This article analyses the translation of pragmatic texts within the publishing industry. It hopes to shed light on an overlooked area of translation that students find disorientating. In this context, the text becomes perfectible raw material. It is further defined by its inscription within a layout which disrupts its linearity; both facts are going to influence the phrasing of the translation. Their author's status is discussed because it leads to a reassessment of the notion of fidelity. This article ends with advice for inexperienced translators and with an invitation to go beyond the traditional dualities inherited from literary translation to grasp pragmatic translation.