Hi everyone, my name is Dida. Some of you may know me from online translation communities, where I spent several years working on fan translation projects under the names Sugookie and DMCScans.
Translation has been a huge part of my life for a long time. It started as a hobby driven by my love for stories, languages, and sharing things I enjoyed with others. Along the way, I met many wonderful readers, learned valuable skills, and became part of a community that I will always appreciate.
One project that will always hold a special place in my heart is Sijin (The Brocaded Tale of the Girl Si). Working on that series taught me a lot about dedication, patience, and the amount of effort that goes into producing quality translations. Looking back, I'm grateful for every chapter I worked on and every reader who followed along.
Today, however, I've decided to officially step away from translation work. This wasn't a quick or easy decision, but after a lot of thought, I believe it's the right one for me. In this post, I'd like to share some of the reasons behind that decision and reflect on the journey that brought me here.
Why I’m Retiring from Translation
Changing Priorities and Responsibilities
As life moves forward, priorities naturally change. What I could dedicate countless hours to a few years ago is much harder to balance today. Between professional responsibilities, personal goals, and everyday commitments, finding the time and energy required for translation has become increasingly difficult.
Translation has always been a labor of love, but it also requires a significant amount of dedication. Every chapter involves research, editing, proofreading, and countless small details that readers rarely see. While I’ve enjoyed the process, I’ve reached a point where I need to focus my time and attention on other areas of my life.
Reality of Maintaining a Long-Term Project
Running a website and consistently producing content requires far more work than many people realize. Beyond the translation itself, there’s website maintenance, community management, troubleshooting technical issues, and keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes.
Over time, it became increasingly difficult to justify the amount of time and resources needed to maintain the project. While I never started translating for financial reasons, sustaining a long-term hobby becomes challenging when the costs continue to grow while the available time continues to shrink.
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who visited the site, left comments, shared feedback, and supported my work over the years. Your encouragement is what kept me motivated for as long as it did.
Supporting the Series I Love
I’ve always been a huge believer in supporting the original creators and I want the authors to get the credit and the pay they deserve. However, because I’m paying for these out of my own pocket, things have reached a point where I just can’t keep up anymore. The cost of maintaining consistent translations has become way too expensive.
Competition in Translation
There is also strong competition among translators. Other groups are constantly rushing to be the first to release a new chapter. To stay fast, they often skip the small stuff like double-checking for typos or making sure the dialogue actually makes sense. They prioritize speed over everything else.
Then there’s my approach. While those groups have entire teams, I’m over here working solo. I handle every single step of the process by myself: the cleaning, the typesetting, and the proofreading.
Doing it all alone definitely takes more time, and I know it can be frustrating to wait when another version is already floating around online. But to me, the quality really matters. I don't want to just give you words on a page; I want to give you a translation that feels right. I spend those extra hours making sure the text looks clean and the sentences flow naturally (not that perfect but at least bearable).
My goal has never been to win the race. It's to make sure that when you finally sit down to read, you’re getting the best possible version of the story. I truly believe that a clear, accurate, and polished chapter is worth the wait. I really appreciate everyone who sticks around and supports my work, it’s your patience that makes all this solo effort feel worth it.
Looking Toward the Future
Perhaps the biggest reason for this decision is that I’ve simply reached a new stage in my life. Over the years, translation helped me develop skills that extend far beyond language itself. It taught me patience, discipline, and attention to detail.
More recently, I’ve found myself spending more time building websites, learning web development, and creating resources for other people online. These projects have become a new creative outlet for me, and they’re where I want to focus my energy moving forward.
Final Message
To everyone who read my work, left comments, shared encouragement, or simply visited the site from time to time—thank you. Your support meant more than you probably realize. During difficult periods, your messages and feedback reminded me why I started doing this in the first place.
I have no regrets about the years I spent translating. The experience taught me valuable lessons, introduced me to amazing people, and gave me memories that I’ll always cherish.
Although my translation journey is coming to an end, this website is not going anywhere.
I’ll continue blogging, sharing tutorials, experimenting with web design, and creating resources for fellow Blogger users. If you're interested in building your own website, learning Blogger customization, or simply connecting with like-minded people, I hope you'll stick around.
This site has always been about learning, creating, and sharing knowledge. That part isn't changing.
Thank you for being part of this journey. I truly appreciate every one of you, and I look forward to seeing where the next chapter takes us.
— Dida