Jorge Ramos, the star news anchor for Univision, the leading Spanish-language TV network in the U.S., has a special ability to convey that, yes, he can be trusted. His continental good looks, earnest manner and suave delivery while reporting the news and interviewing world leaders have earned him higher ratings than Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Houston on any given night, not to mention seven Emmy Awards. Those assets have also made him one of America's bestselling Spanish-language authors, with fans who sometimes wait more than seven hours on line at book signings across the country.

Now, Ramos is aiming for a crossover success in the English-speaking market with a new autobiography, No Borders: A Journalist's Search for Home, released simultaneously in English and Spanish on October 4 by Rayo, a Latino-focused imprint at HarperCollins. "If Shakira and Enrique Iglesias [crossed over], why can't we do it in the book world?" Ramos asked PW.

While any new book by Ramos is guaranteed coverage in Spanish-language television and print, the Miami-based journalist is booked for mainstream media attention as well. Perfectly bilingual, he appeared on CBS's The Early Show last Friday. Meanwhile, reviews in the New York Times and USA Today are scheduled to appear within the next week.

Given that Ramos's core audience is Spanish-speaking and all of his previous books have been published in that language alone, Rayo plans to print more copies of the Spanish edition than the English one. But Rayo editorial director Rene Alegria believes that the English edition will be crucial for those English-dominant Latinos who view Ramos as a role model and grew up with his voice in the background of their bilingual households.

Booksellers who serve a Latino readership also believe that the English version should do well. "We've had a lot of requests for it," said Alice Solis, general manager at Librería Martínez in Santa Ana, Calif. "I think the simultaneous release of [the Spanish edition] will help sales in English."

Defining the Market

Literary agent Bill Adler first became interested in Ramos upon reading a Wall Street Journal profile that cast him as a gatekeeper to the Latino voting bloc during the 2000 presidential election. But it wasn't just Ramos's pull in politics or his built-in audience of more than a million viewers a night that caught Adler's attention. It was the fact that his ratings were higher than Adler's client Dan Rather.

"When I read that article, I said, 'this guy must be terrific,' " explained Adler. "So I wrote to him and said, 'even if only half of this is true, I'd like to talk to you about a book.' " Ramos became the first Latino client in Adler's stable, which also includes media giants Larry King and Mike Wallace, as well as Bob Dole and George W. Bush.

When Adler approached Alegria, he immediately signed Ramos to a two-book deal. The first book was The Other Face of America, a collection of Ramos's journalism that was originally published in Spanish by Grijalbo. Rayo's English edition of that book, published last February, now has 16,500 copies in print after several trips to press. The book marked Ramos's hardcover debut, since his previous Spanish-language publisher imported paperbacks into the U.S.

Ramos, who emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. almost 23 years ago and has enjoyed a 16-year career at Univision, had never used an agent before Adler. In 1997, eager to expand on his ideas about international politics and Latino immigrants in the United States, he approached Mexico's division of Grijalbo Mondadori directly. "I was tired of telling stories in two minutes," said Ramos. "Books were a place to express my opinion on what I what seeing—something you're unable to do in television."

The resulting book, Detras de la mascara (Behind the Mask), was released in 1998 with an initial print run of 2,000 copies for distribution in Mexico and the United States. Though the modest printing reflected Grijalbo's cautious approach to the Spanish market in the U.S., the house returned to press multiple times. "We were shocked with his success," said Grijalbo Mexico general director Jean Carlo Corte, who has sold 48,000 trade and mass market copies of the book in the U.S.

In the next few years, Ramos proved he was no flash in the pan. U.S. sales of his second trade paperback, Lo que vi (What I Saw, 1999), reached 50,000 copies in trade and mass market editions, while trade editions of La otra cara de América (The Other Face of America, 2000) sold 35,000 copies and A la caza del león (Hunting the Lion, 2001) sold 34,000 copies. Grijalbo expects to sell another 20,000 mass market copies of La otra cara de América and A la caza del león in discount stores in the U.S.

Though it's too early to predict exactly how the two editions of No Borders will fare, Alegria is convinced that Ramos's message is uniquely appealing, and may represent a defining moment in Latino publishing. He explained, "Ramos puts a face on his past that completely mirrors what millions of immigrants have gone through. What makes him so endearing to his public is that he's so down to earth. He does what he needs to get the job done, always. I mean, how intrinsically American is that?"