Assessing the Digital Visibility of Literary Translators

Abstract

Academic and professional publications have shown that the social status of literary translators is relatively low. However, with the rise of digitalization, translators dispose of new means to enhance their visibility within and outside of the translation market, potentially establishing themselves as visible language professionals. They help shape the literary space through online presence and professional (and) social networking. This paper reports on an exploratory research project, focusing on strategies employed by literary translators to establish digital visibility within the Dutch-language book market. The dataset that will be presented comprises 82 profiles of digitally visible professional literary translators and is compiled in collaboration with MA Students of Utrecht, enrolled in a course on translation-oriented entrepreneurship. In the dataset, strategies were broken down into five categories (Formal Digital Presence, Service Profile, Formal and Visual Branding Strategies, Verbal Strategies, and Customer Relationship Management). These categories allowed for a multifaceted analysis of digital professional visibility of literary translators. To enrich and deepen this analysis, insightful guided semi-structured discussions were held with the same students who collected the data. The outcomes of this exploratory study allow for a deeper understanding of digital professional visibility of literary translators on the Dutch-language (book) market and of the range of available means to enhance visibility.