How to Plan, Publish, and Sell a New Bible Translation
The Norwegian translation project
The decision to work towards a new bible translation in Norway was made in 1999. Our goal was to make an accurate and consistent translation that is understandable to a modern audience. At that point nobody understood how overwhelming this task would turn out to be. It took us 12 years to complete the translation. The New Testament was published in 2005 in a trial edition, and revised once more in the following years. The complete new Bible was published in 2011. What was meant to be a small revision, developed into a full new translation project, and our ambition was to make a concordant text, based on updated research, but still communicating with a modern and broad audience. We wanted it to be adopted by the churches, but also recognized as an iconic text, and accepted by the general public as a part of our cultural heritage. We also wanted the new bibles to be published in a variety of modern, readable, beautiful, attractive high quality editions and at the same time be available on electronic platforms.
Concordant and modern
The previous Norwegian translation, called NO 78/85 (those were the years when it was first published and then revised) had been widely accepted by the churches and was considered to be of good quality. Still, as the years have passed, it was felt to be a bit out of date. The Norwegian language (like most other languages) has changed. The cultural climate is also different, meaning how we read and understand a text and what we expect from it. We enjoy poetic text, we use metaphors and we accept the irrational (thanks to Harry Potter!). We are more influenced by other media and aware of how texts can be interrelated. This allows for the use of other translation principles, compared to what was commonly believed to be correct in the seventies.
Literary authors
To achieve our goal, a broadest possible outreach of our new translation, we asked ourselves: Who has the best possible knowledge of spoken and written contemporary modern Norwegian language? Answer: Literary authors. They are the experts. Consequently, to optimize the literary potential of the bible text and allow it to bloom in a precise and vivid language, we invited renowned Norwegian authors to take part in the translation project and work together with theologians and translators. With their help the translation was given qualities that made it more widely accepted and accessible even to people who are not regular churchgoers. We believe that the Bible is for everyone, believers and non-believers. The general audience actually grasped this intent.
The authors have helped us to preserve the complex structures of the Hebrew language and at the same time create new, sustainable structures of modern Norwegian language – understandable, but still with the depth, spirit and power of expression existing in the original language. The joint efforts were said to have made the theologians more brave and confident and willing to look for new solutions.
Strategic goals
The new Bible editions should reflect the overall intents and strategic goals of the Bible Society. What do we want to achieve? It is an enormous task to translate the Bible. It takes what you have of human and financial resources, imagination, concentration, and administrative skills. The result must do justice to the resources you have put into it!
Whether you succeed or not, will depend on the numerous initial decisions you make. At this stage, it is essential to have competent and trustworthy production partners, who can help you with all these difficult options. After all, they are experts. They know about typefaces, readability, materials and how these can be used, trends, colours and possibilities to make sure that the finished editions reflect your goals and ambitions.
Preparations
If you are at the beginning of a project, you may think: The publication of the new translation is so far away, no need to think of it at this stage. Wrong! You need to start early, actually earlier than what you expect to be necessary. The Bible Society of Norway decided to organize the translation as an integrated part of the activities of the Publishing Department. This meant that we could early on try to visualize the finished product. We knew that the translation work would need to have an absolute deadline (like all other products), and that we had to make preparations for the production a long time ahead. In our case, it was agreed that the translators should hand over the complete text, fully checked, to the editor on Jan 1st at the latest. The launch was planned to take place in October that year. But the editor actually started her work with the new Bibles almost two years before that.
Paratext
Before you even start to think about the printing of a new Bible translation, you need to know the state of your Paratext files. Are they corrected and updated? The transition from Paratext files into editable files/book pages may easily become a critical point. Even if we had every intention of making this transition as smooth as possible, we ran into some problems because all codes in Paratext had not been set. All codes for automatic conversion, and all other good and useful codes available in the program must be properly set. This must be done at the beginning of the translation process. Translators are not always aware of this. It may be useful to run a check and send one or two chapters to the typesetter to see what happens. To solve problems that will inevitably occur during this process, keep a close contact with the Bible Society Paratext experts. This saves you a lot of corrections and extra work in the final stages of the project.
Options
One of the first things we did in order to plan the publishing itself, was to decide what the publishing program should look like and suggest strategies on how to reach our target groups and meet the expectations of our board and our audience. If you have a fairly good idea about that, then you will also be able to define your challenges in terms of time, money, staff, and external partners. Even if your board must define your strategies, you will still have to provide sufficient parameters for the decision makers, such as number of editions, sizes, covers, cost, quality, time allowed for the production, etc. You need to know whether your Bibles should be classic or modern, reflect tradition or trend, come in both luxury and economy binding, etc. You need to know how to obtain maximum readability and user-friendliness and the best possible quality at a price you can afford. Good knowledge about your market is essential, and above all: You need to be clear about your message and understand how your finished books are eventually going to reflect this message, either: “This is the good, old book“ (traditional design), or “This is a message to a modern, secularized person who could perhaps also be persuaded to read the book” (modern design).
Design brief
As a consequence of these discussions we could prepare a design brief. The request that was presented to our production partner and designers was clear: Readable, modern typeface. Best quality printing and binding. A variety of cover designs that could be perceived as belonging to a “family”. The design should reflect the ambitions of the new translation as a brand. This sounds simple, but it took us about two years to agree on the best options. We discussed a great number of designs. Time and time again we met with the designers and printers. We contacted the booksellers about their likes and dislikes and asked what covers they believed could be accepted by the customers. Most of this was done while the translators still worked on the text. During all this a close contact with professionals was essential. They not only came up with good ideas, they also told us whether our own ideas were feasible and advised on technical possibilities and limitations. Without this contact with professional designers and printers early in the process, we could easily have gone astray. We agreed on a production plan with a realistic, but tight time schedule. With a launch date set one year in advance, I am happy to say that we enjoyed the high standards of our partners, who obeyed the schedule throughout the production process. Everything was delivered on time, both design, typeset text for proofreading, and printed books.
Editions
For first editions of Bible 2011 two different type settings and designs were developed: One for the medium and large standard editions, and one for the three volume literary edition (without chapters, verses or footnotes). We used four different cover designs: One for the (cheaper) launch edition, one for PU editions, one for luxury Bibles and one for the literary edition. All editions of the same size were made from the same book block. However, each edition required a separate typesetting and proofreading. “Nynorsk” and “bokmål”, the two official Norwegian languages, were both included in the project, which duplicated the number of editions. Each of these editions was produced in a variety of colours and binding materials, which made it necessary to have one common feature, or logo, which was used on all printed books. This logo has become a recognizable symbol of Bible 2011, and has been used also for communication and marketing purposes.
Marketing and launch
Our overall goal was the widest possible outreach in church and society at a reasonable cost. By involving several church leaders and representatives of various target groups during the whole span of the project we got many ambassadors and created a strong feeling of joint ownership.
Towards the end of September, about one month before the launch, the Bible Society published a book called Bibelsk (Biblical), a collection of essays written by the literary authors who had been involved in the translation. People were amazed that all these well-known and respected authors had actually participated in the translation.
Our marketing resources were limited. After eleven years of expensive translation work, we had to make some strategic conclusions on marketing, the most important tool being publicity, not advertising. The main focus was on contacting media and making photos and information available. A website for Bible 2011 was set up. Design solutions, including covers and logo, were actively used to promote our new Bible.
A publicity steering group was established at an early stage, consisting of marketing and media experts, who agreed to work on a voluntary basis. The group discussed particularly how to reach people outside the Christian community.
We decided at an early stage to set an embargo date for sales, similar to what happens to Harry Potter books and Apple products, which creates a buzz around the launch. This was accepted both by retailers and the media. The date was announced a year in advance, to give our partners enough time to plan for the event. Some theology students in Oslo who started planning early queued up outside a Christian bookstore. Several TV crews came down as they were dressed up as biblical characters and were spreading smiles and enthusiasm. Other book stores started to sell the new Bibles around midnight or very early in the morning. Some served breakfast or had special offers and sold many Bibles on that first day.
The launch in Oslo Cathedral on Wednesday October 19th was a great success, with invited guests from official bodies, various churches and Christian organisations. All ages were represented and the program was tailored to interest both media and Bible enthusiasts. A few days later an amazing number of local congregations and groups took up the challenge and marked the launch during the weekend of October 22nd-23rd.
How to succeed
Our goal was to succeed with an integrated translation/editing process. Several times and on different occasions people have asked: What were the reasons for the success of the new Norwegian bible translation? Because the results have been visible and widely recognized: 77,000 copies sold during the first two moths, 100,000 copies during the first six months. 17 of a total of 48 weeks at the top of the general bestseller list (the 15 most sold titles in Norway), reviews in all important newspapers and literary magazines, invitations from all over the country to come and present the new Bible.
There may be many answers to that question. The most obvious ones are: High quality on all levels and in all stages of the project. Good, integrated, early planning. Dedicated partners and staff. Willingness to stick to the plans that were made and obey a tight schedule.
Turid Barth Pettersen
Publishing Director in the Norwegian Bible Society from 1997-2012. Publishing Consultant from 2012 to present.