Does looking at the reviews of the novel you are translating discourage you from continuing? And if so how do you overcome that?
I don't translate anymore, but when I did I never cared about that. I translated stuffs I liked to read myself and I didn't care at all if others liked it or not.
If you're translating for money or practice, you shouldn't care. Reviewers will crap all over the webnovels for a reason, 99% are crap. It's actually when I see some novel here having glorious reviews and almost none 3 stars or lower critique, that's when I worry what's wrong with these people, their opinion can't be trusted and is worth shit.
if you are a translator, don't bother with the reviews. Reviews are for the story itself, which is not under your control.
I think negative comments are much more frequent than negative reviews, and unlike reviews (which are for the story itself as stated above), sometimes the negative comments will be directed at the translation/translator. But negative responses are to be expected in any type of public media/work. You're never going to please everyone, nor should you try to because it's impossible. It's important to realise that regardless of whether it's translating or something else in life, you should not define yourself based on others' opinions. And yes, just because they dislike something does not justify them to bash it, so really, they shouldn't be. However, that's just sadly one of the inevitable consequences that comes with the convenience of the Internet and social platforms. They're a vocal minority anyways. Personally, it's never discouraged me (though some of the responses have definitely baffled me from their stupidity before lmao). But if you struggle with it, my suggestion is to just focus on the positive comments and reviews, or chat with readers that do enjoy the story. And the key is definitely to love the series you're working on, because if you love it, then that should be the main reason you're doing this regardless of what other people think (although if you're translating just for money, that's an entirely different story). Of course, if it really bothers you that much, you can try avoiding negative responses entirely, like the suggestions above. But then you'd be missing out on positive reviews and comments as well, which I think is a shame. And if you're really bad with negative responses that will undoubtedly occur, maybe translating (or any type of publicly shared work, like social media) just isn't for you.
If you really love the series, just ignore them. Different people have different views and likes, and others are just too vocal about it. I personally am more concern if I delivered the author's style of writing / message to the readers if I translated it properly rather than the negative reviews. Since most reviews are about the novel itself and there's nothing I can do about it. We are just translators
I'm a pretty self-centered person, so as long as I like something, I don't care if other people don't like it; I'll keep at it until the end. I actually enjoy reading reviews though, especially since a lot of them actually bring up very valid criticism of the work itself. And even when I don't entirely agree with what they're saying, I can usually see where they're coming from. (In fact, I find the negative reviews about why they disliked x y and z much more interesting to read than the positive ones who just say that the story was good. It's fun to see what people think!) Of course, the reviews that hurt the most are those that point out that my translations can be awkwardly worded (haha), but I can't entirely disagree with that either... I just wish they'd post a comment on my actual website pointing out those bits so I can fix them.
Do u actively encourage mistake spotting on ur site tho? I find that doing that actually helps w reader interaction somewhat and no one has ever pointed out my grammar in reviews before haha. Ofc, that might be bc my translations don’t have that many readers......? But yeah people (actual reviewer who said things and didn’t just rate) are pretty kind and positive w their reactions.
Yes, who doesn't? All I have to say is that as long as you're still willing to translate the novel, the novel isn't bad enough to be dropped yet. People going to hate on X genre or Y tag and just troll review 1-star. If you're fed up with the author's BS though, good time to drop the novel and find a new series to translate.
I ignore them, I mean... I didn't write the novel anyways, why should I care about what people are saying in their reviews? When I'm writing, I care about what readers say in comments/reviews because there can be actual meaningful feedback there... But when I'm translating? Meeeeh. Just ignore them entirely, they aren't meant to you anyways.
Yes, I do! And I've actually received some pretty nice (and timely) corrections, but they're mostly of the proofreading variety... (Ex: Misspellings, minor grammar errors, etc.) I think the reviewer in question meant that overall my grammar sounded funky in places, and I actually agree, since while TLCing I've definitely noticed entire paragraphs that made me go, "Wow, I was definitely trying to write English here with my brain stuck in Chinese mode." These massive kind of editing overhauls are admittedly kind of hard to point out via comments, but I do appreciate when readers comment with, "Hey, this scene sounds kind of confusing, can you explain/reword?"
Does looking at the reviews of the novel you are translating discourage you from continuing? Yes. And if so how do you overcome that? Chanting 'Murder won't solve a problem' many times in my head... Just kidding. Translating are hard and it takes your times and just one mean nasty bad negative review can ruin everything so my advice is, just ignore the reviews. I means, sometimes you will found a really good reviews but sometimes it is like [1*! I hate the MC/ML!] and I can only goes 'K' so well, just ignore the reviews. Unless it is about your translation then do pay attention to it. But if it is about the story then just move on.