Using Reedsy to Find Literary Translation Clients: My Honest Experience
- chanteautraduction
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
Finding new clients as a literary translator isn’t always easy. You can send out hundreds of applications through an anonymous link on a publisher's website or spend hours trying to track down the right person to contact—only to be met with silence. That’s where Reedsy comes in! Reedsy connects self-published authors with professionals in the publishing industry, including literary translators.
I've been on Reedsy since 2022, and so far, I've completed 14 projects, with a total of 9 clients, and 9 of them ended up being published. In this post, I want to share my experience with my fellow literary translators.
What I Like About Reedsy: Working Directly with Authors
One of the things I appreciate most about Reedsy is the direct communication with authors. Unlike working with publishers, where communication can be impersonal and slow, here you’re talking directly to the person who wrote the book. Most of the authors I’ve worked with have been respectful, quick to answer my questions, open to discussions about translation choices, and genuinely appreciative of my work.
Is Reedsy a Platform for You?
Reedsy is NOT for fresh graduates or those who are new to literary translation. To maintain high standards, the platform requires you to have:
At least three years of experience in translation.
At least five books translated (and published!) in your language pair. If you work in multiple language pairs, that means a minimum of five books per pair.
You’ll need to provide links to prove your work, such as Amazon, Goodreads, Apple Books, or Google Books. Amazon links others than Amazon.com (Amazon.fr in my case) aren’t accepted on your profile, but you might be able to discuss exceptions with the Reedsy team when trying to join the platform if all your published translations are on a version of Amazon other than Amazon.com.
These requirements are as of March 2025, but they might change. You can check out their latest selection criteria here: Reedsy Selection Criteria.
How Does It Work?
After filling out your profile and having it reviewed, the process is pretty smooth. When I joined, I attended a conference call where they explained how the platform works, though I’m not sure if they still do that.
Once you’re in, authors can reach out to you directly (not the other way around), so having a well-written profile is crucial. Fortunately, Reedsy provides tips on how to optimize your profile:
There’s also an option to boost your profile, but I’ve never tried it.
If your profile is attractive, authors (and sometimes publishers, although I've only worked with authors) will contact you with project offers. You can negotiate rates, deadlines, communicate with the author, exchange files, and manage the collaboration directly through the platform.
How Payments Work (and What to Watch Out For)
Unlike some platforms that pay translators based on book royalties/sales only (which can be unpredictable), Reedsy offers a fixed payment structure, usually based on word count or page count. This makes a huge difference in ensuring fair compensation since you negotiate the rate with the client directly.
After agreeing on the project terms, the client enters their payment details, and you receive a notification saying you can "get to work with some peace of mind." That being said, while payments have always come through for me, I did have one stressful experience when a €1,500+ payment initially failed. The issue was likely due to insufficient funds in the client’s account at the time of payment.
Reedsy assured me they would keep following up with (pestering?) the client, but they also made it clear they weren’t liable for covering the payment if the client never paid. They also wouldn’t cover any cancellation fees if I decided to cancel the collaboration (yes, there are cancellation fees, though I’ve never had to cancel a project). Fortunately, I had built a good relationship with the author through our communication during the translation process, and the issue was resolved within a few days.
To protect yourself, I highly recommend splitting payments into installments, especially for large projects. You can set as many installments as you like, choose the dates, and tie payments to specific deliverables. I usually go for two installments of 50% each—one at the start of the project and one upon completion. For smaller projects, I usually trust the client and opt for a single payment upon delivery.
Final thoughts
Overall, I’ve had a great experience on Reedsy. It’s a solid platform that connects translators with authors who truly care about their books and how they’re translated. While there’s always some risk in freelancing, structuring payments wisely helps minimize issues. If you’re looking to expand your client base with direct literary translation work, I highly recommend giving Reedsy a shot!
If you’d like to join Reedsy, feel free to use My Reedsy Referral Link. After signing your first project, we both get $100 (sometimes it goes up to $200 during promotional periods).
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