Translation is often something people do ‘on the side’. Many translators work in some other capacity in the field of language and / or literature: as teachers, researchers, critics, editors and writers. Full-time translators often work as interpreters or translate, in addition to literature, non-fiction texts such as technical, legal and business documents.

On average, most translators complete one large-scale translation per year. In addition to this they may translate other shorter texts, including articles, poems, essays and plays. Full-time literature translators complete three to four larger works per year. Translators of non-fiction and technical documents translate on average around 1,500 pages of text per year.

Finding a publisher for translations of Finnish literature can be difficult, especially at the beginning of your career. The annual number of translations depends to a great extent on the favour of the publisher and of their publication profile. Many translators describe their work as a ‘calling’, whereby their interest in language and literature goes before financial considerations.

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