Should you allow fans to translate your comics?

[vanillios]

So far I've been asked on three occasions to let my comic be translated (in Portuguese and Spanish) and agreed because I thought it was good publicity. Proper credit was given and I haven't had any problems so far, but I'm still a bit skeptical.

My question is: have you ever had any bad experiences with fan translations?

[lorenatzilla]

No, as long as the translation is well done and they give you credit, everything should be fine. Also, as you said: it's a very good way to get more views since Portuguese and Spanish are spoken in many countries and also have their own web comic communities.

[apurviance]

This is edging into contract territory. Which may sound scary but contracts are just a set of rules everyone agrees to and then ignores until something goes wrong. It's the "if something goes wrong" part that probably worries you?

At minimum you should clearly write out in your message what the translators are allowed to do with your work. For example, only published on their 1 site, no ebooks or printed copies, etc. Basically, "here's what you can do. Everything else is off limits without my written permission." Do it in writing, leave a paper trail, verbal agreements don't last.

[Mocha]

Ehhh the answer is sort of a yes and a no. You want to be very careful about who you allow to translate your works. There are several problems you have to think of. 1.Is the person fluent enough in both languages to properly translate speech patterns, context, jokes, subtle dialogue that hints to future events etc. 2.You have to be able to stay in touch with and communicate regularly with the translator to make sure they don't make any unwanted or not needed changes, such as translating or changing names that are preferred to be or work just fine in the original language. 3. Language barriers obviously. 4. Cultural differences, for example things like symbolism or just objects that are uncommon outside of your country may need a short explanation at the bottom of the page.
There's a bunch of other things to think about too, like making sure the person isn't going to spread spoilers, but anyways those are some things you should consider before having your translated by a fan. Hope this helped!

[eleoza]

Personally I think it's an honor to have people translate your comic. I've had a quite a few requests myself and I always allow people to translate.
The only issue I ran into was one translator who also published my patreon-only content, but they understood I didn't want that published anywhere else so the issue was fixed.
But like said if there's anything that worries you just talk it over with the translator and have things written down and agreed upon.

[apurviance]

I've never had anyone ask to translate my work and then coincidentally I got the following DM on tumblr. Does this look like the request you got @vanillios ? They don't list any language and didn't know the art in question was fanart. Feels suspicious.

[mindybat]

This is a super interesting question. I agree with what @apurviance said about it bordering onto contract territory and ensuring you have agreements in writing, because it's the best feeling in the world when people like what you've put out into the world and want more people like them to read it, but you also want to make sure that message you're trying to convey isn't lost in translation or distorted into something that might offend or degrade. Like anything, you should be careful who you put your faith into and if you have a bad feeling about any offers that are made, trust your gut.

[Alli]

I would say it's better to pay a translator and host the translations yourself. Once your work is out on sites you can't find or navigate due to language barriers it becomes easy prey to those who are less inclined to ask permission before doing whatever they want. Let ads and social media be your publicity. Don't let people post your work on accounts you have no control over.

[haleymewsome]

I've been pretty chill about this so far, Unfamiliar is being translated into Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian atm and all I usually ask is that they send me a link to where they're posting it, so if anything seems off or something I can contact them about it and get it resolved. Idk if that's the best business practice but I just love seeing it in different languages so much. >W<

[SpavVy]

Translations are more than fine, however, I do believe they should be uploaded on the author's account and not the translator's personally. I have two translations for my comic and I credit the people who translate them but I keep all of that on my account because I'm the one who wrote the original and did all the artwork plus it is risky to let other people upload your stuff on their accounts.