doesn't know if he wants to represent me permanently, but for now, he's more than willing to give me a hand during the negotiations of a first contract. I don't mind giving creative control over the cover and the title, but I want to keep the international rights of my novel, so I can deal with English publishers myself (or thought my eventual agent...). Having an agent helping me negotiate, I feel confident that I won't get screwed too much for my first time!
This morning, I got a call from the publisher. He asked if I was willing to do the translation myself and how much time it would take me. I said a month. So I have until the first of April to come up with the French version, and then he will submit the book to his reading comity. They will decide if they take the project further or not.
As for the first publisher who was interested, he sent me an email last week saying that with a bilingual version, there was not much of a chance it would sell enough to make it worthwhile. Beside, with all the other publications on the Beatles, it would require a lot of marketing, which is something he was not willing to do. I replied that I was working on a French version and that it would be ready very soon. I asked if it was something he'd be interested in and I'm now waiting for an answer.
As you can see, everything is on the open, everything is still possible. I will take the next month to not only translate the book, but also to keep on sending copies of the manuscript to other publishers. As long as I don't have a contract, it's still fair game, no?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)