Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hi, guys!

I'm currently in a dilemma here. I'm working on a free translation through Babelcube, but there is a rape scene in it - it made me a bit uncomfortable and reminded me of an ex who was victim of sexual violence.

I asked the author if it would be ok to add a Trigger Warning to the book in the Portuguese version, but they feel strongly about not adding it, and said that they would understand if that was a deal breaker for me.

The way I see it, if the book has a rape scene, it needs a TW, but I also understand that the author must have a reason for not wanting to add it (spoilers, maybe, or they think the scene is not that 'rough', not sure).

So I wanted to know from other authors what they think of Trigger Warnings. I'm still considering whether or not to drop the project, and I've even started a poll on twitter to help me figure this one out: https://twitter.com/ClausCorbett/stat...

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply, Jacek!

Right now my only question is whether or not I keep going with the project (it's a free translation, so it's more of "what do I want to translate" than "what do people want me to translate") or if I apologize and drop it.

I sent the author a message asking if they would consider it, but I'm aware it's not my place to make decisions on the final product, so I'm only left with the option to keep translating or to stop. And the author has been very understanding about it, don't know if I made that clear in the last post now that I'm reading it again, so it's not a quarrel as well.

Once again, thanks for the input!

Claus wrote: "Hi, guys!

I'm currently in a dilemma here. I'm working on a free translation through Babelcube, but there is a rape scene in it - it made me a bit uncomfortable and reminded me of an ex who was vi..."

Hi Claus, as an author I would agree with the author who wrote the book in this instance. And let me say that I am a survivor of sexual assault. In your role as the translator, you simply do that. You should not cross roles and add anything that will go against the author's will and intent for his/her content/book.

Now in saying that, it is totally YOUR CHOICE to do business with this particular author. If you feel that it goes against your personal morals or principles, then do not accept the work. It is a business decision, remember that.. don't make it personal because they choose not to add this trigger warning. And don't base your decision on your feelings. If you find that you cannot separate the two, then the decision is simple. Cut ties and move on. Simple as that.

It's not about right or wrong. It's about business.

As a sexual assault survivor, I don't need trigger warnings because there are a multitude of trigger warnings! I wouldn't leave the house or read social media or just be a hermit if I had to avoid them all! This is not a deal breaker in my opinion. That's my two cents :-).

Best,
Jai

Jai wrote: "Claus wrote: "Hi, guys!

I'm currently in a dilemma here. I'm working on a free translation through Babelcube, but there is a rape scene in it - it made me a bit uncomfortable and reminded me of an..."

Thanks for the help, Jai! =)

I believe it is the job of the author and publisher to provide any content guidance.

I think specific TWs, are BS. An author will provide a rating/warning if he likes because if he doesn't the reviews will reflect that.

As a translator with sensitivities it is YOUR job to convey those BEFORE agreeing to the work, even if it's free.

A translator's job isn't to editorialize, it is to accurately convey the author's words, tone, and meaning from one language to another. Period.

You're not obligated to do the job if it makes you feel that uncomfortable but only you can make that call.

If it were me having to make that decision, I'd be asking myself whether the author's use of a rape scene is for titillation, for sexual violence voyeurism, or whether it is essential to the character's journey in the book or the plot itself. Does it make a useful comment on rape culture that might actually do more good in the long run than the uncomfortableness you feel while reading the scene itself?

Rape is not funny. It's not cool. It's not "edgy." Even when it's dealt with correctly in books and art, it's not supposed to make you feel comfortable. It's extremely serious and needs to be addressed. Our culture needs to face up to the problem and literature is a good place to do that.

However, Trigger Warnings hinder a book's ability to deal with strong content like rape. They are a kind of soft censoring. Slapping a label on the cover or in the front matter is kind of like slapping an "Unclean" label on a person of "undesirable" origin; the proverbial letter "A" in The Scarlet Letter.

The correct place for warnings about strong or possibly inappropriate content is in reviews where readers can explain why/how the book was offensive or disturbing. This lets other readers judge for themselves.

For example, I saw a 1-star book review once that read: "I wanted to give this book a 5-star rating because the story is awesome; however there are so many F-bombs in it that I can only give it 1-star. Even in the prologue there are way too many uses of the F-word and that is just not necessary or acceptable."

I looked at the prologue and first chapter and counted 6 uses of the F-word. The first 4 were spoken by pirates who were on a mass murder spree. The violence was fine with the reviewer, but not the salty language used by murderous scum while committing horrible crimes--THAT was inappropriate. The other 2 uses of the word were spoken by a character taking a final exam in university (an exam they were going to flunk). And both times the character was warned by the professor to curb his foul mouth.

Had there been a Trigger Warning on the book reading "Gratuitous Swearing" we would all assume the F-word was slung around like in a Tarantino movie or something. But when the "gratuitous swearing" warning came from a reader's review, it was easy to see that only the most verbally sensitive reader would likely be offended.

So...choice is yours, but I think TWs are out.

Claus,

I'm not a fan of labeling books for possible offensive content. Why? Because there's so much that could potentially offend someone. I wouldn't know where to stop.

The only thing I like about warnings on books is I have some on a couple of mine and I've seen sales increases on those.

Everyone else,

Maybe I'm just extra cranky this morning, but let's try to refrain from lecturing Claus about what he "should" or "should not" do. He asked how we feel about Trigger Warnings, not what his role is as translator. It's coming across to me as shaming, which is against the rules of the group.

Carry on.

Dwayne wrote: "...lecturing Claus about what he "should" or "should not" do. He asked how we feel about Trigger Warnings, not what his role is as translator..."

Clarification, then: My comments weren't intended to be lecture. They're all my opinion.

In general:

You have to be sensitive to those who may have experienced abuse.

I've recently written a novel about someone who goes through child sex abuse.
You bet there's a big warning notice on my blurb, in my book intro and also at the start of the chapter where it goes into details.

It's only fair to survivors. You don't want to cause any furhter trauma.

I've had many appreciative messages about my TWs.

However, in your specific case you're merely translating, so it is indeed up to the author. Good luck.

(imho)

Micah wrote: "Clarification, then: My comments weren't intended to be lecture. They're all my opinion"

Actually, you were posting at the same time I was, it seems. So, I should clarify that mine is meant for everyone before Micah.

T.L. wrote: "I've recently written a novel about someone who goes through child sex abuse.
You bet there's a big warning notice on my blurb..."

If something like that is central to the plot, then it probably should be in the blurb.

Hi, guys, thanks for chipping in.

I think I have a lot to think on regarding that - I'm writing a story with gender / sexual violence and I was already considering the TW dilemma before coming across this book, and what I realized reading your posts is that I wouldn't have offered to translate it had I known there was rape in it. Some of it is because I'm quite tired of literature with gay couples resorting to that, as if it was mandatory, and part of it is because of personal history with rape victims. When I imagined my ex boyfriend reading that scene, it was really really uncomfortable in a very personal way.

I'm not saying TWs are good and that's that, I know it's different for each person (and Jai, thank you so much for sharing, it was really important for me to read what you had to say). But I did realize now that even if I continued the translation, I wouldn't be able to give 100% and that's just not fair to anyone, not to me, not to the author (who wrote a great book, btw), or to the readers.

So, again, thanks! You guys really helped me out.

One more small piece of advice.

I do NOT recommend using the term "Trigger Warning".

The term itself has become charged and you don't want any baggage getting in the way of a good story.

Here is a blurb example:

Murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue combine into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago.

All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander.

Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

This is the Amazon blurb for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

No mention, no warning of the detailed brutal anal rape scene that is so important in the story.

Am I missing something? Is rape for some reason considered more sensitive matter/felony than murder, manslaughter, arson, armed robbery or any other type of violence? I truly don't know, as I'm not coming from Anglo-American mentality.

I specify in disclaimer that my books contain sexual themes, violence, objectionable language and behaviour and I stress that they contain explicit content. Ultimately, I don't want readers, who detest these buy or read them.

Nik wrote: "Am I missing something? Is rape for some reason considered more sensitive matter/felony than murder, manslaughter, arson, armed robbery or any other type of violence?..."

All are horrible things, to be sure. This really is not the place to discuss which is more horrible or why people are more sensitive to one or the other.

Please stay on topic.

There is an audience for every book and reader to be offended by every book. I am deeply offended by Twilight, lol. I love vampires too much for it. However that being said a book with violence, language, etc. should have it labeled as such. A reader should never pick up a book thinking it is a story that lacks those features only to find themselves thrown into a book filled with things they are not comfortable with. I addressed this main issue in a blog post about "50 Shades of Grey" You don't have to agree with what happens in the book or even enjoy it. If it is not your cup of tea put it down and find something that is.

Folks, the initial question has been answered. Please, let us NOT turn this into a discussion that can easily devolve into something that goes beyond our group "safe space" rules and into "rants from the dark corners of the internet."

Next comment that takes this off course will be the one that gets it shutdown.

Oh one more thing for people who say that using the "f-word" is a show of poor writing. Good Will Hunting is filled with it and has an Oscar for best screenplay. It fit the characters and the situations and was used as such. Just saying don't judge a story by the Fword