Liber is the literary translation branch of Best Translators Online. Our service isn’t about simply translating your book word-for-word. It’s our job to re-create the feelings, stories and nuances of your original work in a new language and culture, and by doing so, open it up to an entirely new audience of readers.
We offer a team of professionals that care about your work just as much as you do, and a rigorous quality checking process that ensures nothing is lost in translation. No one will be able to tell that your book wasn’t written by a native
Why “Liber”?
In literary translation, one word can change everything – that scene where your protagonist cheerfully tells his friend to “break a leg” before a show? Improperly translated, your reader will be scratching their heads at this violent change in character, and left wondering if they were rooting for the wrong person all along.
This is why we have chosen our name carefully. “Liber” (pronounced li-ber as in liberty) is a Latin word that has several different meanings, each of which means something to us.
BOOK – similar to “Libro” in Spanish and Italian, and “Livre” in French, both meaning book
Literature allows for the sharing of feelings and stories across physical boundaries; thoughts from centuries ago preserved in writing we still read today, to literary works from around the world available at the click of a mouse (or visit to the local bookshop).
FREE – As in “Liberty” in English, and with “Libero” in Italian also meaning free
However, transcending physical boundaries means nothing if your work can’t be understood! While books can broaden people’s horizons, first it’s your book that needs to be set free – this is where we can help! By translating meaning across language and cultural boundaries, no matter where your book ends up in the world, your original thoughts, feelings and stories will be free to be enjoyed by everyone!
CHILD – A free born creature
A book is so much more than paper and ink (or in the digital age, zeros and ones). Stories are based on the life experiences of their author – you. Your thoughts, feelings and perspectives, whether through fact or fiction, characters real or imagined, live through your work. Books contain life.
Writing a book, raising a child – both require sleepless nights, tender nurturing and a whole lot of patience to develop into something you can’t help but be unconditionally proud of. After all that time, effort and dedication, you wouldn’t just hand it over to anyone, would you?
So that’s where Liber comes in – the safe pair of hands you need, delivering your creation into a bravenew world of possibilities.
How Liber works – Literary Translation by Best Translators Online
When carrying out a literary translation, we work in teams – and that team includes you! Comprised of a translator, an editor and a quality manager, our 3 professionals are all linguists with a mastery of both the source and target languages. And they are just as determined to achieve your goals as you are.
Our teams work on a maximum of two projects at any one time, ensuring they can dedicate themselves to knowing you and your project inside out. This is all about you and your needs, and our teams will be there to support you every step of the way. Adapting to your writing style, your mindset and your objectives, they will work with you to re-create your book in the languages that you need.
As well as ensuring excellent spelling and grammar, our teams take the time to really “write” your book in another language. We don’t believe in word-to-word translation, which often completely fails to re-produce the intended meaning of the original language.
When our teams are fully aware of how important it is for cultural idioms and regional phrases to be taken into account in order to preserve meaning. It is for this reason artistic and literary translations can be so complex – which is also why we take great care in choosing and training the best translators for the job.
Why Best Translators Online?
Best Translators Online is a close-knit network of professional translators – not just another faceless translation agency. You will know who is working on your project from the start. All of our translators are bilingual, and are as equally proficient in their second language as they are in their native. Some have studied language and literature for years, and many have also lived abroad for a long time.
Not only do all of our translators have a mastery of the languages they translate in, but also a thorough understanding of cultural nuances, and a deep interest in the craft of language translation.
Our translators, editors and quality managers are real people, doing real translations informed by a real understanding and genuine interest in language and culture. You can even check out our profiles on our website!
We’re not just a service that finds any anonymous online translators and gets them to do all the hard work. We have built a team of excellent translators whom we have worked with on projects many times before. Our best linguists can translate English to French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages.
Our Translators
In order to do your work justice, a technical understanding of language is not enough to achieve the most accurate possible translation. A complete comprehension and an appreciation of the culture both of your source and target language is essential for translators to be able to recognise the subtleties and style of your original work, and then accurately re-create this meaning in a new language.
This is why before joining Liber, all of our translators need to pass several rigorous tests. These tests assess language comprehension, and the ability to translate and spot mistakes. When we finally select our new translators, we will then train and test them further to improve their skills in literary translation specifically.
When working on your projects, translators will use language and literary guidelines in order to deliver a translation that is tailored to the specific style, genre and tone of your book, so once on board, our translators will be ready to tackle anything!
Quality Management in Literary Translation
While we do select the best professionals for the job, our translators are real people, and nobody’s perfect; that’s why we work as a team!
As for any professional service or product, we have a rigorous quality control system. Would you drive a car, use an electrical appliance, or even eat a meal out without knowing the products had been properly tested and checked?
Working with our editors and quality managers, our Quality Check system ensures only the most accurate translations make it back to you. Our work is checked and filtered through our team of professionals.
First, editors help translators improve the quality and style of their translations, as well as removing any mistakes such as typos or missing punctuation that may have slipped the net. Then our quality managers assess the work of the translators and editors, helping to give consistency and flow to the final outcome of their work.
A World of Possibilities. Book Liber Now!
When it comes to putting your writing out there, finding a translation service you can trust is important – and tricky. This is why we feel it’s so important that our process is transparent. Working with friendly faces and names helps us to be open, motivated and connect better with our clients and each other. You’ll be working with professionals who want to work with you – how you want, at the pace you need, to achieve the results you deserve.
We’ve already found the best for you and know exactly who and what we’re offering. So pack your bags, put your best work forward, and liberate your book by booking with Liber!