25 Apr Launching a Publishing House in Mexico Right before a Pandemic (Podcast #3)
Episode #3 – What It’s Like to Start a Publishing House in Mexico Right before a Pandemic
By Marleen Seegers, Co-Founder of 2 Seas Agency and Host of The Make Books Travel Podcast
April 25, 2020
Wendolín Perla
Welcome to the third episode of the Make Books Travel podcast!
On this episode I’m joined by the lovely Wendolín Perla, founder of the publishing house Perla Ediciones in Mexico. Wendolín and I first met during a meeting at the Guadalajara book fair in December 2015. She was an editor at Penguin Randomhouse Mexico and I was pitching titles to her.
I was charmed immediately by her warm, frank and outgoing personality, though I feel I only really got to know her when we were both participating in the Zev Birger Fellowship during the 2017 Jerusalem Book Fair. I have very fond memories of the wonderful week we spent there, and I’m happy to have welcomed her as a guest on the podcast.
Not only was I interested in hearing about the state of the Mexican publishing scene in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, but I was also eager to talk to her about her specific experiences of having founded her own publishing house in Mexico just one month before the WHO declared the virus a pandemic.
Here are some of the questions I asked Wendolín:
- What is the situation in Mexico currently in light of the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What was the state of the Mexican publishing market before the pandemic started?
- What has happened since the start of the pandemic in terms of book sales?
- Is the Mexican publishing world on a standstill?
- What was it like to launch your own publishing house even before the Coronavirus was in the picture?
- What is it like now? Have you put things on a standstill until it calms down, or on the contrary, are you working full speed ahead?
- Besides dealing with the impact of the Coronavirus, what was the biggest challenge for you to launch your own company?
- What is the ONE piece of advice you have for people who are thinking about starting their own publishing house?
You’ll hear that I encountered issues with the recording on my end, and apologize for the poorer sound quality. I’m still learning, and this is definitely going to be improved on the next episode… Thank you for listening, and enjoy!
PS: If you are a publishing professional and are interested in participating in a new podcast episode, let us know!
PPS: Listen to The Make Books Travel podcast on the following channels — and leave a positive review if you enjoy what you hear:
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.