Book Publisher

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soheil_hooshdaran
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Book Publisher

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sat Apr 09, 2016 2:44 am

Hi.
Why do some authors chose to have a publication and how does it work?

Thanks in advance

Brian Towers
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Re: book publisher

Post by Brian Towers » Sat Apr 09, 2016 12:39 pm

Old fashioned publishers provide the would-be author with a number of services which enhance his or her chances of success beyond just printing and selling the book.

They provide initial criticism and feedback, editing and publicity. If the author is already famous they may also provide a large cash advance.

If I can be excused a little whinge, since Ken Neat retired from translation the standard of books translated from Russian into English has declined markedly in terms of their production. When this ~2200 chess player was doing the work the finished product was virtually error free in terms of diagrams, moves, text, English, etc, something which is sadly lacking in today's editions. Of course the flip side for players local to Ken is that he no longer gets paid for studying the top Russian books before the rest of us get a chance to pay to read them ;-).
Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now.

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: book publisher

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sat May 21, 2016 5:16 pm

Brian Towers wrote:Old fashioned publishers provide the would-be author with a number of services which enhance his or her chances of success beyond just printing and selling the book.

They provide initial criticism and feedback, editing and publicity. If the author is already famous they may also provide a large cash advance.
My publisher was a select publisher who took my translation to Tehran (International) Book Fair, where I went on stage and uncovered it with the assistant of ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, but it was its first serious chess book, mostly edited by myself, and it demands much money to offset-print the book.

soheil_hooshdaran
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What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:34 am

Hi.
If in a country people just take a book and translate it however they like, and you are just denied the permission to translate books when you ask for it, is it correct to translate the book or not to translate the book?

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sat Jul 02, 2016 5:47 pm

soheil_hooshdaran wrote:Hi.
If in a country people just take a book and translate it however they like, and you are just denied the permission to translate books when you ask for it, is it correct to translate the book or not to translate the book?
Please advise me

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: What is correct?

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sat Jul 02, 2016 8:19 pm

soheil_hooshdaran wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote:Hi.
If in a country people just take a book and translate it however they like, and you are just denied the permission to translate books when you ask for it, is it correct to translate the book or not to translate the book?
Please advise me
Here's some advice: consult someone who is an actual expert in intellectual property law.

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sun Jul 03, 2016 5:41 am

IM Jack Rudd wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote:Hi.
If in a country people just take a book and translate it however they like, and you are just denied the permission to translate books when you ask for it, is it correct to translate the book or not to translate the book?
Please advise me
Here's some advice: consult someone who is an actual expert in intellectual property law.
No copyright restriction here

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: What is correct?

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:21 am

soheil_hooshdaran wrote:
IM Jack Rudd wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote: Please advise me
Here's some advice: consult someone who is an actual expert in intellectual property law.
No copyright restriction here
Well, if there's no copyright restriction, then go ahead and translate what you like. It won't be breaking the law, and it's unlikely to impact sales of the book in jurisdictions where copyright is observed.

Michael Flatt
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Re: What is correct?

Post by Michael Flatt » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:45 am

IM Jack Rudd wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote:
IM Jack Rudd wrote: Here's some advice: consult someone who is an actual expert in intellectual property law.
No copyright restriction here
Well, if there's no copyright restriction, then go ahead and translate what you like. It won't be breaking the law, and it's unlikely to impact sales of the book in jurisdictions where copyright is observed.
Beside the copyright and legal considerations there is a moral obligation not to plagiarise or adulterate another's work.

Remember Bobby Fischer's outrage[1] at the editing that had been made to his "My 60 Memorable Games"

[1] http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischer.html

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:06 pm

Michael Flatt wrote:
IM Jack Rudd wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote: No copyright restriction here
Well, if there's no copyright restriction, then go ahead and translate what you like. It won't be breaking the law, and it's unlikely to impact sales of the book in jurisdictions where copyright is observed.
Beside the copyright and legal considerations there is a moral obligation not to plagiarise or adulterate another's work.

Remember Bobby Fischer's outrage[1] at the editing that had been made to his "My 60 Memorable Games"

[1] http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischer.html
And that's exactly why I am putting forward the idea.
This way I am blocking the immoral ways.
If I were to plagiarise, it wouldn't take almost five years to produce the translation.
Now I am thinking of not wasting time for perfectness of the work

Michael Flatt
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Re: What is correct?

Post by Michael Flatt » Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:26 pm

soheil_hooshdaran wrote: And that's exactly why I am putting forward the idea.
This way I am blocking the immoral ways.
If I were to plagiarise, it wouldn't take almost five years to produce the translation.
Now I am thinking of not wasting time for perfectness of the work
As the translator it is your own skill and diligence which will determine how well the translation is performed.

How do you go about selecting a suitable work to translate?
What criteria do you use to judge how successful the translation has been?

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:12 pm

Michael Flatt wrote: As the translator it is your own skill and diligence which will determine how well the translation is performed.
Of course, the buyers determine it too,
How do you go about selecting a suitable work to translate?
Well, great authors write great books. Seirawan is the only FST who bothhered to write such a series, starting from explaining the way pieces move, and much details about strategy and tactics.
One of the province elites, I hold a national instructor grade 2 degree myself and have played in the semifinals of Iranian championship after being qualified for it from my region; andI consult a friend of mine, an IM and an ex-champion of Iran, who holds a FIDE trainer degree.
It is almost 3 decades (after the first decade after the 1979 revolution, where chess was forbidden to play in public) , to the best of my knowledge, that an old introductory text of a 19-century russian theorician (Meizelis) was recomended to chess beginners.
If the book contains a clear text and is informative, it will help the people learn more and that is one criteria I use. I don't hide that I also want it to sell well. Acctually if the book is informative, people would come to love it and it will sell well eventually, unless there is something wrong with the people themselves
What criteria do you use to judge how successful the translation has been?
Well, if the translatioon sell sufficiently well it is eoungh. If it is selling in Ten of thousands scale and be reprinted , it is dependable, but no need for that. As Hafez puts it, A flower-face of the world's garden ,suffices (گلعذاري ز گلستان جهان ما را بس)
My book was not dependable, but the sale is satisfying: the work sold 175-200 copies just in my city Shiraz, Tehran, Bushehr and Bandar-Abbas, and Rasht withing a year and a half, and that is when the work has been just an introductory work and recently a girl asked how much is the price and I told he that I don't sell the book any more and she can borrow it only.
Plus the book addeed to my fame.

Michael Flatt
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Re: What is correct?

Post by Michael Flatt » Sun Jul 03, 2016 4:43 pm

soheil_hooshdaran wrote: Well, great authors write great books. Seirawan is the only FST who bothered to write such a series, starting from explaining the way pieces move, and much details about strategy and tactics.
...
It is almost 3 decades (after the first decade after the 1979 revolution, where chess was forbidden to play in public), to the best of my knowledge, that an old introductory text of a 19-century Russian theoretician (Meizelis) was recommended to chess beginners.
Here, we have such a wide choice of books, DVDs, YouTube videos, computer apps and smart phone apps that we take for granted how well served we are in terms of learning aids and chess playing opportunities.

I note from the FIDE website, Iran has a significant number of titled players and officials: 9 GM, 3 WGM, 20 IM, 4 WIM, 37 IA, 5 IO.
So, whether or not there is a dearth of modern chess books it hasn't prevented those interested in chess from learning to play or developing into successful players.

As an alternative to beginner texts have you considered other chess literature with a wider and enduring appeal; such as, chess biographies or collections of selected games?
Last edited by Michael Flatt on Sun Jul 03, 2016 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

soheil_hooshdaran
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Re: What is correct?

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sun Jul 03, 2016 6:12 pm

Michael Flatt wrote:
soheil_hooshdaran wrote: Well, great authors write great books. Seirawan is the only FST who bothered to write such a series, starting from explaining the way pieces move, and much details about strategy and tactics.
...
It is almost 3 decades (after the first decade after the 1979 revolution, where chess was forbidden to play in public), to the best of my knowledge, that an old introductory text of a 19-century Russian theoretician (Meizelis) was recommended to chess beginners.
Here, there is such a choice of books, DVDs, YouTube videos and computer and smart phone apps that we take for granted how well served we are in terms of learning aids and chess playing opportunities.
Yes.
When I was in US, I could make use of youtube videos too. Unfortunately, Iranian government blocked Youtube here and I have yet no means of accessing it.
I note from the FIDE website, Iran has a significant number of titled players and officials: 9 GM, 3 WGM, 20 IM, 4 WIM, 37 IA, 5 IO.
So, whether or not there is a dearth of modern chess books it hasn't prevented those interested in chess from learning to play or developing into successful players.
Yes.
Iranian players are relatively good players. They get their instructions from PDFs which are exchanged via Iranian Telegram® chess channels now. Also they use copied CDs which are cracked :roll:, like CDs of IM Martin, Roman's lab, etc.
Iranian top trainers are on the top of modern chess books and DVDs, as top players visit foreign countries. One of our worries was that the original English version of the book I was translating could be found on the internet (albeit the 1991 edition).
As an alternative to beginner texts have you considered other chess literature with a wider and enduring appeal; such as, chess biographies or collections of selected games?
Yes, I counsulted Gambit publication a while ago for one of ttheir title, but they demanded 800 sterling pounds and, not having that much money, I asked if I can pay that "in parts" (I didn't know of the word installment) and they thought I am wasting time :(
They also told mee to not translate the book and I wondered what does it mean(I acctually asked the what they meant by translation) and they ended the discussion. :roll:
The book has interesting chapters. :roll:

John McKenna

Re: Book Publisher

Post by John McKenna » Mon Jul 04, 2016 2:11 am

Can I just ask when and how you began the translation work?

Was it always meant to be a business venture in conjunction with Everyman?

Or did you translate a chapter and send it to the author, GM Seirawan, so that he could approach Everyman about continuing the translation with a view to selling the translated work in Iran?

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