Cecelia Ahern – how about publishing PS, I Love You for FREE?
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According to the News of the World this week (the one where Bertie Ahern has his first outing as their new sports reporter), Cecelia Ahern would love PS, I Love You to be published in Irish.
It is already available in 40 languages including Japanese, Hebrew and Mandarin. In an interview with a Russian TV show she said :
“Every month I’m in a different country. I’ve been published in so many languages, but it’s my mission to have the book published in Irish”.
So, Cecelia, if you or anyone of your PR people happen to read this – here’s an idea for you:
Just do it.
Hire a group of Irish translators for a couple of months to do the work and make the text available online for FREE as an eBook. Chris Anderson has already done it with his book, and it didn’t harm his harback sales at all (Number 7 on NY Times Best Seller list of business books as of 30th July).
The English version of PS, I Love You is selling for a little over €3 at the moment, so it’s not as if giving away an Irish version would be a big deal.
If anything, creating an Irish version and giving it away for free would give second wind to sales of the English version as well as other titles. It would also be a nod of thanks back to the country in which she enjoys tax-free status for her works.
So, how about it Cecelia ? Start today and it would all be in place in time for Christmas.
3 Comments
August 17th, 2009 at 11:36 am
It certainly wouldn’t sell on its own merits in Irish. Any Irish language reader (a small subset of speakers, alas) likely to have wanted to read it, will have done so in English.
The cynic in me says this is just a cheap answer, much like all those people who say they love Irish, but don’t actually do anything about it.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
ah yeah, I know there won’t be a huge demand – but given she appears to be so set on doing it – just throwing out the idea and seeing if anything comes of it
August 17th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
But is she really? A simple a mission to accomplish as that ought to have happened by now!
After all, Bloomsbury got Harry Potter translated, and there is an Artemis Fowl out there in Irish. Kids books, granted, but there is no shortage of literary talent in Irish.
What I meant about it not selling is that any such translation is going to be about symbolism [and marketing the brand!], and therefore she should just get on with it, as you suggest.