Emmanuelle Josse is cofounder of La Déferlante, an independent quarterly review and newsletter that has just launched its publishing house. She is the guest of the third episode of the second season of Chemins, the podcast by Médianes.
In this third episode of the second season of *Chemins*, we welcome Emmanuelle Josse, co-founder of the feminist magazine *La Déferlante*, launched in 2021. Two years and ten issues later, La Déferlante is launching its own publishing house with the goal of continuing the narrative of feminist revolutions. What’s on the agenda? The publication of 2 to 5 titles per year, ranging from essays to narratives to photo books. How do you manage the launch of a publishing house while also running your magazine? What are the key steps?
Key Points
- In total, for each issue of *La Déferlante*, about sixty people contribute to writing the articles, creating the illustrations, and proofreading. Tal Madesta, author of the first book published by La Déferlante—*La fin des monstres*—was, in fact, one of the magazine’s regular contributors. His writing style won over the co-founders.
“The entire team behind the magazine—that’s a lot of people. In comparison, for a book like Tal Madesta’s, we work as a smaller, more focused team. There’s only one author to interact with. So it was relatively simple, and made easier by the fact that booksellers already knew who we were. The magazine is doing very well in bookstores—we’re selling 5,000 copies per issue, which is rare for a magazine. Women read a lot, and feminists even more so.”
- The content of the publishing house's books differs from that of the magazine.
“The publishing house has no intention of breaking the magazine down into small pieces and turning them into books. If people make the connection between the magazine and the books, so much the better. Especially since we ran a marketing campaign focused on both—it would have been a shame not to take advantage of that.”
- The team at La Déferlante launched a pre-sale campaign ahead of the book’s release. This was a way to set their own schedule without cannibalizing future sales in bookstores.
“The presale campaign was a way to generate buzz about the book in advance. Where the book industry differs from the media industry is that books rely on the media as promotional tools. Since we already had our media channels in place, we were able to promote it whenever we wanted, without needing press representatives. We also wanted our readers to feel a sense of exclusivity—to be the first to receive Tal Madesta’s book. Later on, in bookstores, this creates new momentum; it attracts a different audience.”
- In bookstores, books serve as a prime gateway to the magazine.
“Thanks to books, history is gaining new momentum. For a bookseller, space and visibility are gold. And magazines aren’t easy to display because they often have limited formats. With books, we return to a traditional format. That’s also why we wanted to create a beautiful cover for Tal Madesta’s book: it makes booksellers want to showcase it.”
- Bookstore tours are customized to each client's needs.
“Tal Madesta often attends book signings on her own. We don’t accompany him. But this varies from author to author—some are very comfortable with these events, others less so. In this particular case, Tal Madesta had already published a book, so he’s familiar with the process and the booksellers.”
- The key? Surround yourself with the right people, take good care of your author, pay close attention to the book itself, and be prepared to take a financial risk.
“You have to talk to lots of people, go out for coffee, and ask them about their work. The issue of the contract is crucial: when you present yourself as a feminist publishing house, there’s a question of fairness to consider. The book industry is very tight; there’s not much money. When you launch a book, you cover all the costs up front, but you don’t know if it will be a success. You also need strong support when it comes to the book’s production: paying attention to the paper, the cover, and the texture. You must also nurture your relationship with the author: their name will appear on the cover, which is all the more important when it comes to an essay.”
- What is a typical day like for a Bookseller Relations Manager?
“This involves notifying booksellers well in advance of a book’s release, identifying booksellers where we could organize a book signing, and then arranging those events… It involves both strategic and operational management. Afterward, we’ll need to scale up our mailings and communications. In practical terms, we need to have the time to continue supporting the release of Tal Madesta’s book: right now, we’re entering the rights-selling phase, where we’ll need to try to get it published in paperback and perhaps explore an audiobook option as well. On the other hand, we need to prepare for upcoming publications: contact authors, submit proposals to them…”
"Chemins" is a podcast produced by Médianes. Season 2 is hosted by Marine Slavitch and directed by Morgan Prudhomme. The sound design is by Nicolas Peiron, and the visual design is by Christelle Perrin.
