JKR interview with etoys.com, Fall 2000

eToys interview transcript, etoys.com, Fall 2000
(x: http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/fall00-etoys.html)

이건 완전 딥한 인터뷰는 아니고 그냥 기본적인 이야기 나누는 것 같긴 한데 고고

해리포터에 대한 아이디어는 어떻게 얻게 되었나요?

-맨체스터에서 런던으로 기차여행을 떠나던 중 갑자기 해리에 대한 아이디어를 떠올리게 되었다. 자신이 마법사라는 사실을 몰랐던 소년과 그 소년이 다니게 되는 마법학교 이야기

1권을 쓰는 데 얼마나 오래 걸렸나요?

-5년. 그 동안 1권 내용만 작업한 것은 아니고 나머지 6권에 대한 계획도 세우고 그 중 일부 작업도 진행하였다.

2권부터 읽는 독자들이 혼란스럽지 않게 하기 위해 어떻게 하였나요?

-시리즈의 시퀄들이 계속 출판될때마다 새로 진입하는 독자들이 스토리라인을 이해하게 만드는것이 점점 더 힘들어진다 비밀의방 경우에는 좀 더 직관적이었는데, 해리에 대한 정보와 그가 호그와트 1학년으로 보냈던 이야기를 가능한한 자연스럽게 소개하려고 하였음. 그러나 이제 책 5권 6권 쯤 되니까 점점 힘들어진다. ~지난 주 방송 내용~을 30분을 봐야 한다고 생각해봐라.. 아마 서문에 지난 해리 포터 이야기,,,를 작성해야할지도 모르겠다 그리고 독자들에게는 자 이제 1권부터 4권을 보세요! 라고 하는 거지

US판에서는 미국독자들을 배려하기 위해 어떤 부분이 변경되었나요 예를 들자면 1권처럼 제목이 바뀌었다든지(영판: 해리포터와 현자의 돌 / 미국판: 해리포터와 마법사의 돌)

-그렇게 많이 바뀌지는 않았다. 미국 편집자인 Arthur Levine과 나는 정말 이해불가능한 단어일때만 (맥락을 보더라도 이해가 안갈 때) 단어를 바꾸기로 하였으니까..자기 작품에 어떤 변화도 허용하지 않는 영국 작가들에게 비판을 좀 받았는데, 나한테 이런 이슈는 프랑스와 덴마크 아이들한테 우리 해리포터 번역 안해줄테니까 영어 배워라 하는 말과 비슷하게 느껴진다. 처음에 제목변경은 Arthur의 아이디어였다. 왜냐면 그에게 영국판 제목은 주제를 오해하게 만들 소지가 있다고 느껴졌기 때문이지.. 영국에서 우리는 대체 타이틀에 대해 논의하고, "Sorcerer's Stone"은 나의 아이디어였다.

해리포터는 언제나 1권 이상의 작품으로 계획되어있었나요? 그렇다면 얼마나?

-언제나  7권 시리즈로 작업하려고 마음먹었었다. 마법사로 훈련받기 위하여, 11-17세를 포함한 7년의 시간대를 쓰려고 마음먹었으니까. 그리고 매 권마다 해리가 호그와트에서 보내는 1년의 삶을 다루려고 하였음.

앞으로 나올 해리포터 책에 대해 힌트를 좀 준다면?

-7권 내내 나올 주제는 선과 악의 대결이고, 피해자(부상자, 사상자)들도 존재할 것. 어린이들이 제발 론을 죽이지 말아달라고 조르곤 하죠. 내가 누군가 죽는다는 말을 할때마다 그들에겐 론이 가장 취약해보이는 모양. 왜냐면 론은 히어로의 베스트프렌드니까!

해리포터에 나오는 그 많은 이름들은 어떻게 떠올리나요? 

-퀴디치와 머글은 만들어낸 이름들임. 나는 특이한 이름들을 수집하는데, 여러 다른 종류의 장소에서 이름을 수집한다.. 헤드위그는 성인의 이름, 덤블도어는 "bumblebee(꿀벌의 종류-땅벌, 뎅벌, 땡벌........땡벌........)"의 고어이고, 스네이프는 영국의 한 장소.

해리포터가 수많은 사람들과 연결되어있다는 것에 대해 어떻게 생각하나요?

-정말 신기한게 전 완전히 나만을 위한 작품을 썼거든요. 나의 유머코드였고 아이들이 그걸 재밌다고 느낄 줄 몰랐어요. 어른들에게 어필할 것이라고 생각했는데.. 어떻게 보면, 내가 해리 나이였을때의 기억들이 정말 선명하거든요. 그래서 어린이들이 해리와 그의 친구들에게 강하게 동감할 수 있는 것 같아요.

해리포터가 이렇게 성공할 줄 예상했었는지?

-해리시리즈가 어떻게 될 줄 알았다면 미쳐버렸을 듯.. 가장 짜릿했던 순간은, 많아서 하나 꼽기 어렵지만 하나 꼽아보자면, 해리 시리즈가 출판 결정이 났던 그 순간임. 서점 선반에 내가 쓴 책이 꽂혀있는것을 보는게 내 인생 일대의 야망이었으니까.. 그 이후 모든것이 특별하고 놀라웠지만 내 어릴적부터의 꿈-출판한 작가-이 이루어진 순간이기 때문에.. 

해리포터는 영국에서 처음 성공했고 그 다음은 US였죠, 해리 시리즈가 출판된 나라는 어디어디인가요? 다른 나라마다 해리 시리즈에 대한 반응들이 어떻게 비슷하고 어떻게 비슷한가요? 나라마다 표지가 다른데 가장 좋아하는 표지는?

-해리는 이제 영국, 미국, 브라질, 네덜란드(홀란드), 프랑스, 독일, 이탈리아, 스페인, 포르투갈, 그리스, 체코슬로바키아, 스웨덴, 노르웨이, 덴마크, 핀란드, 그리고 일본에 출판되고 있음 제일 좋아하는 커버는 US 버전. 일러스트레이터인 Mary GrandPre를 꼭 만나보고싶다. 아 하지만 네덜란드 표지도 아주 좋아함.

(아 왠지 이걸로 검색어 존나 걸릴 것 같다 불안하다..)

전세계 독자들을 위해 당신 책을 온라인 유통하는 것에 대해 어떻게 생각하나요?(인터뷰가 2000년이었다...)

-온라인유통은 정말 편리하죠, 하지만 전 오프라인 서점에 가서 책을 고르는걸 더 좋아한답니다. 스콜라스틱(US 출판사)는 이제 영국 출판과 거의 동시에 책을 출판하게 될 예정이라, 이제 미국의 해리포터 팬들은 나머지 책들을 지역 서점에서 더 빨리 만나볼 수 있게 될 거예요!

사람들이 해리포터에 대해 하는 말 중 가장 맘에 들었던 것은 무엇이었나요?

-에딘버러 북페스티벌에서 제 낭독회에 왔던 12세의 스코티쉬 소녀가 한 말인데요, 이벤트가 매진되고 싸인 줄이 굉장히 길었어요. 그 소녀가 제 앞에 섰을때 이렇게 물어봤는데요, "이렇게 많은 사람들이 와 있는게 싫어요, 왜냐면 이건 내 책이니까요!" 제가 제일 좋아하는 책들에 대해 느끼는 감정과 아주 정확히 일치하죠. 아무도 알아선 안돼, 나 혼자서만 좋아할거야!

나머지는 걍 자기 얘기고.. 패쓰패쓰

How did you get the idea for Harry Potter?
I was taking a long train journey from Manchester to London in England and the idea for Harry just fell into my head. At that point it was essentially the idea of a boy who didn't know he was a wizard, and the wizard school he ended up going to.

How long did it take to write the first book?
Five years, although during that time I was also planning and writing parts of the six sequels.

What did you have to do to make sure readers could start with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and not be confused?
It's becoming more of a challenge to keep new readers up to speed with every new Harry book. In the case of "Chamber of Secrets" matters were relatively straightforward; I tried to introduce information about Harry and his first year at Hogwarts in as natural a way as possible. However, by the time I reach books 5 and 6, this is going to be much harder. It makes me think of "previously on ER..." when you have to watch 30 minutes of clips to understand that week's episode. Maybe I'll just write a preface "previously in Harry Potter..." and tell readers to go back and read books 1-4!

What kind of manuscript changes had to be made to make the U.S. version more understandable to American readers? Specific things, like the title change of the first Harry Potter book? (The original British title is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.)
Very few changes have been made in the manuscript. Arthur Levine, my American editor, and I decided that words should be altered only where we felt they would be incomprehensible, even in context, to an American reader. I have had some criticism from other British writers about allowing any changes at all, but I feel the natural extension of that argument is to go and tell French and Danish children that we will not be translating Harry Potter, so they'd better go and learn English. The title change was Arthur's idea initially, because he felt that the British title gave a misleading idea of the subject matter. In England, we discussed several alternative titles and "Sorcerer's Stone" was my idea.

Did you always plan to write Harry's story in more than one book? If so, how many?
I always conceived it as a 7-book series because I decided that it would take seven years from the ages of 11-17 inclusive, to train as a wizard, and each of the books would deal with a year of Harry's life at Hogwarts.

Any hints you could share about what to expect in future Harry Potter books?
The theme running through all seven books is the fight between good and evil, and I'm afraid there will be casualties! Children usually beg me not to kill Ron. Whenever I tell them this, they seem to think he is most vulnerable, probably because he is the hero's best friend!

How do you come up with all the unique names, places, and things that help make Harry Potter so intriguing?

Many of the names are invented, for example "Quidditch" and "Muggle." I also collect unusual names, and I take them from all sorts of different places. "Hedwig" was a saint, "Dumbledore" is an old English word for "bumblebee," and "Snape" is the name of a place in England.

What do you think it is about Harry Potter that connects with so many people?
It's very hard to think about my work in those terms, because I really wrote it entirely for myself; it is my sense of humour in the books, not what I think children will find funny, and I suppose that would explain some of the appeal to adults. On the other hand, I think that I have very vivid memories of how it felt to be Harry's age, and children seem to identify strongly with Harry and his friends.

Did you ever expect Harry Potter to be so successful?
I would have been crazy to have expected what has happened to Harry. The most exciting moment for me, against very stiff competition, was when I found out Harry was going to be published. It was my life's ambition to see a book I had written on a shelf in a bookshop. Everything that has happened since has been extraordinary and wonderful, but the mere fact of being able to say I was a published author was the fulfillment of a dream I had had since I was a very small child.

Are you surprised to see Harry Potter connecting with so many adults, as well as kids?
I didn't write with a target audience in mind. What excited me was how much I would enjoy writing about Harry. I never thought about writing for children-- children's books chose me. I think if it is a good book anyone will read it.

Harry Potter was first successful in England, and then in the United States. Where else has Harry Potter been released? What similarities and/or differences have you found in the response to Harry Potter in different countries? And, since each of the editions is packaged differently, do you have a favorite?
Harry is now published in Britain, America, Brazil, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Japan. My favourite cover is the American one-- I am very much hoping to meet the illustrator, Mary GrandPré, but I also love the Dutch edition.

What do you think of online book retailing as a way of getting your stories read by readers around the globe?
Online retailing may be convenient, but I personally would much prefer to go into a real bookshop and browse! I know that Scholastic will soon be publishing each Harry book in America around the same time that they are published in Britain, so American Harry fans will be able to get the next installment much more quickly from their local bookstore.

Of the many things you must have heard people say about Harry Potter, what are some of your favorites?
My very favourite was from a 12-year-old Scottish girl who came to hear me read at the Edinburgh book festival. The event was sold out and the queue for signing at the end was very long. When the girl in question finally reached me she said, "I didn't WANT there to be so many people here, because this is MY book!" That is exactly how I feel about my favourite books-- nobody else has a right to know them, let alone like them!

How has your success as an author impacted your lifestyle? Is there something you always wanted to do that you are able to do now that you have the chance?
I never expected to be talking to journalists or doing lots of promotional work, and I have reached the point now where I have to say "no" to a lot of things just to make sure that I get enough time to write. On the other hand, I love traveling, and the chance to visit places I have never seen before-- my trip to the U.S. to promote the book... I fell in love with New York, and San Francisco is absolutely wonderful.

Are you recognized now? Do you get stopped for autographs? How does that feel?
I am rarely recognized and I am very happy about that, because I like being an anonymous person! It usually happens when I'm writing in cafes, because the connection between me and cafes is strongly imprinted in Edinburgh people's minds. Occasionally I have handed over my credit card and people have recognised the name, which is a very comfortable level of recognisability. One shop assistant told me she had taken the second Harry to read on her honeymoon! The most embarrassing occasion was when I took my daughter to see "A Bug's Life" with some friends, and a woman with a party of a dozen little girls asked me if she could take a picture of me with all her charges.

Are you excited about the movie deal for Harry Potter?
I am very excited (and a little bit nervous) about Harry Potter the Movie.

Is this the first book/story you ever wrote? If not, is it the first one ever published?
It is the first book I have ever published. At the time I got the idea for Harry, I had written and put aside two adult novels.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes, ever since the age of 5 or 6, when I wrote my first "book"-- a story about a rabbit called "Rabbit."

Where, when, and how do you write?
Any time, any place, and longhand!

Do you have any plans, as a writer, beyond Harry Potter?
I have always written and I know that I always will; I would be writing even if I hadn't been published. However, Harry is a large and all-consuming project, and I really haven't got time, at the moment, to decide what will come next.

What books and authors did you read as a kid? Which are your biggest influences?
I most admire E. Nesbit, Paul Gallico and C.S. Lewis. My favourite book as a child was The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.

What advice would you give to young writers today?
I doubt a writer who has got what it takes will need me to tell them this, but persevere!

What do you like best about your life as a children's book writer?
The writing!

If you were not writing, what might you be doing, instead?
Well, as you can see by the answer above, I would be at a dead loss. Profession-wise, I would still be teaching, which I enjoyed.

What are your hobbies, favorite holidays, and how do you celebrate them?
I was embarrassed the other day to discover that I didn't have much to say to the question, "What are your hobbies?" (asked by a 9-year-old boy). The truth is that if I'm not looking after my daughter, spending time with friends, or reading, I am writing. The boy who'd asked seemed quite frustrated by this answer, but the truth of the matter is that even if writing is now my full-time profession, it is also my greatest pleasure. I doubt if it will come as a surprise to anybody that I love Halloween. I usually hold a big Halloween party for my friends and their children.

Other things that help define who you are (foods, TV shows, etc.)?
I will eat almost anything except tripe, which unfortunately was the speciality in Oporto, where I lived for three years. TV shows: I love comedy, mostly British, though I love Frasier and The Simpsons.

You live in Scotland, but what other countries have you visited? Which are your favorites? If you were to move, where would you choose?
I have lived in England, France, and Portugal, and visited many others. I loved Portugal (my daughter is half-Portuguese) and I'm looking forward to taking her back there and trying to explain why we left the blazing sunshine for fog and snow.

What does your daughter think of your work? What books do you want and like to read with her? And her to read on her own?
She is still too young for me to read the Harry Potter books to her, but I am really looking forward to a time when I can share them with her. She loves the Beatrix Potter books and I recently read her 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', which she thoroughly enjoyed.

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