In today’s scenario, since digital publishing tools and platforms do not yet fully support Indian languages, the benefits of modern self-publishing options are limited to English, with some movement seen in Hindi and Tamil too, according to publishing consultant Vinutha Mallya. Moreover, Mallya points out that self-publishing is nothing new in our country, especially for Indian language authors who took this route even in the days when painstaking metal typesetting of their scripts was needed. In fact the thesis can be made that Indian publishing is in a better position to take advantage of new technology platforms than publishing in the mature economies.
One of the fastest growing segments of the Indian publishing industry is self- publishing. Self-publishing allows the author to be in control of the entire creative, editorial and selling process of his work — be it copy editing, fact checking, indexing, illustration, format, cover design, price, distribution, marketing or public relations. These processes can increasingly be outsourced by the author to companies offering various combinations or all of these services.
In self-publishing, the author pays the full cost of producing his work and so the finished copies, the copyright, all subsidiary rights, and all money received from book sales are exclusively his. Self-publishing is not limited to physical books — it can be eBooks, pamphlets, sales brochures, websites and other commonly self- published materials.
Why self-publish?
Most often, authors first try to find a traditional publisher before they venture into self-publishing. When they fail to find one, they self-publish. This was the case with the popular writer Amish Tripathi. “However, some authors might decide to self-publish directly for a variety of reasons. One reason could be to stay in control of the entire process themselves.
Another would be to establish a direct connection with readers, unmediated by another entity such as a publishing house. Rasana Atreya wanted to do exactly that,” says Vinutha Mallya, principal consultant at LineSpace Consulting.
“Yet another reason could be to test the market for their writing and see the response among readers. This could give a newbie writer confidence to write and publish more, or to show their self-published book to a traditional publisher for a possible acquisition by the latter,” adds Mallya. In some cases, the writing may be such that it does not fit the lists or genres published by the traditional publishers. Self-publishing is a good option in these cases.
Self-publishing is also an option for those who want to produce a limited- edition book for their friends and family, a personal product that they may not want to distribute publicly.
Photobooks and family memoirs are good examples of this sort of self- publishing. Recently, book withdrawals by global publishers due to legal cases or threats of litigation have also led authors to explore the possibility of self-publishing, especially in the form of an eBook.
Freedom of expression
Jitender Bhargava’s book The Descent of Air India, which was withdrawn by Bloomsbury India, is one example of several where litigants have been able to get global publishers to withdraw books merely by issuing legal notices and without even waiting for a court order. Although the printed book was withdrawn by Bloomsbury after the former civil aviation minister Praful Patel sent it a legal notice, the author self-published it as an eBook on the Amazon Kindle platform.
Another book considered controversial by well known global publishers and subsequently self- published is Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s Gas Wars — Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis. Self- publishing does not bring immunity from litigation, and Gas Wars received legal notices but the intrepid author has continued to distribute the book which is selling well both in print and as an eBook. A well known economic journalist, Thakurta invested in a self- publishing package provided by Authors Upfront, a company that has helped him with several aspects of publishing and promotion including his own website www.gaswars.in.
In some cases, well known and established authors, who understand the nuances of the publishing process, have also taken to self-publishing.
Ashok Kumar Banker has done this — with his own eBook imprint, he sells his work through his website www.akbebooks.com.
Self-publishing — pros and cons
Self-publishing gives direct access to a reading audience and control over the process of making and distributing a book. It gives a sense of independence from having to follow the protocols set by an age-old publishing industry, and from publishing houses which have their own way of doing things. “When you self-publish, you are on your own. A self-publishing services company will offer publishing services, which you pay for by selecting a package — the risk is yours to make the book available and successful. But there is more flexibility in formats. You can decide if you want just print or just eBook or both,” says Mallya.
One can explore print-on-demand options, or short-run printing too. Yet, the flexibility is still limited to the options offered by the company providing the self-publishing services. For example, for the printed product, only certain dimensions of the book and options for paper are possible. For eBooks, distribution might be limited, and time and effort is required to promote the book online, through SEO and other means. Although it is cheaper to produce an eBook through platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing and Kobo Writing Life, which are attractive because of their access to wide readership, getting
books discovered online and getting them to climb bestseller lists requires time and an understanding of the platform’s algorithm and SEO techniques.
How easy is self-publishing?
“Self-publishing is easy and difficult. It depends on how much you know of the publishing process — editing, design, production and marketing,” says Mallya. A self-publishing services company can make things easy for an author, who should ideally just focus on the writing part of the process. If a writer wishes, he or she can hire an editor independently, then get the book designed by someone else, and then find a printer locally and have it printed. They can get an eBook formatted by an eBook services company. They can create a web page for the book and sell the book directly to readers. The writer will need to invest in these processes.
Alternatively, the author can publish an eBook through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and/or Kobo Writing Life, and have instant online retail connectivity.
Poor Indian publishing data
The self-publishing market is growing, and India is a natural market for self- publishing which has a tradition of rich narrative and storytelling. “It is impossible to get a number for the growth rate. Anyone who offers a number should be asked how they arrived at it. Very often the US market numbers are passed off as numbers for rest of the world, which is not an accurate representation of figures from India,” says Mallya.
When it comes to books and publishing, India is undergoing a transition. The technology tools have made many things possible and easy. “From publishing one’s writing via blogs, to actually being able to turn their writing into a printed or online book form, is now possible due to the convergence of the internet, availability of digital printing, web- enabled services and eCommerce.
Many authors aspire to be published. The scenario is — “Have keypad, will write.” Thousands are producing manuscripts, some good, some very bad. Because traditional publishing companies cannot absorb all manuscripts, even all the good ones, self-publishing is emerging as an option for writers who want to invest in their work and present it to readers.
And, if you are an author in a hurry, you can see your book faster. A self- publishing service company in India promises that an author can have their book in hand within 30 days of sending in their manuscript,” she says.
But, self-publishing, often justifiably considered vanity publishing, is yet to receive the acceptance in India that it has received in more mature markets like the USA, where the numbers are better. There are more eBook titles being self-published than printed books in the USA, although there aren’t yet any bestseller lists for self- published books and they are not generally eligible for literary awards,
and they are seldom picked up for reviews by the traditional media channels.
Only a few of the local companies offering self-publishing services understand and appreciate the book- making process and its protocols and aesthetics; most of the others approach a book from the technology capability aspect, neglecting the elements (including the collaborative intellectual processes) that contribute to the quality of a book.
However, one might say that this is equally true of many traditional publishing companies in India as well not just self-publishing companies. “A unique aspect that gets neglected in the self-publishing story
is that self-publishing is not a new concept. If one did a survey of writers writing in the Indian languages, you will find that many of them were self- published authors,” says Mallya. “I have met some established writers who had published their own work, simply because there was no publisher around to invest in their work, and publish their book. They would go directly to the printing press and get their manuscripts composed and printed. They would distribute the printed books in their community, among friends and their literary contemporaries.
