In the past, when publishers issued translations, most were through a friend "coincidentally discovering" a certain book and sending it or mailing it back, asking someone to translate it, and then publishing it. It was often a gap of six months or a year between the publication of a new book abroad and the appearance of the translation.
過去出版社出翻譯書，多半透過友人「恰巧」從國外「發現」一本好書，再寄回或帶回來，請人翻譯，直到出版；與國外新書上市，時隔半年、一年相當平常。