World Book Day: The publishing business during the COVID-19 days
For Sakal Times, now The Bridge Chronicle
On World Book Day, Indians find themselves in a unique scenario. The book stores, libraries are shut; and WhatsApp groups are abuzz with free downloads of novels, comics, magazines and so on. And on Facebook and Instagram, the authors are recommending lockdown reads, reading excerpts from their books and trying to widen their audience base.
The publishers too, have postponed the launches of their physical books and are making them available on digital platforms. Will this have an impact on our reading habits?
We chat with a few people from the sales and editorial team of publishing houses to get answers.
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‘eBooks will grow, but this trend will not sustain…’
Rahul Srivastava, MD, Simon & Schuster India & Himanjali Sankar, Editorial Director, Simon & Schuster India.
Many books are now being released digitally either on Kindle or as eBook as distribution of physical copies is a problem. Do you think it will have some impact on the publishing of physical copies?
Rahul Shankar (RS): eBooks never really took off in India, and this is the event where publishers are promoting, and readers are buying since physical books are unavailable for the past one month in the country.
eBooks will grow but this trend will not sustain because their prices are quite low – on Amazon Kindle Top 100 charts – 46 books are below Rs 25, 25 books below Rs 100 and 13 between Rs 100-200 (this is dynamic but a true representation). eBooks will gain a market share, but other formats will also come back.
Himanjali Sankar (HS): Currently, we are all scrambling around for inventive temporary solutions that can minimise revenue losses. I am not sure if these solutions can be permanent – we need a deeper, more organic shift in thought and behaviour for long-term changes that aren’t just reflex responses to a pandemic situation.
Are there any measures that the book publishing industry is thinking of to counter the impact?
RS: This situation is unique to India because everywhere else, physical books are available, and eBook sales have not really grown. Online reading, launches and book festivals are being organised to keep the readers engaged.
Can you let us know if any titles of Simon & Schuster India will be released only digitally, for the time being?
RS: Yes, we have a schedule of titles being released as eBooks for April and May, but print versions will be published as the market stabilises.
HS: We are planning our first ebook launch on April 28 – of Samit Basu’s near-future novel, Chosen Spirits. The next book in our publishing schedule, Young Mental Health, the second book in our Mindscape series which has been envisaged by Amrita Tripathi, will also be first released digitally in May.
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‘Once the life is normal, business will become normal too’
Rahul Dixit, Director, Sales Director, HarperCollins India
Taslima Nasreen’s Shameless has now been released digitally. Will this become more permanent?
Rahul Dixit (RD): No, I don’t think this will become permanent. Yes, in the current scenario, physical distribution of copies is not possible and so we released the eBook as first format. But the good thing is that the people are discovering and learning ways to find and read on digital mediums. It is a new experience for a lot of people, and many will love the convenience of an eBook/audiobook. So, I am very happy that we published this highly anticipated book and I believe in the long run, it is good for books. It will expand the market.
Once the markets open, people will return to book shops as they will return to theatres, cinema and restaurants, and we will have a print book market back with newfound digital readers as a bonus.
The impact on physical copies is only as far as the stock movement is restricted and people are at homes. Once life is normal, the business will become normal too. I don’t think books will face what news media is going through for two reasons:
1. Reading a 5000-word article on your phone is different from finishing a 500-page book.
2. News is in the moment, dynamic and in small capsules. Plus, it comes very cheap. Books are definitive (more authentic too) and also expensive. It’s the difference like the two products that define the pattern of their consumption.
Can you let us know if any other titles of HarperCollins will be only digitally released?
RD: We have a released Shuttling to the top (The PV Sindhu Story) and Big Questions Of Life by Om Swami. We will release a few in May too.
A day-long tete-e-tete with authors
HarperCollins India will be celebrating a World Book Day Jam on their Instagram page – @HarperCollinsIN – which will have a series of live author sessions, making for a perfect booklover’s day in, during the lockdown.
The day-long activity will feature live sessions on various topics - including food, music, travel, poetry, nostalgia for a city, love, relationships plus reading recommendations, among others. It will be led by a whole host of popular and bestselling authors like Ravinder Singh, Nikita Singh, Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghavi, Rana Safvi, Boria Majumdar, Nalin Mehta, Aanchal Malhotra, Meghand S, Soumya Bhattacharya, Kavitha Buggana, Aniruddha Mahale, Rehana Munir, Anukrti Upadhyay, Vivek Tejuja along with food blogger and baker, Shivesh Bhatia, singer-composer and now writer, Anmol Malik, and poet-writers, Sharanya Manivannan and Aditi Angiras
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‘Audiobooks offer a more imaginative and immersive experience’
The book, peppered with gorgeous illustrations accompanying a simple yet engaging narrative, is perfect for introducing emerging readers or beginners to the timeless works by the author.
Sohini Mitra, Publisher-Children’s, Penguin Random House India, gives us details.
Do you think audiobooks and ebooks will gain prominence, considering that for a few months at least, distribution of physical copies would be a problem?
Sohini Mitra (SM): I think all formats can coexist and particularly in today’s context where parents are looking for safe and accessible books/content, experiencing these electronically opens up possibilities. This also ensures that the new works of authors continue to reach out to audiences far and wide.
With kids staying indoors, parents are constantly looking for ways to engage them. In this context, I feel eBook and audiobooks are good channels to keep readers connected to the world of stories.
Do you think the children’s imprint should have more audiobooks for the younger readers?
SM: Yes, definitely. At PRH, we do have quite a few already out in audio formats (we have Ruskin Bond’s chapter books narrated in his own voice) and many other audiobooks are in the pipeline. While many parents might be averse to the idea of kids reading on gadgets, audiobooks offer a different experience altogether.
It is a wonderful way to draw in readers, not just to stories but also to the magical world of storytelling. A good narration can hook a reader and create a reader for a lifetime. This might be especially true in the case of reluctant readers who may not be able to read independently. Audiobooks can be a great tool for them. It also offers a more imaginative and immersive experience.
LOGIN THIS EVENING
How the Onion Got Its Layers will be digitally launched by Shrutkeerti Khurana by Puffin Books and Crossword Bookstores on Crossword Bookstores’ FB Page LIVE on Thursday, 5.30 pm.
She will be doing exclusive animated storytelling from this book.
Shrutkeerti Khurana is an independent editor of several fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, and also the Programs Director at Infosys Foundation.
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