I initially had planned to release my first fantasy children`s book in English. It seemed to be the right fit for it.

I wrote “Below the Floor” in German and from the beginning, it was clear for me that I would let somebody translate my manuscript. Unfortunately, the Austrian translators I had been recommended either had been too busy at the moment, or had not been the right fit for the project. So I searched the web for a translator.

I found a translator community and posted a job description. More than thirty people applied to the gig and I checked all their references – very carefully: What was their background, had they translated something comparable lately, how many years of experience did they have, what was their training, what did the example translations feel like compared to their source materials?… I also checked some translators I found via other paths at that time. It was a lot of work, actually, it took me three weeks. At the end there were a handful of very talented translators left which I thought could do the job well. But you can only choose one person.

Shortly after that I had some sessions with business consultants who basically tore my children`s book project apart. 🙂

So I decided to publish “Below the Floor” in German first, as the manuscript was already done and releasing the book in English would have delayed it – and would have raised the costs further. You sometimes have to make a step to the side in order to stay on track.

But the good thing is that I already have found the person I can entrust with doing the translation once I have put together some money for the English release.

By the way: Below you can see one of the characters who appear in the book, Sibel. And no, she is not human. 🙂

Sibel, a character from my childrens`s book “Below the Floor”