Publishers On Publishing

by Nitasha Devasar

  As publishers of illustrated reference, there are three things we have been asking ourselves: Demand:Will anyone buy a reference book anymore?

  Competition from free online sources is an issue in almost every category of non-fiction, but nowhere more so than in reference.Why buy a 3-kg encyclopaedia when you can get the definition for free? Why sift through pages and pages of information when you can find the answer instantly with the click of a button?

  The answer is in winning back the book lover. Books as physical objects have to be instantly and incredibly arresting.The look and feel need to be as special as the content, making it an object of desire, of permanence, as opposed to a fleeting source of information.

  And the information in them must be curated and rock solid, as opposed to a million entries on Google—who can tell what to read first

  or if the content is authentic? There is now a definite blurring of lines between reference and coffee table. Illustrated books of all forms are also a huge percentage of the gift market—and DK book jackets are designed and created with a lot of thought and innovation—dye cuts, metallic foils, luxurious ink finishes and fabrics adding to a special tactile experience. Beautiful reference books that are not just a source of information, but also inspire the reader—to travel, to garden, to cook, to learn something new every day.

  Discoverability:With brick-and-mortar retail disappearing, how do we get our books found?

  Illustrated books in printed form depend on bookstores more than novels and biographies do. In the west, brick-and-mortar stores are fighting an abyss in cyber space, and here in India, we’ve never had enough, and space is at a huge premium.The silver lining is that with fiction going online, it could open up more bookstore display space for illustrated books.And as e-books now have a larger share of the fiction pie, booksellers have turned to illustrated non-fiction as a way of offering customers something they can’t buy on most digital devices. Discovering them online is a challenge we’re still grappling with. Digital marketing and social media play an important role in reaching the reader.

  Digital: bane or boon?

  We’ve been deeply committed to digital but it’s become clear that the technology isn’t quite there as yet to produce illustrated digital products that are genuinely satisfying—be it a cookbook, or kids picture book, or a travel guide.The digital illustrated books business achieves a singledigit percentage for most publishers.Yet, we are looking at a generation of people that consume knowledge visually, through the internet and television. How-to videos fill a need for the participant.We have to work harder at giving the reader what they need in a visual way.With so much content available for free, monetization is the biggest challenge.

  What does this mean for DK in India?

  India’s business is becoming more and more relevant to DK as are the

  aparna sharma 275 other growth regions across the globe.Traditionally, our children’s list has been most popular, and this is where we continue to see maximum potential for growth, as demand for good-quality reference and learning content grows to cater to the aspiring middle class. Much more limited, but exciting nonetheless, is the demand for books on travel, food, sports, health and fitness, and several other lifestyle subjects – as the young and prosperous millennials become more adventurous and indulgent – holidaying, exploring, and learning new things.

  We already have a great international list with several titles that appeal to the English-reading reader. Most of them are relevant as they are, with little or no need for adaptation. Besides the children and familylearning list, we do extremely well with books on yoga, pregnancy and childcare, history, science and business, to name a few subjects. In addition to this, introducing some India-centric titles has helped capture more interest in the list, becoming more relevant and reaching a wider audience within India.

  We’ve also taken this opportunity to create some books on Indian subjects that will be sold in other territories, so not just bringing worldclass products to India, but creating world-class products on Indian subjects that would appeal to a global audience. Our cultural, historical and geographical diversity offers an abundance of great content, so much of it poorly documented and presented to the lay reader.

  This has been the most gratifying aspect of our local publishing, and one that we hope to keep growing. In a market like ours, where print runs can be as small as 1,500 for large-format illustrated books, we’ve printed 5000 units of our latest local title, and are now going in for a second print run.

  As we spent more and more time understanding the market and getting feedback from our readers, I realized that contrary to the way it would have been some years ago, the Indian reader wants books by Indian experts, personalities and authorities they can relate to and identify with. I think this is a hugely positive change and the prospect of discovering and collaborating with local experts is an exciting one. But this has come with its challenges too—finding subject matter experts

  who can work and deliver to our exacting needs has been a difficult process, as has the task of finding well-archived images and objects to illustrate our books with. Often, there are poor or no records of ownership or inaccurate information about the images themselves.All this and DK’s high standards of production and ethical guidelines make the whole business of illustrated publishing an expensive one.

  There is also a huge opportunity in online of course, but monetization is not easy.According to a recent study by the telecom company Telenor, around 98.8 per cent of schoolgoing children in India have access to the internet in urban areas.Among them, 49.5 per cent access it from home after school hours, but more than 57 per cent parents said they allow their child to have only 1 to 2 hours of screen time per day, and 21 per cent restrict access to less than one hour a day. Understandably, parents are concerned about internet security and inappropriate topics that their children may encounter online, on social media and various websites.

  DK has a free homework help website DK Find Out! that allows a child to search, learn, and explore information on a safe and secure site. It’s the perfect site for help with homework, and DK’s clear, reliable, and highly visual content covers all curriculum subjects and more.As DK’s CEO, Ian Hudson, has pointed out:‘the opportunity for children’s nonfiction shouldn’t be seen as “a battle between books and the internet”. Non-fiction books can be trusted gateways to additional materials on the internet which can enrich the entertainment or learning value that the book itself brings.And, of course, well-constructed e-books can deliver many of the intrinsic values of their physical counterparts.’

  aparna sharma is Managing Director of DK India, part of the Penguin Random House Group. She began her career with DK in 1999 as Project Art Editor, and quickly rose to become Head of the General Books division in 2003, gaining valuable exposure and experience handling multi-dimensional projects and teams.

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  IllustrateD Books: an afforDaBle luXury “the art of publishing art books” Trisha De Niyogi

  Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil profitably reinvented circus by creating a blue ocean market for itself.When I first read about this phenomenon, I could somehow relate to Niyogi Books entry point in the Indian publishing industry.At a time when hard market data for the Indian publishing industry was non-existent, acute observations, experts’ views, and a gut feeling were essential in taking any major business decision.The decision to publish large-format illustrated books from the Indian subcontinent had its own challenges as well as opportunities.

  Till a few decades back when high-quality large-format books on the Indian subcontinent were published primarily by international publishers like Phaidon and Rizzoli and imported to India, the prices of these books was quite high and thus they were inaccessible to most of the Indian readership. But today, many indigenous publishers have picked up the gauntlet effectively.

  However, in a country where bestselling books are in the Rs 150 to Rs 500 price range, large-
format illustrated books, whose costs of production are higher than the marked price of these bestsellers, are looked upon with trepidation. Despite that, a few publishers like Roli, Mapin, Marg, as well as Niyogi Books have taken up this challenge. I remember, a few days before the launch of Nainsukh of Guler by Professor B.N. Goswamy, my father (Bikash De Niyogi, the owner of Niyogi Books) very casually mentioned to me,‘the art of publishing books can be best understood while publishing art books’.

  Large-format illustrated books, as against the popular terminology

  of coffee-table books, are a segment that dovetails two segments of the publishing industry—trade publishing and/or reference books—and is most definitely an existing niche market with discerning readers all across the globe. In fact, with the advent of internet, coffee-table books also shape-shifted and adapted to changing times, technology and demands. The ever-expanding digital libraries of photographs being made available for free, rendered coffee table outdated.And as product innovation continued, large-format researched books with photographs, paintings and other illustrations made their way into the hands of readers. Once considered useful for the casually informed discussion and imparting snob value, these large-format illustrated books have evolved into reference material for many specialized as well as unique subjects.

  For example, in 2016, Niyogi Books published a tome on the history of horse racing in india. It is perhaps the only book on that subject in India today and it might come as a surprise that the moderately priced book was eight years in the making.Another coffee-table book, which caught my attention in the last couple of years was India: Five Senses published by Roli Books.The crowdsourced photographs, compiled after an online competition, were stitched together and given perspective by celebrated filmmaker Shyam Benegal in his compelling foreword.

  Apart from curating content, the Indian publishing industry, pays significant attention to the user–reader interface as well as the user– reader experience.Today, apart from coffee-table books, large-format illustrated books have another avatar, with a fine balance between text and visuals/images/paintings and/or other illustrations. Marg’s special edition of the Kochi-Muziris December 2016 Biennale is a splendid example of the balance between researched text and quality visuals. Another book worth a mention in this context, is Mapin’s Gifts of Earth by Stephen P. Huyler, which was my childhood favourite. Alluring Kashmir:The Inner Spirit by Irfan Nabi and Nilosree Biswas, brought out by Niyogi Books, is another such book.As a matter of fact, scientific evidence confirms that visual aids help in creating a better aesthetic experience as well as promote memory and recall. Especially when one is reading a book on paintings and art and architecture or dance, pictures

  make it easier to grasp and remember.

  trisha de niyogi 279 For a product designed for a niche market, communication and marketing become extremely crucial and niche marketing in this instance is aimed at a specific target audience. In many cases ‘niche’ many not even exist, it is created by identifying what the consumer wants; thereafter come smart marketing and communication strategies. However, it is imperative to understand each book has its own niche audience. For example, Crafts Atlas of India by Jaya Jaitly has a different audience from Indian Classical Dance by Leela Venkataraman.To make it simpler, each genre has a different niche target audience. For example, people interested in a recently published Niyogi Books title, Maps of Delhi, may include people involved in urban planning, architecture, history, and Delhi enthusiasts. On the other hand, takers for Food Path: Cuisine Along the Grand Trunk Road, from Kabul to Kolkata would most likely be different, with of course some overlaps. Similarly, the target audience for the title Chikankari:A Lucknawi Tradition is again largely different from that for the other two.

  However, the challenge arises not in the identification of the target audience, but in getting the information across to it. For books of this nature, social media may not prove to be the most serious platform for reaching interested readers.The process of reaching target readers is quite labour intensive and is mostly through the traditional distribution channels.While book reviews are one of best ways of reaching desired readers, the space for reviews of such books in Indian newspapers and magazines is shrinking by the day. However, we do see good coverage from time to time. One of our stellar successes was when one of our bestselling titles Mapping India by Manosi Lahiri, was featured in Forbes magazine as well as reviewed in The Times.

  Apart from reviews, e-mailers, and other marketing channels prevalent in publishing, each book, which gets personalized attention from our in-house designers, editors, and printers, should also be marketed individually as well as collectively. In this process, we have realized that each of the books we have published serves a purpose of its own. For example, one of our bestselling titles, The Forgotten Palaces of

  Calcutta by Joanne Taylor, published in the year 2006, may have been one of the earliest sparks for the ongoing movement to preserve these great houses of Kolkata from being destroyed or demolished.Another book, which has been instrumental in highlighting cultural harmony, was the title Historic Temples in Pakistan:A Call to Conscience by Reema Abbasi.

  To conclude, niches exist for discerning readers seeking wellresearched and well-produced illustrated books. It is for a marketer to identify these niches and target marketing strategies accordingly.We have to look back as well as forward and develop and define our own niches. The existing niches may evolve in different ways in the future and new and promising ones will surely open up.

  trisha de niyogi is Business Development and Outreach Officer at Niyogi Books, where she heads business development, strategic planning and marketing. She began her career in publishing with SAGE. She has also worked in various projects in product development, marketing and advertising with multinationals including

  PepsiCo,Toshiba, EY and Tesco-Trent. 59

  onlIne author eDuCatIon anD suPPort “offering the market more choice than before”

  Keith Ogorek The Author Learning Centre (ALC) is a one-of-a-kind online author education community designed to help educate, motivate and support authors at every stage of their writing and publishing journey, including marketing the book.

  Q:What is the role of self-publishing in the publishing world today? Has it changed over the last decade or so?

  Keith: Self-publishing has created a dramatic shift in power and control of the market. Prior to self-publishing becoming a viable alternative, the power to decide what readers could purchase rested in the hands of agents and publishers. But now authors who self-publish have a say in what is available to readers. So the market offers more choice than ever before. In addition, authors who believe in their books can still make them available to readers even though agents and publishers may reject them. Publishing is now democratic.

  This revolution started about 15 years ago, but what has changed in the last decade is that self-published books are better. More authors are taking more time to write a better book and investing in editing so their book is as good as it can be. A second trend is Hollywood is now looking at self-published books for ideas.That would not have happened 10 years ago.

  Q:What kind of author services does your company provide? What has been the experience and trends in India?

  Keith: If you are looking to self-publish, you have three options. The first is Do-it-Yourself (DIY), where you do everything yourself using a platform like Lulu.The second option is what I call General Contractor, where you hire the people to do the work, but you coordinate the activities.The third option is Supported Self-Publishing, which is one company that offers every service you need to get your book done.

  Simply put, there are authors who want the convenience of having a one-stop shop of professional services available to them.That way they don’t have to depend on their own talents or take the time to search for what they need.They have one phone number to call to get everything they need to get their book complete.

  As for India, our experience has been simi
lar to other countries around the world.There are certain authors who prefer to work with one company rather than do the work themselves or try to find the resources they need.We have served nearly 3,000 authors and have more than 2,000 books currently available for sale with hundreds of books in the production process.

  Q: How does the economics of self-publishing work for publishers? How can it be compared to traditional publishing?

  Keith: The main differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing are who makes the investment of money, who controls the content and speed to market. In both cases, authors earn royalties, but traditional publishers have the ultimate say over the final content and how soon it is made available to readers. Self-publishing requires the author to make the financial investment, but he is in control of the content and speed-to-market decisions.Also, in most cases, the author can earn a higher royalty percentage when he self-publishes.

  Q: How do you ensure availability and discoverability of self

  published books? Keith: Because we are the leader in the supported self-publishing space, we have relationships with all distributors and make sure books are pushed into the channel and available for order.We do it for the author so he doesn’t have to chase all those relationships.

  The key to discoverability is having a clear picture of who the audience is for your book and then reaching those people through social media to start with. If an author says the audience for his book is every man, woman, and child on the planet, he will probably never be discovered.

  Q: What are the services most used? Is it publishing services or dissemination?

  Keith: The services most authors use are book and cover design for both print and e-book.And we make sure those books are available in distribution. Books used to be a planned purchase, but with online purchasing and digital books, books are now a spontaneous purchase. So authors don’t have to make a decision about what distribution or formats they want.We make sure their books are available for readers anywhere and in any format they want to read.