Meet The Publisher: [10.08.2012]
SARAH BAILEY from Really Blue Books
Really Blue Books is the newest face of digital trade publishing in Australia. We’re the ebook-only, modern black sheep of the industry offering opportunity to emerging and established writers.
Sarah Bailey is the Publisher at Really Blue Books, meaning she is the chief consumer of chocolate, master ideas juggler, author hand-holder and is the mostly likely employee to get RSI from writing emails. She’s all about challenging life as we know it by looking toward the future, evaluating the book apocalypse and building digital community in Australia.
When was the last time you were lost in a book? Every day. It is very rare for me not to have a book on the go!
Why did you become a publisher? To effect change I wasn’t seeing in the industry in Australia. Let’s face it – we were slow off the mark. The rest of the world (well, parts of it) had taken digital and run, and we were still twiddling our thumbs, wondering what all this kerfuffle was about. I figured somebody had to make a start, so it might as well be me. I always have, and always will, love books and the print experience, but I also want to see progression in the industry and to be part of such an exciting period where we are able to redefine all the boundaries.
Three skills every independent publisher needs are…? Big dreams, an optimistic outlook and truckloads of chocolate.
What is the most exciting thing about your job? Easy – reading all the fantastic, varied, hilarious submissions we get every day. You never know what you’re going to get, and they’re usually far beyond expectation. It’s such a privilege.
What are the biggest challenges facing independent publishers/your company at the moment? Finding support in all aspects of the industry to get product out into the wider world. Many aspects of the industry have been slow to embrace digital change and are therefore forcing us to look to other avenues for marketing, reviews, awards and so on. It will get there with time, but it can be frustrating.
Screen VS Page? Strangely enough for a digital publisher – page. I don’t think, as a die-hard book lover, that I could ever make anything to beat the physical experience of reading. The idea now is not to compete ebooks with print, but to create a new kind of experience. Vanilla doesn’t necessarily beat chocolate, they’re each delicious in their own way.
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