Translations: I say "Oui!"

One of my stories, Written in the Stars, is being currently translated into Russian and French. There's also a Polish translation out there somewhere, but I haven't seen it or heard anything about its progress.

Some writers refuse to allow translations. They sometimes post a refusal on their profile page. I've been told that it's because they have no control over the translation and don't know if it's being done well or not, which might damage their story's reputation.

I'm of a different opinion on the subject. I allow translations. I've gotten a few lovely notes from those who want to do the translation, asking my permission and ensuring me I'll be credited fully. If you go to the first page of the Russian translation, you'll see my name, links to the original story, and what I wrote when I granted permission. They even made me a lovely new banner for it.


I like the idea of my story reaching across borders, being accessible to readers who wouldn't otherwise get to experience it. Could the translation be incorrect, or possibly badly worded? Sure. I use Google Translate to read some of the comments and occasionally am amused by how some of my English idioms translated into other languages. But I'm incredibly touched that someone is willing to put so much effort into my story, that they like it so much, they're willing to spend what probably amounts to a lot of time and effort to bring it to other readers in their language.