Two award-winning books. About 18 sold
A cultural brand from the Colombian Caribbean that failed because of me, not the product.
- I wrote two books that won district grants, printed 600 copies and sold about 18.
- I built four versions of the website. One was a marketplace that found only two writers.
- Each version stalled for the same reason: I was afraid to be seen, so I never built the audience.
What it is
Realismo Mágico began as a personal editorial brand and became a plan for a Colombian culture company: digital stories and designed physical products, each with a story behind it. The idea is to fill the everyday with magic.
The books
El Pueblo de Agua (2018) is a novel about a village on stilts in the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, where houses connect by canoe. It won a Barranquilla district arts grant and I printed 500 hardcovers. About 18 sold: roughly 11 in a bookstore, 6 through social media and 1 on the website.
Aventuras Reales y otros cuentos (2020) won a grant for a digital edition. I spent the money on 100 printed copies, because I wanted it to be a physical book. I gave away about 150 copies of both books in a giveaway and paid the shipping myself.
Four websites
Version four is live: a personal e-magazine with 11 stories, illustrations made with Midjourney and audio narration. The last story is from February 2025.
Why it stalled
It was not the product, the platform or the market. It was fear of being seen. I did not make content or distribute it because I was afraid of looking ridiculous on social media.
The marketplace failed for the same reason: I never built the audience those writers needed. The current pause of more than a year is the same pattern.
What I am doing about it
Writing in public is the training. This site, my LinkedIn posts and my articles are how I am learning to be seen before I bring Realismo Mágico back. A redesign of the site is on the list.
Founding Product Designer in Barranquilla. I design and build with early-stage founders. More about me →