Original Czech manuscripts, as well as translation literature, are published in the Czech Republic. Almost 40% of processed book titles are translated each year from foreign languages.
Most books are translated from English and German. The crucial factor in the selection of translation literature is the success of the book in the country of origin. Czech publishers pay great attention to the experience and erudition of the author. If the author has not yet published a book at home and decides to offer his book debut written in English or in a language other than Czech, he does not have much chance in succeeding. In general, the Czech Republic is not very interested in book debuts.
If the book is a book debut and is written in a foreign language, it unfortunately has all these disadvantages for the publishers. Apart from the fact that coming to the market with the book of an unknown author is always risky, such a book is also much more expensive for publishers. It is necessary to add to the cost of producing the book, the price of the translation into the Czech language.
Our advice: First try to succeed with your book in your own country. Only then offer a book abroad. Translations of books is always very expensive and publishers always consider that. If your book is successful in its country of origin, the publisher is willing to pay for the translation.
All of the above also applies to film and television scripts.
FOREIGNERS LIVING IN PRAGUE AND WRITING IN ENGLISH
If you are a foreigner living in the Czech Republic and want to offer your English book debut, you should first consider the possibility of offering the book in English-speaking countries. Our agency focuses primarily on the Czech and Slovak markets. We can try to offer your book to English-speaking countries, but we do not have much experience in this field.
If you are willing to offer the book for the Czech book market then it will help if you can offer your book immediately in the Czech language. You will have a bigger chance.
Our agency is ready to read manuscripts in English. Our editors write reviews in English for every such manuscript.
IS YOUR MANUSCRIPT IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE THAN CZECH OR ENGLISH LANGUAGE?
Our agency has, in rare cases, editors who are able to work in other languages (for example in French, Russian, etc.). However, we cannot guarantee that these editors are continuously available. Evaluations of manuscripts written in other languages need to be considered individually. The prices of such feedback are also individual.
In case of interest, contact the Agency's Director, Markéta Pluskalová:
pluskalova(at)ihave-talent.agency
ROYALTIES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Honorariums are generally low in the Czech Republic. The fact is that "book writing" in the Czech Republic is able to feed around 6 writers. Everybody else writes in the evenings and at night and goes to a regular job in the day. An author, whose book needs to be translated, will usually receive a slightly lower fee because the cost of producing the book is higher. Wealth/ is possible, but it is equal to winning the lottery. :-) However, it sometimes happens to an author on the Czech market. To estimate why this has happened is very difficult.
WHO HAS THE BEST CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING ON THE CZECH MARKET?
Success is possible in two cases. Here is the first one:
- Your book was published in your own country and was selling well.
- You are a successful and well-known writer in your own country.
Here is the second one:
- You write well and you have a strong literary talent.
- Writing is fun to you.
- You do not expect anything and you do everything for your own pleasure.
- The financial reward for the book is not important to you.
- You know that offering a book can take a long time, but you have patience.
- You are ready to offer help with the Czech edition of the book.
- You are ready to support the promotion of the book - to make author's readings and discussions, to travel throughout the country.
If you think you meet any of these categories, please do not hesitate to contact us!