Nida Ramirez and her lasting imprint in Philippine publishing

November 24, 2021

When the closure of Visprint, Inc. was announced in 2019, many thought it was the end of an era for the independent publishing of Filipino books and comics.

Considered a fast-rising star then, Visprint added publishing to their printing business by coming out with the first book of popular pseudonymous writer Bob Ong, “ABNKKBSNPLAko?!” in 2001.  It was a smash hit that the company started publishing Ong once a year while other authors flooded its doors seeking to be published and perhaps attain the same success Ong had.

Aside from publishing now highly celebrated writers like Jessica Zafra, Eros Atalia, Edgar Calabia Samar, Eliza Victoria, Chuckberry Pascual, and Beverly Siy, the company brought comics creators like Carlo Vergara, Manix Abrera, Paolo Fabregas, Mervin Malonzo, Budjette Tan, and Kajo Baldisimo from the fringes and into mainstream.

“During the first ten years of Visprint, we opted to publish stories that are not commonly found in bookstores, but which we think will be enjoyed and appreciated by more Filipinos,” said Nida Gatus-Ramirez, then-publishing manager of Visprint.

Ramirez was highly regarded as the brains behind transforming the simple printing company into a bright star in the publishing field. It successfully captured a more diverse audience, most especially the comics reading market that every year, at the Komikon and Manila International Book Fair events, the Visprint booth would have long lines of devoted fans wanting to have their purchases signed by its authors.

Aside from being bestsellers, many of Visprint’s books also won National Book Awards. Some titles and comics went on to get international publishers, or be turned into plays, movies and even series, as was the case with the Netflix adaptation of Budjette Tan’s and Kajo Baldisimo’s Trèse which premiered in June 2021 and trended the world over.

For its part, Visprint bagged the Publisher of the Year at the 34th Philippine National Book Awards in 2015.

Ramirez explained that the successes of Visprint’s creators and authors encouraged other publishers to take risks and publish more diverse genres, adopting the company’s appetite for new, out-of-the-box concepts.

“With more publishers being more accommodating, more writers and comics creators are discovered and given publishing opportunities,” Ramirez said.

Championing Filipino creators with their copyright

Visprint was also well-known for providing non-restrictive contracts that allowed its authors to fully keep their copyright.

“It is the authors who decide which of their rights they are willing to share, until when, for what territories and if they require compensation or not. Visprint has always respected this right,” Ramirez said.

This respect of Visprint for Philippine creators’ copyright has helped more authors become aware of their own rights.

Copyright education in schools

Asked if authors and illustrators today are now more aware of their copyright, Ramirez responded in the positive, sharing that copyright discussions, “which have been essential in most book events for the past years, have helped a lot” in making more authors become aware.

However, Ramirez lamented that it is usually the new authors with little exposure to copyright talks, “who are not very much in the know of their rights and would often be dazzled or intimidated by publishers.”

This is why she believes that copyright should be learned in schools.

“I think it would be best if [copyright] is made part of schools’ curriculum. That way, the basic knowledge about copyright can be instilled in more people, including the teachers, who become violators themselves simply because they lack the proper information about copyright,” Ramirez said.

Fighting piracy

Visprint also took steps to protect authors’ works from piracy, especially as pirated digital copies proliferated online.

The most pirated books were those of author Bob Ong’s, Ramirez said.

Visprint went after these pirates by sending notifications and violation reports to online platforms like Blogspot, Wattpad, Shopee, and Lazada. But to get the jump over the pirates, the company also made the books more easily available in the market so users can have more legitimate options to access the copyrighted works.

Meanwhile, authors and illustrators reached out and encouraged their followers to support only legally sold copies and report piracy.

Birth of a new star in publishing

Indeed, Visprint shone like a star that illuminated the path for now widely celebrated Philippine content creators. However, like all good things, stars cannot last and shine forever.

After two decades of innovative publishing, Visprint officially closed on October 2020, following the decision of Visprint founders, the brothers Efren and Nido Gatus (the latter being to retire.)

Ramirez, however, knew that opportunities to create change remained waiting for her in the publishing industry. So she began her next journey by creating a new “avenue” to continue championing Philippine creators  — but this time, with a new name, with bigger challenges and in a more digitalized world.

Avenida opens amid a crisis

Ramirez bravely launched Avenida Books during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced closures and scares among businesses.

“We weren’t expecting much profit because of the pandemic,” Ramirez admitted. Nevertheless, her newly minted company, with a team of four , managed to rake in monthly sales that can sustain their operations.

“Perhaps it’s because we were able to establish our online shops quickly, and due to our experience in online selling while still in Visprint, we were able to adapt to the ‘New Normal,’” Ramirez said.

As in the case of Visprint, 70% of book sales used to come from physical stores, and 30% from online shops. But during the pandemic, it became the other way around, with “Trese” books pushing the sales thanks to the popularity of the series —which made it to Netflix’s top 10 in 19 countries and was No.1 in the Philippines for two straight weeks.

Aside from building its e-commerce presence, Avenida Books is looking to innovate with digital editions starting with award-winning author and poet Eliza Victoria, whose two books were first published under Visprint. When the print copies ran out, Avenida acquired Victoria’s books for digital publication in 2020.  

“We worked with an aggregator, which made the distribution easier for us. They provide monthly reports and remittance for the sales, which made paying royalties to the author very convenient,” Ramirez said.

“We will continue to try publishing digital edition for some other titles as a supplement to our printed titles,” she added.

Sustaining global interest in Filipino content

Avenida Books aims to publish five to 10 new titles in a year, as well as sell foreign rights of Filipino books so they can be published internationally.

To date, Avenida Books has sold four titles to a US publisher, with copies set to be released globally in 2022.

This year, Avenida Books with several other Filipino publishers had their books exhibited at the Philippine stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair last October.  Book fairs are where foreign rights and translations can be negotiated. As such, the Frankfurt Book Fair, renowned as the biggest book fair in the world, is a huge window of opportunity given how Philippine content has been making headlines in various parts of the world.

This growing global interest, according to Ramirez, is “definitely a growth opportunity” that Avenida is preparing to harness and build on the dreams of Visprint: both in championing local authors’ and illustrators’ with their copyright, and serving as a medium for Philippine stories to reach their audience, whether local or international.

Ramirez and the new born star that is Avenida Books are, indeed, hoped to shine the light of creators and comics illustrators toward the global stage.