Impact Before Profit, and Still Growing: Inside a radical publisher - Pluto Press
A small publisher can’t buy paper by the warehouse-load, so it can’t price books the way the corporate houses do. Pluto Press makes up the difference another way. Some titles carry others, and when a book matters more than it is likely to sell, Pluto looks for an organisation to buy copies at a discount, which raises the print run, lowers the cost of every copy and lets the book go out at a fair price. Its ownership was shaped by similar constraints. When Pluto needed investment in 2018, staff on publishing salaries couldn’t put money in, so the Pluto Educational Trust, a charity, invested and took a 60% stake. Three former staff hold 30%, and the current staff hold 10% through their own co-operative, with a seat on the board. The trust also lends to Pluto when the banks won’t. Veruschka Selbach, Pluto’s managing director, joined me to talk through how that works day to day: why a split decision on a book goes back for more work rather than to a vote, why she counts long service as an asset, what the business side of a values-led publisher actually demands, and what it takes for a book to change how people think. Watch in full on the Changing the Narrative website: https://content.changingthenarrative.media/impact-before-profit-and-still-growing-inside-a-radical-publisher-veruschka-selbach-pluto-press/ Changing the Narrative is independent and has no advertisers and no sponsors to ensure that remains so. Paid membership is what helps sustain the work we do and helps change the narrative at a time when it’s needed most – Become a member Follow Changing the Narrative on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changingthenarrative.media/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/changing-the-narrative-media/ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/changingnarrative.bsky.social In this episode How Pluto keeps impact-first titles viable: some books carrying others, and partner organisations buying discounted copies to raise the print run and lower the cost of every copy Why an independent publisher prices at the top end of the market, without the economies of scale the corporate houses have Staff first: equal parental leave for fathers and mothers, two months’ sick leave on full pay, a four-and-a-half-day week, and five of a team of 18 who have stayed more than 20 years Who owns Pluto since 2018 – a charitable trust, three former staff and a co-operative of current employees – and why it isn’t a full worker co-op How the biggest decisions need the agreement of every shareholder group, staff included The weekly meeting, open to anyone in the company, where Pluto decides which books to publish, and what happens when the room is split What a managing director does when she is one voice among many Opening a US office in Las Vegas in 2022, and bringing Lawrence & Wishart, founded in 1936, under Pluto as an imprint What it takes for a book to shift how people think: accessibility and timing About the guest Veruschka Selbach is managing director of Pluto Press, the independent publisher founded in London in 1969. She has worked in publishing for more than 20 years, mostly on the academic and trade side, after answering a newspaper ad in Cape Town, South Africa, for a marketing assistant at Oxford University Press. In 2012 she co-founded Do Sustainability with three former Earthscan colleagues, publishing short, practical books on sustainability for a business audience; it published 50 titles before it was sold in 2015. She joined Pluto as managing director in 2017, after working with the press as a consultant. Links mentioned in this episode Pluto Press (London, England), the independent publisher Veruschka leads The structure and governance of Pluto Press, Pluto’s own explanation of how it is owned and run Pluto Educational Trust, the charity that holds 60% of Pluto, and the Decolonial Centre, one of its projects Lawrence & Wishart, founded in 1936 and now a Pluto imprint Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain by Peter Fryer, first published by Pluto in 1984 Red Prepper: Building Collective Resilience in an Age of Collapse by Eric Shonkwiler Chapters 00:00 – A book’s impact, found years later 00:47 – Companies that break convention, and succeed 01:07 – Impact before profit, and still growing 02:40 – From a newspaper ad in Cape Town to publishing 04:41 – Co-founding Do Sustainability after Earthscan 05:27 – Joining Pluto Press 06:04 – Taking out less than you put in 08:47 – Why people stay: long service as memory 10:10 – What sets Pluto apart: a mission that holds it to account 12:11 – How some books pay for others 14:33 – When crises bring new readers to the backlist 16:22 – What to do with profits from crisis-driven sales 17:34 – A not-for-profit in practice 17:56 – Who owns Pluto: a trust, former staff and the team 19:45 – Why not a full worker co-op? 20:58 – The board, and how the biggest decisions are made 22:28 – Why slower decisions are worth it 23:54 – Growing by acquisition: Lawrence & Wishart 25:44 – Making your own luck 27:53 – The spreadsheets behind the mission 30:43 – Passion, creativity and partnerships 33:40 – Sharing without money 34:22 – How a book gets published at Pluto 37:13 – When the room is split: the bring back 38:19 – What a managing director does 39:58 – Opening a US office in Las Vegas 43:24 – One editorial team across two continents 44:01 – US demand for books on mutual aid and care 45:29 – What it takes for an idea to change minds 47:02 – Be realistic, then prove the alternative works 48:22 – Building the case for something better
