[Packager] Babel Press / Books+ & Rights Marketplace / Babel Group

[Tanya]

I got the following inquiry the other day and am not sure what to make of it. Has anyone ever heard of these guys and are they on the up and up? I don't want to end up giving away any foreign rights for cheap:

Dear _______,

My name is Kiyoe Parisien. I am a U.S.A.-based English-Japanese
translator who works for a Japanese company called Babel Group, which
runs translation schools and provides translation and publication
services. I learned about you through Amazon Kindleboard and
goodreads.com and am inquiring if you would be interested in
contributing a short written presentation about your work, The Reckoning,
for publication on our website and introduction to thousands of
publishers worldwide. The presentation would be translated into Japanese
and posted on our website bilingually in Japanese and English.
To view how your presentation would look on our website, please
visit http://www.bookandright.com/index.php and find "Author's
Presentation" section on the right-hand side. Currently a presentation
by Ms. Deborah J. Ledford is shown on this page. You may see information
about fees, but this presentation would not involve any fees or commitments
to anything. If you would be interested, I would be happy to explain in
more details.
Since Babel Group has strong connections with publishers in Japan
and other Asian countries, this can be a great way to promote your book
to Asia.

Congratulations on your winning the 2010 Writer's Digest International
Self-Published Book Award. I look forward to hearing from you. I truly
appreciate your time.

Best regards,
Kiyoe Parisien

---------------------------------
Kiyoe Parisien　パリジェン　聖絵
Look Translation
P.O. Box 50042
Eugene, OR 97405 U.S.A.
Phone (Cell): +1-808-937-4653
Fax: +1-541-610-1868
www.looktranslation.com

 

[CaoPaux]

Ostensibly a packager, they're building into display site, with emphasis on their "co-publishing" services: http://www.bookandright.com/page.php?page=39

 

[Tanya]

But what are the chances they'd take my book, translate it into Japanese, and then publish it without my permission, denying me royalties?

 

[Thedrellum]

That doesn't seem likely. According to this page they appear to be a display site for the sales of foreign rights. The only translation they are doing seems to be translating your Author Presentation.

According to this page, they seem to be a e-mail blast service, spamming publishers, agents, and readers (?) with your press release.

I'd be more worried about them taking your money than taking your work. And, really, unless your work is a guaranteed seller or the translator loves your work, it's very, very unlikely they'd translate your book into another language without your permission. Translating is a hell of a lot of work.

 

[the debster]

Please allow me the opportunity to allay any apprehension regarding Babel Press and especially Kiyoe Parisien. I am the Deborah Ledford referred to in the letter presented at the top of this post. Be assured that I have paid nothing to BRM (Book Rights Management aka Babel) or to Ms. Parisien. She has been most professional with me and BRM has afforded me an international pressence for the time I will appear on their Home page. This is exposure I couldn't pass up--full details of my novel STACCATO, my professional bio and the book trailer video appears on the site, as well as a purchase link to Amazon and for the Japanese market as well. There is no costs involved to appear in the Author Presentation pages.

I most likely will go with BRM for the Japanese and possibly Korean market but from everything I've been told, fees would merely be the cost of the translation. I have requested a sample contract and details with regards to distribution. Once my domestic publisher and I have studied the terms I am sure we will proceed.

Deborah J Ledford