¿Cómo Estás?
I've avoided pulling up my KDP sales report for a while, because...well, you know. But being bored this morning while waiting for my Edge browser to unfreeze (I work with two different browsers at once, and Edge is the most glitchy) I decided, what the heck.
No good news, but I saw that I'm now offered the option of translating my book(s) into other languages. This is powered by AI, of course. Amazon's not going to employ human translators, especially for novels that don't have a chance in hell of selling. Or even ones that do.
Label me skeptical. I'm not proficient in any language (English being an exception?), so how would I know what tripe AI has changed my words into? It could "write" a whole different book, for all I know. I studied Spanish for two years, but that was a loooong time ago, and pretty much all I remember is how to ask where the bathroom is. So, naturally, I asked Google about the service. Its answer is below.
I'm a bit concerned about the "struggles with humor" aspect and the "specific cultural or regional phrasing". Does that include curse words? Running From Herself only includes one, but a particular character utters it a lot.
When it comes to humor, you betcha. Humor is part of my brand. I'm imagining a bunch of translating disasters just waiting to happen. Will AI turn something meant to be ironic into a literal statement? I mean, sure, that could be fun for me, except I'd never know, so I wouldn't even get the benefit of a good laugh out of it. AI has no sense of humor (except for Grok), so I'm pretty certain it wouldn't get the nuances.
Gotta love the part about "how authors make it work". Yes, I'm going to hire a native speaker to do line edits. I couldn't even afford an English-speaking editor.
It is true, however, that I have nothing to lose by trying it out. Maybe AI could write a better novel!
So, tell me: Have you tried KDP's translation service? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.
- Cost and Speed: It is free to use and can translate a full manuscript in a few days. It eliminates the need to pay human translators thousands of dollars upfront.
- Well-Supported Languages: It works particularly well for translations between English and Spanish, and from German to English.
- Market Access: It allows independent authors to easily test international markets.
- Literary Nuance: While it captures literal meanings well, it struggles with complex idioms, humor, metaphors, and specific cultural or regional phrasing.
- Non-Fiction/Technical Limitations: Books with complex formatting, graphs, code excerpts, or heavy imagery still suffer in the translated layout.
- Reader Pushback: Readers expect a natural, native flow. Unedited machine translations can occasionally sound stiff or lead to bizarre word choices, which risks poor reviews.
Most successful self-publishers use a hybrid approach rather than relying solely on the AI output. You can use Kindle Translate to get a base translation, and then hire a native speaker or a line editor to review and polish the manuscript. This costs only a fraction of a full translation, while ensuring the author's voice and tone remain intact.
Comments
Post a Comment
Your comments are welcome! Feel free to help your fellow writers or comment on anything you please. (Spam will be deleted.)