We are happy to be able to present you with Sergio Mejias, the CEO and founder of Bubok. Almost 12 years ago Sergio first provided the opportunity for any budding author to publish their own work. Now Bubok is at the stage where it’s knocking on the doors of global markets. Find out how we plan to facilitate that process in the short interview below:
– Why did you decide to expand Bubok to the US?
Our goal is to enter the US market and present Bubok’s services to the American people. For those who would be interested in self-publishing with us, we would offer an opportunity to sell their books in the US, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. In short, we aim to open the doors to the American market to Spanish authors and vice versa – bring the American market here. The reason for this is quite obvious – the size of the US market offers great potential for growth. Also, we want to support as many independent authors as possible, so why limit ourselves to the Latin world? The literary world is full of incredibly talented people, and we are here to give them a voice regardless of where they live.
– Bubok has now been around for nearly 12 years. Why is it now specifically that you hope to expand into the largest publishing market in the world?
At this point, we have a lot of Spanish books that have been translated into English. We’ve also improved our system, so that we can now offer our services both to institutions and the public. Our products are greatly appreciated by those whom we’ve already reached. Our hope is that people from the US would be able to show their content outside America’s borders. So, our goal is to create opportunities for American authors to show their work in all the countries where Bubok operates, and to gather a larger international audience.
– There’s already huge competition in the US among companies that are established in the American publishing industry. How are you planning to stand out from your competitors?
We’ll do it by sticking to our core principles, being honest with authors and always seeking the best deal for everyone. This has worked for us so far, and we believe it will in any market.
– What would you describe as Bubok’s greatest strength?
We always have believed in being completely honest and transparent, as well as in fully supporting the client. Bubok stands up for the rights of self-publishing platforms, and therefore we open the doors for others.
– Why did you choose to get into self-publishing in the first place?
When we started in 2009 we had a very small traditional publishing house. Eventually things started to peter out, and we had to say no to many authors. That’s when we started thinking about creating a self-publishing platform so people could publish without any restrictions.
– What do you think about the negative opinions that still persist about self-publishing?
I think it’s only a matter of time until that way of thinking dies out. You can see the same trend in all kinds of sectors, look at cinema for instance. Last year, when Steven Spielberg was talking about streaming platforms, he said that films produced by “Netflix” shouldn’t participate in the Oscars. Not that long ago the movie “The Irishman” came out, and Spielberg brought it up again. In terms of books, if traditional publishers weren’t making authors sign 10-year contracts, a lot of them would already be self-publishing.
