S
Sophie
Founder — Élan & Co
Literary translation Manuscript editing Author PA Native French 20 yrs experience FR/EN bilingual
🇬🇧 About — Élan & Co

The translator who readslike a French reader.

I'm not a translation machine. I'm a native French speaker who grew up reading, who fell in love with stories, and who decided that English-language literature deserved a better bridge into French.

“I don’t just translate words — I translate your soul’s work.”

330+

Projects delivered

Novels, novellas, and manuscripts translated or edited since 2019

20+

Years of expertise

Administrative rigour + literary sensibility = a rare combination

48h

Response time

Always in writing — every decision documented and traceable

0%

Unsupervised AI

AI tools used as amplifiers, never as replacements for human judgment

My story

A reader first. A translator by conviction.

I'm Sophie, and I've been living with two languages for as long as I can remember. Born and raised in France, trained in both French and English, I spent twenty years in the administrative world before following the pull that never quite went away: literature.

In 2019, I created Élan & Co to do one thing exceptionally well — bring English-language stories to French readers in a way that feels native, not translated. Not word-for-word. Not algorithm-shaped. But alive.

“French is a language of precision, of register, of a thousand unspoken rules. The tu/vous distinction alone can define an entire relationship. AI gets it wrong. I get it right.”

What makes me different from a generalist translator? I read in both languages for pleasure. I understand genre conventions — romance, thriller, fantasy, literary fiction — and I know how French readers expect each genre to feel. I'm not just converting text. I'm adapting an experience.

The journey
2000 – 2020
Administrative & accounting assistant
20 years building professional rigour: invoicing, client relations, document management, bilingual correspondence. The discipline that underpins everything I do today.
2019
Founded Élan & Co
Launched as a literary translator and proofreader, specialising in English-to-French for indie authors and publishers.
2019 – 2025
Literary translator & editor
330+ projects with anglophone authors and publishers including Relay Publishing and Bright Future Ltd. Deep specialisation in romance, thriller, and commercial fiction.
2026
Full-service author partner
Expanded services: Author PA, AI translation correction, author branding, French market strategy — everything an indie author needs to succeed in France.
Why work with me

What you actually get.

🇫🇷

Native precision

Born French, bilingual by training. Every nuance, every register, every idiom — nothing escapes my ear. Your French readers will never feel the translation seams.

📖

Literary sensibility

I read your genre. I know what French romance readers expect, how French thrillers breathe, where the pacing shifts. Translation that sounds like it was written in French.

🤖

AI-aware, not AI-dependent

I understand what ScribeShadow and DeepL get wrong — the tu/vous problem, the typographic chaos, the cultural tone-deafness. I fix what they break, and I do better from scratch.

📊

Administrative backbone

20 years of professional rigour means I meet deadlines, document everything, and communicate clearly. No chasing. No surprises. No lost files.

🚀

French market knowledge

I know KDP France, French ISBN, library outreach, the bookstagram community. I don't just translate your book — I help you launch it.

🤝

A real partner

Not a platform. Not a freelancer portal. Me — Sophie — responsive, invested in your success, and genuinely excited about your story.

What authors say

Trusted by Authors & Publishers

Sophie did a great job on the translation. Communication with her was pleasant, and she delivered even before the deadline.

— Bright Future Ltd.

Sophie was always a pleasure to work with and has excellent skills as a French translator. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone.

— Relay Publishing

Very diligent, experienced, and reliable, besides being a pleasure to work with.

— Elvira L.

Ready to bring your story to France?

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