Graphic designer Jairo Carthy, Creative Director at Ediciones Choroní, received
praise from none other than Carlos Cruz-Diez when he created his very first
design as a young boy. Since then, he has garnered numerous accolades and
nominations. He is now the creative force behind the beautiful, elegant visual
identity of the publishing house, which was founded by writer Viviana Marcela
Iriart. It is a unique publisher: in addition to selling books, it also gives them
away—"because there are people who want to read but cannot, as they have to
choose between buying a book or eating," explains Jairo Carthy.
The publishing house features a highly diverse catalog of great literary quality,
showcasing excellent authors from Venezuela and Argentina: José Pulido,
covered by the publisher include poetry, novels, theater, chronicles, visual arts,
humor, interviews, children’s stories, biographies, and self-help.
Very kind and calm, Mr. Carthy welcomes us into his lovely apartment; with a
deep, sensual voice and perfect diction—honed during his years as an
actor—he answers our questions as we enjoy a delicious coffee.
24 books in Spanish, English, and bilingual editions—all designed by you
and of high quality. How did you manage to lay out so many books?
It has truly been a wonderful project, and quite different from the graphic work I
had been doing previously. Of course, I’ve had the invaluable support of Viviana
Marcela Iriart, our editor; she provides the manuscripts and all the book’s
content. Once the design is complete, she handles any necessary revisions and
coordinates the publication details with the author. It has been an enriching
process; having designed 24 books, I feel a great sense of satisfaction—both
with the work we’ve accomplished together and with the response from the
public.
How many assistants do you have?
I work alone. I think it’s better that way, because my hours can be quite
varied—I might start very early in the morning or finish very late at night. I work
whenever inspiration strikes, and you have to take advantage of that. Of course,
having an assistant would be wonderful, but for now, we aren’t in a position to
hire one. Still, since the work isn’t done under pressure or to rigid deadlines, I’m
able to stay relaxed. And just think—we’ve already completed 24 books in a
year and a half!
You publish books on a wide variety of topics—how are your sales going?
Excellent. At the beginning, there was a great deal of uncertainty. We started by
publishing on Amazon, which reaches a global audience via the web but also
presents thousands of other books to compete with. However, our publishing
house puts in meticulous, consistent effort on social media to raise awareness
of our titles, and we’ve managed to make sales in countries we never even
imagined.
Is it very difficult to carve out a niche in the publishing market, given the
intense competition?
Yes, especially when you don’t have much money—as is the case for us—to
invest in paid advertising, the way large publishing houses do. But, thanks to
hard, tireless work and the quality of our books, we have gradually managed to
make our way.
The publishing house receives no subsidies or contributions from the
private sector; how, then, do you manage to publish so many books from
a financial standpoint?
We are able to do it because we partner with each author—who contributes to
the cost of their own publication—and because the editing and publishing
process itself incurs no additional expense. Between Viviana and me, we
handle all the work that, at a conventional publishing house, would be carried
out by at least ten people. Fortunately, we also have the help of Joanna Costa,
who manages our media presence and social networks. And, although the work
is exhausting, we enjoy it immensely because we are truly passionate about
publishing books. We wish we had the resources to publish the many wonderful
manuscripts we receive, but, unfortunately, we cannot. Perhaps in a couple of
years…
Why do you publish in English?
Because we want to reach a larger audience. English is a global language;
someone in Korea, for instance, might speak English perfectly and be able to
read our editions. In the case of children’s literature, the audience in the United
States has received our books with great interest.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of publishing on Amazon?
There are many advantages. They use a "print-on-demand" model (printing only
the books that are actually sold), which means there are no losses from unsold
inventory. At first, I couldn't believe it: how is it possible for them to print just a
single copy? What happens if only one copy is sold? But that is exactly how it
works; they have the infrastructure in place to produce a book in a very short
amount of time. Although shipping can sometimes take a while, the printing
process itself is fast. Throughout this entire process, Ediciones Choroní incurs
no costs; the platform deducts its commissions from sales, and royalties are
distributed according to the established agreement.
The downside of Amazon is the high cost of shipping to Latin America.
However, it is possible to get free shipping if you team up with three friends to
purchase four copies; Amazon offers free shipping if you also add—for a small
extra fee—one of the other products they sell, such as a bicycle pump. I
mention four people because that results in the lowest cost per individual,
though it could also be done with just two. This Amazon system demonstrates
that joining forces… reduces costs.
How do books from Ediciones Choroní reach the public? Do you post
announcements on social media?
Yes, absolutely. We use all available digital resources for promotion and sales.
The approach works very well; sometimes we design campaigns where we
share an excerpt from a book, and people—wanting to continue reading—end
up buying it. Social media is fantastic for promotion, as it allows us to reach
anywhere in the world in an instant.
If an author wants to publish with you, do you accept them regardless of
the quality of their work?
No; literary quality is the most important thing. Everything we have published so
far possesses that quality—both in our own judgment and according to the
feedback from those who have purchased our books. We could make more
money by publishing commercial manuscripts—money that we actually
need—but we choose not to. We are different.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I’d like to thank you for this opportunity to let readers learn a little more about
Ediciones Choroní. I hope they continue to support us by purchasing and
promoting our books.
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