January 10, 2022
First off, here’s an update on the bookshelf situation from last week!
We got most of the books up, plus adjustable shelving, meaning we have room to grow!
So, this week I’ve been thinking about lettering. Ever since Blambot’s lettering guide came in the mail, I’ve been researching Western comic conventions in order to revise a manga style guide for work. So far I’ve learned that, like translation, good lettering is often invisible—not in the sense of literally being imperceptible to the eye, but in the sense that most readers won’t notice the work that went into a comic when it’s done well. Most notably, here are the things I never noticed until now:
Quotation marks are used in captions to signal off-screen speakers
Bold and italic (or bold-ital, if you will) are used together for emphasis rather than just italics or just bold
The crossbar I was used exclusively for the personal pronoun because low print quality made slash Is difficult to read; now it’s part of tradition
It’s very likely double dashes are used in place of em dashes only because comic scripts were written on typewriters that didn’t have a dedicated em-dash key
My dad used to collect comics and would read them to me while I was growing up, so I’m a bit surprised by how many things I’ve missed. I’ve always vaguely been aware that manga publishers have adopted Western conventions to various degrees, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what made Seven Seas’s manga look more comic-y than, say, a Kodansha release. It turns out the difference is mostly in how many Western conventions the publisher adopted as part of their style.
That’s not to say one is better or worse than the other. I think there’s an argument to be had for either, though considering most manga publishers use all-uppercase dialogue fonts, much like their Western counterparts, it’s clear the influence is there.
I’d really love to end this note on a strong conclusion, but I haven’t had any grand epiphany on lettering—just many small realizations that have slowly helped me improve my work translating/editing—so I’ll close out by going over a few tips for people working with manga letterers:
Give descriptions of where text (especially sound effects) should be placed, just in case the letterer doesn’t know Japanese
Account for all text in the script, even balloons that only contain punctuation
Avoid long words when bubbles are skinny, especially the word “embarrassing”
Following the prior point, be economical about space—you can translate or edit “defense” into “DEF” in a video game screen, or shorten “prepare” into “prep” in dialogue, for example
Links around the Web
An article about using generosity and trust to market as a freelancer.
The Japan Association of Translators is looking for guest blog writers.
An intro to children’s publishing seminar from Scholastic for people who identify as BIPOC. (Deadline: January 28, midnight EST)
The Japan Foundation, Toronto, is holding online Japanese classes for residents of Canada.
An explanation of why publishers sometimes ask others to tear covers off of books.
It’s all in the details:
Job Listings
(New) A call for English-to-Japanese game localization specialists
(New) YKS services is looking for manga translators - email is info@
(New) Aksys Games is looking for contract translators, editors, and QA/proofreaders for upcoming projects (VNs, otome games, etc.) - email them at resumes (at) aksysgames.com
(New) Broken Pencil is hiring a part-time Editor for their Toronto office
(Some new) Viz Media is hiring a Publishing Operations Associate, a Publishing Production Assistant (Temporary), an Editor, and a Publishing Licensing Associate
(Some new) Yen Press is hiring a Marketing & Publicity Manager, a Production Assistant, an Editorial Assistant (manga & light novels), and a Associate Production Editor/Production Editor
Square Enix Books is hiring a Manga Editor (remote okay)
Tapas Media is hiring a Freelance Contractor - Quality Control Editor (remote); Freelance Content Moderator (remote); Freelance Typesetter (remote); Localization Coordinator (Remote, California-based); and Production Manager, Comics
WordExcerpt is hiring Content Proofreaders (contract; remote) and Korean-to-English Translators (contract; remote)
Wattpad is hiring an Editor (Graphic Novels) (remote)
Webtoon is hiring an Operations Associate, Localization (remote); Creative Producer; Associate Producer; Director, Content Acquisition, Digital Fiction; and Content Acquisition Specialist
One Peace Books is hiring an Editor
Pantheon Books is hiring a Graphics Editor and Associate Editor
Epic is hiring a Comics Editor (remote possible)
If you know of other listings focused on localization or comics, please feel free to email or DM them to me! :)
Her Excellency, the Doge
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