[tkgally]

Excellent article. The best part is the author's recognition of the importance of getting help with the editing—not only checking the grammar and spelling but also working with the author on the content and tone. That can really make a difference in how well a book is received, and it's something that seems to be overlooked by many people who publish their own books. (Design is important, too, though maybe not as much as he thinks, especially for books sold online.)

I wondered, though, whether he was able to get the same quality control with the translations. His budget of $3,700 for "Foreign translations & ebook production" isn't very much even for one language. A good translation requires a lot of time and skill to produce, especially if one wants it to read smoothly and be culturally appropriate in the target language.

[akuji1993]

I recon this book might not be as well translated as he might think. The subtitle in German is sub-par translation at least. Can't say anything about the content of the book itself, but if it's a similar quality, the book might not gain that much traction or raving reviews in other languages.

[klmr]

I’m also not sure how well the contents translate to German. After all, Germany has not only compulsory education but the “allgemeine Schulpflicht” (i.e. compulsory school attendance), meaning homeschooling is, for the most part, strictly illegal (Switzerland and Austria have different rules, though).

[blakebo]

The fact that Germany has such strict restrictions was a major factor in wanting to produce in a German edition! They need as much inspiration as they can get to change their system.

[blakebo]

True — I hired friends who have translation experience but are not super experienced. That's how I got away with that budget for two translations (+ cover & design services).

[tkgally]

If you are thinking of producing books in multilingual editions in the future, you might want to get some independent expert feedback about the quality of the translations your friends produced this time around. Those translations might have been fine. But there are many ways translations can be inadequate, from misunderstandings of subtle but important nuances in the source text to prose that sounds awkward and unnatural in the target language. Such problems can seriously impact both how accurately your message is conveyed and how well your book sells.

I worked as a professional translator (Japanese to English) for twenty years, and I always feel very uncomfortable when a paper or book I've written is translated into a language I can't read.