About me : I have been an avid RPG player/GM for the last 32 years, and for the last couple years, I have been a freelance translator (between French and English) and proofreader, working mostly for the RPG gaming industry.
The project :
Black Book Éditions, A well-established French RPG publishing company is currently planning on translating some of their original French products into English. The books will belong to two separate game lines
Pavillon Noir : a historical game in the age of piracy. It’s probably the most accurate game on the “pirates” theme, but it also can also include (at the GM’s discretion) elements of voodoo magic.
Polaris : a science-fiction post-apocalyptical game, where mankind has found refuge under water. Thousands of years after our time, new powers have emerged (no pun intended, they do actually stay underwater) and a strange phenomenon called the Polaris Effect is changing life as we know it.
Considering the scope of these projects (two game lines, multiple 300+ pages books, high density content), I am putting together a team of translators and possibly proofreaders (translators may end up cross-proofreading their team members’ work). In addition to translating and proofreading, I will coordinate the project and act as a liaison with the editor. These projects are huge, involving quite a few books and would get a team of translators quite busy for more than a year. The team would probably work on Pavillon noir at first, then move on to Polaris.
The work done will be paid following the current standards for translation in the RPG industry (rated per word translated). You also get to hold a realized gorgeous product with your name in the credits (the French publishers leading this projects have very high quality standards) and can brag about it!
Each translator will handle part of a book, and it is important that their part gets completed in a timely manner so that it can move to the next stage of proofreading or layout on time. How many pages each translator or proofreader can produce each week will of course depend on how much time they can dedicate to the task (which will change from one person to the other), but it is important to be realistic about “how much you can eat” before starting the project.
What I am looking for:
Translators : Bilingual or native English speakers with an excellent level in written French and good English writing skills.
Proofreaders : excellent English writing skills, French skills are a plus but not mandatory.
Motivated and enthusiastic people that can see a project through.
Experience as a translator or proofreader/editor is not required, but is a plus.
Liking RPG games and understanding how they work is a must.
What you need :
A computer with a text editing software (fairly recent Word or OpenOffice are fine).
An internet connection to share documents and access an online project management tool. Depending on availability, we may also try to do monthly Skype or Google+ chats (with audio or not) to talk about process and discuss translation terms and process.
I would like to know how many people would be interested with this proposal, and we can then discuss the details one on one as they get fleshed out. Please contact me via PM if you are interested.
