[Guides] Translators Guide to MangaHelpers 2.3

[kirimi]

Translators Guide to MangaHelpers 2.3

• Why should I translate at MangaHelpers?
• What are the benefits of posting my translations here at MangaHelpers?
• How do I apply to be a translator?
• I'm not confident of my translation skills. Can I still apply?
• Is there an easy link to go to my home page?
• What are the functions in the Translator's Admin Panel?
  • Releases
  • Manga
  • Profile
• Can you explain step-by-step how to submit a translation?
• What format should I use to post my translation?
• How can I edit/delete my translation (because of mistakes, etc.)?
• How can I know when a new RAW is posted for me to start translating?
• What else can I release besides translations?
• Where can I apply for translator usergroup status (colored forum username)
• Who can I contact if I have more questions?
• The Old Translator's Guide to MH (where lots of this is copied from)

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▌▌ Why should I translate at MangaHelpers?

Face it, if you know Japanese you have a skill that MANY people would die to have. Why not "save the world" by using it. Tons of people are grateful for the time you take to translate (even though sometimes they don't say it) so if you do take the time to translate, you are taking the time to make TONS of people around the world VERY happy. And, earning yourself some fame too. ^^;

By translating at MangaHelpers you'll have access to a hidden forum where you can get help from other translators as well as learn tricks, get hints and become an overall better translator.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ What are the benefits of posting my translations here at MangaHelpers?

The entire MangaHelpers site is designed to give translators more benefits than ever before! Here are some of them:

1. You will have your own page on MH where you can write your own profile, consolidate all your translations from different series, and best of all, to meet other translators like yourself.
2. Your fans (seriously, members can officially sign up as your fan!) can get instant alerts for every new translation you post, either by subscription or by RSS.
3. Readers can thank you for your translation with one simple button so there's no need to leave comments. Page views will also help you to see how famous you've become how much you're appreciated for your hard work.
4. You can translate freely for all to use, or translate exclusively for your scanlation groups. The choice is yours!
5. When you translate for any series, you automatically generate interest for that series and many scanlation groups will be waiting for a chance to release your work.
6. When you're sick of translating, you can even post your problems with translating, or share your tips for good translations, all at the same place!
7. More features are still being planned, and it's all coming just for you!

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ How do I apply to be a translator?

If you were already a translator on MH before v2.3, not to worry, almost all your translations have already been imported. Almost, because some do get lost due to technical glitches. If you're new to MH, please register as a MH member, then apply to be a translator.

To apply to be a translator, click the link below:
http://mangahelpers.com/submit-translator/

Note: There is no approval process for Translators. After registration, the "New Translator" rank will automatically appear on your translator profile page. You can access your translator home page through the My Actions menu. Your rank will be automatically upgraded to your selected rank after you have posted 5 translations.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ I'm not confident of my translation skills. Can I still apply?

Of course! We at MH believe strongly in helping translators to improve their skills. When applying, you should select "Translator in Training" as your rank. Your translations will not appear on the RTS pages, nor the manga detail pages. Instead, they will be placed in the Pending Translations area where other translators can see and give you feedback on your translations.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ Is there an easy link to go to my home page?

All translators will get a new link in your "My Actions" menu. Just select it and click on "Translator Home". If you join a scanlation group, you'll see your scanlation groups listed at the bottom of the menu too.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ What are the functions in the Translator's Admin Panel?

The main functions in the Admin Panel are pretty self-explanatory, so here are just a few points to take note of.

Releases
----Add	This is where you add a translation into the system. For more info, see HERE.
----Archives	This is basically your archive, a collection of your translations posted on MH from the newest to the oldest. Note: This page is viewable by the public; it's just repeated here for your convenience.
Manga
----Add	This option is for you to add manga from the database into your Projects list. This way, everything you do with the manga will be connected on many levels. The system will show that you're translating this manga, and which scanlations are using your translations. Note: You must add a manga as a project before you can post translations of that manga. See HERE on how to do it.
----Manage	Currently, you can only delete a manga from your projects list here. Perhaps there'll be more in the future!
Profile
----Interests	You can select the type of manga you like to translate as part of your profile. This is displayed on your profile page.
----Details	This is where you write whatever you want about your skills and experience as a translator. There are three text boxes here. Short message on front page: This appears on your home page under your profile. It's always shown and you can write a bit about yourself, link to your Ask-Me thread on the forum, or important policies regarding your translations (e.g. for scanlation group use only). Short message on front page (Hidden part): This appears in the same place as the above, but is meant for extended text, or anything beyond an excerpt. It's hidden by default as a "Read more" link. Experience: This appears on the "About you" page (click on the Profile tab on your home page). Here, you can write about what you've translated beyond what you posted on MH, how many years of Japanese you've studied, what you like to read, etc. Anything at all! Tell your fans about yourself! If you need a guide, here's njt's resume which you can copy.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ Can you explain step-by-step how to submit a translation to MH?

Here's your handy-dandy illustrated guide!

	Step 1 Apply as a translator. See HERE for how.
	Step 2 Add a manga to your projects list. This is an important step! We use this information to link your work throughout the system. To add a manga, simply go to your admin panel, Manga > Add, select from the drop down menu and submit. What if the manga you're translating isn't in the database? You can help us by adding it into the database :3 Use this link to suggest a new manga to add: http://mangahelpers.com/manga/suggest/ (Please note that a manga may be listed under a different or translated title. So, make sure the manga isn't in the system before suggesting or it won't be approved. )
	Step 3 This is the final step. Just fill in the details on the page as shown: Admin > Releases > Add Release Type: Select between Chapter (for ordinary manga chapters), Volume (if releasing a whole tankoubon volume at once), Gaiden (for extra chapters), Special (for omake/bonus chapters), or Oneshot. Chapter #: You can specifiy the chapter # with the following options! Chapter # + one letter [Example: 10a, 200b] Negative Chapter # [Example: -50, -109] Chapter # with a decimal point [Example: 10.5, 09.1] (only 1 decimal place for now) Note: Private translations will not be visible to the public. However, you can still show it to others using a direct link provided when you submit the translation.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ What format should I use?

It would be extremely useful for the scanlation groups if your translation script is easy to understand. Most translators have their preferred style, but here's a suggested format that many scanlators recognise.

• Use names to indicate who is speaking, or use a mark to show each new line of dialogue.
• Indicate different types of text (e.g. handwritten side comments, SFX, text in box, caption text, text outside of manga panel, etc.)
• Use page numbers that correspond to the image's file name. Beware of double-page spreads which may be combined as one page in the raw.
• Separate lines of text in different bubbles with a line break. Separate lines of text in different panels with two line breaks.

Spoiler: Example of format

Pg 01
Ichigo: This is the first bubble.
This is the second bubble.
Rukia: This is the third bubble.

- This is a different panel spoken by a character with no name. And I have a lot to say in this bubble so it just goes on and on and on. But, it's still in the same bubble.

SFX: WHAAAAAAAM!!!
Ichigo: What the hell was that!?

Text in Box: Two hours later...

Secondly, we would like you to add the original Japanese script to your translation. An example of this can be found here: Iwanin's Naruto Translation.

Spoiler: Reasons to add the Japanese text

1) It helps those that are proofing/checking your work
While consulting the manga and your translation is the best way to check your translation, sometimes text alone can be enough. And, it's just easier to give your script a look over with the Japanese right there for you. Even if you think your translation is perfect, it's always nice to have another translator give it a brief look over.

2) Search is your friend
MangaHelpers 2.3 implemented a search engine for translations that will sometimes work better than any jp-eng dictionary out there. Why? Because it can produce examples from the series you might be translating. Yes, you can type in Japanese too! So, when you're stumped on a Japanese word or phrase, use the search function and you might get a hit! If not, then when you do figure it out, the Japanese will be there for the next person that has trouble with it.

3) Keeps consistency
Names of people, places and attacks can be quite hard to keep consistent. So, having the Japanese with the script again helps in this area. When you're translating a series that is already being translated and you come across a name then use the search function and find what you should be using.

4) Scanlators can use it as a guide when they edit
Some scanlators can get a look at where the Japanese and the English match up and apply the English to the manga in the same way. This helps in eliminating the wrong English in the wrong bubble.

5) Prevents mistakes
When you take the time to type all the Japanese then you are less likely to make a careless reading error while translating.

6) Helps beginners
Assuming you have perfect kanji knowledge and reading off all those kanji without really needing Furigana is a plus for you, it's not really something a beginner can do easily. So when you write out the Japanese it helps those that are just learning to know which kanji it was by copying and pasting it into a dictionary. On the other hand, when you can't read the kanji it might be a bit of a problem to write out the Japanese. When that happens hit up one of the translators at the translator HQ and you'll get an answer eventually .

For these reasons (proofing, searching, keeping consistency, acting as a guide for scanlators, helps avoid careless mistakes as well as helps beginners to read), adding Japanese to your translation is beneficial. It does make translating take a bit longer and can be really tiresome (though you're free to just do the translation first, and add the Japanese later) but it's most certainly worth it.

And hopefully in the future we can get someone (anyone?) to help type out the Japanese script to help make the translation effort a little more easier.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ How can I edit/delete my translation (because of mistakes, etc.)?

If you did something wrong by mistake and want to edit your entries, just follow this simple step!

	Click on the particular item (translation, news, etc.), and right under the title, you should see the Edit and Delete links.
	If it's a major edit, you might want to inform your subscribers. You can do that by selecting the check box before you submit the update.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ How can I know when a new RAW is posted for me to start translating?

All you have to do is subscribe to the manga! You'll know instantly when a RAW for the manga is available, with a direct link sent to you via PM.

Head over to the Browse Manga page, (HERE), and select your Subscriptions. You can choose to receive a PM when a raw is available.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ What else can I release besides translations?

You'll notice that when you add a new release, you have a choice of several things.

Release Type:
----Translation	Self-explanatory. This is what most of us will be releasing, I hope.
----Tip	Have a translation tip you want to share? A link to an online dictionary? An interesting word you found out how to translate? Share your knowledge and wisdom to help others! (cough)
----Issue	Sometimes, the Japanese language gets the better of us and all your dictionaries have failed. Post your issues and problems here so that other translators can help you.
----News	This is for you to post news about yourself.
----Transcription	Transcribe the Japanese script from a manga to make translating easier. You can add this if you're too busy to translate it yourself.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ Where can I apply for translator usergroup status (colored forum username)

This only applies if you want a translator usergroup status on the forums. This will only affect the appearance of username in the forums, and by no means will affect anything on the web system.

Member Status Change Request

Please review the criterias needed in the first post of that thread, and apply there.

[Back to Translator Guide]

▌▌ Who can I contact if I have more questions?

You can contact any of our admins, techs or global moderators if you have problems/queries about MangaHelpers. You can contact them in 3 ways:

1. Via PM (a list of them can be found HERE)
2. Via IRC (irc://irc.irchighway.net:6667/mangahelpers)
3. Via email to admin@mangahelpers.com

Or, just post in here! If it is needed, I'll add it to the guide.

[Back to Translator Guide]

[rinchan1412]

domou arigato kirimi-san!

[Loren Leah]

Hi, I was wondering -- if I submit translations for older chapters, will those show up in the Latest Releases on the site, and if so is there any way to make them not do that? It would be nice to keep all my stuff in one place, but I don't want to spam people with a ton of old translations they don't really care about.

[bax]

I don't think that's the case, so yes, just post all of them without worry

[Fencer666]

I was wondering, I can speak and read a good bit of Japanese [not so good with kanji yet only mastered about 40] and I can read simpler manga. so I wanted to know if I could still do translations for a scanalation or just a translation?

[bax]

Fixed it for you

[Gôthii]

Hi, I registered as "Translator in training" because I have never done a translation before, but now, after 5 translations I feel more confident, so I was wondering if there is any way to change it to "Spanish Translator"

[Norenche]

I have another question. I'm right now a Spanish Translator but it won't show on my nickname or in my forum rank. How can I make it appear as my forum rank?

[bax]

Fixed and handled

[Norenche]

Thanks a lot

[naruto_rocks]

How many translations do I need to do until mi rank change to translator?

I did 10 translations looks like they approved, but I still have the translator in training rank.

And I don't have the translator rank on my nick name.

[bax]

Handled yours too

[AoiKage]

Quote: naruto_rocks 

I did 10 translations looks like they approved, but I still have the translator in training rank.

I'd like to have my title changed to International Translator as well, if possible... ^^

I feel much more confident now ^^

[bax]

Handled AoiKage's too.

[AoiKage]

Thanks a lot ^^