Publisher Spotlight: Imaginador

Argentina's Imaginador fills the needs of practical readers in the United States

By Ximena Diego -- Críticas, 11/1/2004

Imaginador means "one who imagines." But if you look it up in the dictionary, the word doesn't exist. It was Argentine Luis Hernán Rodríguez Felder who, as a writer and an imaginador himself, coined this word to name his publishing house more than a decade ago. In a country where businesses need more creativity than money to survive periodic economic turmoil, the name sounds like a good omen.

Back in 1991, Editorial Imaginador had four titles in the market, four people on its payroll, and one lofty goal: to reach a mass market that doesn't read enough books in Argentina and abroad.

Imagination created useful, clearly written books that addressed subjects like health and arts & crafts. By selling these paperbacks through mail-order catalogs that already had distribution in cities and small towns throughout Argentina, Imaginador was able to successfully reach those readers that can't always get to bookstores.

By 1993, after establishing its presence in these nontraditional distribution channels, Imaginador started exporting. The company's name worked as a good omen. The company managed to survive the economic turmoil that shook Argentina in 2001, and now has 20 employees, 700 original titles, and is publishing six new titles every month. It has distribution in several Latin American countries, including Mexico and in the United States.

It's easy to see how Imaginador's books have a massive appeal. "We focus on listening to the needs of the mass market and on publishing books that are reader-friendly," says business manager María Teresa Carbano. From Reiki and aromatherapy to asthma and obesity in children, most of Imaginador's titles address current trends in the fields of alternative medicine, self-help, spirituality, mind and body, esoterica, love, and sexuality. Educational, informative, and easy to read, these books are also wallet-friendly: the average price of an Imaginador title in the United States is $8.95 and prices don't go beyond $10. The catalog also includes cookbooks like Recipes for a Healthy Heart, many how-tos, and tutorials for children.

According to Carbano, these books capture the attention of people who aren't avid readers but are curious about a certain issue and want an introduction to the topic. "We want the book to be a teacher, and one who [talks to the reader] with the clarity and simplicity expected from a good teacher," she says.

That concept, "the book as a teacher," was the publisher's gamble that paid off. Imaginador's first four titles were simple how-tos like How to Make a Kite. But by the time it entered the U.S. market in 1998, Imaginador was publishing slightly more complex books like Alzheimer's Disease and Children's Obesity, both part of its best-selling health series.

Two other categories Carbano sees selling well in the U.S. market are self-help and crafts books. Imaginador will be launching a tutorial category that will feature a series of notebooks for parents who need assistance helping their children in language, grammar, and math.

Imaginador has grown beyond its imagination in the United States and Argentina and abroad. For Carbano, "the results exceeded our expectations." The complete catalog can be viewed online at imaginador.com.ar.