Upper-Intermediate - Publishing a Magazine (D2113)

A: 鹏宇,你毕业这么久了,还在整天晃荡,你到底想做什么?总得有个打算啊!
Péngyǔ, nǐ bìyè zhème jiǔ le, hái zài zhěngtiān huàngdang, nǐ dàodǐ xiǎng zuò shénme? zǒngděi yǒu gè dǎsuàn a!
Peng Yu, it's been a while since you graduated and you're still hanging around all day long. What do you want to do? You have to have a plan!
B: 妈,你别唠叨了,我已经有想法了。
mā, nǐ bié láodao le, wǒ yǐjīng yǒu xiǎngfǎ le.
Mom, stop nagging me. I already have an idea.
A: 什么想法?无论什么,妈妈都支持你。
shénme xiǎngfǎ? wúlùn shénme, māma dōu zhīchí nǐ.
What is it? No matter what it is, I'll support you.
B: 我们几个同学想合伙办一个杂志。这也是我的梦想。
wǒmen jǐ gè tóngxué xiǎng héhuǒ bàn yī gè zázhì. zhè yě shì wǒ de mèngxiǎng.
A couple of us classmates want to work together to publish a magazine. Plus it's my dream.
A: 办杂志?现在还有人看杂志吗?
bàn zázhì? xiànzài hái yǒu rén kàn zázhì ma?
A magazine? Do people still read magazines nowadays?
B: 当然。要做我就要做得像模像样,做成像《财富》《时尚》之类的全球知名杂志。
dāngrán. yào zuò wǒ jiùyào zuò de xiàngmúxiàngyàng, zuòchéng xiàng《 Cáifù》《 Shíshàng》 zhīlèi de quánqiú zhīmíng zázhì.
Of course. If I make one, I want to make a proper one. I want to make one like “Fortune” or “Cosmopolitan”, one of those magazines known throughout the world.
A: 哦,那你想做哪方面的?
ò, nà nǐ xiǎng zuò nǎ fāngmiàn de?
Oh, then you want to make it on what topic?
B: 初步打算做一本小资,时尚,小清新,符合80后、90后口味的杂志。动漫,文学,加时尚。
chūbù dǎsuàn zuò yī běn xiǎozī, shíshàng, xiǎoqīngxīn, fúhé bālíng hòu、 jiǔlíng hòu kǒuwèi de zázhì. dòngmàn, wénxué, jiā shíshàng.
The initial plan is to make a magazine that's yuppie-ish, fashionable and hip, and that appeals to the tastes of people born in the 80s and 90s. Comics, literature, plus fashion.
A: 先不说能不能卖出去,我听说申请刊号也很困难。
xiān bù shuō néngbunéng mài chūqù, wǒ tīngshuō shēnqǐng kānhào yě hěn kùnnan.
Don't you have to be able to sell it first? I've heard applying for a publishing license is also very difficult.
B: 不用申请刊号,我同学说可以每次买书号来发行。
bùyòng shēnqǐng kānhào, wǒ tóngxué shuō kěyǐ měicì mǎi shūhào lái fāxíng.
We don't need to have a publishing license. My classmate says that we can buy a book license every time we want to publish.
A: 你这风格,受众都定了,发行范围呢?
nǐ zhè fēnggé, shòuzhòng dōu dìng le, fāxíng fànwéi ne?
If you do it this way, your readership is fixed. Where do you plan to publish?
B: 初步定在上海市吧。
chūbù dìng zài Shànghǎi shì ba.
For now the plan is to establish ourselves in Shanghai.
A: 就上海发行也需要渠道,不然印好了要全烂在手里了。
jiù Shànghǎi fāxíng yě xūyào qúdào, bùrán yìn hǎo le yào quán làn zài shǒulǐ le.
If you publish in Shanghai you'll need some distribution channels, otherwise after you print your magazines, all of them will just start collecting dust.
B: 嗯,我们正在寻找。有一个同学的爸爸是做杂志的。你不是也有朋友在报社杂志社吗?也帮我问问。
ng4, wǒmen zhèngzài xúnzhǎo. yǒu yī gè tóngxué de bàba shì zuò zázhì de. nǐ bùshì yě yǒu péngyou zài bàoshè zázhìshè ma? yě bāng wǒ wèn wen.
Yeah, we are looking for ways to distribute now. The father of one of my classmates works at a magazine. Don't you also have a friend at a publishing house? You can help me by asking them.
A: 好。我听他们说赚的少赔的多。
hǎo. wǒ tīng tāmen shuō zhuàn de shǎo péi de duō.
Okay. I hear they say you earn little, but spend a lot.
B: 不一定吧。
bù yīdìng ba.
Not necessarily.
A: 请人写稿,采访,印刷,发行都需要钱,启动资金就要不少吧?
qǐng rén xiěgǎo, cǎifǎng, yìnshuā, fāxíng dōu xūyào qián, qǐdòngzījīn jiùyào bùshǎo ba?
Getting people to write articles, interview, print and publish requires money. The start-up capital must be quite a lot, right?
B: 我们几个同学合伙,老妈,到时候你也支持一把,算你入股。
wǒmen jǐ gè tóngxué héhuǒ, lǎomā, dào shíhou nǐ yě zhīchí yī bǎ, suàn nǐ rùgǔ.
All of us classmates are working together. Mom, when the time comes you can also support us with some money. You'd be like an investor.
A: 就算我同意,你爸也肯定要说你这是烧钱。你就不能想点儿实际的,你看看人家……
jiùsuàn wǒ tóngyì, nǐ bà yě kěndìng yào shuō nǐ zhè shì shāoqián. nǐ jiù bùnéng xiǎng diǎnr shíjì de, nǐ kàn kan rénjiā……
Even if I agree, your father is going to say that this is just a waste of money. You just can't think about something a bit more practical. Why can't you be like everyone else?

Key Vocabulary

晃荡 huàngdang to hang about
唠叨 láodao to nag
合伙 héhuǒ to partner up
bàn to publish
杂志 zázhì magazine
像模像样 xiàngmúxiàngyàng respectable, proper
初步 chūbù to take first steps
小资 xiǎozī yuppie
小清新 xiǎoqīngxīn indie, hipster
动漫 dòngmàn cartoon
刊号 kānhào publishing license
书号 shūhào book license, ISBN
发行 fāxíng to publish
风格 fēnggé style
受众 shòuzhòng readership
发行范围 fāxíngfànwéi publishing area
渠道 qúdào distribution channel
làn to rot, go bad
报社 bàoshè newspaper publisher
杂志社 zázhìshè magazine publisher
启动资金 qǐdòng zījīn start-up capitial
入股 rùgǔ to become a shareholder, own a stake in something
烧钱 shāoqián to waste money

Supplementary Vocabulary

出版 chūbǎn to publish
出版社 chūbǎnshè publishing house
合伙人 héhuǒrén business partner
股份 gǔfèn stock, equity
赔钱 péiqián to lose money
品质 pǐnzhì quality

Online Review and Discussion .   ©2013 Praxis Language Ltd.