Unfortunately, this is a part of my job
Even though I mentioned in my last post that I do not want to be a translator when I grow up, I am, in fact, a translator.
Or, well, I got a translating contract while I was still in school. So I translated a sociological essay on French restaurant and cafeteria chefs. But don't be fooled by the obviously interesting subject matter, this book was and is a pain in the. . .umm. Yes, well, let's keep this clean. But it was not an enjoyable experience, to say the least. About 330 pages of pure unfettered unenjoyment to be exact. Single spaced.
To be fair, I did translate it with a classmate who was also still in school when the contract started. And I must point out that both he and I are fabulous translators. But I must also point out that we had no blazing idea what we had gotten ourselves into. So six months, not nearly enough money, several all-nighters, and and two deadline extensions later, we thought we were finished with our little taste of hell.
That was on September 30th.
But we got an email from the publisher this week saying that they had found a typo in our manuscript. We had written though instead of thought, or thought instead of though. Or something to that effect. And they want us to re-edit the whole book by the beginning of December. This would not be difficult if not for the following:
In better news, I will hear the final news about my job in Vancouver later this week. If I were to say that I'm being cautiously optimistic, you'd all call me out on that since I've already been shopping for stuff for my new place. So I will just tell the truth and say I am being optimistically optimistic.
So there.
~g. mango hates working for the Man
Or, well, I got a translating contract while I was still in school. So I translated a sociological essay on French restaurant and cafeteria chefs. But don't be fooled by the obviously interesting subject matter, this book was and is a pain in the. . .umm. Yes, well, let's keep this clean. But it was not an enjoyable experience, to say the least. About 330 pages of pure unfettered unenjoyment to be exact. Single spaced.
To be fair, I did translate it with a classmate who was also still in school when the contract started. And I must point out that both he and I are fabulous translators. But I must also point out that we had no blazing idea what we had gotten ourselves into. So six months, not nearly enough money, several all-nighters, and and two deadline extensions later, we thought we were finished with our little taste of hell.
That was on September 30th.
But we got an email from the publisher this week saying that they had found a typo in our manuscript. We had written though instead of thought, or thought instead of though. Or something to that effect. And they want us to re-edit the whole book by the beginning of December. This would not be difficult if not for the following:
- I do not want to have anything more to do with what is essentially a painful exercise in boredom and tedium
- This is going to take 100 hours of work
- Co-translator dude cannot help because, you know, he has a real job (as a real translator) and is working on his Masters of Tedious Boredom
- I already edited the whole damn book
- I think I may, have forgotten, how to use commas,
In better news, I will hear the final news about my job in Vancouver later this week. If I were to say that I'm being cautiously optimistic, you'd all call me out on that since I've already been shopping for stuff for my new place. So I will just tell the truth and say I am being optimistically optimistic.
So there.
~g. mango hates working for the Man
POSTED BY G. MANGO at 20:16
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