I’m going to assume the question isn’t rhetorical.
Some of you know that back in the day I was a huge fan of Japanese BL/yaoi, in particular Kizuna, Bronze, and Fake. Back when I was “reading” these manga, there were no English translations. Not at any price. If you searched, you could find a few fan sites with unofficial translations of various volumes. The quality was erratic, but just to have these translations was magic. You can’t imagine. (Or maybe you can, because I was not alone in my obsession.)
Did I long for better and more in-depth translations? Of course. Was I grateful to get what I could? I sure was. A lot of those fan translations are still tucked between the pages of those battered copies of Kizuna, Bronze, and Fake.
So I understand when readers beg for translations of my books. I understand perfectly that longing for access to stories from an author you love. I understand only too well the willingness to take what you can while still hoping that eventually perhaps maybe a better translation will be made available.
Here’s the reality. Despite my, well, standing in M/M fiction, not all my publishers can or will publish every one of my titles. I’m not the only author out there! And not every one of my books seems–or is–as commercial as the next. There are plenty of authors that sell better than I do. Let’s face it, mm romance unfettered by mystery or crime, does usually sell better than mm mystery and crime. Publishers are in business to make money. I get it.
I publish to make money too. This is how I earn my living.
The insistence that authors who wish to have their work translated must go through a publisher is naive. First off, not every deal offered is a deal an author should agree to. I’ve had several publishers go out of business. I’ve had difficulty regaining my rights after contracts expired. I’ve had difficulties getting accurate royalty statements–or royalties at all.
For the most part, I’ve been lucky in my publishers, but again, no publisher–NONE–is going to publish every book title in my catalog.
In the past, I’ve tried to hire translators for various languages and works. They all earned out eventually. But I’m not in a position where I can afford to wait a year for a French or Italian translation to earn out. That’s just the reality.
Which is why, when I see enraged comments by some reader trying to make the case that iffy translations are proof that an author refuses to work with publishers or doesn’t care about readers or is too cheap to hire human translators, it’s exasperating.
None of that is true in my case.
Yep, I’m a six figure author and have been for many a year. And still not everything is in my control. Writing continues to be a highly precarious business. In fact, things are more out of my control than ever–and for a slew of reasons.
But the scamming and gaming of the system has been a problem for a long time. It didn’t start with the advent of artificial intelligence. So let’s not play that game.
Also let’s not pretend that many of these same outraged reviewers haven’t bitched and moaned about the quality of my human translators too!
I do–when it makes sense–still work with publishers wishing to translate my work.
I do still hire–trusted–translators when and where I can.
I do still get email and comments from readers begging for translations–even if they are not “perfect.” The difference is, I’m now in a position to do something about it.