Interview

Paul Riley

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The book business in Japan

How much of your time is spent out in the field, giving presentations and seminars?
I spend at least a quarter of the weekends a year at book fairs, workshops or presentations. I personally give probably 20 - 30 training presentations per year.

No doubt you're busy preparing for this year's JALT conference.
Yes, it's the biggest event on our yearly calendar. This year we are particularly pleased to be sponsoring Henry Widdowson and Rob Waring as featured speakers. We are also proud to present the main social event of the 2002 JALT National Conference, The Oxford Debate and Classics Party on Saturday, November 23rd. The evening kicks off at 6:10pm in the Chuo Hall with the Oxford Debate.

The Debate will be presided over by JALT Featured Speaker Prof. Henry Widdowson and feature a panel of well-known linguists focusing on issues of relevance to language teaching. The Towry Law/Oxford Classics' Party will immediately follow from 7:15 to 8:45 in the event space behind the EME in the Dai Hall. The party presents a chance to win one of two trips, to Australia or Hawaii, while enjoying wine, beer, light refreshments and entertainment by the 'Rising Pints', a lively Irish band.

The Japanese book distribution system seems pretty complex and rigid. How would you say publishing and distribution in Japan differ from other countries?
Yes distribution here is very complex compared to other countries. First of all Japan has its own ISBN and Bar Code system, which is why the foreign books are always found segregated on the top floors of big book shops and not at all in smaller shops. Because the majority of book shops are not set up to handle these foreign ISBNs, there are many middle men and there can be a lot of delays involved in getting books if you place orders through "traditional" channels.

Secondly the Japanese market has very high standards and requires a quality that is higher than the rest of the world. This is apparent in all retail sales and requires different systems and more stringent quality control systems than in other countries. Other differences arise from the cost of importing and warehousing English books, which is obviously going to be more cost- and time-intensive than in Europe or the Americas.

Describe for us a typical day in the life of a publishing office.
This is probably not that different from most international business, but may differ greatly from the daily grind of most teachers.

• Arrive early morning to answer e-mails from customers, colleagues and various publishing centers.
• Attend meetings with staff, customers and business partners.
• Liaise with authors and teaching groups to plan presentations, book fairs, events, etc.
• Handle "emergencies" (such as stock shortages, complaints, staff illnesses, etc.)
• Follow up on internal and external Action Points that arise from any and all of the above.
• Try to find time for your family and get enough sleep so that you can do it all again the next day.

What is your best-selling title in Japan? Do you have a particular personal favorite?
We enjoy great success in the Children's market with the best selling Let's Go series and our new courses, English Time and Magic Time. Passport is certainly one of the best-selling adult titles in Japan and, along with Let's Go, is on my favorites list as I helped launch the titles when I was a rep. My personal favorite, however, is Good News, Bad News, because I was the Project Manager and was involved from conception through editorial and production and later responsible for sales and promotions.

With the changes in the elementary school curriculum, have you seen a noticeable boost in children's book sales this year?
Yes, the Children's sector is currently one of the few growth areas in the Japanese ELT market. We are particularly strong in this area and The Oxford Kids' Club is one of the largest (if not the largest) organization for children's teachers in Japan. The Kids' Club has been in operation for about 10 years and has just reached a milestone as we recently surpassed 5,000 members.

Have you ever had any problems with authors?
Hmmm, that's a difficult one to answer as many of our authors are active participants in ELT News' author forums... Suffice it to say that our authors have very high standards for their publications as well as for their promotional arrangements, but success requires diligence in all aspects of publishing and promotions. Oxford prides itself in its commitment to Quality, Reliability and Support.

Some words of wisdom

What advice would you offer to someone currently teaching in Japan that wants to make a move into publishing?
Publishing is not for everyone. It requires an outgoing personality, a propensity for long hours and hard work and a willingness to listen and learn. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys education, but wants more of a commercial context for their employment.

What about someone who thinks they might have a good idea for a book?
Many people think that they have a book in them. To get published, it isn't enough to just have the idea, you actually have to write the material. Aspiring authors need to think about what makes their idea special and put that idea into a compelling proposal. It is important to do a survey of the market and to think about "unique selling propositions", i.e. those things that will set your proposal apart from everything else that is currently available.

For every good idea submitted to you, how many bad ones would you say come your way?
We receive hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts every year and in the eight years I've been in publishing only a handful have been accepted for publication. A good start for an aspiring author is become an active reviewer and presenter to get your name and ideas "known" to the powers that be. A proposal from a "known" quantity will have a much greater chance of being accepted than a proposal from an "unknown."

Paul, thank you for taking the time to speak to us.

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