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Few takers |
Books that are not commercially viable have not usually been favoured in the world of traditional publishing. The advent of digital technology and the communications revolution have resulted in a shrinking market for serious literary books. The trend has been apparent for more than a decade, and has led to the printing of fewer copies, higher prices and sales that don’t go beyond 500 copies. Can this trend be reversed? Or will publishers continue to succumb to the demands of the market?
One wonders whether the answer lies in publishing a more judicious mix of popular books and a few books that cater to the serious reader. Or should publishers abandon literary, serious books — as many have done in the West — and diversify into e-books — with all the marketing hazards of this emerging field — in the Indian market? Publishers agree on one point: market trends are beyond their control and it is not their job to change these trends. If publishers have to survive and grow they have to fall into line with the rest and cut their losses with lower overhead costs, more aggressive marketing and sales, attractive designs and production standards that are comparable with those in the West. Publishers also realize that it is not easy to switch from middle-brow serious books to downright popular material because they are not independent agents; they have to depend on authors to produce the material that the readers want. It isn’t at all easy to get commercially viable material despite all the hype that surrounds every new book. These new books sooner or later suffer the same fate — a few hundred copies are sold in the first flush, but then sales dwindle, and before long the copies are relegated to the bargain counter.
What, then, can be done? First, the number of books being published must be cut down. Mere numbers don’t make for successful publishing. Second, one must stick to the formula of mixing popular books with a limited number of serious books, and play around with the usual pricing methods so that costs can be recovered with the sale of the first 300 copies. To do this successfully, publishers have to stop believing in two myths — that price is the crucial factor in determining the number of copies sold, and that other factors like discounts and credit terms are equally important. Prices matter in the case of school and undergraduate textbooks, not reference books and fiction. Books sell because they fulfil needs that stretch between professional requirements and simple entertainment. Also, the popular perception is that Indian authors sell much more than British and American authors. This isn’t true at all. What matters is whether a book caters to a need; the nationality of the author is of secondary importance. The Indian reader is a fastidious buyer. |
