Dutch bestseller “The Diner” by Herman Koch may sell in respectable numbers, generally speaking Dutch writers have a rather distressing track record when it comes to publishing in the English language. I have absolutely no idea what may be the cause of this lacklustre performance. Maybe it is just the shallow homemarket which never generates enough cash to finance a top class translation and promote the result abroad. There are around ten writers in the Netherlands, all mainstream, who can make a living of their writing and that is only because they do a lot of extra work around publication, such as lectures, tv performances, writing columns and reviews, etc.
But in the era of self-publishing things are likely to change. You still have to pay for a high quality translation of course, but you don’t have to promote your work any more to find a publisher. The reason is that the writer himself can be the publisher, thanks to services like Smashwords. I am not convinced that this new way of publishing will result in more Dutch books becoming available in English. But now at least some writers are experimenting with these new possibilities. One of these writers is Mike Jansen. Although he himself has not much to complain about, having a publisher in the Netherlands as well as in the English language market, he is actively promoting self-publishing as a means for beginning writers to put themselves in the spotlights.
In 2011 Mike Jansen finished his first fantasy book: “The Failing God”. Right from the start of this project he had set his mind on translating his books into English. Apparently he is considered to be a very good writer, because JWKfiction decided to publish his books in English, not only the fantasy series, which is called “Chronicles of Cranborn”, but also his short story collections and other future books. The result is that his first short story collection, Ophelia In My Arms, is now available in the international market, for instance at Amazon (both in print and as e-book) and at most e-book stores. Mike has published three free stories in English at Smashwords, so you may try before you buy.
Links:
Mike Jansen on Smashwords
Mike’s English website
