Yes, believe it or not, there are actual people behind the writing of all the newspapers, magazines, and books you are used to reading. Books are made up of words, and words are the most precious gift given to human beings. However, not all human beings are born with the innate talent to produce and combine words in such a beautiful way that they become the books we can’t stop reading!
Books will never go out of date
Books will never go out of date—and even though most of us have gone from the “classic” paperbacks to the comfortable, light e-reader, books will always be books, regardless of the presentation.
As readers, we have evolved. Guess what? Writers have, too! The days of manuscripts and typewriters are long gone. Now, writers use iPads to create their masterpieces, and what could be better than composing in one’s own language?
Are you a playwright or novelist, or do you just enjoy writing? Then this article is for you!
Today, Steve Shepard, writer and developer, reveals how he translated his app, Storyist, thereby fulfilling the wishes of many of his loyal customers, by using ICanLocalize’s professional localization service.
We present the third article in our ICanLocalize Case Study Series.
About the project
Welcome to Storyist
Storyist is a creative and intuitive writing tool intended for novelists, screenwriters, amateur writers,and anyone who loves writing.
Unlike conventional word processors, Storyist helps writers track their plot, characters, and settings, thus keeping all aspects of their writing organized and accessible. Writers only need to let their creativity flow without worrying about formatting or structural issues.
Storyist has been writers’ most faithful companion for more than 10 years, and it keeps getting better every year!
At present, the Storyist app and all its complements are available in English, French, and Spanish. Let’s read how Steve did it!
The main reason to get the app translated
Storyist users requested for the app to be translated. They were eager to use it, but in their own language.
About the author
Steve Shepard
Steve Shepard is an independent app developer and a weekend writer. He worked at Apple and other well-known companies before starting his own business.
In 2003, after many years of work, he decided to take a year off to write a novel. This experience was so enriching and inspiring that it led him to create an innovative and useful app for writers. Now, he is the CEO of his own company: Storyist Software.
“Storyist is a writing environment for novelists and screenwriters that began as a set of scripts and templates that I created for my own use because I couldn’t find the writing tools I wanted. Over the years, it’s grown into a family of apps for Mac, iPad, and iPhone that is used by writers around the world, which is both rewarding and humbling at the same time.”
Steve Shepard, Storyist’s creator and developer
How did Steve find out about ICanLocalize?
Storyist Software
Steve has been one of ICanLocalize’s faithful clients since 2011; it’s a bit difficult for him to remember exactly where he found out about us. However, he can’t forget why he chose ICanLocalize: because of its wide variety of compatible formats, especially the plist format, as well as the simplicity of downloading a fully translated file in the same format you uploaded it.
Format list
“I was in the market for translation services and the fact that ICanLocalize worked with plists (Apple’s translation file format) directly was a big plus. I wanted something that made it easy to update the translations as the app evolved. It looked like ICanLocalize would do that, so I created an account and uploaded a small project. I was impressed with the results, so ICanLocalize got the business.”
Why French and Spanish?
Before selecting the languages to translate his app into, Steve took the time to go through all of his clients’ comments and suggestions, finally coming to the conclusion that French and Spanish were the most requested languages.
Five minutes is all Steve needed to set up his software project.
ICanLocalize’s intuitive and user-friendly interface will guide you step by step. After you create your ICanLocalize account, you just need to click “Start a new project” and select iPhone, Android, PO/POT, and other resource files. After that, you will see the next steps:
Uploading your resource file
Once you have the localizable strings file, the only step left before getting an attractive quote is to upload the file.
Upload
Upload options
Selecting the appropriate translator
ICanLocalize is always evolving to make the selection of translators easier and faster for our clients. Now, clients have several options:
1. Open project: All translators will be notified about the project and will apply. With this option, clients have plenty of options to choose from.
2. Invite translators: After closing the project to translators, only the ones you invite will be able to apply.
Assigning translators
3. Assign translators from previous projects: Clients who have already completed a previous project with us can automatically assign the same translators to their upcoming projects.
Assign the same translators
ICanLocalize only works with professional (human!) translators, all of whom translate into their native languages. Our program offers a wide variety of selection criteria. Each time you click on a translator’s name, you will be able to see the following translator details:
- Field of expertise
- Level of expertise
- Star rating
- Recommendations
- Profile messages
- Translation tools
“I looked more closely at translators who responded first, but I also spent quite a bit of time going over what they wrote about themselves, who they had worked for in the past… in the case of the Spanish translator, I saw she had worked on a number of iOS apps and thought that was important. Also, I’m pretty sure I paid attention to the recommendations people had left.”
Communicating with your translators
One of the many benefits of working with human translators, not machines, is that you can actually communicate with them, ask questions, set deadlines, and request changes according to your or your app’s requirements.
“Communicating with the translators was easy. They were very quick to respond to the kind of things that were important to us: strings too long for the space available, or questions about the connotation of a particular word in the interface, like ‘character’, which could mean a person in a screenplay or a letter or symbol.”
Steve and his Spanish translator discussing length issues.
When translations are complete…
Just download the translated strings in the same format you uploaded them.
Steve’s fully translated string files
What’s next?
After uploading the strings into his app, Storyist in Spanish looked like this:
Strings
Translation
What to do when it’s time to update your app?
Indeed, this was one of Steve’s biggest concerns when he decided to try ICanLocalize’s Professional Translation Service: what to do when it’s time to update? How should this be handled? We are proud to announce that in ICanLocalize, we have all our clients’ needs completely covered.
Updating your app has never been so easy. ICanlocalize’s state-of-the-art system is unbeatable. Not only does it provide you with a detailed quote and user-friendly interface but it also detects new and modified strings automatically, making the update process a five-minute task.
“My biggest concern was how the translation system would deal with application updates. I wanted a workflow that would handle with both incremental changes to UI strings and significant updates to the Users Guide. Storyist has now been through several major and minor releases with ICanLocalize, and I’m very happy with the process.”
But that was not all, Steve wanted more…
After having successfully translated the user interface of Storyist, Steve realized he would also need to have the User Guide and Templates translated—otherwise, his users wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of all the features this app provides.
Yes, in ICanLocalize we can also translate your PDF files. The process is as simple as the software project!
Translated Storyist user guide
Advantages of using ICanLocalize’s app translation service
- Quality translations
- Simple integration of strings into app
- Turnaround in the same format
- A wide variety of compatible formats
- Time-saving translation process
- Friendly user interface
- Fluent communication with translators
- Fixed rates
- Excellent client support
What Steve liked the most about ICanLocalize
In Steve’s words,
“It’s hard to choose just one thing. The feedback from my customers was positive, the quality of the work was high, and it was straightforward to get the project set up and submit the text for translation. I am very happy with the result.”
Thinking about having your app translated?
Feel free to add your comments, suggestions, or inquiries about app localization.
ICanLocalize is a leading translation service provider that works with the best mother-tongue professional translators, translating into more than 45 languages. We are experts in mobile apps localization (including iPhone and Android localization), website localization, and software localization. Find out more about our great rates and quality of work here: (http://www.icanlocalize.com). You are welcome to contact us at hello@onthegosystems.com or on Skype (icanlocalize).