彼得兔背后的故事

If you've ever struggled to sell your work and found yourself wondering if you have a future in illustration, remember that even the greatest illustrators have been in that same boat. Beatrix Potter is one of the most beloved illustrators of all time, forever associated with a series of beautifully-realised children's books starting with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, but even she had to deal with publishers who simply weren't interested.

如果你曾經(jīng)努力推銷你的作品，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己不知道你是否有未來的插畫，請記住，即使是最偉大的插畫家也有同樣的經(jīng)歷。 比阿特麗克斯 · 波特是有史以來最受喜愛的插畫家之一，從《彼得兔的故事》開始，她就一直與一系列美輪美奐的兒童圖書聯(lián)系在一起，但即使是她也不得不與那些根本不感興趣的出版商打交道。

By the time Potter wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit she was already an accomplished illustrator, specialising in detailed recreations of fungus; she had also printed her own Christmas cards and sold illustrations to publishers. But when she tried to sell Peter Rabbit in 1900, there were no takers. Rather than give up, Potter had the story printed at her own expense, and this led to interest from Frederick Warne & Co., which finally published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902.

在波特寫《彼得兔的故事》的時候，她已經(jīng)是一個很有造詣的插畫家，專門從事真菌的詳細(xì)再現(xiàn); 她還自己印制圣誕賀卡，并向出版商出售插圖。 但是當(dāng)她在1900年試圖賣掉彼得兔時，沒有人接受。 波特沒有放棄，而是自己出錢印刷了這個故事，這引起了弗雷德里克 · 沃恩公司的興趣，最終在1902年出版了《彼得兔的故事》。

Potter also took a smart approach to merchandising her work; she made and patented the first Peter Rabbit doll in 1903, and followed this up with all manner of merchandise, which provided her – and her publisher – with a welcome secondary income.

波特還采取了一個聰明的方法來推銷她的作品; 她在1903年制作了第一個彼得兔娃娃并申請了專利，隨后又推出了各種各樣的商品，這給她和她的出版商帶來了可喜的第二收入。

Lesson learned: Sometimes you just have to take the initiative and do things yourself. Once your work's out there and gaining popularity, you'll become a much more attractive proposition for publishers – although you may still have to be persistent.

經(jīng)驗教訓(xùn): 有時候你只需要采取主動，自己做事。 一旦你的作品出版并獲得知名度，你對出版商來說就會變得更有吸引力——盡管你可能還得堅持下去。