Problems with Middlemen

Feeling sad & aggravated & poorly used.

I just found out that 3 more books I had translated into English for a Latin American publisher, at a ridiculous "friend" rate (which has still not been paid to me, mind), are being published in English and once again the LatAm publisher never put me in touch with the US publisher, and so they've had to commission a new translation instead of licensing mine (or having me revise it).

This happened last year with 2 books that sold to a US publisher *who I already work with*, so I know that they had no idea that I had done the sample translation into English (my name appeared nowhere on it, nor did the Mexican publisher in this case ever give them my contact info). This is a publisher who had already commissioned me to translate a book, and who would've been happy to have used my translation if they'd known it was me. (In the end, by the time I reached out to them, they had already commissioned another translation--from a translator who has actually translated my own books from Spanish into English. And again, the Mexican publisher had still not paid me for the translation when the books were sold to the US.)

And it also happened with another book last year that sold to a Canadian publisher (who I don't work with, but who the Spanish publisher wouldn't put me in touch with to see if they wanted to license my translation).

Having won awards for my translations (for adults and kids), having had most recent reviews from the trades (Kirkus, PW, etc.) of kidzbooks I translated actually mentioning and praising the translations as part of the review, I am confident that the problem wasn't that the English-language publishers didn't like my translation (in ways that weren't editable) but of not being put in touch by the originating publisher or their agent.

The moral of this story? I am no longer translating books or samples for Spanish-language publishers to use to try and sell the rights.

English-language publishers, happy to talk to you!

(Note, the image is from a forthcoming translation from US publisher Blue Dot Kids Press, who have treated me WONDERFULLY during the process, list me as translator and even put a translator bio on the back flap. I have great working relationships with the English-language publishers I work with.)