It’s Only a Book!
- David Salariya
- Jan 8, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
David Salariya on a publishing rollercoaster ride with 1200 books
"It's only a movie, Ingrid."
Alfred Hitchcock once reassured Ingrid Bergman with that line during filming. Sweet sentiment, Hitch — but for authors, illustrators, publishers, and book creators, “It’s only a book?” feels quite different.
We know better. It’s never just a book.
When Books Are Your Lifeblood
In the world of publishing - the selling of book ideas, the rights eightsome reel - every step matters. Every fair, every pitch, every deadline. Books become your lifeblood, drawing you into a swirling vortex of edits, rewrites, cover mocks, and the relentless forward march of “What are we publishing for Bologna 2025?” “What about Frankfurt 2026... or 2027?”
I confess - I had a non-fiction/fiction addiction. I’ve launched over 1,200 titles across the globe. Spring meant the Bologna Book Fair. Autumn, Frankfurt. In between? London, Istanbul, New York, Washington, Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Buenos Aires... you name it, I’ve likely tried to sell a children’s book there.
A New Chapter Begins
Now, as 2024 dawns, I turn the page.
The Salariya Book Company - once my life’s work - is a closed chapter. Closed not quietly, but in a pandemic-fuelled mess of illness, supply chain chaos, unfulfilled orders, and a swamp of warehouse confusion. There were bottom feeders. And sharks. But...
Does a blank page now beckon?
Perhaps. After all, I’m recovered. Fighting fit. My brain (and notebooks) are stuffed with ideas - like eggs needing to be nurtured, turned, honed.
Let’s see what hatches next.
Credit Where Credit is Due
The ancient Egyptians, when someone fell out of favour, would chisel their name off statues. It wasn’t just vandalism - it was intended to erase their memory from this world and the next. A kind of damnatio memoriae.
And publishing? Well, it has its own version.
When new owners acquire the intellectual property of a business, they sometimes begin reprinting books without the original contributors' names. Designers, authors, illustrators - erased. Books are "refreshed," made to look new. A new beginning is claimed. Sometimes, even old books are absurdly described as “the start of an idea.”
But we know the truth.
Why Acknowledgement Matters
As creators, we invest time, imagination - and more than a little of ourselves - into every book. It was never just a job.
The biographies printed on a book’s verso page aren’t a formality. They are a form of recognition - a vital, human connection between reader and creator. They tell you who made the book and why it matters.
To omit this?Is to chip away at the original intent, the voices behind the pages, and the integrity of the work itself.
Credit matters. And not just for the egos of writers, designers, editors, consultants, or illustrators. It matters for the reputation of the publishing industry. It matters to history.
To My Fellow Creators…
To all the brilliant minds behind the books —writers, illustrators, editors, designers, publishers —
I raise a toast.
“To wild ideas, sleepless nights, and the sweet, sweet satisfaction of seeing your words and pictures take flight.”
Here’s to new chapters. Blank pages.And the ever-present, slightly terrifying whisper...
“It’s only a book?”
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