Transcription of interview conducted by email on 6 November 2014. Parts of this interview were used in Farthing, A. & Priego, E., (2016). ÔGraphic MedicineÕ as a Mental Health Information Resource: Insights from Comics Producers. The Comics Grid. 6(0), p.3. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16995/cg.74


CATHERINE GRAY, PUBLISHER OF COUCH FICTION WHILE AT PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ROLE ON COUCH FICTION?
As publisher, I was responsible for commissioning it, overseeing its production/publication, and advising on the sales/marketing strategy. It was a very unusual book for Palgrave to publish and we knew it would be high investment in terms of getting the look, publicity and sales effort right. I had to present it at a publishing committee for approval and then work in some highly non-standard ways to usher it through Palgrave's production system. For example, I took on the proof-reading myself rather than contracting this out-house as we'd normally have done. This was about keeping control of speed and cost while looking after the author relationship.

WHAT WAS THE PERCEIVED MARKET FOR THE BOOK AT THE TIME OF COMMISSIONING? 
We were always clear that there was a dual market for this book. Our traditional market was amongst students and trainees. We knew case studies were popular in teaching/study and we expected to achieve sales to students enrolled on courses through booklist recommendations. But we could also see that there was a wider 'impulse buy' market - amongst therapists buying the book as a gift for each other, and amongst people considering undertaking counselling/psychotherapy and wanting an insight into what to expect.

CAN YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES FOR THE BOOK? 
One of the unusual features of this book was that it was at quite a late stage of production when I heard about it. The author had found a packager to work with and one route they might have gone down was to self-publish. We met very early on to establish whether we wanted to work together and what our different expectations were. For example, the author was very clear about the importance of high production values and this was where we benefited from the packager's input, as she sourced the specialist text designer and the Italian printer. I was very clear that we needed a better title than the original working title - see the book's preface for the author's amusing take on this.

I took academic reviews on the typescript to make sure my hunch that it would sell as a study resource was well-founded and reassure colleagues in-house that the book would complement our publishing and not prove an expensive distraction. I made sure my marketing and sales colleagues were enthused by the project at every opportunity (sharing snippets of script, stories about the author, cover designs, pre-publication endorsements - all that sort of thing). I then worked closely with the author and packager to finalise the text and images, choose cover colours, select the best paper, write the cover copy, etc.

DID YOU FIND ANYTHING SURPRISING OR CHALLENGING ABOUT WORKING ON IT?
The main challenge was how intensive the process was. Because it was quite bespoke, I had to be very hands-on. So it took up a lot of time. (But it was enormous fun, so I didn't mind!) My main worry - certainly at the outset - was whether and how the costs would work, and it was a pleasant surprise, I guess, that they did.

WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO COUCH FICTION FROM THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY?
I can only judge this by sales, which were excellent. On a conference stand, the book always seemed to intrigue people who picked it up. It was quirky and different - I think people liked that.

ANDREW SAMUELS SAYS IN THE BOOK, HE CAN IMAGINE TRAINEE THERAPISTS USING IT, ARE YOU AWARE OF EXAMPLES OF THIS HAPPENING?
Yes, I'm sure this happened. We had systems for tracking 'adoptions' (reading list recommendations) and I'm sure there were plenty of these - of the 'pre course' and 'preparatory' reading sort.

HOW DO YOU VIEW THE USE OF COMICS AS LEARNING MATERIALS?
I'm in favour of them. We live in an incredibly visual age and students need a variety of stimuli to learn effectively. A comic inevitably sacrifices some academic detail for visual impact - that is the trade-off. So they need to be used as one of a variety of tools, but that's the case with most teaching resources anyway.

ARE THERE ANY OBSTACLES PREVENTING ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS FROM USING COMICS MORE OFTEN?
There are a number of obstacles. First of all, tone is crucial. We are very sophisticated readers of the visual and won't buy what doesn't look good if looks are a major element of the package. We were fortunate in having an artist for Couch Fiction who captured the mood of the story so authentically and well. Secondly, you need a writer who can work with an artist (or - rare talent indeed - be both). If there is tension between the artwork and text, the book won't satisfy. Thirdly, you need a budget that will pay for both. This budget is normally calculated on the projected sales revenues minus the cost of producing the book. Graphic novels are still a specialist line of publishing - in a bookshop there will be a single section with everything in it from superhero comics to serious fiction. So they carry significant sales risks. This is what puts pressure on everything else.
Lastly, in academic markets, lecturers will be cautious about recommending work that they feel is too lightweight and flimsy. Some disciplines are more sensitive to this than others. If you can't get lecturers onside as an academic publisher, you're on a losing wicket. In the case of Couch Fiction, I knew that classes are small on counselling training programmes and many students come from non-traditional routes, as often do their tutors. These are not big lecture format courses but much more person-centred. So the graphic novel format played quite well to that.

ENDS