Island author Jeanie Davies Okimoto’s children’s book, “Blumpoe the Grumpoe Meets Arnold the Cat,” was about to be made into a TV show in 1990 when Okimoto received word that her publisher would not be reprinting it.
The Boston-based Little, Brown and Co. had just been purchased by Time Warner, which was about to issue Madonna’s now infamous book “Sex,” replete with its explicit photos and faux metal cover. Okimoto learned the company was marshaling its resources — even reserving floor space in the warehouse in support the book’s anticipated sales — and thus not taking on projects it otherwise might have.
With the first printing of Okimoto’s book sold out, it seemed fans of Blumpoe the Grumpoe would only be able to watch him on television. But Okimoto had a different vision.
“I was disappointed,” she said, “so I decided to do it myself.”
Now, more than two decades later, Okimoto is in the midst of her third year at the helm of her own small publishing company, Endicott and Hugh Books, which has released three books this year, including “The Weird World Rolls On,” a book of poetry that features the work of Okimoto’s brother, Roger Davies, whose work she has long wanted to publish, and several poets from Vashon. A reading in recognition of the book’s release will be held on July 18.
Okimoto notes that her business — a small, independent press, according to publishing vernacular — is one of many that have sprouted in recent years, at a time when the world of publishing is changing rapidly. Not long ago, most books were released by large publishing houses, with names familiar to most any book worm: Simon and Schuster, Penguin, Random House, to name a few. That is no longer true, Okimoto said. Indeed, according to the Books in Print database, of the more than 3 million books published in 2010, 2.7 million were published through “non-traditional” routes.
“It’s a wonderful time to be an author,” Okimoto said. “You have other avenues. … You don’t have to rely on them (traditional publishers).”
The trend in publishing is similar to what is happening in the music world, Okimoto said, with musicians releasing their own music and not waiting for recording contracts from big companies. Artistic efforts on that front help on the book front, she noted, and the stigma that had been associated with books printed via non-traditional routes is fading. In fact, many mid-list authors — respected authors lower on the book-selling ladder than Steven King and Anne Rice, for example — have abandoned traditional routes and are “going it on their own,” Okimoto said.
As this publishing sector grows, awards have also been established to recognize and honor some of the best of the books. Last month, the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group announced its 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, which leaders in the field bestow on books they believe should reach a wider audience. Okimoto’s book, “Walter’s Muse,” a novel set on Vashon that she published earlier this year was awarded third place in the fiction category.
“The exposure is wonderful. “I was delighted to have the recognition — and the money,” she said with a laugh.
Much of the change in the book publishing began with the recession, according to Okimoto.
“Publishers were only going for sure things,” she recalled, and even well-respected authors were having difficulty getting their books accepted by a large house.
Recent technology has also contributed to this new wave of book publishing, Okimoto said, including a process called printing on demand, which allows books to be printed one at a time when an order is placed. Okimoto uses this method for Endicott and Hugh Books and relies on a printing and distributing company called Lightning Source, a division of Ingram Book Company, the giant book wholesaler. As the distributor, it makes its books available to a variety of sources, including Ingram, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Lightning Source serves publishers of all sizes, Okimoto said, so generally the physical qualities of books — the paper, printing and binding — are the same, and most people cannot tell the difference anymore between a book published this way through a tiny independent press or a New York publishing company.
Okimoto dubbed her press Endicott and Hugh Books using the middle names of her parents. The name is sentimental for her, she said. It also makes her laugh, as she believes it conjures up visions of a publishing office on Boston’s Beacon Hill or London, a long way from the reality of her basement office.
Okimoto, who will turn 70 this December, is an author of 20 books and a retired psychotherapist. She noted she is not getting rich as publisher, nor did aim to get rich as an author, although she brushed elbows with fame when she appeared on Oprah in the late 1980s.
“It didn’t lead to fame and fortune,” she said. “A lot of authors do not get fame and fortune.”
In May, Endicott and Hugh released its first book by an author other than Okimoto, “Once Upon a Two by Four,” by Ann Combs, a former columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Okimoto calls it a “charming memoir” of the Combs’ experiences remodeling a dilapidated home on Bainbridge Island. The book had originally been printed by Lippincott, Okimoto said, but was no longer in print. Combs is a friend, and Okimoto believed her book deserved another chance. Mostly, she expects the book will sell at Eagle Harbor with some online orders as well.
As the publisher, Okimoto supplied the money for the printing of the book and the designer and says she might break even on it. She may also bring another friend’s book back into print, but is not seeking other manuscripts at this time.
“It’s because I love these women. I love these books,” she said. “I want them to exist for posterity.”
In all, through Endicott and Hugh, Okimoto has published 10 books, and has brought three young adult books out as ebooks.
As for Blumpoe the Grumpoe, nearly nudged off the bookshelf by Madonna, Okimoto was able to bring that book back. It’s available on Amazon and at the inn in Minnesota where the story takes place.
“Every year it still sells,” she said. “The book stayed alive.
A book launch and reading for the poetry book, “The Weird World Rolls On,” will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, at Vashon Community Care (VCC).
The collection includes haikus that have appeared on Hiway Haiku and poems by several Vashon poets. Nova Scotia poet Roger Davies, the collection’s featured poet and the brother of publisher Jeanie Davies Okimoto, will read his poems along with 18 Vashon poets. In the anthology, some are nationally recognized published poets, and for others the poems in this collection are their first efforts. They all either live on Vashon or have a connection to Vashon. Proceeds from the sale of “The Weird World Rolls On” will be donated to VCC.
