English-language publishers in India mostly started off as booksellers or distributors of British publishers before Independence. Very little original publishing was done, and most of it was confined to out-dated British texts for primary and secondary schools. Even in the late Sixties and in the early Seventies, originals were a handful: a few memoirs, books on flora and fauna, yoga, religion and different editions of the Kamasutra.

The real breakthrough came in the Eighties and in the Nineties with advances in print and communications technology, liberal licensing for reprints, the rise of Indian writing in English, and the growing numbers of Indian academic professionals in top British and American universities. India was a market for English-language books and a growing market that couldn’t be missed. All major American and British publishers moved in to set up shop here, mostly to buy cheaper printing facilities.

The frenzy in English-language publishing in India notwithstanding, Indian publishers still believe that books are commodities, which have to be bought and sold in the quickest time for the maximum profit. Nothing wrong with that because it is a worldwide trend.

But publishing is much more than that: it is about language, style, subject matter, design, timing and marketing. All this requires good editing, the kind that has been given the go-by in the frenzy to sell. But why has the editorial quality declined? Why are our best books first published abroad and then just reprinted here? There are two reasons. First,unlike print or visual media, book publishing doesn’t attract the best talent. What we get are the leftovers or teachers who are bored with the dull routine of academic life. Money, too, is a stumbling block. Publishing salaries and perks are a pittance compared to remunerations in the media.

The second factor, linked to the first, is the lack of professionalism in backroom activities such as editing, design and packaging. Like all jobs, book publishing too lapses into a dull routine, sooner or later. But the rate of decline is faster here because the first option for the best professionals is to go West and then come home via reprinted editions of their books. The reasons are obvious: better exposure, and greater money and recognition. What Indian publishers don’t realize is that in a globalized world, Western publishers are cued in to the talents available here. Hence, they are the first to approach potential authors. Lack of professionalism — from assessing the potential scope of a work to fine-tuning its production qualities — is the biggest weakness. We are still stuck with a shopkeeper’s mentality. The professional requirements of good publishing are still a long way off.