Starting a Publishing Company

Chapter 9: How I Became a Bookseller (11)

In 2017, I decided to start a publishing business under the name "NUMABOOKS." There are three reasons for this.

The first is that as I continued my work for nearly 15 years, I increasingly met people whose books I wanted to publish. The second is that while working on book selection, I had more opportunities to notice things like, "I wish a book like this existed," or "I wish this book were a little different." And the third is the belief that there must be a world that can only be seen from the publisher's side. I had been involved in book production several times before. However, I felt that even including those opportunities, many of the ideas I had discussed with people in publishing did not actually come to fruition. I thought that just as there were things I only understood after managing a new bookstore, there must be things that can only be understood with a sense of reality once you are on the editor's side, or on the side of managing a publishing company.

In the year since I actually started, by communicating with authors and designers, looking at printing quotes presented to my company, and running into detailed hurdles in distribution, I have been keenly aware every day that many things I thought I understood, I did not actually understand at all.

But even so, I want to do my best to give the wonderful authors I have met and their works a form that is appropriate for their content. This includes not only editing, binding, and book design, but also distribution and buzz-building—how to get them into people's hands. With meticulous editing and design, distribution and buzz-building suitable for the internet age, and book production and pricing that were considered impossible by the common sense of existing distribution and bookstore storefronts, I have produced four books so far, keeping in mind bookmaking that transcends existing common sense and constraints, even if only in one small way.

For Shohei Yoshida's "Shinjuku (Collage)," I insisted on a simple yet luxurious all-white specification, created buzz by dividing the pre-sale into several stages, and used crowdfunding as the initial platform. For "Today's Homework," edited by Rethink Books, I considered the editing process in conjunction with creating a limited-time store, and by making it a company-exclusive release, I realized a challenging book design and price. For Shunichi Suga's "Practice of Observation," I was thoroughly particular about the book design and layout, such as a size that intuitively feels slightly off and difficult-to-read title lettering that would normally be avoided. Daisuke Sasaki's "Our Necromancy" was a special edition limited to 350 copies, and for a novel, I realized a reference price of 13,500 yen and a pricing setting where the price gradually increases based on market value through direct sales. Each of these is packed with other small details and mechanisms that I am just beginning to implement. Of course, there are things I wanted to achieve but could not.

I hope to continue to be a publisher that provides new experiences to readers through each book, while taking on various challenges in the future.

*Reprinted from "A Reader for Future Bookstores," pp. 310-312