There's clearly a demand for books in Spanish in Puerto Rico and elswhere in the USA. Rodale Press's Guia medica de remedios caseros (The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies) and Enciclopedia de la mujer (Women's Encyclopedia of Health and Emotional Healing) have sold over 600,000 and 200,000 copies, respectively, through its mail order system. Como agua para chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate) sold over 200,000 copies. While these titles are the exceptions not the rule, 30 million Hispanics in the USA, over a fourth of whom read Spanish, represent a large enough market to merit publishers' attention.

WHO'S WHO IN PUERTO RICO
Agencia de Publicaciones de Puerto Rico
fax 787-788-4070
Jose Garcia
Distributes 3000 Spanish titles.Target markets: Bookstores, pharmacies and supermarkets

Book Service of Puerto Rico, Inc.
fax 787-726-6131
email bellbook@coqui.net
Felix A. Mattei
Distributes roughly 5000 Spanish titles. Target markets: Bookstores and schools.

Forsa Editores
fax 787-725-7683
email forsa@coqui.net
Carlos Matos Malec
Distributes 7000 Spanish titles. Target markets: Bookstores and libraries.

International Book Distributors
fax 787-765-4670
email zequeira@prtc.net
Adolfo Zaqueira
Distributes 20,000 Spanish titles. Target markets: Universities, bookstores, libraries and government.

Libreria Econolibros
fax 787-765-3684
Arnaldo Gonzolez
Distributes 6000 Spanish titles. Target markets: Universities and bookstores.

Census figures indicate that by the year 2050, Hispanics will number 96 million people, representing 24% of the overall population. The trick is finding the right distributors to cover the trade, the libraries, institutions and other special sales channels, creating consistent and effective marketing campaigns, and finally, reaching the seemingly elusive consumer.

Publishers must first determine which U.S. Latino market to target: the English-language market aimed at Latinos on the one hand or the Spanish-language market on the other.

Books in English aimed at U.S. Latinos or written by Latinos cover a wide range of topics, from academic titles on Latino studies to inspirational stories of Latino success. On the academic side of the spectrum is one of Blackwell's latest publications, The Latino Studies Reader, a collection of essays focusing on the culture, politics and society of the various Latino communities in the U.S. New releases in children's multicultural titles include Tell Me a Cuento/Cuentame un story by El Paso-based Cinco Puntos Press. On the trade side is When the Road is Long, Even Slippers Feel Tight, a collection of Latin American proverbs published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Bilingual Review/Press in Tempe, AZ is no stranger to the Latino market, having published the works of Hispanic writers since 1973. Among its upcoming releases are Crossing, a novel by Manuel Luis Martinez and Uncivil Rights and Other Stories by Nash Candelaria.

The Bilingual Market

Somewhere in between the English and Spanish-language markets lies an up and coming third market: bilingual books. While titles in bilingual format have been around for years and are most common in children's books, U.S. publishers are now carving a larger space in the trade for bilingual editions.

St. Martin's Press is scheduled to launch a new series of bilingual biographies profiling today's hottest Latino celebrities, beginning in November with the biography of Jimmy Smits.

"Dual language books make them very accessible to people who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to read them," reports Glenda Howard, editor of the series.

The bilingual biographies "are perfect for the typical Latino family in which the younger generation generally speaks English while the older one speaks Spanish. By publishing these books in a bilingual format, everyone in the household can enjoy them," confirms Matthew Shear, v-p and publisher.

Kensington Publishing, one of the largest publishers of mass market romances, is also launching a series of bilingual books under their new imprint, Encanto. Plans include publishing four books every other month, beginning in September of 1999 to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15). Each bilingual romance will be written by a Hispanic author and feature characters and the cultural flavor of life in Latino communities around the country.

Although the books are bilingual, the marketing campaign will concentrate primarily on the Spanish reader. "We will aggressively target independent Latino bookstores," says editor Diane Stockwell, "as well as discount stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart. The Latino independent stores will probably be the most important component of out trade sales. We will get placement in the larger chains but we don't expect that to be our biggest market." Plans also include launching a direct mail bookclub for the Spanish titles based on the model and success of their bookclub featuring their African-American romance line.

As for advertising, Kensington plans to work with El Diario-La Prensa, a New York-based newspaper, to get into the paper's extensive distribution channels within Hispanic communities. "We would like to partner with other Spanish-language newspapers in metropolitan areas throughout the country to get placement in newsstands," says Stockwell. "We will advertise on Spanish radio stations, and in print media such as Latina and People en Espanol. We also plan to do a special promotion on The Cristina Show to coincide with Encanto's launch. We plan to use every avenue of distribution we can to get into as many outlets as possible, whether they're bookstores, discount stores or newsstands."

The Spanish Market

While bilingual books have the advantage of appealing to both mainstream stores and smaller mom & pops, Spanish-only titles still have a long way to go before finding their way in large numbers in book chains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble. Because of the chains' focus on fast turnover and low returns, they tend to purchase the Spanish titles they know they can sell, namely, fiction, reference and well-known Latin American authors. As a result, semi-specialized titles in categories such as business, politics, history and even self-help are less likely to be picked up by the mainstream chains.

SPANISH LANGUAGE WHOLESALERS
Bernard Hamel Spanish Books
fax 310-473-6132
email spanish@primenet.com
Bernard Hamel

Books on Wings
fax 415-285-3298
email casalibro@aol.com
Nerissa Morson

Downtown Book Center
fax 305-371-5926
Raquel Roque

Lectorum
fax 212-727-3035
email info@lectorum.com
Teresa Mlawer

Libros Sin Fronteras
fax 360-357-4964
email libros@wln.com
Michael Shapiro

"Most of the major bookstore chains only carry a very small and obsolete selection in Spanish," confirms Francisco Gras, president of Spanish Book Distributor in Dallas, TX. "Every once in a while a book comes along that awakens the interest of these chains and the general public and sells well. This was the case with the Selena books, Isabel Allende's Afrodita and Arturo Perez-Reberte's The Seville Communion."

The bigger chains order relatively little from Ingram, according to its product group v-p Jim Parker, despite the fact that Ingram's sales of Spanish titles have increased 40% over last year (a 53% increase for adult titles and a 16% increase for children's books). Ingram's list of Spanish titles numbers roughly 2500, with plans in the works to add about 100 new titles a month.

The mainstream chains' concern about returns and turnover are two reasons why they shy away from larger and more diverse Spanish sections. Trade reps also contribute to the dilemma. Smaller publishers beginning to dabble in the Spanish book market often face reluctance from their commissioned sales reps to push the Spanish lists.

Independent sales groups representing over a dozen publishers are unable to give a Spanish list of 2 or 3 titles the attention it deserves, particularly if the reps, a) aren't aware how to position Spanish titles, b) aren't familiar with the language, the market or the competition or c) are too busy trying to keep up with the competing demands of the various publishers they represent. These obstacles leave rep groups with little incentive to push a handful of Spanish titles they don't know, when they have hundreds of other titles in English that they know they can sell.

Despite the relatively small numbers of Spanish titles stocked by both wholesalers like Ingram and Baker & Taylor and superstore chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble, many publishers have made progress in getting their titles into the mainstream.

"We are pleased to see the chains becoming more active in the promotion of Spanish-language titles in their stores," reports Maria Lickfelt-Bloomberg of Llewellyn Espanol. "We do need to pursue more co-op opportunities with the chains to improve the visibility and promotion of our top Spanish titles within appropriate stores," she continues.

Simon & Schuster primarily relies on its trade sales reps to promote its Libros en espanol imprint right along with the English titles. Self-help, new age, fiction and memoirs in Spanish are among their top sellers, according to publicity director Sue Fleming-Holland.

Larger publishers like Simon & Schuster and publishers with extensive Spanish backlists such as Llewellyn (22 titles) and HarperLibros (23 titles) don't encounter the same hesitance smaller publishers face with sales reps and trade buyers. It's harder for rep groups to ignore a list of a dozen titles or more, and larger publishers are able to publish more English and Spanish editions simultaneously, creating selling incentives for reps and purchasing incentives for bookstores.

In children's books, the Spanish-language imprint of North-South Books, Ediciones Norte-Sur, also reports success getting its Spanish list into mainstream chains as well as outlets such as Target and Toys 'R Us. Advertising helps. "We have produced a Spanish-language poster promoting reading, with our Spanish books listed on the reverse," notes director of subsidiary rights Marianne Martens. "With recent simultaneous English and Spanish editions such as Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale, we advertise the Spanish edition with the English. Advertisements appear in Baker & Taylor, Ingram and Brodart. . . . We have co-op advertising for bookstores, but have not been approached to contribute yet."

Latino Bookstores

Publishers serious about cracking the U.S. market are advised to explore the many sales channels beyond the mainstream chains. The most obvious and ironically the hardest to reach are the independent Latino bookstores specializing in Spanish books.

U.S. BOOK FAIRS
The Latino Book & Family Festival
Spring 1999: San Jose, CA
Summer 1999: Chicago, IL
Fall 1999: Houston, TX
email mexico@deltanet.com
Kirk Whisler

Miami Book Fair International
November 15-22, 1998
Miami-Dade Community College
Wolfson Campus
fax 305-237-3645

Los Angeles Times Book Fair
April 24-25, 1999
UCLA Brentwood campus
fax 213-237-5342
email festival.books@latimes.com

Why are they so hard to reach? There are roughly 150 such bookstores in the U.S. that focus on general interest books in Spanish. This number more than doubles if religious bookstores are factored in.

A surprisingly small number of Latino bookstores report do little direct advertising or publicity aside from directory listings in traditional and Hispanic yellow pages in and around the city in which they're located. Many of these stores are undercapitalized and rely on word of mouth and personalized service to attract customers, so it's no surprise that these bookstores aren't beating down publishers' doors, asking them for lists of new titles or co-op advertising.

Latino bookstores and smaller moms & pops have close ties to the local Hispanic communities, serving as neighborhood cultural centers offering special programs, roundtables, lectures and author signings. Many Spanish book publishers in the U.S. don't have similar ties to the communities they hope to serve, and therefore miss out on potential sales outlets.

The sense of community among Latino bookstore owners is also evidenced by the varied nature of their businesses. Martinez Books & Art in Santa Ana, CA, for example, claims to be the only combination bookstore, art gallery and barber shop. Librerà a Hispanoamericana in Los Angeles has a bookstore on the first floor and an art gallery on the second. Cultura Latina in Long Beach, CA also diversifies with the bookstore and art gallery combination.

Many Latino bookstores offer a wide array of merchandise aside from reading material, much of which cannot be found in their Anglo counterparts. This supplemental merchandise ranges from yarn and small toys to wrapping paper, music, crystals, cosmetics, perfume and candy. Whether these business combinations are culturally or financially driven, or some combination of the two, what's clear is that publishers must create a strategy to penetrate the Latino and smaller mom & pop stores.

"Before you can be successful in marketing to any audience, you need to know specific information about that audience. While there is an endless amount of general demographic information about the Hispanic market, notes Llewellyn's Maria Lickfelt-Bloomberg, "we have found little information on the book buying habits of this market. We started including questionnaires in each of our Spanish titles. The response to this questionnaire has been excellent and not only has it allowed us to build a database of demographic information on our customer, it has also allowed us to make better informed decisions as to the type of materials we publish."

"We have also found that there are many small to very small businesses that sell books but do not necessarily classify themselves as bookstores, which are found in out-of-the-way places, known only by those in the community in which they reside," Lickfelt-Bloomberg continues. "These customers are often accustomed to buying from the local distributor who drives through the neighborhood on a regular basis, delivering products to these small stores. We work with and depend on the local distributors to sell to those establishments because we feel they are better able to reach this part of the market. We support them with marketing and promotional materials they can present to their customers and we are happy with the results."

Sue Fleming-Holland, publicity director of Simon & Schuster's Libros en espanol imprint, also targets independent Latino bookstores using non-traditional methods. "We have built a large database with store profiles to help us better target book sales. Each segment of the Latino market is different and we find that knowing the cultural makeup of a region has made us more successful in selecting books for publication and in learning how best to sell them."

There are three ways of targeting the Latino bookstores: directly using trade reps, via U.S. distributors specializing in Spanish titles or both. "We have targeted independent Latino bookstores throughout the U.S.," reports Dennis Lockard, senior publicist for Rodale Books. "The problem we've had is that there is no unified group of Spanish book distributors. We have had some success from our sales reps giving each store individual attention."

Spanish book distributors tend to specialize, either geographically, by customer (bookstores, libraries, schools, etc.) or by type of title, so it is important to target as many distributors as possible. See sidebar article for a sampling of distribution/wholesale contacts.

Another way to reach the Latino bookstores, the wholesalers who service them and the end-consumer is to develop effective, targeted marketing campaigns.

Latino bookstores often criticize publishers for not committing to sufficient advertising and promotional campaigns for their Spanish titles or for not allocating funds for PR in Spanish-speaking markets. If customers don't know the titles are out there, bookstores are hesitant to stock them.

Because Spanish publishing requires substantially smaller print runs (something many U.S. publishers who jumped into the market discovered too late), publishers by definition cannot devote the same amount of time and money on publicity as they do for their English titles. Although reaching the elusive consumer often requires nontraditional marketing, this d sn't necessarily mean spending big bucks on TV and radio advertising. There are several relatively inexpensive ways publishers can promote their Spanish titles and reach the elusive consumer. Here are a few of them.

Marketing Tips

Direct mail to specialized customers: Develop a mailing list of individuals who have purchased Spanish titles and send periodic new title announcements. Rodale Books has developed an effective promotional program for bookstores, creating special mailings for those stores that order non-trade Spanish titles. The promotion targets their Hispanic database of contacts and lists which local bookstores carry the titles. "We also are doing mailings to Hispanic subscribers of Blue Cross/Blue Shield," adds senior publicist Dennis Lockard. "These arrangements are new, so their success rates are thus far undetermined."

Spanish Book Distributor uses direct mail pieces as its primary marketing tool to target specialized groups such as lawyers, translators and others. "We use a series of periodical catalogs, newsletters, fax offers and on-line promotions to showcase our books and bring them to our customers," explains SBD president Francisco Gras.

Book Peddlers in Minnetonka, MN will release its first-ever title in Spanish with No es tu culpa, KoKo Bear (It's Not Your Fault, KoKo Bear), a story explaining divorce to young children. Direct mail marketing will include "divorce lawyers and family therapists in the southern-tier states and Illinois where high concentrations of Hispanic and Latino Americans live," says PR contact Natalie Clover. "And, of course, ever since we began thinking about this project, we have kept a database of every bookseller, lawyer, customer, counselor, teacher, judge, parent, daycare provider, or anyone else who we knew we should send a news release when the book was completed," she adds.

Reviews in local media: Never underestimate the power of the media. Send press releases to print and radio media contacts in the primary Hispanic markets: Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Chicago. Don't forget the Spanish-language media, such as El Diario de La Prensa in Miami, La Opiniun in Los Angeles and hellipxito in Chicago, as well as smaller community newspapers. Press releases are most commonly used to promote newly released titles, but they can also serve to breathe life into current backlist titles. Is there an upcoming event, new trend or group that would benefit from a particular title or series of titles? Then write a feature article in press release form and send it to appropriate print and broadcast media.

Multi-use flyers: Create a multi-use flyer that can be used at trade shows and by key wholesale and retail accounts. This means leaving prices and publisher contact information off the flyers, and instead, having a blank area where wholesalers and bookstores can affix their own data and send to their customers. "Some of our marketing efforts included a Spanish Heritage Month promotion in which a flyer and a special discount offer were presented to our database of English- and Spanish-language bookstores, wholesalers and distributors," reports Kristi Tate, sales manager at Inner Traditions en Espanol. "Several distributors asked us to customize this flyer with their ordering information and they in turn sent it to their account database."

Bilingual catalogs: Creating bilingual catalogs is an effective and relatively inexpensive way to ensure that all sales channels are getting the message. For publishers with only a handful of Spanish titles, separate flyers in English and in Spanish is another way to go. Mainstream chains and librarians like title descriptions in English since the majority of buyers speak little or no Spanish. Latino bookstores, while often fully bilingual, prefer descriptions and marketing material in Spanish to be able to share with their Spanish-speaking employees and customers. Bookstores and distributors in Puerto Rico also have greater use for promotional material in Spanish.

Author promotions: Booking extensive (and expensive) national tours is not the only way to get the word out about your lead titles and authors. Each time an author travels to another city, either for business or pleasure, she provides an invaluable opportunity to promote her work. It d sn't matter if the title is two years old and your author's books aren't on any bestseller list. As long as the title is in print, there are opportunities for the author to promote it. Make sure local bookstores are aware of upcoming author travel and suggest a signing or other in-store event. Offer to split the costs of local community paper or radio advertising. Even if you don't have extensive Hispanic media contacts where your author will be traveling, the local bookstores will. Depending on the type of title, many local radio stations will mention the event or signing free of charge as a service to the community.

Local spokesperson: Due to the language barrier, publishers doing mainly translations of their English titles are unable to take advantage of author signings, tours and radio interviews in Spanish-speaking communities. Therefore, it's a good idea to designate a local spokesperson for the entire list of Spanish translations. Ideally this person should be the editor or publisher -- someone familiar enough with the content of the book to be able to promote it in Spanish on local radio networks. Spanish-speaking customer service assistance is also a necessity. Llewellyn Espanol has a staff of five bilingual full-time employees working specifically with the Spanish list. "I cannot express how important it is that publishers and distributors targeting the Spanish-speaking market have on-staff employees who are able to communicate with customers in Spanish," notes Llewellyn's Maria Lickfelt-Bloomberg. "We have many customers and several authors who do not speak English. If they were not able to communicate with our staff, we would likely not be doing business with them," she adds.

Website: Creating a web site which includes Spanish titles is quickly becoming a relatively inexpensive promotional tool. Combining on-line ordering capabilities with browser tracking features allows publishers to not only increase their sales but also create a database of customers and a mailing list of potential buyers.

Trade shows and expos: Distributors covering the Spanish market can be found at the BookExpo America trade show each Spring as well as the Guadalajara International Book Fair in November. Book fairs worth targeting for direct sales to consumers include the Latino Book and Family Festival, the Miami Book Fair and the Los Angeles Times Book Fair.

Publishers having Spanish or bilingual titles applicable to the education market should consider state and national bilingual education conferences, attending either independently or in conjunction with a local distributor. Conferences are held by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages, Modern Language Association of America, National Association of Bilingual Educators, as well as bilingual association conferences in California, Texas and other states.

Other Sales Channels

A complete sales and marketing campaign should also include targeted special channels such as institutions, book clubs, associations, corporations and other organizations. There are, for example, over 200 Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in the U.S., many of which are beginning to offer some of their entrepreneurial training workshops in Spanish. This will provide opportunities for publishers of training material. There are also 300 national and 800 regional Hispanic organizations, 450 Hispanic studies programs, over 700,000 Hispanic owned businesses in the United States, as well as more than 100 bilingual and migrant education programs, all of which represent sales opportunities for publishers of both English and Spanish books.

What About Puerto Rico?

The U.S. market for Spanish books would not be complete without highlighting Puerto Rico. The island has relatively few general interest bookstores, not more than a few dozen, and are strategically located near the University of Puerto Rico, in touristy Old San Juan and in shopping malls where there is guaranteed traffic. Trade bookstores carry both English and Spanish titles, most of which are mixed in together on the shelves.

Although the total number of trade bookstores is small, the market for Spanish books is not. Llewellyn acknowledges that Puerto Rico is strong market for them, accounting for roughly 23% of domestic sales. Bantam Doubleday Dell's Teresa Zampino notes that "approximately 25% of our sales are going to Puerto Rico vs. U.S. accounts." Simon & Schuster's sales to the island come in at around 50%, but vary from title to title.

The rest of bookstores specialize in the educational market, targeting both schools and universities. Their inventory of English titles ranges from a high of 50% or more of total stock in August and September when the new school session gets underway, to a low of around 20-30% for the rest of the year. These stores are sprinkled throughout the island, primarily because they don't rely on walk-by traffic. In fact, most stand alone stores outside the pedestrian neighborhood known as Rio Piedras, home to the University of Puerto Rico, don't expect browers or walk by traffic. Potential customers must be buzzed into the store, and once inside, customers find that all books, texts and school supplies are kept safely behind a large counter. You have to know what you're looking for to be able to ask for it.

Booksellers report a preference for using Ingram to take advantage of the favorable ordering and return policies not widely available directly from U.S. publishers. This means that if bookstores in Puerto Rico already order their English stock from Ingram, they're likely to add to that those Spanish titles Ingram carries.

So if you publish a wider range of Spanish titles than that stocked by Ingram or if you publish books for the school or university market, consider working with local distributors in Puerto Rico. As the majority of distributors/wholesalers in Puerto Rico work on an non-exclusive basis, it's best to target as many as possible.