Light Novels are indeed harder to translate, but that isn't the real cause for their delay. The market for LN is really small outside Japan for a number of reasons so companies aren't interested in publishing them unless they are for very famous franchises (like Haruhi), and even then it's very risky.18 Nov 2013
How long does it take for light novels to be translated?
Depending on genre and literary quality, translating a book of 100,000 words will take up anything between three months and a full year.
Where can I get a light novel translated?
LumenDatabase.org
How much does it cost to translate a light novel?
You may never sell enough copies to pay the translation costs. Now having said all that, let's talk cost. You should expect to pay anywhere from USD$0.08 to USD$0.12 per word, depending on the languages involved, the length of the book, and the difficulty of the language.
Are there English versions of light novels?
There aren't too many light novels officially translated into English, and many series are out of print and discontinued.23 Jun 2014
Translated offers an average price of US $0.10 per word. The translation of a standard page costs on average US $25, considering an average of 250 words per page, or 1,500 characters including spaces.
Why does it take so long for light novels to get translated?
Publishers set deadlines for official releases. Even if a book gets translated early, it won't be released earlier than planned. SAO novels were licensed in English a year or more after the anime finished airing. And even after the license was announced, it took several more months until the first book came out.