你有沒(méi)有因?yàn)闀?shū)封而愛(ài)上一本書(shū)？據(jù)說(shuō)有本書(shū)的封面，裝幀精美，標(biāo)題兩個(gè)大字——“男人”。好奇的讀者信手翻開(kāi)，會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)里面一片空白。這當(dāng)然只是個(gè)玩笑，興許是筆記本，或者行為藝術(shù)。但它至少成功地讓你把它，從書(shū)架上拿下來(lái)——翻開(kāi)——進(jìn)而可能因?yàn)樵O(shè)計(jì)而購(gòu)買。

在琳瑯滿目的書(shū)店里，要讓你完成這一系列動(dòng)作，是出版社面臨的大考。封面設(shè)計(jì)只是書(shū)籍出版過(guò)程的一小塊。在電子產(chǎn)品圍剿紙質(zhì)書(shū)的時(shí)代，為了讓你走進(jìn)書(shū)店，取閱購(gòu)買，出版機(jī)構(gòu)在做些什么呢？

作家寫(xiě)的不是書(shū)，是手稿。

Authors don’t write books, they write manuscripts. Publishing is the process of getting an author’s manuscript into the hands of a reader, by materializing it – giving it form, as a book. This may be printed (a codex) or digital (an ebook).
作者寫(xiě)的不是書(shū)，他們寫(xiě)的是手稿。出版發(fā)行的過(guò)程就是把作者的手稿送到讀者手中的過(guò)程，把手稿實(shí)體化——給它書(shū)的外殼。手稿可能會(huì)被印成紙質(zhì)書(shū)，或者做成電子書(shū)。

The author’s manuscript is either solicited (the publisher asks them to write it) or unsolicited (the author writes it, then shops for a publisher). Being rejected is awful and publishing contracts are complicated, so many authors employ an agent to negotiate a deal with a publisher.
作者的手稿可能是征稿渠道來(lái)的（出版社會(huì)要求作者寫(xiě)書(shū)）或者是非征稿渠道來(lái)的（作者寫(xiě)完之后拿著手稿找出版社出售）。手稿被拒絕的滋味不好受，而且出版合同也很復(fù)雜，所以很多作者會(huì)雇傭代理人幫自己與出版社協(xié)商。

出版社內(nèi)部分工明確，書(shū)籍內(nèi)容及發(fā)行環(huán)境都有專人負(fù)責(zé)。

The “publisher” refers to either the publishing house (such as Penguin Random House), or the person whose title is Publisher. Within a single publishing house there may be several publishers, each overseeing a different list based on genre. For example, there may be a literary publisher, an academic publisher and a non-fiction publisher within the same publishing house.
“Publisher”這個(gè)詞可以指代出版社（比方說(shuō)企鵝蘭登書(shū)屋），也可以指代擁有“發(fā)行人”頭銜的管理者。一家出版社可能有多個(gè)發(fā)行人，每個(gè)人管理一個(gè)按文學(xué)體裁或流派分類的書(shū)單。比方說(shuō)，一家出版社可能會(huì)有文學(xué)發(fā)行人、學(xué)術(shù)發(fā)行人、非虛構(gòu)發(fā)行人等等。

Within the publishing house, different departments deal with different aspects of the publishing process. Editorial is concerned with content: ensuring the story/information is communicated in a clear and engaging way. Sales, Marketing and Publicity are concerned with context: figuring out where the book sits in the market, how to get it into bookstores, and reviewed.
針對(duì)出版過(guò)程的各個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)，出版社設(shè)置了不同的部門。編輯部關(guān)注的是內(nèi)容，他們要保證故事/信息清晰地傳達(dá)，且引人入勝。銷售部、市場(chǎng)部、以及廣告部關(guān)注的就是發(fā)行環(huán)境，他們要弄清楚該書(shū)籍的市場(chǎng)定位，怎樣讓書(shū)打入書(shū)店，以及如何讓書(shū)評(píng)人寫(xiě)好評(píng)。

The designer is generally commissioned by the publisher or editor overseeing the title. Some publishers have creative directors, who commission (freelance) or assign (in-house) designers.
負(fù)責(zé)某本書(shū)的發(fā)行人或者編輯會(huì)委托設(shè)計(jì)師做裝幀設(shè)計(jì)。有些出版社會(huì)有創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)，他們會(huì)委托自由職業(yè)的設(shè)計(jì)師做設(shè)計(jì)，或者指派自己社內(nèi)的設(shè)計(jì)師做。

裝幀設(shè)計(jì)師需要兼顧內(nèi)容與發(fā)行。

The designer is given a brief, a document that outlines the format (size and shape), production schedule, information about the content and context of the book including a blurb (a version of what end ups on the back cover), and passages that represent the writing style and plot. Some designers also read the full manuscript. Unless it’s a math textbook.
設(shè)計(jì)師通常會(huì)收到一份任務(wù)簡(jiǎn)介，里面說(shuō)明了版式開(kāi)本（包括大小和形狀）、付印計(jì)劃、關(guān)于書(shū)本內(nèi)容和發(fā)行環(huán)境的信息，其中包括一份書(shū)的簡(jiǎn)介（即印在封底的內(nèi)容）、以及能夠代表寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格與情節(jié)的原文段落等。有些設(shè)計(jì)師會(huì)通讀手稿，除非那是一本數(shù)學(xué)教材。

Designers usually communicate directly with the publisher/editor, but need to respond to critical feedback from Sales/Marketing to develop a cover that communicates both the content of the book (evoking a sense of what it’s about and the writing style) and the context (ensuring it looks like it belongs to its genre, and is appealing to the intended audience).
設(shè)計(jì)師們通常與發(fā)行人/編輯直接聯(lián)系，但也需要回復(fù)來(lái)自銷售/市場(chǎng)部的挑剔反饋。他們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)出的封面需要傳達(dá)書(shū)籍內(nèi)容（引起受眾對(duì)內(nèi)容和寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格的興趣），還需要關(guān)照發(fā)行環(huán)境（確保書(shū)籍封面看起來(lái)像該體裁或流派的書(shū)，以及對(duì)目標(biāo)受眾有吸引力）。

This balance happens by showing “roughs” for different approaches. Designers usually present two to three different concepts, roughly mocked up to show how the final cover might look.
要達(dá)到這種平衡，設(shè)計(jì)師會(huì)用到不同的方法畫(huà)多張草圖。他們通常會(huì)畫(huà)出2-3種不同的方案，然后做成印刷樣品，看看最終的成品封面是什么樣子。

A process of to-and-fro between editor, publisher, sales and marketing continues until everyone is happy.
這種在編輯、發(fā)行人、銷售市場(chǎng)部之間來(lái)來(lái)回回的決策過(guò)程會(huì)一直持續(xù)到各方都滿意為止。

封面設(shè)計(jì)一般七、八版，運(yùn)氣不好有可能達(dá)到50版。

A quick design process might involve seven or eight different iterations before a final design is chosen, followed by a process of fine-tuning (make the title bigger, try a script font, Marketing wants the author in gold foil, etc). A painful design process can involve dozens of covers; There is a record of 50 different approaches for the one cover. Excruciating.
通?？焖俚脑O(shè)計(jì)需要7-8個(gè)版本的迭代才能選出定稿，之后還需要做一些微調(diào)（把標(biāo)題調(diào)大一點(diǎn)兒、換一個(gè)正文字體、市場(chǎng)部要求作者的名字用金箔等）。碰到磨人的設(shè)計(jì)，要做出幾十個(gè)封面，最高記錄是做了50個(gè)版本的封面。太痛苦了。

People are often surprised how little input authors have in the design process, considering the cover is how their book first faces the world. It’s important to consider two factors.
有些人總是驚訝于作者很少參與設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)程，因?yàn)榉饷媸沁@本書(shū)首次面世的樣子。但有兩個(gè)重要因素需要考慮到。

First, most authors are happy to defer to the publisher about how to sell as many copies of their book as possible; publishing is a commercial business and the publisher knows the market.
第一，對(duì)于如何盡可能讓書(shū)暢銷這件事，作者們很樂(lè)意聽(tīng)出版社的意見(jiàn)。出版發(fā)行是商業(yè)行為，而且出版社通曉市場(chǎng)行情。

Second, while the design process is happening, the author is generally in the last harrowing stage of editing their manuscript and doesn’t want any distraction. This said, if an author hates a cover it will go back to the drawing board, but if everyone has done their job well this shouldn’t happen.
第二，設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)程進(jìn)行的同時(shí)，作者們通常還處在改稿的最后階段，痛苦到不想被任何事情打攪。話雖如此，如果某個(gè)作者不喜歡某個(gè)封面，那么這個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)就會(huì)推倒重來(lái)。不過(guò)如果各個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)都沒(méi)出問(wèn)題，這種情況也不會(huì)出現(xiàn)。

Once the design is finalized, digital files are sent to a production house so copies of the book can be printed, bound and delivered to the publisher’s warehouse, from where they will be shipped to bookstores when wanted.
設(shè)計(jì)一經(jīng)定稿，出版社就會(huì)把數(shù)字版發(fā)給印刷廠，然后書(shū)就被印出來(lái)了，接著打包運(yùn)送到出版社的倉(cāng)庫(kù)里。出售的時(shí)候，書(shū)也就從那里運(yùn)往書(shū)店。

有些人格外喜歡某一本書(shū)，在讀完平裝版之后，會(huì)專門買精裝版回來(lái)收藏。

美觀且易于保存的精裝書(shū)中就凝結(jié)了出版人的心血。

你有哪些愛(ài)不釋手的書(shū)呢？留言分享吧。

Notes

manuscript /m?njuskr?pt/ n 手稿；原稿
materialize /m??t?ri?la?z/ v 實(shí)現(xiàn)；發(fā)生；使成為現(xiàn)實(shí)
oversee /o?v?r?si?/ v 看管，指導(dǎo)，監(jiān)督；監(jiān)視
communicate /k??mju?n?ke?t/ v 傳達(dá)，傳遞（想法、感情、思想等）
commission /k??m??n/ v 正式委托（譜寫(xiě)、制作、創(chuàng)作或完成）
rough /r?f/ n 草稿；草圖
to-and-fro /?tu??n?fr??/ adj 來(lái)來(lái)往往的；往復(fù)的
finetune /?fa?n?tu?n/ v 微調(diào)：進(jìn)行很小的調(diào)整以達(dá)到最佳性能或效果

編輯：左卓
實(shí)習(xí)編輯：陳月華
來(lái)源：The Conversation