One of AITI’s main missions is to provide lifelong learning for its members, on issues relating not only to translation but also to the profession in general (client management, time management, regulatory/law updates, etc.). One of the most delicate and crucial aspects facing the literary translator is the negotiation of contracts with publishers. For this reason, in 2018 AITI offered its members a workshop entitled: “Negotiation for Literary Translators – Bargaining Techniques to Obtain Better Remuneration”, led by a business coach qualified in corporate training, who had been suitably briefed on the features of Italian copyright law and the model contracts of publishing houses.
2018 Workshop Details:
Duration: 8 hours (in-person)
Location: Laboratorio Formentini per l’editoria – Milan (Italy)
Participants: 10 translators
Format: frontal lesson, role-play, individual assessment and online test.
Themes: negotiation and related concepts; reframing the structure of the negotiation; information as a means of interpreting and managing the negotiation; the importance of perception and questioning; negotiating techniques that can help the “weaker” party to rebalance the negotiation and obtain better remuneration.
Cost: 50 euros for AITI members (balance paid by AITI)
Further to the update of Italian Copyright Law in 2021 in implementation of the 2019 EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, and to requests from satisfied AITI members who came out of the first workshop with greater self-confidence and tools to better handle negotiations with publishers, AITI is planning a second, expanded edition of the workshop for June 2023.
While the first workshop was centred on remuneration, the updated version will concentrate on improving all aspects of translators’ publishing contracts: granting of limited and specified rights, duration of the granted rights, advances against royalties, royalties, sublicences, statements of account, editing and proofreading.
2023 Workshop Details:
Duration: 4 hours (webinar) + 8 hours (in-person)
Location: Laboratorio Formentini per l’editoria – Milan (Italy)
Participants: 20 translators
Format: online and frontal lessons, role-play, practical exercises based on real case histories, individual assessment and online test.
Themes: negotiation and related concepts; reframing the structure of the negotiation and negotiating techniques; negotiating appropriate remuneration and other contract clauses (deciding priorities) and ensuring the respect of intellectual property rights.
Cost: free for AITI members (paid for in full by AITI)
