Producing books is more expensive than ever, and publishers are trying to find the balance between novelty and profitability. The result is more than striking: we take fewer and fewer risks, and the headliners steal the show.
Antoine Ross Trempe has rarely seen such a busy season on the cookbook side. Di Stasio, Ricardo, Loignon, O’Gleman, Chesterman: they are all there. Readers come out winners from this situation that no one had predicted, assures the general manager of Éditions Cardinal. “There is a real buzz, and not just in the field of cooking. People break the moulds, take risks. What I see reassures me. […] Launching into the void is inherent in the profession of publisher. »
Take risks. This is a sensitive thing in the field of the culinary book.
Tested by disruptions in the supply chains of several materials – paper is sold for up to twice as much as before the pandemic – publishing houses must also absorb the “exorbitant” costs of printing in color. Each therefore has its own strategy. Some have decided to do less; others, to bet on their headliners; still others, to review the design of their books, for example by focusing on soft covers, which are less expensive.
In any case, limited budgets and very tight profit margins set the tone: caution is in order, despite everyone’s desire to highlight favorites and create beautiful books.
Such a situation worries Caroline Fortin, owner of Quebec America editions. Because it forces publishers to question (or put on hold) certain ideas. “And that’s what’s unfortunate. As an independent publisher, we try to stand out with interesting projects, to unearth surprises. But right now, we can’t afford to pay for 3,000 impressions — that’s the minimum to be profitable — without a guarantee,” Ms.me Fort. “And what’s working right now is the star selling the cookbook. I’m not saying what’s bad, but it’s specific to our market: you don’t see that in France. »
She launched herself a month ago Greedy !, a book on home cooking by actress and host Marina Orsini. “The book came from a friendship that I have had with her for a very long time. We had talked about doing this project together, and it developed into a cookbook based on her memories. It required a good investment, because we wanted to do something very beautiful. Is this a niche to which we will go? No. »
If success is never guaranteed, profitability is even less so, says his colleague Mr. Ross Trempe. “You have to meet a lot of criteria to be successful: choose who you work with, renew yourself and come up with new ideas. Every project is a bet. We don’t know if readers and the media will like it, or if it will be a flash in the pan. »
He knows something about it. Its publishing house publishes safe values such as Marilou, but it has also given a chance to Christina Potvin and Quy Tâm Vo, YouTube stars unknown to the general public. And this investment turned out to be a winner: their book Hop in the wok! has topped the charts since its release on October 25. It sold around 10,000 copies, thus giving a second crank for a reprint by Christmas.
Publishing challenges
Sophie Banford, general manager of KO Media and KO Editions, is one of those who had to say no to projects that made her “trip”. “We produce about ten books a year, so we have to balance our portfolio, diversify the catalog. We are thinking about hiring another editor to produce more, but at the same time, the market is expensive…”
In the field, all upstream costs are borne by the publisher, since financial aid is only allocated once the book is printed – unlike the production of a film, for example. And “a cookbook is food! adds M.me Banford. “You have to test the recipes, redo them for the photos. Added to the equation is the rising cost of food. She specifies that a book that has sold 3,000 copies is labeled as a sales success in Quebec. “Achieving this number is not easy! At KO Éditions, according to our studies, profitability can mean 9,000 books sold. »
While some 10,000 books are released each year in the province, all genres combined, the enthusiasm for cookbooks remains strong. According to Gaspard, who takes stock of sales at independent booksellers and some big names like Costco, more than 200,000 books in the Cooking and gastronomy category were sold in 2022. The most popular? Air fryer cooking, from the Pratico-Pratique editions, with 15,545 copies. By comparison, the second most popular topic this year is personal growth, with some 71,000 total sales.
Caroline Fortin, of Quebec America, does not see how the Quebec publishing industry can prosper in this “extremely difficult” context without soon increasing its selling prices. “The psychological level of $39.95 for a color book, it has to be broken. Like his fellow publishers, Cardinal’s Antoine Ross Trempe believes that the important thing is to maintain a local offer. “There is a whole ecosystem that earns its living thanks to this production of Quebec books. It makes work for photographers, designers, chefs. And all that plays on the economy here. »