Soapbox: Small Matters

When I left my longstanding, secure executive editor job at DK Publishing, just three months after giving birth to twins, to become U.S. publisher (and the only U.S. employee) for Kyle Books, it might have seemed like a risky move. But just over four months later, DK is laying off more than 100 people and reducing its list by 20% from the 250 titles it currently produces—and I've just acquired my third title for Kyle Books. It feels good to be small.

At a time when major publishers are laying off employees, closing imprints and scaling back their lists, I'm in a place that is expanding. Kyle Books has long been a success in the U.K., publishing books on cooking, health, beauty and gardening. Now that it has a U.S. distributor, the company is concentrating solely on cookbooks in this country. The house has already had success in Britain with the world's bestselling curry book, Europe's leading organic gardener's first cookbook (Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own by Bob Flowerdew) and a book featuring a celebrity Italian chef's quick and easy meals for any occasion (Buonissimo! by Gino D'Acampo). One of my numerous responsibilities in my new role is to beef up our list with American authors, and I'm proud that my first acquisition for publication next fall is the next baking book from acclaimed pastry chef, author and teacher Nick Malgieri—a big book to complement a small house.

When you work for a small publisher, every acquisition is close to the heart. No book falls into the dreaded “midlist” gap. I don't have to present to an editorial board; a weekly Skype call can close a deal. We have a dedicated freelance publicity team. I personally follow through on sales to special markets. I'm available pretty much seven days a week to my authors. And I love brainstorming with writers to help them come up with a fantastic book idea. We all—publicists, sales directors, foreign market managers and founder Kyle Cathie herself—offer opinions on everything from design to how best to market the product. In this case, it doesn't mean too many cooks in the kitchen; it means talented and diverse chefs pitching in to make the most satisfying meal.

And it's amazing what foreign sales can do when you're small. Kyle Cathie Ltd. published 50 Great Curries of India in the U.K. in 1994 and in the U.S. in 2006. It has sold over a million copies worldwide. We are publishing a new edition in the U.S. and U.K. this fall, with a 30-minute how-to DVD. Organic gardening guru Bob Flowerdew's five gardening titles have sold more than 500,000 copies around the world. Our Healthy Eating series has sold over a million copies worldwide. These are big numbers for a small house.

I confess I've come across stumbling blocks. Some agents won't consider us for first-time, albeit big-name, authors because we're not a “major.” Other agents won't even get back to me when I pitch an idea for a new book by a celebrity chef. It's frustrating, but not defeating. Here's my response to them: we may be small, but that doesn't limit our advances, both in dollar amounts and in first print runs. And it certainly doesn't limit our origination budgets (the money spent on photography, design, production and printing).

Consider this: would you rather go with a major publisher that has money but is spread thin across many titles, or with a small publisher that has money but less product to spend it on? Photo shoots: paid for. Publicity tours: paid for. Things that used to be taken for granted but aren't in today's economy‚ except in an independent house. Take a chance on a small publisher and reap big rewards.

As Douglas Rushkoff pointed out on this page last week, small houses are rebuilding what Wall Street has seen fit to destroy. Behind the bad news of layoffs and cutbacks at major houses, there is much to look forward to, and small publishers are leading the charge. As Kyle Books enters the finicky yet hungry American market, I believe in our strength as a small publisher, and I believe we can bring American readers the books they want.