Keine deutsche Ausgabe

(kindly translated for me by Michael Eckstorm)

Geposted am Mittwoch, den 18. November 2009 um 9:05

Enttäuschenderweise hat der Verlag Klett-Cotta beschlossen, keine deutsche Ausgabe von The Third God zu veröffentlichen. Ich kann nur vermuten, dass es daran liegt, dass das Buch erst mit so langer Verzögerung erschienen ist. Es tut mir nicht leid, dass ich mir die Zeit genommen habe, die ich zum Schreiben von The Stone Dance brauchte. Doch weil ich es war, der dies so beschlossen hat, und keine künstlerischen Kompromisse eingehen wollte, kann ich mich nun nicht über diese Auswirkungen kommerzieller Natur beschweren …

Ich bin allerdings sehr traurig darüber, dass meine deutschsprachigen Leser nicht in der Lage sein werden, das Buch in ihrer Muttersprache zu lesen. Meine Agenten und ich suchen gegenwärtig nach einem anderen deutschen Verlag …

Ricardo Pintos »The Third God« nicht mehr bei Klett-Cotta | Wetterspitze | Fantasy Blog sagt:
November 26, 2009 at 8:57 pm
[…] suchen Ricardo Pintos Agenten und der Autor nach einem neuen deutschen Verlag für das Buch. Ganz schlecht scheinen mir die Chancen dafür nicht. Denn ein neuer Verlag könnte […]

ricardo sagt:
27. November 2009 um 10:12

hier ist der Link … Ich habe ihn an meine Agenten geschickt. Wenn es hier irgendwen aus Deutschland gibt, der uns dabei helfen kann, einen deutschen Verleger für die Bücher zu finden, dann wäre ich dafür äußerst dankbar. Was mir am meisten zu schaffen macht, ist, dass meine deutschsprachigen Leser das dritte Buch nun nicht auf Deutsch werden lesen können …

Posted by Ricardo

writer and blogger

19 Replies to “Keine deutsche Ausgabe”

  1. Hi Frank,

    do you have any news concerning a “fan community translation”? I think the problem is, that Harry Potter is much more well-know than “The Third God” and many more people are enthusiastic about it. I have done a translation for an english essay years ago for a fantasy magazine and believe me, it was quite very hard work. And that was an essay, with 25 pages, no poetry as Ricardo does. And the translation of the first two books is really well done. I am very disappointed of Klett-Cotta, but I am working as a bookseller and I know the business. It was no surprise. I myself will now buy the english version and read it and I will write Klett-Cotta a mail about this, because I really hate this decision. But I do not think, that we can change anything. Sorry. Unfortunately there are not many good publishers here in Germany for good well-done Fantasy work, that is not into vampires and love. But you can write me a mail, if you want me to help you to find one.

    Have a good day.

    Reply

    1. Markus, not sure if you’re addressing me or Frank, or both?

      I have been told that the translation of the first two books is very well done, alas, Wolfgang Krege, the translator, died… and so this does beg the question as to whether – even in better circumstances – Klett-Cotta could have continued with another translator…

      Reply

      1. Hi Ricardo,
        well first I wanted to address only Frank, but you’re right, I have addressed you, too. My english is a little bit out of practice, sorry. I know that Wolfgang Krege unfortunately has died and now rests in peace. He was one of the best Fantasy translators ever – he also did e.g. Tolkiens “Lord of the rings”. I don’t think that we can change Klett-Cottas mood to publish part three, because Klett-Cotta only publishes in hardcover and it is really hard work to make a profit with fantasy hardcover editions. There are some paperback opportunitites in Germany, too, but I suppose your agency already asked most of them. If you need some more infos about publishers here in germany, just let me know. I will do what I can. Now I will first read the new Robin Hobb book in germany and after that “The third God” in english.

        Have a nice day,
        Markus

        Reply

        1. your English is excellent. I knew that Wolfgang Krege had translated Tolkien… Why do Klett-Cotta only publish in hardback? Is this something peculiar to them or common in Germany? Will talk to my people again about Germany and see what they say and may get back to you about this… Any help is of course appreciated… Hope you enjoy both Hobb and my book… There are synopses of the first two books here if you would like to be reminded of them before tackling The Third God…

          Reply

          1. H iRicardo,
            Klett-Cotta really publishes only in Hardcover now. They have done some good paperbacks about 15 years ago, but it is their philosophy to publish in Hardcover now. And they don’t make a real quantity of books, only a few Fantasy books will be published this year (have a look here: http://www.klett-cotta.de/fantasy.html). And it is very uncommon to publish fantasy in Hardcover, most of the books will be published in paperback. Here are some of the opportunities I have mentioned before: Piper Verlag, Heyne Verlag, Blanvalet Verlag, Bastei Lübbe Verlag, Knaur Verlag, dtv, and many more. These have been some of the bigger ones, but there are also many small independent labels here, but I think they are not able to pay any real good translator, and that would be a real pity.
            And hey, I do not need any synopsis, it has been nearly 8 years until I read the last book, but I think I can remember most of the story till now. It was such a pleasure 🙂

            Best wishes,
            Markus

            Reply

            1. I had always assumed that Klett-Cotta were publishing in hardback first, and would then move on to paperback later on… Your link to their fantasy page doesn’t seem to work… do you mean here? The books need a good translator, and I’m not sure that The Third God could just be translated by someone else and then stand alongside the previous two, Krege translations… Translation is a real problem when you’re dealing with books as massive as these… :O(

              As for not needing a synopsis, that’s pretty amazing! I certainly don’t retain novels for anything like that time!

              Reply

              1. You’ve got the right link. Klett-Cotta doesn’t move any books into paperbacks later on. That’s the pity.
                I think, I don’t need the synopsis, because I have read “The Chosen” and “The Standing Dead” already three times. Although the last time was over 7 years ago, I still can remember a lot of the plot. But perhaps, I will read them a fourth time. It’s always a pleasure, like I already mentioned, hehe. 🙂

                Reply

  2. Ah, that’ll only be possible if correct German is used – mine is crummy!

    Basically, I said that it’s a big shame, but will have to see what can be done about it.

    But surely German visitors to your site would be able to conversate in English? Is also nicer to other non-German readers…

    Reply

    1. I don’t assume that all German readers of my books can speak English. If I could, I would have the whole site translated into German. I had intended to attempt this for the publication of The Third God in German – alas that isn’t happening in the foreseeable future…

      As for being kinder to other readers, I think that since 99.9% of the site is in English, English speakers aren’t going to suffer over much if every so often I try and address other readers in their own languages…

      Reply

      1. hello from germany 🙂

        it’s a great pity, that klett cotta decided to not translate and publish the third god. i understand, that it is a problem to you and potential readers. and of course not helpful for sale figures, too. but i assume, that many admiring german readers will buy an english copy, no matter what.

        the most germans are able to listen, read and speak english on an average level. i’m quite sure that at least those who read the first two books of the stonedance may enjoy reading ttg on english. the only reason, why most don’t read english literature is the lack of practice. and of course a certain shyness with foreign languages. especially if one is an above average native speaker it’s a real obstacle. one feels dumb and clumsy (as i am now, too ^^) and unable to express oneself perfectly or understand every subtlety/meaning and so on.

        by the way, if you’re really interested in a translation of your website (at least important parts/as much as possible), it would be a pleasure to be of help. (my correct email is added).

        best regards
        Iseutz

        Reply

        1. I well understand the admirable facility many Germans have with English. You certainly are a good example of that. However, I too feel it is very sad that, for the moment at least, my German readers will be deprived of The Third God in their own language. I may well take you up on your offer to help translate some of my site into German…

          Reply

          1. Hi,

            well, this is more than a pity… it is a shame.

            If I do not have any other chance, I’ll read it it english… but your ‘style’ is fine, you put a great expression into your language, and it will be hard to read with an average skill in a foreign language. In addition, the names in the German versions of the first two books are changed…

            Do we have the possibility to help? I remember… as one book of “Herry Potter” came out in English, a fan community started to translate it because members did not want to wait.

            What do you think? Could that be an option?
            I’d volunteer. Anyone else?

            Bye,
            Frank

            Reply

            1. Pardon me: not the names of the books were changed, but the names of the persons in the story.

              Reply

            2. hmmm… that’s an interesting thought… please let me think about it…

              oh, and a question: are you mad? Do you realize how vast a job that would be?! *grin*

              how would a “fan community translation” work? Would it be a kind of wiki?

              Reply

              1. Hi Ricardo.

                actually, I do not have any clue how that could work, not at all.
                The problem is, that it is quite hard (or impossible?) to divide the whole work into different parts in order to shift the work to different translators.

                I actually hoped, other fans replied and have some ideas.
                I need to do more research.
                Funny: there is a site named “www.harry-auf-deutsch.de/” (harry in German)
                I’ll ask for some information from them. As far as I know, an interested “community member” can ask for reservation of parts of books.

                Bye,
                Frank

                Reply

  3. Das ist ja ganz ein grosse Schade!
    Must mal kucken was mann daran tun kan, nichtwa?

    (verzeihung – meine Deutschsprache ist besser dann mein schreiben)

    Reply

    1. hmmm… this is an aspect of putting stuff in German on my blog I hadn’t thought about: how can I participate…? I suppose I can do what I did with this and use online translation…

      Reply

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