Editorial translation

The most complex challenge: editorial and literary translation

The translation of books, articles and other publishable documents is called editorial translation. The main speciality area is the literary translation of narrative texts, essays, poetry and dramatic works. In addition to these fields, editorial translation includes many types of non-literary publications, including genres such as technical, scientific, informative, journalistic and promotional.

Due to its long-lasting nature, unlike the endless stream of ephemeral texts, editorial translation requires an extremely thorough work. On the one hand, it is deeply stimulating intellectual challenge, given the greater complexity of its content compared to other genres. On the other hand, it requires meticulous care taken in its formal aspects.

The editorial translators here at textinnova have given a voice in Spanish to authors such us Guillaume Apollinaire, Alessandro Manzoni, Zygmunt Bauman, Barbara Tuchman, Howard Gardner and others. We have translated contemporary art essays; books on social sciences, economics, philosophy, medicine, history; academic and scientific articles for specialist journals; various publications by international organisations. And a long list of others.

Our editorial translation method

What sets us apart is our methodological approach, which combines the best of classic subjects like philology, linguistics, translation and publishing with innovative technology for project management, assisted translation and editorial processes.

Consequently, each editorial translation project involves a workflow that consists of various stages defined ad hoc, depending on the specific characteristics of the work commissioned. We use an advanced comprehensive management system to plan these stages and assign tasks to each of the professionals involved in the project together with the translator.

We thus automate many organisational functions to focus human energy on what’s truly important, without distractions, and we put thorough quality controls in place for each major process.

Before starting to translate, the file containing the original text has to be prepared and documentary and research work needs to be done, providing important support in the next phases of the project. Once the translation process is underway, we create specific resources such as glossaries and translation memories, plus we can reuse and edit resources we already created on previous projects by the same author or for the same client.

The translated text is more than the sum of its parts

However, beyond terminology and segments stored in a translation memory, we never lose sight of the text, understood as a system that’s much more than the sum of its parts.

This means that, once the translation is completed, it undergoes successive revision, editing and proofreading processes until it takes on a life of its own and becomes independent from its original. The goal is to achieve an autonomous, natural, fluid text.

Translation of books for publishers and other industries

Our book translation service is primarily intended for publishers or publishing departments at museums, foundations and international organisations.

Some companies in non-publishing sectors try to set themselves apart from their competitors by creating and translating publications that give their business prestige and authority. We offer you personalised advice on how to create your book and we put our translation, editing and writing departments at your service.

It’s becoming increasingly common for authors to also contract editorial translation services to expand the geographic and cultural scope in which their works are disseminated. At textinnova we accompany you throughout the multilingual desktop publishing process.

Languages, genres and formats

We provide editorial translation services in combinations of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. We tackle almost any genre of publication: classic and modern literary works, studies, essays, scientific and academic publications, manuals and guides, catalogues, brochures, etc. The same applies to formats and media. We translate and edit electronic and paper publications, with no limits.

In addition, our editorial translation services are complemented by editorial and content marketing services. This allows us to deliver, for example, a fully laid out and ready-to-print translation or create multilingual publications coordinating all phases of the process, from writing through to layout.

Ask us for a quote for your editorial translation project.

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