Drastic changes have transformed the publishing industry in Taiwan in recent years, and publishers can no longer count on turning a quick profit with formulaic certainty. With a bit of ingenuity, some companies are shifting their strategies to adjust to the new environment. Snapshots of three individual publishers help put the industry in focus: Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., a well-established publishing house, is turning to the Internet to provide greater opportunities, while PsyGarden Publishing Co., a new smaller house, has formed an alliance with other companies to take advantage of shared resources, and Sino Cultural Enterprise has developed a business model that involves diversification under a single management umbrella.
Yuan-Liou Publishing Co.
"Since our establishment in 1975, we've been promoting a lifetime reading plan in hopes of playing the role of 'a school without walls,'" says Wang Jung-wen, publisher of Yuan-Liou Publishing Co. "We think people should read a variety of books in addition to the textbooks they need to pass exams. And our mission is to provide readers with a rich assortment of books to meet their individual needs."
Wang says that he runs his company much like a university, where different colleges specialize in specific areas of study, such as social studies, humanities, and natural sciences. The company, which has some 100 lines of books with over 4,000 titles, has no agenda regarding the types of books it publishes. "We publish books that make sense and are well written, regardless of ideology," Wang says. "We don't have a specific stand on issues. Our job is to build a bridge between writers and readers. Readers can make their own judgments." Accordingly, Yuan-Liou publishes a wide variety of books from fiction to nonfiction, covering a range of topics from the arts to the sciences.
The three most important characteristics for success in the publishing industry are creativity, ideals, and passion, Wang says. "When recruiting staff, my primary concern is to find the right person to perform the job he or she most wants to do," he notes. "And I fully respect the professionalism of writers and editors in that they're entitled to hold firm to their beliefs. They just need to ask themselves whether the books they intend to produce have any value to society and why readers would want to buy such books."
Catering to consumers' tastes remains a top priority as the competition for a shrinking readership increases. The popularity of other forms of media, such as television, movies, and the Internet, has taken a toll on the publishing industry as consumers spend increasingly less time reading. "Information technology, particularly the Internet, has drastically reversed the reading habits of the general public," Wang notes. "The publishing industry must adjust accordingly."
In response, Yuan-Liou is in the process of repositioning itself as an e-publisher by establishing a multimedia production company and creating a website that does more than just advertise titles. The company's objective is to utilize modern technology to integrate quality content, and offer better tools to writers and readers by expanding the format from bound books to electronically conveyed material that includes audio, images, compact discs, or databases. For example, the website not only provides information on new releases and book sales, but also allows consumers to buy items online and gives them access to reference material, such as Chinese-English dictionaries and encyclopedias. The company also uses its website to gather feedback from customers.
To catch the attention of consumers, Yuan-Liou has launched an aggressive advertising campaign using billboards and newspaper ads to publicize book releases. It has also teamed up with the convenience-store chain 7-Eleven to take advantage of the chain's extensive distribution channels. And in a bid to increase its competitiveness, the publishing company is keeping an eye on the entire Chinese-language market. In addition to acquiring the copyrights of mainland publications, Wang is seeking cooperation and joint ventures with publishers on the other side of the Taiwan Strait to gain a deeper understanding of consumers in China before entering the market more comprehensively at a later date. "I used to say that what I enjoyed most about publishing was making changes in an industry that did not change much," he concludes. "But now, I must say I enjoy the challenge of maintaining the unchanging role of being a bridge between the creators of knowledge and readers in an ever-changing environment."
PsyGarden Publishing Co.
In Taiwan's aggressive publishing industry, few small companies can successfully compete with their much larger rivals. To level the playing field, five small publishing companies formed the Good Reading Publishing Alliance in November 2002. Taiwan Interminds, Think Tank, Cultuspeak, Fembooks, and PsyGarden each represent a different field in publishing. PsyGarden, for example, which was established in June 2001 and now has a staff of seven, publishes material on spiritual healing and growth. "We're all spiritual fighters that defend our publishing ideals," says Doris Wang, editor-in-chief of PsyGarden. "We take pride in our respective book projects, but at the same time we have a collective solidarity."
Wang notes that oftentimes a lot of work goes into publishing a very good book only to have it quickly taken off the bookshelves and piled into a corner of a warehouse before interest among readers has a chance to percolate. What saddens her is not only the loss of sales, but also the loss of valuable knowledge that has gone unexplored.
The situation has worsened since last year when the sluggish market caused some publishing companies to downsize or close down altogether. "Everyone [in the sector] was worried about the development," she says. "There was a rising sense of crisis." The formation of the alliance allowed at least five small publishers to continue their operations and formulate more effective marketing schemes as they combined their existing resources. More importantly, Wang explains, despite the market slowdown, the alliance helped build a quality publishing and reading environment to cater to the increasingly pluralistic readership in Taiwan. To achieve this common objective, the alliance members hold a weekly meeting to find ways to cooperate and exchange information and experiences.
The publishers also collaborate on a monthly online newsletter to inform readers of new releases and activities, such as lectures and book exhibitions. To reach a wider audience, the alliance plans to hold book fairs in other locations in the region, including Hong Kong and Singapore. Wang indicates that such joint promotion saves on manpower and costs, and lures a greater number of potential readers with the availability of broader book selection. "Through risk sharing and resource integration, we're now able to do things we might have wanted to do individually, but didn't dare," she says. "Also, it's great to know you're being supported and that you're not alone."
Wang hopes that cooperation among the alliance's members will increase in the future and that they can organize lectures and new title release events, make joint purchases, and possibly establish a combined warehouse-distribution center. Meanwhile, Wang thinks it is equally important for a publishing company to build its own features. "Our positioning is very clear in that we mainly publish books that are conducive to the overall health of one's body and mind," she says. "Although we're a small operation, we're sophisticated and professional."
PsyGarden, using its size as an advantage, is able to establish personal contact with readers by organizing regular study groups and workshops. Writers and scholars are invited to provide introductions to help readers gain insight to books that may not be easy to read, or help them pursue self-growth through specially designed activities. The publication of books may be static, but books are dynamic in that they encourage lively discussion, Wang says. "That's why we're active in fostering close contact with our readers through various events, despite their small number."
Through its strategy, PsyGarden has developed a stable, loyal readership. "We know very clearly who we're targeting, and we know full well that such a readership is, for the time being, still limited," she says. "But I'm confident that it will gradually expand as people are sure to explore their inner world once their basic needs are met."
Sino Cultural Enterprise
Publishers in Taiwan are being forced to make a decision, adapt to changes in the industry or risk being put out of business, says Kuo Chun-hsin, publisher of Sino Cultural Enterprise. "Although you might make a mistake in attempting to cope with the changing market, you would be worse off if you remain inactive."
A significant change is the age of the general readership, which is now younger, Kuo contends. The prolonged economic slowdown in the past two years has put financial pressure on households' main breadwinners, generally people in their 30s and 40s, who are cutting down on excess spending. Meanwhile, the spending habits of teenagers have not changed much.
To seize this opportunity, publishers need to adjust their strategies by focusing more on the young market, Kuo maintains. "Young people show greater interest in information that is more visual and informal," he notes. "Their preference is quite different from middle-age readers, who tend to choose more serious material." Also, as e-generation readers are motivated by diverse information sources, their reading interests are broader. Thus, Kuo thinks it is necessary for publishers to take into account youth culture and formulate diverse publishing strategies.
Publishers might want to consider Kuo's advice. After more than 15 years in the industry, Kuo has established five publishing houses under the management of Sino Cultural Enterprise since 2001; the five are Walkers Cultural Enterprise, ECUS Publishing House, La Gauche Publishing, Monkey Cultural Enterprise, and Muses Publishing House.
Each house centers on a specific line of books that range from geography, traveling, philosophy, history, architecture, literature, to fantasy fiction. Through these operations, Kuo is able to provide readers with more choices and at the same time sophisticated content as each publishing house can do a thorough job of covering their specialty. "Although these companies have different styles and subject matter, they supplement each other to create a multifaceted reading selection," he says.
Another reason behind utilizing this particular business model is that it is easier for a new company to keep its operations simple rather than trying to engage in various fields at the same time. This way, readers can gradually get to know a new company by associating its brand name with its line of books. "The one thing I constantly ask myself is what is the value of a publishing company?" Kuo says. "And what kind of books should be published? I think books must be able to meet the various needs of general readers and should not be written only for the elite." In accordance with these principles, Kuo aims to publish material that is easy to read with content that pertains to daily life. He also prefers to publish books written by Taiwanese authors for Taiwanese readers.
In terms of pricing strategy, the publisher uses two approaches. One is to offer the lowest possible price, and the other is to offer premium prices for books with a limited print volume of 1,000 copies. Kuo believes the value of a publishing company depends on the quality of its editors. "My job as a publisher is to offer consultation and assistance, while dealing with overall management and marketing," he says. "I hope my role can become increasingly invisible as the editor-in-chief can set out his or her direction and map out related planning."
To further expand its market, Sino Cultural has been cooperating with distributors in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore to promote titles. Kuo has also set up a marketing base in Beijing to tap the lucrative mainland market. "The markets on either side of the Taiwan Strait will be open to each other sooner or later. We need to prepare for that," he indicates. "A title that might sell 2,000 copies in Taiwan in a year might sell as many as 10,000 copies in half that time in China. The mainland market is simply too large to ignore."
Kuo hopes to build his own team of editors, managers, and marketers in China to maintain overall control of the publishing business there. "With our industrial vitality and abundant, talented human resources, I don't think we'll lose out to our mainland counterparts," Kuo states confidently.