“Ten years back publishing was still very conventional. However, more avenues are available today particularly in the areas of social media and self-publishing – online as well as others,” avers Anil Kumar, Founder, International Writers and Readers Festival, Goa, who as a former publisher himself understands the struggles of aspiring writers. With online shopping sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble among others and several private companies offering varied publishing options, the marketing paradigm is slowly shifting to a more author-friendly one. “There has been a change happening for the
past five years or so. Firstly, there is a significant rise in the number of upcoming Indian authors writing in English, in India. Secondly there are many international publishers who have set up officescin India. Thirdly and more importantly, the social media is playing a very active role in publishing.
To include all these elements and be competitive,
publishers are now reinventing their marketing
plans,” maintains Vijay Anchan, Regional Sales
Manager, HarperCollins Publishers India Limited,
Mumbai.
Realising the potential of this market, publishers
like HarperCollins are wooing authors with their
presence on FaceBook and Twitter and have roped
in Flipkart and Amazon for sales online. “For wider
exposure we are inviting authors to speak and
participate in festivals such as these. It provides
them with a much wider platform – to interact with
other authors, editors, publishers and engage with a
larger audience. Now there is definitely more space
for good writing and authors are being given more
opportunities,” explains Anchan. To this end, Harper
Collins has set up a separate stall at the on-going
IWRF to review works of potential writers and offer
them contracts and conduct workshop on creative
writing and talks on ‘social media in the publishing
industry’ by noted author Jugal Modi.
Despite this promising scenario, the ‘publishing’
scene in Goa remains dismal, with authors having
to grapple with complex business dynamics in a
small market. Pantaleao Fernandes who has selfpublished
two books and has three more in the
pipeline finds the task of publishing and marketing
an onerous one. “The biggest problem is to find a
good publisher in Goa, which has but one or two
bankable ones. Secondly, it’s a very costly affair.
So for a serious writer, who earns his income from
writing, this makes it even more difficult,” he says,
voicing the concerns of many writers, especially
aspiring wannabes.
With authors in India finding a better foothold
as the market revamps itself, it is hoped that Goa
will find itself on a firmer footing in the ‘publishing’
world as well.
