你有沒有因爲書封而愛上一本書？

你有沒有因爲書封而愛上一本書？據說有本書的封面，裝幀精美，標題兩個大字——“男人”。好奇的讀者信手翻開，會發現裏面一片空白。這當然只是個玩笑，興許是筆記本，或者行爲藝術。但它至少成功地讓你把它，從書架上拿下來——翻開——進而可能因爲設計而購買。

在琳琅滿目的書店裏，要讓你完成這一系列動作，是出版社面臨的大考。封面設計只是書籍出版過程的一小塊。在電子產品圍剿紙質書的時代，爲了讓你走進書店，取閱購買，出版機構在做些什麼呢？

作家寫的不是書，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).
作者寫的不是書，他們寫的是手稿。出版發行的過程就是把作者的手稿送到讀者手中的過程，把手稿實體化——給它書的外殼。手稿可能會被印成紙質書，或者做成電子書。

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.
作者的手稿可能是徵稿渠道來的（出版社會要求作者寫書）或者是非徵稿渠道來的（作者寫完之後拿着手稿找出版社出售）。手稿被拒絕的滋味不好受，而且出版合同也很複雜，所以很多作者會僱傭代理人幫自己與出版社協商。

出版社內部分工明確，書籍內容及發行環境都有專人負責。

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”這個詞可以指代出版社（比方說企鵝蘭登書屋），也可以指代擁有“發行人”頭銜的管理者。一家出版社可能有多個發行人，每個人管理一個按文學體裁或流派分類的書單。比方說，一家出版社可能會有文學發行人、學術發行人、非虛構發行人等等。

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.
針對出版過程的各個環節，出版社設置了不同的部門。編輯部關注的是內容，他們要保證故事/信息清晰地傳達，且引人入勝。銷售部、市場部、以及廣告部關注的就是發行環境，他們要弄清楚該書籍的市場定位，怎樣讓書打入書店，以及如何讓書評人寫好評。

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.
負責某本書的發行人或者編輯會委託設計師做裝幀設計。有些出版社會有創意總監，他們會委託自由職業的設計師做設計，或者指派自己社內的設計師做。

裝幀設計師需要兼顧內容與發行。

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.
設計師通常會收到一份任務簡介，裏面說明了版式開本（包括大小和形狀）、付印計劃、關於書本內容和發行環境的信息，其中包括一份書的簡介（即印在封底的內容）、以及能夠代表寫作風格與情節的原文段落等。有些設計師會通讀手稿，除非那是一本數學教材。

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).
設計師們通常與發行人/編輯直接聯繫，但也需要回復來自銷售/市場部的挑剔反饋。他們設計出的封面需要傳達書籍內容（引起受衆對內容和寫作風格的興趣），還需要關照發行環境（確保書籍封面看起來像該體裁或流派的書，以及對目標受衆有吸引力）。

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.
要達到這種平衡，設計師會用到不同的方法畫多張草圖。他們通常會畫出2-3種不同的方案，然後做成印刷樣品，看看最終的成品封面是什麼樣子。

A process of to-and-fro between editor, publisher, sales and marketing continues until everyone is happy.
這種在編輯、發行人、銷售市場部之間來來回回的決策過程會一直持續到各方都滿意爲止。

封面設計一般七、八版，運氣不好有可能達到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.
通常快速的設計需要7-8個版本的迭代才能選出定稿，之後還需要做一些微調（把標題調大一點兒、換一個正文字體、市場部要求作者的名字用金箔等）。碰到磨人的設計，要做出幾十個封面，最高記錄是做了50個版本的封面。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.
有些人總是驚訝於作者很少參與設計過程，因爲封面是這本書首次面世的樣子。但有兩個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，對於如何儘可能讓書暢銷這件事，作者們很樂意聽出版社的意見。出版發行是商業行爲，而且出版社通曉市場行情。

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，設計過程進行的同時，作者們通常還處在改稿的最後階段，痛苦到不想被任何事情打攪。話雖如此，如果某個作者不喜歡某個封面，那麼這個設計就會推倒重來。不過如果各個環節都沒出問題，這種情況也不會出現。

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.
設計一經定稿，出版社就會把數字版發給印刷廠，然後書就被印出來了，接着打包運送到出版社的倉庫裏。出售的時候，書也就從那裏運往書店。

有些人格外喜歡某一本書，在讀完平裝版之後，會專門買精裝版回來收藏。

美觀且易於保存的精裝書中就凝結了出版人的心血。