Translating/Selling My China Book in China

[BrandonF]

Hi. This is my first post. I joined Chinese-forums just to ask this questions:)

 

I'm the author of a book called, Life Learned Abroad: Lessons on Humanity from China. It's about my 11-month stay in and around China and the resultant insights gained into topics of humanity: education, poverty, dating, law enforcement, etc.

 

Anyway, I'm here because I'm curious about offering the book in China (I'm American.) 

 

First, does anyone know a Chinese publishing company that deals with foreign language books, or if there is a market for English-language books in China? 

 

Second, how strict are censors? I'm thinking my book will be fine for the most part, but I do (briefly) mention two subjects that may raise red flags: Tiananmen Square protest with the iconic tank photo, and a rundown of the life and times of Mao Zedong.

 

If you can't help, maybe you know someone/where who can?

 

Thanks!

 

-Brandon  

 

 

[liuzhou]

You have virtually no chance of publishing in China. Sorry.

 

Many seasoned, well known journalists/writers have been here a lot longer than eleven months and written great books about China and the topics you mention. I can't think of one which has been published in China. 

[Lu]

I imagine your book might sell perfectly well in your home country, assuming it's reasonably well-written. A while ago I came across a Dutch book by a guy who had spent all of 6 months in Shanghai. There's always an audience for tales of the exotic.

That said, I doubt your book will sell in China, because the Chinese already know China and it doesn't hold any foreign appeal to them. If you'd like to try, to my knowledge the usual route is to find an agent, or for your domestic publisher to get an agent, who will sell it to a suitable publisher. Do you have a domestic publisher yet?

If you do find a publisher, any mention of Tian'anmen 1989 or Mao Zedong will have to be cut. Liuzhou, there are a few foreign China specialists who have their work translated into Chinese. I can't think of names right now, but once in a while such stories pop up in the news, and these authors usually tell of the struggle to not have to cut too much.

[liuzhou]

 

Liuzhou, there are a few foreign China specialists who have their work translated into Chinese. I can't think of names right now, but once in a while such stories pop up in the news, and these authors usually tell of the struggle to not have to cut too much.

 

That is not the same as having your book published in Chinese.

 

I"ve had my work "pop-up" in the news, too. Never once with my permission and certainly not with payment.

[Lu]

I should have been clearer. Occasionally I see stories of China specialists whose books are published in China, in Chinese. The authors usually mention their struggle with censorship. Sorry I can't think of any names.

[dementior]

What is the purpose of publishing in China? As you have been told Chinese people will have no interest in reading your book since they know probably well enough how their country is. For foreigners interested in China it does not matter whether the period is too short or long but how good the writing is. If you cut the sensitive topics then I guess it won't be that interesting for foreigners. When I first arrived to China I read two books from Peter hessler and they were quite entertaining, just go to amazon and publish kindle version and it will be available for everyone to buy.

[BrandonF]

As a percentage, I've had more Chinese people interested in reading my book than non-Chinese. Of course, this is after they've gotten to know me a little, but the Chinese are interested because they'd love to know what an American's impressions of their country are.

I'm not trying to educate the Chinese about China. This is to offer them an outsider's perspective of their country. 

 

Thanks to those who've offered advice. 

 

Lu, I don't have a publisher; I self-published. Liuzhou, where might I read your work?

If you or anyone knows of an author/book that could point me to a Chinese translator/publisher, that would be terrific. I'm also wondering about Kindle/print on demand in China. At the least, I'd like to get my book to all my friends and acquaintances back in Zhuhai:) 

 

Thanks again!

[imron]

Liuzhou, where might I read your work?

See the link in his signature.

[Kenny同志]

As can be known from the popularity of Peter Hessler’s River Town(江城) and other similar works in China, there is a market for books of this kind. This is because many Chinese are interested in looking at China through an outsider’s perspective. Sadly, however, even without the recently tightened up censorship, you will virtually have no chance of having your book published in China unless it is sanitised because both the Tiananmen Square Event and Mao are big no-noes.

If you don’t mind too much about losing the parts where you touch on these two subjects, you can try your luck by getting in touch with Shanghai Translation Publishing House(STPH), a big publisher of Chinese translation books on the mainland.

Translation should be the least of the problems. I can help after mid-March, or you can hire other professionals. And if the press thinks your book is of enough commercial value, they may take care of the translation themselves.

Anyway, good luck!

Kenny

Edit: Quite a number of Chinese readers of your book will read it in English. If you wish to publish it in the original language, you can get in touch with Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press(FLTRP).

[studychinese]

You are looking for a Chinese publisher for your self published book that you wrote in English?

 

I hate to be a nay-sayer that doesn't sound very realistic.

[Angelina]

 

 

If you don’t mind too much about losing the parts where you touch on these two subjects,

 

How strict is it? A book like his will never get published? What will happen if he submits the book the way it is without modifying anything? 

[Kenny同志]

How strict is it? A book like his will never get published? What will happen if he submits the book the way it is without modifying anything?

I have no inside knowledge about how strict it is but I have never seen any book that deals with or even touch on the Tiananmen Sqaure Event come out of the mainland. If OP submits the book without modifying anything, I am sure the press will remove all sensitive parts because no one would like to risk their jobs or freedom (i.e. going to jail) for a book like this.

 

PS: Of course, if Brandon describes the event and Mao in a positive light, that would be a different story.

[Angelina]

but isn't it interesting? What if everyone is afraid to mention something and no one has actually tried to do it?

[Angelina]

I know what I will do, I will write a book. It will be called How to Conquer the Invisible Devil 

[Kenny同志]

What if everyone is afraid to mention something and no one has actually tried to do it?

Some Chinese have written about the subjects but they have no way of having their books published in China. All the media and publishers are state-owned and all important posts are held by CCP members.

 

I think it's quite like you know Jim has a skeleton in his closet and he keeps the key; you tell him that you want to show it to the neighbours and ask him for the key. Do you think he will give it to you? Hmm, probably not.

 

I know what I will do, I will write a book. It will be called How to Conquer the Invisible Devil

Please do. I sure will buy a copy! : )

[Angelina]

 

 

All the media and publishers are state-owned and all important posts are held by CCP members.

 

Authors are afraid of publishers, publishers are afraid of CCP members, CCP members are afraid of people higher up the Party ladder.

 

Who controls censorship?

- Fear.

 

If it was me, I would write what I want without being afraid. I know about the Cultural Revolution. Who made it happen? Normal people like us who wanted to belong to a certain elite group called Red Guards. Some students even attacked their own parents. Why? Was it the Party or was it Fear? 

 

Same with Beijing. People wanted to join those revolutionary students from Beida. 

[Demonic_Duck]

If it was me, I would write what I want without being afraid.

...and then you'd never find a publisher for it in Mainland China.

 

It doesn't matter if fear is what stops people from publishing what they want, the problem is that it's not fear of some invisible boogeyman, it's fear of some decidedly negative and very tangible consequences. As Kenny said, no-one wants to lose their jobs or liberty. Most idealists are idealistic up to a point, and normally that point is about where their idealism begins to have serious negative impacts upon their own life. It's only those who are utterly dedicated to their cause at the expense of all else that are willing to make martyrs of themselves.

 

Take, for example, this guy:

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/naked-rambler-could-face-a-lifetime-of-imprisonments-after-european-court-ruling-9823945.html

 

He takes the very reasonable stance that he was born naked, clothed against his will by other people, and then forced by law to remain in his clothed state in any public place. He decided to carry out his own one-man war of resistance against this injustice. Because of this, he's been arrested countless times and jailed for a total of about ten years.

 

Now, you could very reasonably agree with his position, and even wish for the right to public nudity for yourself and all your fellow human beings, but does that mean you'd go for a naked hike yourself? I'd assume the answer is no, because by doing so you'd risk great personal harm (arrest, jail time, further restrictions on your freedom if convicted of a sex crime, loss of job, loss of friends and family, loss of respect from other people, people thinking you were crazy or a pervert, etc.)

 

Now, even if you do agree with the Naked Rambler (it's a minority position), you probably feel a lot stronger about Tian'anmen square than the right to nudity. The point is, though, almost everyone has limits. It takes people who are both very brave very dedicated to their cause (like the Naked Rambler) to pursue their beliefs to their logical extreme.

[studychinese]

It seems to me that censorship is the least of challenges in getting this book published in China. If you have a self published book in the USA, what is the chance that an actual publisher in ANY COUNTRY will be willing to publish that book? Which foreign publisher will publish a book that is self published and has only sold a few copies?

 

Seems to me that censorship is a red herring. 

[Lu]

If it was me, I would write what I want without being afraid.

I don't want to be condescending, but perhaps you want to read up a bit on censorship in China. All kinds of interesting things have been written about it, and Han Han has a blog somewhere about how it works in practice.

Basically, if you write a book on sensitive issues, no publisher will publish it, because if they do so, they run the risk of the book being taken out of circulation (thereby losing them money), the editors being harrassed and the publishing house being closed down. That's in addition to the risks to you personally.

If you write a blog on sensitive issues, you can do so until you get a significant number of followers. At that point (or perhaps earlier), the censors will notice you and block access to your blog. Or, if you have it on a Chinese site, they will request the site to take down your blog. The site will do so for similar reasons to the publisher.

If you write a book and just self-publish, it's possible that without an ISBN (which only publishers can give you), you won't even find a printer. Even if you manage to print it, no book shop will sell it, you can't sell it online without an ISBN (at least not in a place like Taobao), and you can hardly set up a stall on the street.

So where does that leave you?

As to the OP: studychinese is right, chances are slim. But you can always try, of course. Getting the full book translated well is expensive, so write a summary, pick a representative and interesting excerpt and have those translated. I happen to know an English-Chinese translator who has some experience with literary translation and is available at the moment: Jerry Kuo, one of the founders of Kualanx. I think he also knows a few people in the (Taiwanese) publishing world, which might help a little. Good luck!

[imron]

At that point (or perhaps earlier), the censors will notice you and block access to your blog

And maybe throw you in jail just for good measure. See for example the Stainless Steel Mouse from several years back for one of many examples.