2023年经济学人 TikTok正改变书籍销售方式(2)

（单词翻译）

    In many ways BookTok has become a new artistic¹ genre², where emoting about characters and plots is glorified³, even required.

    在很多方面，BookTok已经成为一种新的文艺流派，与书中人物和情节同喜同悲是受到赞扬的，甚至是必须的。

    (Unlike those buttoned-up professional literary critics, who do not tend to write about how books make them cry.)(这可不像那些缄默的专业文学评论家，他们往往不会去写书籍如何让他们嚎啕大哭。)Some old-fashioned bibliophiles may suspect that BookTok is less about books than about people seeking attention by promoting them.

    一些老派的爱书人可能会怀疑，BookTok与其说是关于书籍，不如说是关于通过宣传书籍来寻求关注的人。

    But BookTokers are already swaying bestseller lists.

    但BookTok的用户已经在影响畅销书排行榜。

    Novels categorised as “romance” have enjoyed the biggest boost, as happened with previous technological⁴ shifts, including the rise of e-books.

    “爱情”类小说的销量增长最为明显，这和之前的技术变革（包括电子书的兴起）情况类似。

    Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” went viral on TikTok in early 2022 and has sold over 1m paperback⁵ copies in Britain.

    科琳·胡佛的《莉莉的选择》于2022年初在TikTok上大火，现在已经在英国售出100多万册平装本。

    Six of the ten bestselling titles in America last year were written by her, too.

    去年美国最畅销的十本书中有六本也是她写的。

    They pick up similar themes, such as women lusting⁶ after hard-to-get men and “trauma bonding”, subjects that fare well on the video-sharing app.

    这些书的主题类似，比如女性对遥不可及的男性的渴望以及“创伤性联结”，这些主题在视频分享app上都很受欢迎。

    But BookTok favourites are often older releases, with some, including Ms Hoover’s most popular, written before the app was invented.

    但在BookTok上最受欢迎的往往是以前出版的书，其中一些，包括胡佛最受欢迎的几本书，还是在BookTok发明之前写的。

    For example, an aesthetic⁷ known as “dark academia”, which glamorises gothic-style universities, tweed and classic literature, has brought attention to a 544-page novel published in 1992 called “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt.

    例如，有一种被称为“黑暗学院派”的美学，在这种美学中，哥特式大学、粗花呢服饰和古典文学极富魅力，这种美学风格让人们关注到唐娜·塔特于1992年出版的一本544页小说《秘密历史》。

    The popular Netflix show “Bridgerton”—big on colourful costumes, light on substance—created new fans of period romance and, in turn, inspired young readers to rediscover classic books such as “Pride and Prejudice”.

    网飞推出的大热电视剧《布里奇顿》--以色彩缤纷的服装为主，剧情内容较弱--造就了新一批古装爱情剧迷，从而也促使年轻读者重新发现《傲慢与偏见》等经典书籍。

    In August Jane Austen’s novel won “Best BookTok Revival” at TikTok’s inaugural⁸ book awards.

    今年8月，简·奥斯汀的小说在TikTok首届图书奖上获得了“最佳图书复兴奖”。

    (How Austen would have felt about this honour is another question.)(奥斯汀会对这一荣誉作何感想则是另一个问题。)Because TikTok is so visual, the app has an outsize impact on sales of physical books in particular.

    由于TikTok很重视觉，因此它对纸质书的销售产生了尤其大的影响。

    E-books do not make such attractive visual props⁹.

    电子书不会成为如此吸睛的视觉道具。

    According to a survey by Nielsen, 80% of Brits aged¹⁰ 14-25 prefer print.

    尼尔森的一项调查显示，在14-25岁的英国人中，80%的人更喜欢纸质书。

    BookTokers show off annotations¹¹ and flick¹² through pages.

    BookTok用户会展示书上的笔记并翻动书页。

    Filming themselves finishing a book in a single day against a backdrop of hundreds of them on shelves is all part of the performance, and viewers will be extra impressed if the book looks thick.

    以摆放着上千本书的书架为背景，拍摄自己在一天内读完一本书，这些都是表演的一部分，如果读的这本书看起来很厚，观众会格外印象深刻。

    Many authors remain puzzled by the app.

    许多作家仍然对TikTok感到困惑不解。

    Ms Hoover does not have a TikTok account, and neither do many of her other bestselling peers.

    胡佛没有TikTok账号，和她同龄的许多畅销书作家也没有。

    Publishers, happy for new sales, are also a bit perplexed¹³; their official TikTok accounts are unpopular by comparison.

    出版商对新增销量感到高兴，但也有点困惑，他们的官方TikTok账号反而并不受欢迎。

    The challenge is how to keep up.

    挑战在于如何跟上潮流。

    It is not as simple as commissioning more books that make people cry, squirm or shudder¹⁴ and then hoping that people film themselves doing so.

    这不是委托作家写出更多让人们泪如雨下、扭动身体或心惊肉跳的书，然后希望读者也拍出这种视频那么简单。

    Although some editors are doing that anyway.

    尽管有些编辑确实在这么做。

    Some enterprising publishers keep an eye out for gushing¹⁵ videos about forthcoming books and then snap up the rights in other territories.

    一些有进取精神的出版商会密切关注那些推荐新书的情绪高亢的视频，然后在其他地区抢购版权。

    Others are making the most of momentum¹⁶ on BookTok.

    其他人则充分利用了BookTok的增长势头。

    When Sarah Benton, a former executive at Orion, heard that “The Silent Patient”, a two-year-old thriller¹⁷ that the firm had published, was unexpectedly gaining traction¹⁸, Orion tweaked its marketing¹⁹ and told booksellers to emphasise²⁰ success on BookTok.

    猎户座的前高管莎拉·本顿听说该公司两年前出版的悬疑小说《沉默的病人》出人意料地获得追捧，于是猎户座调整了营销策略，并让图书销售商强调这本书在BookTok上的火爆。

    Such tricks are rapidly becoming the norm.

    这样的计策正迅速成为常态。

    Publishers may find that TikTok means not only new readers but also more competition.

    出版商可能会发现，TikTok不仅带来了新的读者，还带来了更多的竞争。

    ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the app, has plans to launch its own book publisher and is said to be in discussions to sign romance writers.

    TikTok所属的中国公司字节跳动计划推出自己的图书出版业务，据说正在讨论与爱情小说作家签约。

    Publishing its own books will bring ByteDance’s relationship with literature (if its books can be called that) to a new level.

    自己出版图书将把字节跳动与文学(如果它的书可以被称为文学的话)的关系带到一个新的水平。