BTS and the Book Revolution
During Revolt Festa 2021 weekend, Oda Tolsrod, Revolutionaries’ Publishing Director, gave a presentation entitled BTS and the book revolution.
Prior to joining Revolutionaries, Oda was already working in the publishing industry. With her undergraduate degree in publishing media and being an ARMY since 2016, the intersection of books and BTS is something she holds dear to her heart. The core message of BTS advocating for self-love and expression of identity is something that is rare in the media landscape. “We want the ethos of BTS to be reflected in the way we publish,” Oda shared in regards to Revolutionaries’ mission.
Oda’s role as Publishing Director involves transforming a manuscript into a book. She is not involved with editing content or marketing, but her job involves everything in between. Once the theme of a book is confirmed, Oda makes the choices regarding the physical aspects of a book. These decisions would be made even before the delivery of the manuscript. These factors include the size of the book, type of paper to print on, the width of a book’s spine, the margins, the printing of images, the position of page numbers. These decisions will also dictate the space a cover designer is able to use. These details might not always be noticed, but these factors have a considerable impact on a reader’s experience. Oda’s role as Publishing Director is vital in creating a coherent package for the ease of the marketing team to market the book as accessible and desirable.
As Revolutionaries publishes on a print on demand basis, the Publishing Director need not be as involved in the printing process. Print on demand is when a book will only be printed when it is ordered from suppliers. With every method, there are pros and cons. One of the pros for a company using this method is that they do not need to worry about a warehouse of stock. This method also boasts a lower risk, as the traditional method will require stock planning, predictions of sales and trends, as well as payment upfront. Print on demand provides an alternative avenue to traditional publishing, and is ideal for small and start-up publishers.
Where does Revolutionaries sit in the publishing market and ARMY space?
Wallea Eaglehawk, Revolutionaries’ CEO, had to consider self-publishing after publishers deemed her cross-genre book of sociology and BTS, Idol Limerence: The Art of Loving BTS as Phenomena, as “difficult to market” and “niche.” “If publishers do not see the value of publishing books about BTS, that meant there was a gap in the market. I had to start my own publishing company; I had to create the opportunity I, and presumably so many others, so greatly needed,” Wallea shared. Oda echoes this sentiment, expressing her frustration with the lack of action and support from mainstream publishing.
There are 3 imprints within Revolutionaries. These imprints are not necessarily all about BTS, but the ethos of BTS is reflected throughout the company.
Firstly, there is the main imprint of Revolutionaries. This imprint reflects the political activism of BTS, welcoming its very first book, Idol Limerence. This was followed up by Dyann Ross’ The Revolutionary Social Worker: The Love Ethic Model and its companion book. This imprint reflects the contemporary cross-genre work for the modern day revolutionary.
Secondly, there is Bulletproof. Bulletproof reflects the voices of ARMY. It is by and for ARMY, as well as content curated for the curious onlooker. The titles published under this imprint are Lynn Bartsch’s Bring The Spirits: An ARMY-Made Drinks Manual, and I Am ARMY: It’s Time To Begin.
The final and most recently launched imprint is Moonrise. Moonrise houses literary works to uplift the mind of the modern-day revolutionary. The first title for Moonrise is slated for a late-March release.
Oda went on to discuss how BTS is inspired by books in their art and music. Books have been an important part of BTS’ history and growth. In turn, this influences the fandom’s reading habits. Examples include BTS’ Wings album inspired by Hermann Hesse’s Demian; the You Never Walk Alone MV inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas; and Magic Shop inspired by James Doty’s Into The Magic Shop. In fact, James Doty’s book became the best-selling book in Korea after this track was released — an increase of 510 times the normal demand. Through association, these books become important to the fandom though these were not published with BTS in mind. The existing general interest for books in fandom could have also inspired Big Hit Entertainment’s publication of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: The Notes series.
From her own dissertation, Oda shared:
“Developing an understanding and appropriate response to the de-Westernisation of popular media is a key step towards being able to commence filling this unsaturated niche within the publishing industry.”
I recommend watching the replay of Oda’s presentation, as she lays out the statistics of our fandom’s reading habits and the purchase of books inspired by BTS. Based on these statistics, the intersection of books and ARMY are a real point of interest. “The saturation of a market is a key point in expanding sub-cultural movements,” Oda shares.
How is fandom changing the game for the publishing world?
In sharing why her company is situated in fandom, Wallea shared, “Fandom is decentralised and often misunderstood. Fandom is a dynamic, fluid space which is constantly evolving. Fandom provides the basis for a shared vision and nuanced understanding from a wealth of diverse backgrounds, cultures, identities and practices.” From the outside looking in, the news has deemed ARMY as the largest fandom, amassing worldwide reach and appeal. “Some companies call ARMY and fandom niche, but one look at BTS’ 32.2 million Twitter followers begs the question: is a market of 32.2 million people considered niche? Should it be so easily dismissed?” Wallea writes.
You need a survey done on BTS? Share it on Twitter with ARMY, and you’ll get 500 responses in less than 2 weeks. This was what Oda received when she was conducting primary research surveying the reading habits of the fan group. Quoting Usunier and Lee, “Word-of-mouth communication is likely to be stronger in collectivist and ingroup-oriented societies.” BTS donated a million to Black Lives Matters charities? ARMYs matched that donation (and slightly surpassed the goal amount) in less than 24 hours. In our day and age, society is connected through social media and it becomes easier to grow through the mainstream. Fandom is transformational. There are intrinsic and extrinsic values in fandom, and it is important to give a voice and make connections within them.
So, what can you expect from Revolutionaries in 2021?
So far, 13 titles have been confirmed for publication this year. In reflecting BTS’ ethos, Revolutionaries looks toward giving ARMY a space to speak themselves. “Through Revolutionaries I wanted to locate, document, value, and celebrate the diverse voices of ARMY in the form of books that can uplift, inspire, and comfort,” Wallea shared.
Whether or not you are ARMY, Revolutionaries publishes content for the revolutionary, ARMY, and anyone in between. “We want to create books that would make BTS proud, and that take fandom seriously as a transformative and dynamic space,” Oda shares.
The replay of BTS and the book revolution is available on Revolutionaries’ YouTube.
