How do translation rights work? I've got a copy of "Kelly's 30.000" by Peter de Zwaart sitting on my desk: nice little noir piece set in Suriname and New Jersey. Never translated to English so far as I know, and it would be a pretty straightforward translation job for me. I've got a number of other Dutch thrillers that seem like they would be marketable in English.
So, how would I get the ball rolling? Translate a few chapters, use those to convince De Zwaart to sell translation rights, and then start querying agents in the English-speaking world? Try to obtain the translation rights on speculation, contingent on selling the full translation? Anyone got any experience in this regard?
So, how would I get the ball rolling? Translate a few chapters, use those to convince De Zwaart to sell translation rights, and then start querying agents in the English-speaking world? Try to obtain the translation rights on speculation, contingent on selling the full translation? Anyone got any experience in this regard?