Lost In Translation: The Spanish-language Puzzle

Brian Murray, the CEO of HarperCollins where the Spanish-language imprint was cut during recent companywide layoffs, said the publisher was in a "holding pattern" on that market until the economy improves.

Although Simon & Schuster had success with the translation of Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret," Reidy said the market "just hasn't coalesced."

Publishers are as unsure of solutions as they are of causes. They debate the need, or the possibility, of a single breakthrough book with the impact of Terry McMillan's "Waiting to Exhale," which sold millions in the 1990s and awakened the industry to the size of the African-American market. And they wonder whether immigrants are more eager to learn English than to read in Spanish.

David Young, CEO of the Hachette Book Group, said the industry needs to hire more Hispanics and develop a more focused strategy.

"We've been taking baby steps, but we should probably accelerate it," Young said.

Carlos Azula, vice president and director of foreign language sales at Random House Inc., said most publishers don't understand the people they're trying to sell to. The Spanish-speaking population is too diverse and spread out for a unified, best-seller approach, he said, and Spanish-speaking immigrants need time to adjust, to figure out where to buy books, what to read and even whether to read.