If you’re reading this, we know you have exceptional taste – you love good independents and great books, and you champion diversity and cultural variety in all its various forms – and for that, we are incredibly grateful. But we’d like to send out an appeal, to help you and every reader out there to understand the challenges that we are facing, and to ask for your help.
The publishing landscape has dramatically changed over the past five years, and there is a real and very concrete risk that many, many independent publishers are going to be forced to close their doors.
The cost of printing books has skyrocketed – up 38 percent, and then another 38 percent and still rising – as has the cost of delivery and virtually every other element of the publishing process. Like most independents, we have always worked on a shoestring, but even the tiniest margins have now disappeared. Translations add another element that not every small publisher faces; they cost three, sometimes four times more to get to the market than an English original, and that’s a cost that is going to increase, too, as translators have their own need to earn enough to survive.
The market has been flooded with digital publishers; Amazon’s own publishing arms have eclipsed that platform; conglomerate and large independents are throwing vast amounts of marketing and PR money behind their lead titles in order to secure retailer support and press coverage, and small companies simply can’t compete. Great books are simply not being stocked by increasingly risk-averse retailers, still recovering from pandemic losses, and they are often not reviewed either, as column inches are devoted to surefire hits, driven by publisher expenditure.
We are facing extremely difficult times and yet remain the most vibrant, bold and exciting part of the industry … willing to take risks on debuts and books that thrust the genre – literature – in new directions, keen to celebrate cultural and other diversity with international authors who bring something new and invigorating to the market. We take chances, we support our authors as their careers and their craft develops, we offer variety that enhances mainstream books and gives readers genuine choice.
Think of it like a weekly shopping expedition. Do you always want to shop at chain retailers with own-brand goods, or do you want to find treats – hidden gems – that tantalise, astonish and excite you? Do you want to try new things, pick up something different, maybe even challenging, as a change? The simple truth is that the best books are not the ones that are the most hyped, or the most heavily stocked. The best books are those that people continue to think about, to recommend, to talk about, long after publication day. And that, I really feel, is what we do best.
Imagine if every shop sold only the same things – if every bookshop sold exactly the same books? This is where the publishing industry is heading, and at pace, we absolutely need your help to prevent that from happening.
This will make a difference:
- If you don’t see our books in the shops, order them. Indies and Waterstones can get them in (and even delivered to your door) within 48 hours
- Consider signing up for our subscription box with the awesome indie bookshop Bert’s Books … there’s not only an option to fit your budget, but we have a price guarantee in place, and lots of additional treats! Sign up HERE
- Pre-order books. You don’t have to wait until they’re published. Pre-orders encourage retailers to stock our books, and it can make all the difference to long-term success (and sales)
- Actively seek out books published by independent publishers … we are the colour and the life blood of this industry, taking risks and finding some of the most outstanding, innovative voices you’ll read today
- Talk about our books … recommend them to friends, to your local bookseller, to librarians. Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to sell books
- Buy from the Orenda website. We have lots of sales and reasonable prices, and both we and our authors benefit more when we sell directly to you.
- Take a chance on new authors. Indie publishers have small lists and every book has to be special, to bring something unique to the market. Good independent publishers will have countless remarkable books that have not received the sales or attention they deserve.
- If you find a book you love, explore the author’s backlist.
- Quite simply, buy our books. If you’re on a budget, head for the discounted ebooks or one of our sales; if you’re not, shop on our website or your favourite retailers. We set out to create a brand that readers will trust, and truly believe that every book contains at least a little magic, regardless of its genre
- Borrow from the library … authors benefit from every loan, and libraries are an integral part of the reading community
- Gift our books in any format; it helps to spread the word and the pleasure
- Take time to review our books, on the Waterstones website, Amazon, GoodReads or anywhere you choose to make your purchases. Readers everywhere rely on recommendations and it can make a difference to sales, exposure and discoverability
- Share our books on social media, and follow us! We have lots of fun, book chat, recommendations and offers!
- If you don’t already, subscribe to our newsletter, and ask your friends to subscribe too. Subscribers receive special offers and discounts; exciting exclusive news and deals, and much, much more!
- Nominate and vote for our books for awards; across the history of Orenda Books, our authors have been long- or shortlisted, or won, over 223 prizes. And for good reason.
- Follow our authors on social media, or sign up for their newsletters. It means so much to them, and to us, and busy, buzzing authors sell more books.
Ultimately, anything and everything you do either for us or for another independent publisher will make a difference between survival and the other, unthinkable options. If you enjoy our books, please support us. We love what we do, and take huge pride in bringing exceptional books from fourteen countries and counting. We need readers like you to make everything we do possible.
Thank you so much for your support.
Karen
Publisher, Orenda Books
