Q:What are the creative trends in this segment?
Bipin: It is a great pleasure to develop a new concept with a talented author who is able to write art history, an editor who is able to maintain the flow and enrich it, and a designer who can enhance the content where the art book itself becomes an object of desire. I realize that we can’t keep publishing the way we have been doing.The combined stress factors of sales going online and offshore on consignment, with fewer bookstores available to display books, and declining sales, we have to get real about the fact that business models need to change as more and more readers want to read in digital formats rather than print.There is a lot of scope for creativity—and admittedly rather a large demand for sensitivity and diplomacy as well—which appeals to readers whom we are constantly struggling to retain.As a publisher of books on the visual arts of India, we have the special challenge of trying to make sound business decisions when the technology isn’t quite there yet to produce digital products
that are genuinely satisfying. Digital publishing guru Mike Shatzkin made
the point that the digital future is set for those who publish ‘immersive reading’, but for illustrated books it is still somewhat of a mystery. Q: Does digital printing technology have the potential to transform the illustrated-book industry?
Bipin: The problem with art books is that we still haven’t figured out what a digital art book wants to be.We need to have a creative spark to figure this out. Digital platforms for trade books have matured, where we just take content and dump it into a programme. But we can’t just simply import the content of an art book on to a digital device.The big question is whether there is a market for art books and a market that wants the book to be enhanced.This creates an argument to be made for print, as opposed to digital enhancements.The technology doesn’t exist to use digital art books in the same way that scholars, designers, artists use them—spread out a dozen books on a table and get an overview of all of them at the same time.Another stumbling block is getting the licensing rights to images or to put backlist titles on to a digital platform is still a huge and expensive issue.There are many unanswered questions. For example, what if a digital book has a link to an image on a site? Who pays royalties for that image? How much? A prolific illustrated book publisher said he would be happy if 20 per cent of his business was digital by 2020.
Digital printing technology has the potential to transform the illustrated-book industry. But has anyone seen the future? A story in The Bookseller acknowledged that e-books just haven’t worked for illustrated books. It appears that the publishers of illustrated books they spoke to think that situation is temporary. One Managing Director said,‘You have to make a very clear distinction between the situation now and the situation in five years’ time.’And another CEO emphasized that his team is being kept up-to-date with digital workflows and innovations, so they can ‘be there with the right product at the right time’. But maybe, except for an opportunity that will arise here and there, for illustrated book publishers trying to exploit the same creative development across both print and digital, there won’t ever be a ‘right time’.There certainly is no
guarantee there will be. Q: How are publishers in this segment poised for the change? Bipin: Illustrated books in print form depend on bookstores more than fiction, non-fiction and biographies do. If the value in a book is in its visual presentation, then you might want to look at it before buying it, and the view you’d get of it online might not be doing justice to what you’d see if you held the book in your hands.
For the publisher of fiction and non-fiction, this means the book is competing with other media that would accomplish a different purpose. For the publisher of illustrated books, the book also must compete with similar visual material on the net, with the same purpose (bombarded with new videos posted on YouTube every day). But they can’t do it for the same price, because that material is free.
So illustrated-book publishers not only have to learn how to make videos—a new skill to be acquired—or expect the author to provide video and audio, they also have to come up with a new business model that enables their videos/audios to be part of a priced commercial product as part of augmented reality, competing with a plethora of those that are free.And they have to finance a substantial creative component that isn’t contributing value to the print version at all. Or is it?
Q:Tell us something about the scope of augmented reality in illustrated books.
Bipin:The lines between books and enhanced books and book apps will continue to blur, but the human need to see stories existed long before the invention of writing.
The BooksPlus app introduced by Mapin last month, in collaboration with a technology firm, Ignite Solutions, allows readers through image recognition to see video and listen to audio from those books which are embedded with such digital variants, thus enhancing the book and enticing readers to experience the magic of print books coming alive.
There are a lot of very smart people working on delivering illustrated books (‘books’ is too limiting a term;‘narrative experiences’
is better) to the digitally enabled reading public.While there have been some notable successes for what are known as ‘enhanced e-books’ and book apps, and some publishers are doing well with these products, it’s a market that hasn’t yet taken off compared to what’s called ‘immersive’ e-reading.
The challenge—very specifically—for ‘general illustrated book publishing’ seems much more severe. Nobody is so sure about it, but it seems like they can see a profitable path in the future to navigate the digital change in immersive reading books but not in illustrated art books.
From my interaction with mostly illustrated publishers, I gather the mindset for change is very slow.The general consensus is let’s wait and see. Others have a different, practical approach, emphasizing market forces need be addressed too.The unwritten editorial policy in several major publishing houses is that no illustrated books would have more than 25,000 words—with of course some exceptions—in most cases, still lower. Most admit that they see the problem but haven’t yet figured out a solution.
A digital expert at a German Book Office seminar in Delhi several years back cited the example of a record label in the late 1980s when audio cassettes dominated the market by nearly 90 per cent.Then came the digital revolution. It took several years of denial before Sony accepted the challenge that CDs were the way forward.The expert warns the illustrated book publishers that the future is here and now!
Q:What do you see as the future of the illustrated-book business? Bipin: As with all media, innovation and uptake will happen over time. But to suggest there is no future in illustrated e-books is like the stageplay producer who walked into a Nickelodeon in 1910 and said there was no future in moving pictures.Those who refused to embrace moving pictures disappeared into oblivion.
Richard Stephenson, founder of Yudu, a not-so-new start-up from the UK has an interesting point of view on the future of illustrated digital titles. Stephenson believes that illustrated digital titles will take off with consumers when publishers build several of the same type and sell
them through a proprietary app. The disadvantages? Well, for one, the products are still expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive to create, and without a defined market to sell to may not be worth the risk.
‘There will be cul-de-sacs, roads where people go down and don’t lead to anything,’ said Yudu’s Stephenson.‘But you’ve just gotta keep trying things until you hit the spot.’
bipin shah is Publisher and Managing Director of Mapin Publishing, publishers of illustrated books on the art and culture of India. Mapin offers packaging services to international publishers and museums and custom publishing solutions to corporate clients in India, and has expansion plans involving the development of educational content in the art, architecture and design, and children’s segments. Bipin has recently led Mapin’s introduction of BooksPlus Augmented Reality for illustrated-book
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46 TIE-UPS AND COLLABORATIONS “staying the course” Aarti David
In 2015, SAGE India entered into partnerships with independent publishers to form new imprints, namely SAGE Stree, SAGE Samya, SAGE Popular Prakashan and SAGE YODA Press.This initiative takes forward the tradition of developing dynamic lists, both academic as well as popular, which will open interactive spaces for further discussion, scholarship and writing to effectively capture the non-mainstream and critical reality of contemporary India.
Q:What was the motivation and objective of these collaborations? Aarti: The idea of engaging in these kinds of tie-ups was to provide a wider reach to the co-partners and to add to or supplement our own existing list of titles. Each partner comes with their unique strength and it is up to SAGE to ensure we retain their originality and individuality. That is the reason why we created a separate logo for each partner to protect their identity within the co-publishing.
Q: Are tie-ups and collaborations part of a wider strategy globally as well?
Aarti: Yes, tie-ups and collaborations are a part of the wider global strategy as well. If it works commercially for both the parties, then it is a win–win situation for all.The idea is to create a bigger brand and yet not lose focus of one’s core philosophy/vision/mission. SAGE’s mission and vision globally is to disseminate knowledge and we are
open to collaborating on this aspect as long as it fits in with our work
ethic and core philosophy.There are local variations when approaching collaborations, while the rationale remains consistent across offices. Q: How are the work roles between SAGE and each publishing house working?
Aarti: Each co-partner has their unique style of working and is used to managing each aspect differently.We may not always agree on everything, but have worked towards figuring out a path that works for both. However, I would like to add that it is still very much work-in-progress and we continue to grow and evolve this relationship. Partnering with someone is all about mutual respect and collaboration.There can be situations where the partners may feel intimidated by SAGE and feel they are in danger of losing their identity. It is our duty to smoothen things out and strike a balance that works for the benefit of all.At the end of the day, we are all in it together, and for a reason.A common passion ‘dissemination of content to a wider audience’ drives us.
Q: How many titles have been printed under this arrangement so far? Aarti: It is still early days, but we have published a total of 22 titles with the co-publishers and we continue to ideate and collaborate on future titles to be published under this arrangement.
Q: How is the tie-up with Popular Prakashan different from that with Stree, Samya and Yoda Press?
Aarti: There are really no significant differences in the tie-ups with any of the partners in terms of the contracts that we may have signed with them.The terms are fair and similar for all and that is the reason why they agreed to partner with SAGE.The authors too had to be brought on board before these tie-ups were done. So we have the validation of the creators of the content too for these partnerships.While each partner may be significantly different from the other, we continue to share a great working relationship with each of the partners we engage with. With Popular Prakashan, the opportunity is to bring back titles that
continue to remain relevant; there are no front-list titles in this list.
aarti david 225 Q:What benefits does the partnership bring to SAGE and to the other parties?
Aarti: The partnership helps strengthen SAGE’s existing list in the social sciences and the co-partners get greater visibility across platforms. Each partner adds their distinct flavour to the programme and in turn SAGE provides them a steady growth path.
Q: How many titles are in the pipeline under these tie-ups? Aarti: We have monthly/quarterly discussions on projects we can/cannot publish under this arrangement.We hope to publish 15 new titles in 2018 and continue to grow the list.
Q: Are you taking backlists along with front lists?
Aarti: We are only looking at the front lists. However, if the partners need help in selling their backlists, then our sales team does provide them with some leads and support.The exception is Popular Prakashan where we have selected existing bestsellers as we collectively believe that these titles still have potential to sell in large numbers.
Q: Has SAGE achieved the targets anticipated from these tie-ups? Aarti: When this arrangement began, it was not about meeting any specific targets. It was in fact, as I have mentioned earlier, to provide a wider reach to the partners and to grow our own list. Each partner adds value with their excellent content to further strengthen and grow our list.The target we collectively agreed upon was to learn to work as a team.That I believe we have achieved. Good publishing is about staying the course.A year or two doesn’t really tell you if something is working or not, nor should one be looking for an answer to this question.
Q: Are there any plans for more such collaborations in the future? Aarti: We have recently tied-up with Vitasta and would like to establish the current relationships before we enter into more such partnerships. Publishing is a creative profession and one that is filled with passionate
individuals. It does require a lot of careful management/handling when
dealing with so many entities with their own unique strengths. However, we are not averse to the idea of conversations for future collaborations. Q:There are many other collaborations happening and that have happened in the past; do you see this trend growing, and why? Aarti: I think it makes perfect business sense if two entities with a common ideology are able to tie up with each other and leverage each other’s strengths. It is a very competitive environment and if these kinds of partnerships work, then the end result is there for all to see. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement and not something that is happening in publishing alone. Many smaller firms are tying up with bigger entities in the online/start-up space also.
In a dog-eats-dog world, I’m happy to state that we have been able to carve a space for this unique arrangement where each stakeholder is benefited equally and a much larger purpose is served too; the ability to publish and disseminate quality content without any compromise.We remain committed to making this work. It ensures global practices come to the smallest publishing entity that strives for growth and excellence.
aarti david is Vice President, Publishing at SAGE India. She heads marketing and leads books commissioning across all subject streams. She is also responsible for managing joint imprints with Yoda, Popular Prakashan, Stree, Samya and Vitasta.
Part 5
genres: enduring and emerging
part v • genres: enDurIng anD emergIng 47 Publishing for Children 230
Neeraj Jain
school publishing
48 Gearing up for the 21st Century 234 Atiya Zaidi
49 Technology in Education 239
Himanshu Gupta
50 Classroom Learning and Teacher Support 245 Sivaramakrishnan V.
academic publishing
51 Science and Technology 248
N.K. Mehra
52 Humanities and Social Sciences 251 Pankaj Bhardwaj
53 Medicine 255
Ajit Kohli
54 Higher Education 260
Vikas Singh
general books publishing
55 Balancing Creativity and Commerce 264 Thomas Abraham
56 Comics and Graphic Books 268
Gulshan Rai and Arpit Bhargav
57 Illustrated Books:A Changing World 273 Aparna Sharma
58 Illustrated Books:An Affordable Luxury 277 Trisha De Niyogi
self-publishing
59 Online Author Education and Support 281 Keith Ogorek
60 English and Indian Language 286
Naveen Valsakumar
61 Technology-based Solutions 290
Nitin Shah
genres: enDurIng anD emergIng The final section looks at English-language publishing in its core genre. Within educational publishing which
forms the overwhelming bulk in India, school publishing is predominant. In the first part, four private school publisher, two Indian and two multinational, tell us about the astounding growth and innovation this genre is seeing.All the publishers are upbeat and believe there is much to do, to grow and thrive, in this market.
The next cluster has four academic publishers look at higher education publishing landscape from their vantage points of S&T (science and technology), HSS (humanities and social sciences), medical publishing and textbook publishing.As can be seen from the responses, each segment has its own distinct trends and trajectories.
General books publishing is 6 per cent of total publishing in India and the subsequent protagonists take us through the glamour and the economics of general non-fiction and fiction, the difficulties and opportunities of bringing out illustrated books and the incredible sustaining power of comics.
While readership may be in jeopardy, authorship in India is growing in leaps and bounds, as is amply clear from the experiences of our final three
contributors all running thriving self-publishing business. 47
PuBlIshIng for ChIlDren “the more you read, the better reader you are” Neeraj Jain
Q:What are the recent trends, opportunities and challenges in the children’s publishing segment?
NJ:The recent trends we have observed are all about making books fun and engaging. If you look at Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report, the main things that came out are that kids are looking for books that make them laugh and books that make them think and take them into the imaginary world.They look for books where the characters are strong and brave.
Publishers On Publishing Page 23