Publisher of romantic novels dreams of becoming best brand for women
How did you get into publishing?
I've been in the book publishing industry for more than 10 years, since I graduated from college in 1996. My first job was as assistant manager at the Xinhua Bookstore in Henan province and I did a good job. But I wanted to see a bigger world, so I went to Shanghai in 2000, and worked in a state-owned publishing house as a book editor. During that period, I got my MBA from Fudan University and came up with the idea of publishing books. I had the experience and personal resources, and the business knowledge, so why not?
How's your company doing now?
Not bad. It is small, with just four employees. It was set up in July last year and we've published 10 books, with a total circulation of 250,000. It is a common rule of thumb in publishing that a book can make money if its circulation is more than 6,000. So I'm satisfied with the company's situation. Our best-selling book, Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty, sold 50,000 copies. It's a story about a young girl going back 200 years to the Qing dynasty and having several romantic relationships with the princes in the imperial palace. At present, all my books are aimed at young girls. I have tried to set up a brand called the 'Happy Reading Era', which is a book series specially for a female audience. I've asked a studio to design the logo in pink and in beautiful Roman letters. I like it.
Why aim for young girls?
I run the business by myself and my funds are limited, so I have to think realistically and choose an easy target. Romantic novels are like fast food - not very elegant, but popular, and they make money quickly. A friend runs a romantic novels website and it's a huge resource for me because so many different love stories appear on the Web every day. I choose the ones with the highest hit rate, pay the writers, and then publish the stories. I'm convinced that books for women is the direction in which to go. The competition is very fierce so you must find your own part of the market. I'm very optimistic about the market potential of female readers, and will work to become China's best brand for women.