The world has changed and so must publishing. Libros.com and Quantified Reading sign a partnership

(Original post in Spanish)
We are living an exceptional moment. No existing area in society is escaping it, and that includes the consumption of culture. The paradox is evident to us: the literary conversation is more active than ever; readers want to buy new works. But they can't. Not, at least, through traditional channels.

The publishing industry is realizing that it really knows little about its readers. The fundamental piece of the chain, the one that gives meaning to any cultural work, remains blurred. There is a clear need to provide light in the midst of that darkness, because only by strengthening the ties of the literary community can we emerge from this crisis reinforced.

We cannot fool ourselves: very difficult times are coming. The distribution of books is, today, stopped. The bookstores, where the emotional capital of a large part of the readers resides, have been closed for more than a month. Some, unfortunately, will not be able to lift the blind again. And publishers fight day by day not to stop, to continue connecting to a community that wants to remain united.

In this context, it is illustrative to remember that one of the main concerns of any publisher is risk management. Publishers need to invest a large amount of money - on both well-known authors or editorial bets - to produce a title that has no clear and reliable return of investment. The specific strategy depends on the size of the publisher, but it is always sustained by precarious balances by which the book reaches its profitability threshold, or by which a bestseller compensates for the losses of other failed editions. These balances are much more difficult if you don't know your readers well, or the real potential of the book at hand.

At Libros.com they have spent eight years trying to publish books in a different, more democratic, sustained, emotional and economic way, to its readers. What allows them to continue publishing books today is that they have always depended on the patrons to bet on our books. There are already more than 60,000, but now they want to go one step further in that ambition.

Libros.com and Quantified Reading, the company I co-founded with my awesome partners, open the way today to walk a path that we all knew we had to start at some point. COVID-19 has pushed us to do so because of the survival of the sector, which is only going to be able to get out of this by being united and by collaborating. Building community is critical like never before.

Quantified Reading was the winning project of the 2019 Digital Innovation Award at the ‘Electronic Book Congress’, and we are now starting an agreement that shares what is now deemed as fundamental to get ahead: knowledge. The knowledge of a sector, with a multitude of strengths and sympathies on the part of society, and the knowledge of the readers, to whom we owe more than ever. An initiative to produce physical and digital books which takes advantage of the benefits of the traditional channel, but maximizing the possibilities of digital. An initiative that puts the reader at the center right from the birth of the book. One that engages him or her in new experiences of digital reading. An adventure that, in addition, we put on the table as an invitation to others and with the ability to adapt within a complex sector.

Together, Libros.com and Quantified Reading will contribute their joint experience by:

• Building publishing production models that focus on loyal readers interested in this content from the very start of the book. This is evidenced by more than 460 books of all genres, edited by more than 60,000 enthusiastic patrons by Libros.com. 
• Creating and engaging successful digital reading communities.
• Learning from the information obtained from the behavior of the readers in order to be more effective in making decisions. 
• Operating cloud platforms that innovate in the reading experience or in business models around content commercialization.
  

With this agreement, we position ourselves at the service of a publishing sector that needs, more than ever, to close ranks and move forward together. We will collaborate with publishers whose traditional financing system does not allow them to resume activity; also with bookstores, which will continue to be a fundamental element because they allow us to show our books to readers, supporting them with technological tools and knowledge to sell more and more efficiently.

Readers. Bookstores. Editorials. Authors. Literature will not be sustained without these four hands joined together. It is time to connect, talk and move forward together. In times of crisis like this, culture must come out to provide comfort and certainty. We add this grain of sand to not stop. We move forward. Together.