Hello Norwich!
On 12th June, I took a train all the way from Warrington to Norwich. After five hours, one carriage swap and three changes of direction, I arrived in a city I had yet to discover, and just in time for a convivial dinner with colleagues in the city centre. I missed the guided tour organised in the afternoon, but I’ve heard it was fun!
At 8.45 on Friday, I joined all 32 participants and organisers at the Dragon Hall, and met friends and colleagues in the sunny courtyard for a coffee. This venue is amazing! We were first given a short presentation about the building. With some beams dating back to the 1400s, it is home to the National Centre for Writing, which “celebrates and explores the artistic and social power of creative writing and literary translation”. How apt was that, for a workshop on translation?
Translating picture books
The first session was led by Rachel Ward, an English literary translator from German and French, who initiated us into the translation of picture books. We first learned the requirements for this type of children’s book. They are meant to be read aloud, the text must facilitate memorisation of sounds and it often contains wordplay and rhymes. The constraints include a reduced number of words and space limits, and that the pictures can’t usually be changed to match a localised translation.
Next, we got to work on some books Rachel had brought. In my group of French translators, we tackled the story of a cat who seems to sleep all the time… and, like the other groups, we enjoyed playing with words and sounds. It was fun to share our translations afterwards and to describe our challenges and solutions; it was a real eye-opener about this translation specialism. The Q&A that followed gave us an insight into children’s book translation and publication and how to get into this sector of work.
Snippet slam
After the tea and coffee break, we engaged our bilingual brains again, this time on snippets. From the translation of “good COPs, bad COPs” about environmental summits, to the French children called “petits choux” in an illustrated advert for car safety (how many “sprouts” in your family?), we really had to get creative and step outside our comfort zone. We finished with some commercial headlines rejected for their bad puns, and had real fun trying to imagine some rude equivalents in French of “a load of shiitake”!
Lunch
Delicious sandwiches were waiting for us and we all gathered in the sunny courtyard – looking for shade! We had plenty of time to chat with friends and meet new colleagues. Needless to say, the various French places we go to or come from were some of the main topics of conversation…
The ideal client
After lunch, we focused more on business skills. “All about you: connecting with clients through your personal branding and marketing” was presented by Fiona Gray, an English translator from German. The session was meant to help us develop our business and find new clients. She had sent a survey to all participants beforehand, so she was able to tell us that more than half of us were getting at least half of our work from direct clients. Unsurprisingly, 75% of us wanted more direct clients, and none wanted more agency work.
To find direct clients, we need to know who they are before we communicate with them, so we were all asked to describe our ideal client, working in pairs. But a good client is the one that suits our own needs and way of working. Not all clients are perfect for everyone.
This preliminary work should then determine our strategy to attract the ideal client, on our website, in social media etc. Whatever the platform, it’s all about the client’s needs and how we can help them. Our perspective must be set from their point of view.
Little by little, and through her own experience, Fiona directed us along the right path, giving transferable tips (case studies, portfolios, testimonials etc.) and making us think about the right thing to do to find our own direct clients. Lastly, we reflected on what we’d learned and committed to an individual goal – and one that we’ll be held accountable for!
Business discussions
For the last session of the day, five different tables were given a different discussion topic. To mix the groups, we changed tables every five minutes or so. The topics included “added value through additional services”, “best business practices” and “strategies for finding clients”. They generated many ideas, tips and even more questions. The attendees have been sent all the ideas gathered at each table. This will give us plenty to reflect upon and we will be able to apply the tips to our own business.
Group photo
Before we knew it, it was 4.30 and time to wrap up. My brain was full of ideas after such a wealth of discussions, and I had a great time chatting in French and with some lovely people I don’t see very often. And we didn’t miss the opportunity for a nice group photo before everyone left. The event was a great balance of language and business skills, very well organised – and the venue was the ideal setting.
Laurence Bisot, MITI, French into English translator
