The next entry in the ongoing International Covers Week (Month? Year?) is the following:
It’s the complex Chinese version of So Yesterday.
“Complex Chinese?” you may ask. “Isn’t all Chinese pretty complex?”
Here’s a factoid that I didn’t totally get until I started to be translated: There are two written types of Chinese. Allow me to explain.
Complex Chinese is the traditional written form of the language. It goes back millenia—way before our Roman alphabet, way before anything else currently in use. But people still use it in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. On the other hand, simplified Chinese was created in the last century, when the Chinese government was trying to make all those ideograms easier to learn. It’s used in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Luckily for us authors, these two kinds of Chinese are usually sold to different publishers. We get to sell the same book twice! For example, Jelei in China owns the simplified rights to Uglies, and Sharp Point in Taiwan owns the complex rights for the same book.
So Yesterday is published by a Taiwanese company with my favorite name ever: Meowbus. Check out this cool feature on their site: behind-the-scene photos of the cover shoot.
What a great idea, especially for a teen imprint! This is the sort of thing that might actually make someone want to go to a publisher’s website (even if it is in complex Chinese).
Yay, Meowbus! (Okay, I just wanted to type “Meowbus” again.)
yea first comment! fawesome cover. and the behind the scenes thing is a cool idea.
fawesome. we should covers like that
I think usually it’s called “traditional Chinese,” or at least in Windows ;). But maybe the publishers call it “complex Chinese”?
Also, YAY! Your book is out in Taiwan! Awesome!
Fawesome! Posting the photo shoot is a really great idea–most people probably don’t really think about how book covers come to be.
Oyce: It says “complex” or “simplified” on our contracts. (Magic or Madness was also pub’d in Taiwan.) Those are the terms all the publishers use for those rights.
cool 6th comment…i just started reading so yesterday its so good!
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!!! Love it so much!!
Kadie-Wa
awwwwesome
I wish all the books had the behind the scences thing. That would be so cool.
that is prety darn awesome right there! the site was all like weird symbols instead of text though since i didn’t install a “language pack”
what happened to the girl (i assume it’s jen) though? is she on the back, or is she just not on the cover at all?
and from what i can tell from the site, there seems to be some contest with the book. you know, one of those text message things, like “text _____ to _____ now and you could win _____!”
aarrrgh typos…*pretty
That’s such the perfect cover for that book! 🙂
i still have to read that book.
i have to admit…that guys kinda cute!
Lizzy-wa 😛
Fawesome cover! Hehe…meowbus. I’ll have to work that into conversations somehow.
yes. hows it pronounced? like meow like a cat, then bus like a school bus? cunfussing. and dizzy-making!
-Lizzy-wa OUT! 😛
i like it! very modern.
Its really cool scott!!!!!!!
sweetness! i just read that book (in english) like a week ago and i still dont know how mandy ended up with 2 different last names. but that cover is amazing!!!!
i still have to read it.
-Lizzy-wa OUT! 😛
Me too, Lizzy-Wa. I had it checked out from the library, and then they wanted it back. It stunk.
Kadie-Wa
I haven’t read the book yet…though I have read the Uglies trilogy. It’s just so cool that you explained about the traditional chinese and simplified chinese and got your information correct! I agree that it’s cool about the behind the scenes thing! But if anyone wants to know, those who learn simplified chinese(like me ;D) is able to read traditional chinese characters without much difficulty but not for those who learn traditional chinese I think.
That is SO COOOL!
interesting miko-la…
-Lizzy-wa OUT! 😛