Is there a book in you, waiting to get out? Now is the time to start writing it because as a bit of online research will show you, India is the sixth-largest publishing industry in the world and the numbers are ticking everyday with new publishers joining the rush. A report published sometime back put the annual output of books in India close to 90,000 (and counting) and India as one of the most prolific publishers of English books in the world.
Chances are if you have what it takes, someone somewhere is looking to publish you. During my short stint as a Sunday magazine editor, I received nearly six to seven books everyday for our book page. From historical fiction to political fiction to inexpensive quick reads to bubble gum prose to self-help books addressing weight loss to spiritual questions, parenting to lessons in corporate management. Films on cinema, food, music, art, photography. Coffee table books. Graphic novels. The variety was staggering. Some books were self-published and you would be surprised to know how quickly that segment is growing. These are books that have not been edited or written with professional care but are out there anyway to claim their place in the sun.
Today everyone is writing. Writers who can write and those who can’t but will write anyway because it is a cool thing to be called a published author. Those who invest their best in a work and those who invest their best in the marketing, networking and the business of promotion that can today to a great extent make or break a book. And then there are those who combine both seamlessly.
Very few people realise that the struggle of an Indian writer, despite what the publishing figures suggest, does not end with the publishing of a book. Then begins the entire painful process of getting it reviewed, talked about, noticed. Writers are making YouTube films about their books now, hiring PR agents, taking great care to orchestrate great book launch events and basically making a book launch into a bigger deal than the book.
Most book critics also operate within the framework of who they know, like or basically could not care less about. So as a writer, it is your job to battle shoddy reviews by people who have probably not read your book from cover to cover but have a deadline to meet and so will kill something you may have invested years in.
Despite the fact that there is very little money for publishers and writers to be made in India, more books are being written in India than in any other time in history because the writing industry has a place today for virtually every kind of book that can be imagined.
We don’t know for sure if Indians are avid readers or if they buy books habitually but yes, there are writers dreaming for a break everywhere. The fact that there are more young people in India than possibly in any other country explains the fact that ‘young’ fiction does well. Then ofcourse there is the growing segment of e books. Stylish retailing and literary festivals have also brought books into the lifestyle segment for consumers.
My search for a publisher ended when I was introduced to Deepthi Talwar, the Executive Editor at Westland Ltd. Unboxed Writers caught up with her to ask a few questions about the role she plays in mentoring writers and also the book publishing business in general.
A little about yourself?
I did an MA diploma in Mass Communication in Sophia’s, Mumbai, worked as a journalist, then got into publishing. I did an MA in publishing in the UK, and then began to work with a publishing house in Delhi.
How would you describe the publishing scene in India?
Very vibrant. And I think it’s wonderful that, while we do have our big publishers, there are so many independent publishing houses that are starting up and doing well.
Do publishers or writers make any money?
Well, yes. But I don’t think you can compare average salaries in publishing with, say, those in the software/corporate world. And writers do make money, but I’m not sure if they can live off what they earn through their books yet.
What keeps them going?
The satisfaction that comes from being part of a creative process.
Are so many burgeoning start-ups good or bad for the industry in the long run?
I think it’s good for the industry, and writers. I think it allows for experimentation, and for growth.
What are the kind of books, publishers are looking for?
Publishers are open to pretty much every genre right now: from sci-fi to self-help to graphic novels.
How important is marketing today for the success of a book?
It is very important, but I think ultimately the book’s worth, and knowledge of that passed through word of mouth, is what really makes a book a huge success.
Your advise to authors aching to be published..
It’s a great time to be a writer, if you want to be published, but you have to be willing to work at your writing.
Any anecdotes?
Well, I received a non-fiction manuscript the other day, in which the author talked about his then girlfriend’s now wife’s “terrible” experience with editors from another publishing house. (basically they wanted changes made, she felt her manuscript was fine and required no alterations at all). He didn’t change any names, and it was quite funny to point out that I was one of those editors she and he had referred to, in not very flattering terms. I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it as a character in a book — and as the villain in the piece, too!
Reema Moudgil is the author of Perfect Eight (http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/perfect-eight-reema-moudgil-book-9380032870?affid=unboxedwri )