Book & Working in Brazil

djmsask306 wrote:

Hi: I am want to translate and market a book in Brazil that I will be self-publishing in Canada this summer. My plan is to go to Brazil and see what I can do with the book in terms of possible work and readership. Any advice?

As a fellow Canuck who's been living here in Brazil for over 13 years now I can tell you to be extremely selective of who you get to do your translation, and get the translation proof read by several people before you publish. Translations here in Brazil are traditionally atrocious. Many Brazilians haven't even got a decent grasp of their own language, let alone English. They have no concept of the subtleties of the language, and the "cultural" effect, so you often get a literal translation that makes absolutely no sense at all. Sometimes it seems that even Google Translator does a better job than most of these guys. I know because I'm more fluent in Portuguese than about 75% of the population and I learned Portuguese at 51 years of age, in Canada. Go figure?

Second bit of advice is once you've got the translation you're going to stick with (which should be in PDF format because it is coded with your name to help prevent piracy) then make a hard copy and pay the small fee to register your book the the Biblioteca Nacional in Rio. This will protect your Intellectual Rights.

http://www.bn.br/servico/direitos-autorais

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Oh yes, depending on the length of the book I think you might find your anticipated timeframe for publishing (this summer) might really be way too ambitious. I think you'll find that you won't meet this goal if you're looking for an acceptable translation.

Regarding work here in Brazil you're going to need either a VITEM-V Work Visa or a VIPER Permanent Visa in order to qualify to work in this country.

Hi, thanks for the informative reply. I will most likely get the book translated in Canada then try to get a distributor in Brazil. I read that people sell books door to door? I will take your advice and try to learn some of the language before I go to Brazil. Thanks, Don

In my 13 years here in this country I've never seen books being sold door-to-door. May have once been popular, but not in the years I've been here.