Is commercialisation of publishing industry reducing scope for good literature? Has the zeal for money taken over the real spirit of writing in authors?
Litterateurs debated such thought provoking questions at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival
"The genesis of the commercialization in the industry is not new. I don't know why it is looked down or why it should raise eyebrows?," Karthika V K, a publisher said.
She equalled selling books as "like any other business which focuses on sales but also the product."
"It is true that the books won't reach the readers to that extent if there isn't a commercial aspect," she said.
Celebrated Tamil writer C S Laxmi expressed the concern "amidst the intellectual community" about the commercial aspect overtaking real writing.
"The intellectual community is definitely concerned about the commercial aspect taking over the real writing but it isn't necessary that the books that sell more aren't genuine piece of literature. There are 100 examples of books that have done excellent commercially and have been equally good pieces of writing," she said.
Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera pointed out the race to be on bestseller lists sometimes overshadows the deserving books in a bookstore.
"If you walk into a bookstore randomly, the books displayed on bestseller list will catch your attention but a book which might be better than the said book would be placed in another random shelf and will keep lying there only unless you are specifically looking for that author," he said.
The London-based author who was a finalist for the DSC 2015 prize for South Asia expressed the need for specific marketing for authors for sales.
