Nina Post runs her publishing house mainly by herself. Her love for all kinds of books led to her involvement in publishing, even though she has no official specialization in art or photography. Post Editions is quite new, but Nina’s experience dates back to 1992 when she started to work at 010 Publishers. In 2002 she became publisher at Episode, and after a split from Episode Publishers in 2009 she started again, by founding Post Editions.
How many books do you publish per year?
Currently Post Editions releases twenty books per year, which is quite exhausting, so I believe a good number would be between twelve and fifteen.
How do you find content you want to publish?
Actually artist and photographers contact me. Commonly they’re already in touch with a graphic designer so they already have an idea of how the book will look like. In this way it is much easier for me to decide whether to publish a book or not.
How long does the full publishing process generally takes?
The editorial process takes at least nine months. Apart form the actual production, three months are spent usually to look for subsidies.
So your economic model is mainly based on subsidies…
We need subsidies to publish books because sales generally do not cover production and distribution costs. Sometimes authors are already financed or they have contacts with institutions.
Has the publishing model changed in recent years, whether due to email, design software, faster printing options, or factors related to promotion and sales?
Obviously the model has changed in terms of time and speediness, but what is also very relevant is the range of audience you can reach. Even if it wasn’t impossible, to reach institutions on the other side of the world was quite difficult. Now I easily sell books in Australia and Japan.
How do you promote your titles?
Post Editions still has a printed catalogue which is sent together with the shipped books. When possible I organize events to present the books, but not always, because events are stressful and expensive. Also, art book fairs are a very relevant promotion channel. In the digital environment, there’s a newsletter, even if I think usually people get so many newsletters that they won’t read it constantly.
Where are your books sold within the market?
Post’s books are delivered in bookstores worldwide through international distributors. Those distributors also place the books on online platforms like Amazon and Bol.com. Our website has a webshop area where people can directly buy the books. Digital channels are strategic because you don’t need to provide the books discounted, as you would when you sell to a traditional bookstore.
Can you make a comparison between sells by traditional means and sells by digital ones?
I believe almost 1/3 of sales comes through digital means, the rest is by traditional channels.
Do you make sales subsidiary to your books, from other items, services or events?
I publish some magazines as well, but it is very difficult to get subscriptions because often you cannot be sure of regular issueing, therefore Post only allows subscriptions for one year, even though longer subscriptions would be a way to ensure revenues. Also, journals require the same effort as books but the revenues are much less.
Which digital formats do you employ or you would like to employ?
Currently none of them, and I rarely provide PDF. For my publications physical aspects are really important, and right now they cannot be easily translated into digital format. Even the cover’s picture can be a problem on our website, because sometimes there are very special surface treatments which are completely lost in the plain digital version. Even if I’m really curious about this issue, my time is already filled up with work, so I’m not thinking about looking for another market.
Which licenses do you adopt for your books? Are you planning to adopt new open licenses such as Creative Commons?
As a publisher I get a licence for one year, after that copyright goes back to the author. Actually I’m not particularly conscious of these possibilities, and also authors never asked me for different kind of licenses.
Have roles in publishing been affected by the digital revolution?
Roles changed especially in regards to the design of the book. Very often an author first gets in contact with the designer and only then with the publisher. In a way graphic designers are becoming co-authors. All this began while I was working at 010 Publishers with S, M, L, XL. This was probably one of the first books authored also by the graphic designer (Bruce Mau). For instance I’m planning to publish a book which is authored only by a graphic designer, I think it’ll be a great book to read and a nice object at the same time.
Do you cultivate online/offline communities around your books? How?
Mostly through channels like the newsletter. If people apply to the newsletter, it means they’re deeply interested. Other ways are invitations to events and presentations and all that comes afterwards, like event pictures. Post Editions is also on Facebook and LinkedIn. Well, the aim is to eventually sell books, so feeding a community means letting them know what you’re doing and helping them like it. An example of how a community can be built is Club Donny: a photographic magazine where readers can send their own pictures and eventually they’re published in it.
What do you see as the largest threat to your business?
The loss of the bookshop. General bookstores usually stock art books by mainstream publishing houses, which are usually very glossy and flashy so they work perfectly as decoration for bookstores’ halls. Little, specialized bookstores are around less and less. For instance, Athenaeum is the only one left in Amsterdam, and it’s doing a good job because it’s still focused on a specific field.