As the world shifts from print to digital, one sector has held fort and quite strongly reinstated the power of print: books. At the Wan-Ifra Indian Printers Summit in Delhi in September, an interesting presentation stood out among the crowd of newspaper specialists – from a book publisher. Rahul Dixit, senior vice president – sales, Harper Collins India, explained how in the book publishing industry, print remains the king, demonstrating the enduring appeal of physical books over digital formats.
Quoting some statistics, Dixit says printed books account for about 96% of the publishing sector’s total revenue, leaving behind digital, which comprises only about 4%. Formats such as Kindle haven’t found many takers, primarily due to the cost factor and not-so-comfortable reading experience.
The limited discoverability of books online is a bottleneck that compels readers to go to brick-and-mortar stores. At a physical bookstore, or a book fair, a reader can browse through the books leisurely, reading the intro or summary before zeroing in on a particular subject or author, something lacking in a virtual marketplace, he explains, and stresses the need for more offline stores.
Discovering new and upcoming authors or unknown books with potential is generally a challenge at algorithm-led digital stores, where only prominent names and titles are displayed upfront. At a physical store, the owner or the person in charge – who is generally well-versed in the publishing world – can always suggest interesting, trending, or new promising books or authors to readers. At book fairs, conversations and discussions also enrich the reader experience, which is bereft in digital.
Referring to a title named Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence by Shrayana Bhattacharya, Dixit explains how this book, which maps the economic and personal trajectories of a diverse group of women, goes on to become a hit simply by word of mouth offline.
According to Dixit, the estimated Rs 125,000-crore (US$ 15 billion) book publishing market in India holds tremendous potential. Of this, the trade segment, which does not include academic and educational publishing, is worth Rs 3,000 crore (US$ 337.6 million) and growing year on year. Trade publishers’ books generally include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, history, memoirs, cookbooks and self-help books. Printed books, he said, are growing at 15-20% year-on-year, he says.
“Ten crore readers buy one book annually across India, representing a substantial and engaged market,” he says. Adult fiction comprises 25% of the genre, children’s books 25% and adult non-fiction the rest 50%, he says. The regional and language books market is also growing strongly in pockets.
Referring to the end of the AH Wheeler chain of bookstores, he says the vast railways market remains untapped. Founded in 1877, and originally named after French businessman Émile Moreau’s friend, Arthur Henry Wheeler, AH Wheeler was a familiar sight at Indian railway stations for over a century, selling books, newspapers, magazines, and stationery. Till the Covid-19 pandemic sounded the death knell for this iconic brand.
Harper Collins sells through an extensive retail network of around 1,500 bookshops, two national distributors, 10 wholesalers, 100 suppliers, and seven large chain stores.
Print-on-demand and AI
Print-on-demand, he says, is much in vogue these days. POD books are printed only as per customer demand, eliminating the need for large print runs and excess stock. In an earlier interview with Indian Printer and Publisher, Kai Buentemeyer, director of Impel Services, the holding company of the Impel-Bindwel-Stelda group, and a veteran in the field of book printing, had spoken about the rising demand for short-run prints runs, while cautioning that “Customization has to be stringently priced and fully invoiced.”
The industry generally uses print media for traditional advertising and book reviews in newspapers and magazines. Digital media is used for online marketing campaigns and social engagement.
Talking about the role of artificial intelligence, he says AI has the potential to revolutionize publishing, ranging from content creation to personalized reader recommendations. AI-assisted writing and editing tools can help the manuscript development and quality enhancement process, whereas machine learning algorithms can enable precise reader targeting and customised reader recommendations.
