YOUR SERIES.
IN GERMAN.
A German edition that holds up in front of German readers, book after book. Every name, term and form of address stays identical from Book 1 to Book 10.
See the choices, not just the German
This is how every sample arrives: my German, with notes in the margin in English that explain the real choices. I make it from the opening chapter of your published book, so you do not need to send me anything. Not published yet? Then send me the opening chapter of your manuscript.
Your English
Marta shook her head. ‘Don’t want it.’ ‘But why? It will soothe the itching.’ She held out the open pot. Marta looked longingly at the terracotta pot with its creamy lotion. ‘I can’t pay for it.’ ‘You don’t need to pay. It’s a gift.’ ‘A gift?’ ‘Here, take the whole pot. Use it for a week or two, and if it helps, I can make more.’ ‘You’d just give me it?’ Tears sprang to Marta’s eyes, but she turned away. ‘No one never gave me a gift before.’ When she turned back, her voice was gruff. ‘I might give it a try. Probably won’t work anyway, but I’ll try it.’
My German
Marta schüttelte den Kopf. „Will ich nicht.“ „Aber warum denn nicht? Es lindert das Jucken.“ Sie hielt ihr den offenen Tiegel1 hin. Marta blickte sehnsüchtig auf den Tontiegel mit der cremigen Salbe. „Ich kann nicht dafür bezahlen.“ „Du musst nicht bezahlen. Es ist ein Geschenk2.“ „Ein Geschenk?“ „Hier, nimm den ganzen Tiegel. Gebrauche ihn ein, zwei Wochen, und wenn er hilft, mache ich mehr.“ „Ihr würdet ihn mir einfach so geben?3“ Marta schossen die Tränen in die Augen, doch sie wandte sich ab. „Mir hat noch nie jemand was geschenkt4.“ Als sie sich wieder umdrehte, klang ihre Stimme rau. „Ich probier’s vielleicht. Wird ohnehin nicht wirken, aber ich probier’s.“
Margin notes
- 1The English “pot” became Tiegel, the small jar an apothecary keeps ointments in. The everyday German word Topf is a cooking pot and would put Giulia’s salve on the stove.
- 2In German, “Gift” means poison, so in a novel about a poisoner, “a gift” can never stay Gift. It became Geschenk, and Marta’s third “gift” turns into the verb geschenkt.
- 3English has one “you”, German has to choose. Giulia says the familiar du to her maid and Marta answers with the old formal Ihr, because rank decides, and the modern Sie only took hold in the 18th century.
- 4Marta’s “No one never gave me” is broken grammar in English. In German her rough edge comes through everyday speech instead: was for etwas, probier’s for probiere es.
From The Silkworm Keeper (Die Hüterin der Seide) by Deborah Swift, translated into German by Daniel Sokoll.
Annotated sample
The German with my margin notes in English, so you can see what was decided and why.
Clean reading file
The same German without notes, to read the way a German reader would, or to hand to a German friend.
Notes and questions
A short sheet with what I noticed in your chapter and the questions I would want answered before a full book.
On a recent sample chapter, a first draft that read fine still had 40 things wrong. One of them was a key fight scene that had been softened. That is why every chapter is checked several times before my final edit.
Authors I've Translated Into German
Why Germany
One of the biggest book markets in the world. And one of the most demanding.
Book Sales in 2024A large, stable market for fiction.Source: Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels
Book ReadersA big, reachable audience, increasingly hungry for imported thrillers, fantasy and romance.
- • Thriller & Crime
- • Fantasy & LitRPG
- • Romance & Dark Romance
German readers are unforgiving about translation. A flat one is dead on arrival, no matter how good your ads.
What I do
Most translators hand you a manuscript. I hand you a German edition that holds up across the whole series.
The German Edition
Your book rebuilt in German, not swapped word for word. Every chapter is checked against your English several times, then I make the final edit myself as a native German.
The Series Promise
Every name, term and form of address stays identical from Book 1 to Book 10. I keep a series bible for your books, so each one is decided once and held.
Launch Set, Included
A strong translation still stalls behind a weak product page. So every edition comes with a German title, blurb, keywords, categories and A+ content.
Repairing a German Edition
Did a weak German edition hurt your reviews? I fix flow, tone and slang so it reads the way you intended, and I will tell you honestly whether it is a fix or a fresh start.
Recent work
Books now living in German
Gefangen vom König von Voraxia
by Elizabeth Stephens
Status: In translation, coming soon
I'm not the typical translator. I didn't spend my life in a library; I spent it living the kinds of stories you write. Agency-trained discipline and a long stretch deep inside subcultures most people only see in fiction. That ear for how real people actually speak is what your German edition gets.
Read my storyQuestions authors ask me
Yes. That's the whole point. I edit and decide every sentence myself against your original, matching your voice, pacing and humour rather than swapping words. Start with a sample edit from your own book and judge for yourself before you commit to anything.
Not sure German is worth it for your book?
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Current Status: Open for new projects.
Start a conversation
Tell me about your book. I'll reply personally within 24 hours.
Email me directly
Prefer to skip the form? Email me the link to your book and I'll make your sample from its opening chapter. Not published yet? Send me the opening chapter of your manuscript instead.
[email protected]Four addresses are mine, and no others. I send my own outreach from the two on separate domains, which is ordinary practice for keeping outreach and client mail apart, and everything at danielsokoll.com is where client work runs.
Native German Voice
Worldwide service, by email.
From first email to final file.