One of the best definitions for what an independent publisher does comes from Canongate's Jamie Byng: "As an industry, we would do better to publish fewer books, and do it better." He said this at a "big ideas" meeting of publishers two years ago.
The approach Byng advocates is put into practice by many of India's best indies, from Blaft, Tulika, Leftword, WomenUnlimited to Tara Books, Seagull or Zubaan: their books receive more care and attention, and their lists are often more selective, than those of many mainstream trade publishers.
The big challenge for the indies has become more complicated in the online bookstore era - how do their books reach readers? I asked two publishing veterans, Zubaan's Urvashi Butalia and Seagull's Naveen Kishore, to discuss the challenges they face. Seagull (established in 1982) has a formidable world literature list, aside from its strong Indian list (especially in translations and theatre): its books are distributed by Atlantic in India and by the University of Chicago Press. Zubaan was set up in 2003 as an imprint of the highly respected feminist publishing house Kali For Women, and is now a leading independent specialising in books for and about women from South Asia.
On bookstores: It isn't easy to find space in most bookstores, says Butalia. "They focus on the big sellers - the political books, the books by "rock stars". Typically indies try to price their books reasonably and distributors don't like this as they don't make much from low-priced books!"
Kishore spotlights the disappearance of the bookstores in India or their reappearance as chain stores where books make up only one-fourth of the inventory. "The Landmarks under the Tatas have all but gone. Vanished. The other chain stores have reduced book inventories to one-fourth. It isn't worth stocking slow-selling books specially if you compare them to say deodorants." With Crossword also closing some outlets, that leaves independent bookstores who often don't have enough retail space for independent publishers. "Except," Kishore adds, "when we throw in a Nobel or a Booker winner every now and again." Both Kishore and Butalia said that it was hard convincing bookstores to stock books: there's never enough shelf space.
On ebooks and bookstores online: As Butalia points out, large book retailers online don't differ much from brick-and-mortar stores in their preference for big sellers. But she's met individuals from Amazon and Flipkart who've been sympathetic to stocking books from indies. "Online book sales do make an immense difference. Readers who know what they're looking for can at least order books online," she says. However, the growth of online bookselling hasn't translated into greater visibility for indies to readers unfamiliar with their imprints.
Kishore says: "Amazon and Flipkart are a significant presence in the lives of book buyers and us publishers. Their sales are very important and cannot be ignored." For both Zubaan and Seagull, their own websites have become crucial as a source of information for readers.
But a troubling trend that independent booksellers as well as other independent publishers mention: as online retailing sites grow more profitable, they depend less on the sale of books, compared to other products. Their direct contact with smaller publishers drops sharply. Several other indies mentioned that large online booksellers had been more accessible to independent imprints four or five years ago.
The growth of local bestselling writers and books is in many respects a healthy development - with the arrival of Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Datta or Devdutt Patnaik, Indian publishing has its own stars, rather than depending on writers from elsewhere, the Stephen Kings or Paulo Coelhos. But a market that depends, lazily, on just 10 or 12 big books to bring in the money each year loses out on variety and quality.
Despite this, independents have found ways to thrive. As Kishore says: "The bottomline is that everyone has to find ways to sell their books and reach as many people as possible. So sitting back and feeling dismayed or threatened at the online presence is of little help. One needs to work with everything that is available and at hand."
The approach Byng advocates is put into practice by many of India's best indies, from Blaft, Tulika, Leftword, WomenUnlimited to Tara Books, Seagull or Zubaan: their books receive more care and attention, and their lists are often more selective, than those of many mainstream trade publishers.
The big challenge for the indies has become more complicated in the online bookstore era - how do their books reach readers? I asked two publishing veterans, Zubaan's Urvashi Butalia and Seagull's Naveen Kishore, to discuss the challenges they face. Seagull (established in 1982) has a formidable world literature list, aside from its strong Indian list (especially in translations and theatre): its books are distributed by Atlantic in India and by the University of Chicago Press. Zubaan was set up in 2003 as an imprint of the highly respected feminist publishing house Kali For Women, and is now a leading independent specialising in books for and about women from South Asia.
On bookstores: It isn't easy to find space in most bookstores, says Butalia. "They focus on the big sellers - the political books, the books by "rock stars". Typically indies try to price their books reasonably and distributors don't like this as they don't make much from low-priced books!"
Kishore spotlights the disappearance of the bookstores in India or their reappearance as chain stores where books make up only one-fourth of the inventory. "The Landmarks under the Tatas have all but gone. Vanished. The other chain stores have reduced book inventories to one-fourth. It isn't worth stocking slow-selling books specially if you compare them to say deodorants." With Crossword also closing some outlets, that leaves independent bookstores who often don't have enough retail space for independent publishers. "Except," Kishore adds, "when we throw in a Nobel or a Booker winner every now and again." Both Kishore and Butalia said that it was hard convincing bookstores to stock books: there's never enough shelf space.
On ebooks and bookstores online: As Butalia points out, large book retailers online don't differ much from brick-and-mortar stores in their preference for big sellers. But she's met individuals from Amazon and Flipkart who've been sympathetic to stocking books from indies. "Online book sales do make an immense difference. Readers who know what they're looking for can at least order books online," she says. However, the growth of online bookselling hasn't translated into greater visibility for indies to readers unfamiliar with their imprints.
Kishore says: "Amazon and Flipkart are a significant presence in the lives of book buyers and us publishers. Their sales are very important and cannot be ignored." For both Zubaan and Seagull, their own websites have become crucial as a source of information for readers.
But a troubling trend that independent booksellers as well as other independent publishers mention: as online retailing sites grow more profitable, they depend less on the sale of books, compared to other products. Their direct contact with smaller publishers drops sharply. Several other indies mentioned that large online booksellers had been more accessible to independent imprints four or five years ago.
The growth of local bestselling writers and books is in many respects a healthy development - with the arrival of Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Datta or Devdutt Patnaik, Indian publishing has its own stars, rather than depending on writers from elsewhere, the Stephen Kings or Paulo Coelhos. But a market that depends, lazily, on just 10 or 12 big books to bring in the money each year loses out on variety and quality.
Despite this, independents have found ways to thrive. As Kishore says: "The bottomline is that everyone has to find ways to sell their books and reach as many people as possible. So sitting back and feeling dismayed or threatened at the online presence is of little help. One needs to work with everything that is available and at hand."
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