As a reader, I never gave much thought to how book descriptions were written. If pushed, I might have guessed that they were written by the author, or maybe the editor. While some editors might write early drafts of book descriptions, at the end of the day book descriptions are a marketing tool. In addition to the usual considerations of marketing copy, marketing strategies are extremely culturally specific. While the obvious goal of a book description is to convince retailers and readers to buy the book, the methods of reaching that goal may be very different.
My graduate research focuses on book descriptions for books with queer themes in both the original English description and the description for the Croatian and/or Serbian translation. I wanted to find out how queer themes are signaled in book descriptions in the two linguistic areas, and I have certainly found results that surprise me, not just in how the queer themes are conveyed but also in the cultural differences in the overall marketing approaches. Since the latter observations will likely not end up in my research paper, I thought it would be interesting to describe them here. This is particularly relevant if you are planning to sell your book on international markets or sell the translation rights. A very effective book description in one market may not translate to another.
The first thing I noticed is that Croatian and Serbian book descriptions tend to focus more on describing the author’s writing style. In the Serbian description of Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James, it includes the line, “Using typical, but at the same time atypical placement of words, he creates a mesmerizing atmosphere.” Compare the English, “Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters . . . .” The description for both the Croatian and Serbian translation of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong includes, “With unusual, lyrically and metaphorically rich prose . . . ” (compared to the English version: “With stunning urgency and grace . . . ”). English-language descriptions in my corpus described the events and themes of the book and occasionally the tone, but never the writing style itself.
Croatian and Serbian descriptions also tend to directly tell the reader why they should read the book. In both of these examples, there is no comparable sentence in the English description. In the description of a recent Serbian printing of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, it says, “Perhaps [the book] is even more important [today]: it seems to us that, more than ever, it is a necessary story about two beings who learn to understand each other.” I thought this one was interesting because of the first-person pronoun. Here, the publishing house is characterized as a respected authority rather than an invisible tastemaker it is often seen as in the US.
In the Croatian description of the Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1 collection by Martha Wells, the description directly states, “This is why so many people interested in artificial sentience consider [this series] valuable reading. It is not easy to prove the validity of this claim with words, in truth the best way is to prove it to yourself and immediately start reading.” To an American audience this might come off a bit presumptive in its directness.
However, all of these differences make sense when put into a post-communist context where there is little cultural basis for the capitalistic marketing we see in the US. A research paper I consulted about marketing practices in Russia (see notes for full citation) found that “Russian marketing focuses much more on the products themselves rather than persuasive copy or clever targeting schemes,” which I have seen to be true in the former Yugoslavia region as well. As such, it makes sense that some descriptions focus more on the writing style. The line of persuasion is that the product itself is good quality. While capitalistic marketing strategy has to worm into your oversaturated brain with subtle messaging, post-communist marketing might just say: I am an authority on books, and I think this is a good book and you should read it.
Localization is an important part of marketing in this digital and globalized age. Localization goes beyond the literal equivalency of words and includes making cultural adjustments so that your messaging has the same impact as in the original version. If you want to reach an international audience, make sure to do some research and talk to people in that region so you can have the effect you want!
Back Matter
Source:
Nigel Holden, Andrei Kuznetsov, and Jeryl Whitelock, “Russia’s struggle with the language of marketing in the communist and post-communist eras”, Business History 50, no. 4 (2008): 474–488, https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.1080/00076790802106646