Over the last 25 days we have heard from Joffe authors and the wonderful people who help with promoting, reviewing and reading the brilliant books produced by Joffe Books. All these people work together to help promote the books and make sure as many readers know about them as possible. All these people make up the JOFFE LAUNCH TEAM (nicknamed Crazies) However we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without the skills and expertise of the people working away behind the scenes at Joffe Books. These include the proofreaders and editors, Rudi (who is Jasper’s right hand man) but most of all the man himself the awesome JASPER JOFFE. I am, therefore, very excited to have had the opportunity to interview Jasper and share it with you all.
Interview with Jasper Joffe
Hello Jasper, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview.
Could you please tell us a little about yourself and how/why you decided to start Joffe Books?
Hi, Jill, firstly thank you for all the great blogging you do! Well, I’ve always loved reading and even wrote a book of my own once. And everything about Joffe Books comes from a love of reading. Kindle and Amazon created amazing opportunities for new publishers to innovate. Basically it became much easier to publish books and sell them all around the world, and we’ve ridden the wave of this massive change.
I have been running the Rolling Blog for 2 weeks now what do you think of what your authors are saying are you surprised at any of the comments?
Been very happy to read their very kind words. We’re very lucky to work with such a great bunch of people. They are very talented and very nice, and that makes publishing them a great pleasure.
You obviously have a great relationship with your authors and they think very highly of you and Joffe Books. Could you tell us a little about your author ethos?
I always try to remember how much work the authors put in to write a book. Everything begins there. And we have to do our best to edit and present it in the best possible way. But I never forget that the author has done the big part and that what they do isn’t just a normal job, it’s their passion and calling.
Joffe Books seems to be pretty unique in that the authors all support and help each other and I know you and Rudi support the Launch Team idea. Do you think this is good for everyone to work as a team?
Yes, we respect your work and the bloggers and reviewers, and we’re all doing our best to get these great books out to readers. I love the fact that the authors and bloggers and you are all great friends and support each other. A real bonus!
Your authors are obviously very happy and I know many have refused offers from other publishers. You obviously put a lot of effort into making sure your authors are happy could you tell us a little about that?
We’ve worked together for many years, some of them, like Helen, since practically the beginning. And so I care about them and their books. They are always the most important people to listen to. I’m very involved in every decision about every book, and that means I work very closely with the authors.
How do you see the future of Joffe Books? The company is currently very successful and you obviously have a hands-on approach that wouldn’t be sustainable if Joffe Books were to grow. What is your long term vision?
Long term, we want to sell more great books and keep working with our brilliant authors. We’d like to reach the same level of prominence in the USA as we have in the UK. And we want to continue to build the international careers of our authors. We’ve worked really successfully with Lorella Belli to sell translation, audio, and film rights, and we want to continue to grow this side of things. And every day there are new opportunities and challenges in the publishing world. I love it.
Can you keep going at this pace and would you ever consider selling?
Yes, we’re just getting started. We want to keep growing and we’re more into buying than selling!
How do you see the future of publishing regarding digital versus paperbacks?
There’s room for all formats. I read exclusively on Kindle (because I love the ease and immediacy) but what does it matter which format people read in, although of course Kindle books are usually great value, and much easier on the eyes!
What do you look for in a novel?
I have to say, a great story which I can’t put down.
Do you read every book you publish? If not how many do you read?
No, I don’t read the whole of every book. But I read most of them!
You mentioned in your Podcast that you read a lot and at every opportunity. Are you a fast reader?
Yes, I seem to read day and night. I think I’m pretty fast. When I was kid, we had a competition to read Lord of the Rings. I think I did it in a week, which is not too bad!
Who is your favourite character in fiction and why – can be books, films, tv or myth/legend?
I like Tony Soprano, Jim Dixon (from Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim) and Rabbit (from John Updike’s Rabbit books). Now that’s a pretty motley crew, but they are all incredibly and indelibly realised by their creators.
What is the greatest moment in your life that you will never forget?
The most important was the birth of my daughters.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself or Joffe Books?
Thank you to everyone who has made this incredible dream come true: a small publisher like us topping the best seller charts! And thanks to the authors for trusting us with their books, and to the readers for giving us their valuable time reading the stories we publish.
