This month I had the chance to sit down with Kim Werker, co-founder and publisher of Nine Ten Publications.
Kim launched Nine Ten Publications as a startup press in 2020, with co-founder Kate Atherley. Kim and Kate are based in Vancouver and Toronto respectively, and the press began with an online magazine (Digits & Threads) whose inception was very much influenced by the impacts and limitations of the pandemic. Kim says that they always wanted to create a space where Canadian books in publishing had a place for Canadian voices in the craft and DIY space. So as the outside world found itself online and in the trenches of the pandemic, it became an opportunity (and necessity) to try something new.
Kim and I talked about building a values-driven publishing business amidst a global climate crisis, a pandemic, and deeply engrained industry standards, and she gave me some insights into the thinking behind Nine Ten Publications.
Q&A
Nine Ten is a pretty niche press, what guides this?
The press is guided by certain values. We publish exclusively Canadian authors, keeping as much of the work in Canada (over 90% of contractors we work with are Canadian), print in Canada, and only print on post-consumer waste paper…This of course, is basically the most expensive way to make a book.
*As GBA works to support sustainable practices in the international book supply chain, I can attest to the fact that sustainability progress is often limited by budget and labour, something most of the publishing industry is already short on.
So how does a small startup press survive publishing these kinds of books?
Crowdfunding! The books we’re publishing are not financially feasible on their own, we needed a different model. We had no idea how this would turn out but for our first full-colour printed book, Sheep, Sheperd and Land by Manitoba author Anna Hunter (released spring 2023), we raised 25,000 dollars in two days through Kickstarter. I was ready to dedicate a full month of my life to getting this crowdfunding campaign off the ground so we were blown away by the response. Now of course it doesn't always move so quickly, for the next books it took much longer, but we did still reach our goals.
*Nine Ten's second full-colour book is Gathering Colour, by Vancouver author Caitlin ffrench, and they are currently working on their third book, Quilting by Halifax author Andrea Tsang Jackson.
Can you tell me more about crowdfunding and how it supports sustainability goals?
Crowdfunding is great because it provides proof of concept before the book is made. We don't have to take as much of a gamble on if there is an audience for our books because the money is there before we start production, which turns the traditional publishing workflow on its head.
Through crowdfunding we are able to establish a relationship with our readers and communicate our values and our practices. This has allowed Nine Ten to push back on industry list price expectations, and reduce the risks of returns. By ensuring enough people are ordering the book beforehand, by the time the book comes out, most of it is already paid for.
*See the Kickstarter for Quilting here.
What are your considerations when thinking about operating a publishing business in a climate crisis?
This is something I think about all the time. First of all we run a fully remote operation... though part of that is just the economics of running a small business. We don't have the budget for commercial office space so a commute is off the table. I'm always thinking about what do we absolutely need versus what we just want. I also think about shipping a lot.
We don't really pay attention to carbon calculation, there's a lot of greenwashing that goes on. We don’t do many events which limits the amount of travel and stuff needed for events. When it comes to print runs I'm always thinking about not having to print again (because of the economy of scale of printing books) and I only want to pay the freight run once.
*Upon a look through Nine Ten’s website, I also noticed that they sell damaged books at a discounted price so that they’re not just being pulped.
What do you see as the biggest sustainability priorities in the book industry?
Shipping/fulfilment direct to consumer, print runs (not overprinting), staying local wherever possible, and scaling. Also, transparency is essential to creating sustainable practices (with yourself, and with your readers).
Transparency can have huge benefits as well. The stories of operating a sustainable organization (stories which show an organization operating with the values of their consumers) is a marketing point and a selling point (more so than any sort of sustainable label). We need consumer education. That being said, I would love some sort of labelling or standards (maybe from the GBA?). Like a book is more sustainable if x,y,z criteria are fulfilled. Even just to label books that are printed locally. It’s all pieces of the puzzle.
Do you have any last takeaways you want people to consider?
Well first of all, if anyone is reading this and who wants to start a press, call me! I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned. And more generally, talk to your peers. As an industry there is so much space to work together; I think there’s a lot that can be accomplished if the industry as a whole could support the segments of the book supply chain, that bear the brunt of the burdens of the implementation of more sustainable practices.
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