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Interview with Yaoi Publisher : Part 3
Be Beautiful
Interview / Text: Lees Sharon-Ann
Response: Masumi Homma O'Donnell, Publisher of Be Beautiful
About Be Beautiful
BeBeautiful is a manga imprint from the A18 Corporation devoted to carrying titles created by women for women. The idea of the company is to publish beautiful romances which feature beautiful men for an 18 plus audience. Their logo depicts the Japanese character for 'Beauty' or 'aestheticism' and this is the company's core philosophy. So far the titles they have published have been yaoi only but as they are devoted to the depiction of beautiful romances they look forward to one day carrying romantic titles of a different genre.
Titles so far published include Kazuma Kodaka's classic Kizuna - Bonds of Love and Ayano Yamane's beautifully illustrated and, now infamous, Finder Series. With such a diverse and appealing range, fans can look forward to quality releases from this company in the future and new comers to the genre have an impressive back catalogue to choose from.
Q1: In your experience as a publisher are there any major differences between the current Eastern and Western yaoi markets?
A1: Since I'm a publisher for the English speaking markets, I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on the Japanese market. Because yaoi books were introduced commercially in Western markets just a few years ago, the variety of yaoi books here is still quite limited. When I went to Kinokuniya bookstore's main shop in Tokyo last year, I was amazed to see probably a total of eight or ten floor-to-ceiling bookshelves dedicated to yaoi manga and novels. I was surprised that a major bookstore like Kinokuniya, which is equivalent to Borders or Barnes & Noble, is taking this genre very seriously. I hope this kind of phenomenon will happen to the bookstores in the U.S. and Canada soon!
Q2: What message does the recent bankruptcy of the Japanese publisher Biblos give us about the Japanese yaoi market and the future of the English-speaking one? Will Be Beautiful customers for example be able to purchase up coming volumes of series, like Ayano Yamane's third installation of her Finder Series?
A2:According to the Japanese press, the bankruptcy of Biblos doesn't have anything to do with the performance of their yaoi publishing division. I was told that the big losses of their IT-related divisions and their subsidiaries are what led Biblos to a bankruptcy.
I heard in the news that Biblos is currently being reorganized. I am looking forward to working with a new company who would, presumably, take over handling most of the properties of the Biblos yaoi publishing division.
Of course, the fans will continue to be able to purchase Be Beautiful books. Regarding Ayano Yamane's third Finder Series book, we are very positive that its release will be announced at an appropriate time.
Q3: Be Beautiful takes the time to introduce the reader to the manga-ka of each published title. Either through interviews in the volumes themselves or through personal appearances. How important is it to you to introduce creators to your readers?
A3: It is definitely very important to introduce our artists to the fans so that they can personally relate to the creator of their favorite yaoi story. Ms. Youka Nitta, the creator of Embracing Love, once told me, "Each and every character in my stories is somewhat a part of me."
So, we try to create special occasions for our fans to enjoy meeting the artists such as autograph sessions at bookstores and conventions, our Be Beautiful exclusive interviews at the end of the books, and so forth.
Q3: One of your series Kizuna Bonds of Love, by Kazuma Kodaka, started out as a doujinshi creator and has now gained great success and has a huge following. What advice would you give to aspiring yaoi manga and doujinshi creators?
A3: I'll let the experts field this question. The consensus seems to be, "Keep working and keep reading!"
Ms. Kodaka herself advises aspiring professional yaoi artists to read all the Japanese yaoi manga they can, one after another, in order to study the trends of yaoi manga and investigate what type of manga readers are waiting for. She says, "You cannot survive in the yaoi market if you only write what you like" - it is necessary to anticipate what your audience wants.
Ms. Kodaka also recommends drawing as many manga as possible in order to enhance one's drawing skills.
Ms. Nitta also believes in working continuously. In fact, she works so constantly that even when she came to speak at New York Comic Con, she worked on the airplane, in her hotel at night, and planned to work on her flight home as well ... because her editor was meeting her at Narita airport to pick up the latest pages.
It's very lucky for us that they are so dedicated!
Both Ms. Kodaka and Ms. Nitta started creating yaoi doujinshi before creating them professionally, so obviously that's a great place to start. It seems that doujinshi creators have more freedom as to their working timetables and the types of stories they want to tell, though, so that many talented artists choose to continue working that way. In many cases, it seems to be a matter of preference.
Q3: The overall impression I get from your company is that you are very feedback oriented. How important is customer opinion to you?
QA: Very important! As we say in Japanese, "Okyakusama wa kamisama desu," or, "The customer is the king." Because of our fans' great support, we can keep our publishing business going. Without our readers, Be Beautiful wouldn't be here. We seriously listen to our audience and try our best to accommodate their wishes and requests.
Previously introduced : Drama Queen
Next publisher interview: BLU Manga. Stay Tuned!
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:: LINK FREE ::
http://www.akibaangels.com
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