紐時賞析／TikTok改寫出版業行銷策略 推「豪華包裝」延長暢銷書壽命

The Hottest Trend in Publishing: Books You Can Judge by Their Covers

出版業最熱門趨勢：書籍包裝推陳出新

Last year, a romance publisher took an expensive gamble on the latest novel by bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

去年，一家羅曼史小說出版商在暢銷書作家蕾貝卡・亞洛斯的最新小說下了昂貴賭注。

To help the novel, “Fourth Wing,” stand out in the crowded fantasy-romance genre, the publisher, Entangled, invested in a limited deluxe edition with a bold metallic cover and black sprayed edges featuring dragons.

為了協助這本小說「第四翼」在擁擠的奇幻羅曼史書類脫穎而出，出版商「Entangled」投資製作限量豪華版，擁有大膽的金屬封面與噴上黑漆的書邊，以龍作為主角。

It worked: All 115,000 copies of the deluxe edition sold out almost everywhere within a week.

這一招成功了：115000本豪華版一周內幾乎在所有地方全數售罄。

“My only regret is that I printed too few,” said Liz Pelletier, Entangled’s publisher.

發行人麗茲．佩勒捷說，「我唯一遺憾是印太少」。

When the next novel in the series, “Iron Flame,” came out, Entangled was prepared, and printed 1 million copies of the deluxe edition. Once again, they quickly sold out.

當該系列下一本小說「鋼鐵烈焰」出版時，Entangled做好準備，印刷100萬本豪華版。再一次，很快銷售一空。

For the third book in the series, “Onyx Storm,” which comes out in January, Entangled is printing 2 million copies of the deluxe edition, which has stenciled artwork and black and silver edges adorned with flying gold-and-black dragons, along with a smaller print run of 500,000 standard copies. More than 1 million “Onyx Storm” deluxe editions have already sold. After realizing there was an enormous appetite for special editions, Entangled has started giving the deluxe, sprayed-edge treatment to most of its books, Pelletier said.

針對1月出版的該系列第三本書「縞瑪瑙風暴」，Entangled正在印刷200萬本豪華版，採用模板藝術，以及裝飾有飛翔金黑色巨龍的黑色和銀色書邊，加上較少印量的50萬本標準版。超過100萬本「縞瑪瑙風暴」豪華版已售出。佩勒捷表示，意識到特別版存在龐大需求後，Entangled已開始為該公司的大多數書籍提供豪華噴漆書邊處理。

“Now, to not spray-paint the edges would send the wrong kind of signal, that a book is not worth collecting,” she said.

她說，「現在，沒對書邊噴漆，就會送出錯誤訊息，也就是這是一本不值得收藏的書」。

After gaining popularity with romance and fantasy readers, heavily adorned editions have spread throughout the publishing industry. Publishers are investing in colorful patterned edges, metallic foil covers, reversible jackets, elaborate artwork on the endpapers, ribbon bookmarks and bonus content.

在羅曼史和奇幻小說讀者中大受歡迎後，裝飾華麗的版本已遍及出版業。出版商正在投資五顏六色的圖案書邊，金屬箔封面、雙書衣、扉頁上的精美繪畫、緞帶書籤與特典內容。

Deluxe editions have also proliferated because of TikTok, which has reshaped book publishing and marketing strategies. BookTok influencers can send a book skyrocketing up the bestseller list, and elaborately designed hardcovers lend themselves to organic viral marketing campaigns, since readers love to flaunt them to their followers.

TikTok重塑圖書出版和行銷策略，也是豪華版大量湧現原因。BookTok網紅可以讓一本書一飛衝天，登上暢銷書排行榜，而精心設計的精裝書適合有機病毒式行銷活動，因為讀者喜歡向他們的跟隨者炫耀手上的書。

“People are really connecting with books as art and as objects that reflect who they are as a person,” said Shannon DeVito, head of books at Barnes & Noble. “Books are the ultimate accessory.”

邦諾書店圖書主管香農．德維托說，「人們真的與書連結，將其視為藝術，以及反映個人特質的物品」。她說，「書是最終的配飾」。

Publishers have found that fancy new packaging can extend the life cycle of a best seller. Fans will often buy a beloved book again in a bedazzled new package, and the spike in sales can get the title back on the best-seller list, which in turn draws in new readers.

出版商已發現，精緻的新包裝可延長一本暢銷書的壽命周期。書迷經常會再買一本擁有炫目新包裝的心愛書籍，而銷量激增可讓該書重回暢銷書排行榜，反過來又吸引新讀者。

文／Alexandra Alter　譯／周辰陽