with Mr Vikas Gupta, Managing Director, WILEY India;

Books are the only commodity that is cheaper in India as compared to the rest of the world,
in conversation with S K Ghai

Q.After acquiring an Engineering Degree in Electronics what made you pursue publishing as a career option. How did this unique combination come about?
A. In fact, publishing has been my family business for over three generations. As I was slated to join the family business, my Engineering background came in handy, especially in respect of publishing of computer and ITrelated books. When I began in 1992, the IT business in India was in a nascent stage and there was growing need of varied IT products. Following this cue, I ventured out to redefine computer publishing and how computer learning could be acquired through books.

In addition to the Bachelor of Electronic Engineering from Pune University (1985), I also acquired a PG Diploma in Printing and Publishing from London College of Printing (1989) and Diploma in Sales and Marketing (1991).

Q.How did Dreamtech Press Pvt Ltd start?
A. My Father and I left the family business in 1999 to start the Dreamtech Press with a small seed capital. At that time I was able to forge a joint venture with an American publisher, IDG Books Worldwide—a company which was later acquired by John Wiley & Sons Inc., US. Around this time simultaneously I also started an e-learning software company by the name of Dreamtech Software, whose e-learning platform was acquired by a US Company in early 2001. This deal gave us the capital investment required to meet our financial obligation with our foreign partner in our publishing joint-venture.

The joint venture was named as Wiley-Dreamtech Pvt Ltd. However, in 2006 Wiley-Dreamtech became a 100% subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons by the name of Wiley India subsequent to the acquisition of the remaining shares by John Wiley.

Q.How many books have you written and what are your future plans in this respect?
A. In all I have written 15 books so far, including the best-selling Comdex and Rapidex series of computer books, which have sold over 2 million copies till date.

I have also co-authored a six-book series on computer science called Cracking the Code published by John Wiley and Sons Inc. USA. In addition, another book co-authored by me has been published by Mc-Graw Hill, US.

Incidentally the Comdex Series continues to be a publishing blockbuster selling more than 1,50,000 copies every year.

Q.I understand that you have been recipient of different honors and awards individually and for the company from time to time.Can you please elaborate on this?
A. In 1998 I was nominated for the prestigious Sista World Com Young Business Achiever’s Award, considered to be a benchmark for the new breed of dynamic entrepreneurs who had made a mark in their respective fields, and made a difference through innovative approach and vision. I am the only publisher till date to be nominated in an impressive list of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

In 1998 my company, Comdex Computer Publishing, earned the pride of place in a leading computer trade journal, Dataquest that featured it as one of the sizzling IT companies in India. Incidentally mine was the only publishing company ever to be accorded this honor.

Given my new publishing concepts and innovative approach media generally keeps track of developments in my company. Mainline business magazines and dailies like Business India, Business Today, Economic Times, and Dataquest often seek my views on publishing matters, and give extensive coverage to my books and publishing plans.

Q. What are your views on globalization and the role of MNCs publishing in India?
A. There is no denying the fact that globalization has proven to be an engine of progress and prosperity and improving the quality of life for society at large. I feel its impact on improving the quality of Indian publishing has gone a long way. Today, almost all the major international publishers are operating in India with full-fledged publishing operations. Their contribution has been extremely positive, as they have been able to bring in the latest research and content in different fields and made that available to the Indian masses at the prices they can afford.

Further, I would like to add that books are the only commodity that is cheaper in India as compared to the rest of the world (one-tenth of the US prices). All the other commodities are either at the same price level or at higher prices in India than in other countries.

I feel multinational companies are contributing to the intellectual wealth of the country by publishing latest research and content on various subjects and making this available to the students of the developing world at an affordable price.



Q. Do you find time to read, if so, on what subjects?
A. Being in the publishing business, I am fortunate to have access to all kinds of reading material and books. Despite having a busy work schedule I always try to squeeze in some reading on a regular basis. My reading interests vary from technical subjects to financial, fiction and biographies of successful people—as these keep me well-informed and up to date with the current thought.

Q.Do you enjoy traveling?
A. My job being such that it entails frequent travel all through the year—both domestic and international. Of course, I enjoy quite a bit as it allows me to meet new people and get exposure to a variety of experiences, besides time for reading.

Q.Where do you see WILEY India five years from now?
A. I am quite sure that Wiley India would remain in a leadership position in publishing in India as it continues to bring world-class content to India and delivers it at affordable prices. We also have major ambitious plans to further develop on our current online content delivery systems. Making new forays in different fields Wiley India also plans to become a global publishing centre of excellence for the parent company.

Q.How is WILEY India meeting its corporate social responsibility?
A. In order to benefit the society at large and people from all walks of life Wiley makes the books available at one-tenth of their original US price. It has been our constant practice, and our way to contribute to the social good. We are also publishing Indian content for the world market enhancing the image of India and Indian authors.

Q.How would you describe a good book?
A. The definition of a good book would vary depending upon its subject. In my opinion there are three types of books: Trade and fictions books, Academic textbooks and Reference books. 1. A good trade/fiction book should be able to engage the reader and make him feel as if he is really living that specific experience.

2. A good academic book is one which helps the student to learn in plain simple English without being burdened by the technical jargon.

3. A good reference book should bring the reader views from different experts on the same subject, with a proper index for easy reference.

So, different categories have different norms of being a good book.

Q.Which role do you enjoy the most - entrepreneur, author, publisher or MD of the publishing company?
A. In fact, being the Managing Director of a publishing company affords me the experience of all these roles. In this position, I am able to contribute in different ways by offering my inputs in the business development as an entrepreneur, and giving an author's perspective in publishing and content development.

Editing

"Editing doesn't mean putting in matter, but it involves retaining what we can no longer take out: make the book tighter, stronger and more precise by eliminating useless details."

Ravi Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin India

Telegraph, 13.11.2009.

Children`s Publishing

"Children's books have to be good to feel, nice to look at and absorbing enough to excite the interest of children."
"In order to produce good children's books, a publisher has to be ingenious and creative like an artist."
"The children's books thus make exciting demands not only on the publisher's skill and ingenuity but also the author who has to be really alive to the needs of children of the world."

Anand Bhusan, President,

Telegraph, The Federation of Indian Publishers Newsletter, December, 2009

Blockbusters

"For Chetan Bhagat's new book I want to do a million in the first 10 weeks. I do not think it has ever been done before"

Kapish Mehra, Publisher, Rupa & Co.

Businessworld, 09.11.2009

"At the top level, numbers have changed dramatically. Now a book would have to sell more than 25,000 to be considered a blockbuster."

Ravi Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin India

Businessworld, 09.11.2009

"Everyone's parameters of what constitutes a bestseller are going up and up."

Chiki Sarkar, Chief Editor, Random House India

Businessworld, 09.11.2009

Book Retail Chains

"The small towns are still not served at all. So the growth cycle is not over yet. There is huge potential waiting to be tapped."

Thomas Abraham, MD, Hachette India

Businessworld, 09.11.2009

Variety of Genres

"What's happening in publishing mirrors what happened in cinema. Just as the divide between commercial and art house cinema has blurred today, we've seen that happen in books too."
"Chiclit has come into its own fastest because there's a crystal clear audience for it." Despite Chetan Bhagat's phenomenal success, "I think alumni fiction will run out of steam soon."

Thomas Abraham, MD, Hachette India

Graphiti, Kolkata, 29.11.2009

"Perhaps we are a more confident nation and want to write commercial stories for Indians as much as the Booker. Maybe it's also happening because publishing has become a bigger business."

Chiki Sarkar, Chief Editor, Random House India

Graphiti, Kolkata, 29.11.2009

"Earlier we were more into classical translated literature. But now we're also trying to get in younger readers. We're trying to do crime novels by women. We want to grow this list because it is quite interesting."

Preeti Gill, Editor and Rights Director, Zubaan

Graphiti, Kolkata, 29.11.2009

On Packaging

"Packaging is as important as the contents of a book to provide the reader with a good reading experience."

Ulhas Latkar, Owner, Ameya Prakashan

01.11.2009.

On Business of Books

"We are in the business of books for the love of it."

Anuj Bahri, CEO, Bahrisons Booksellers,

Times of India, 13.12.2009.

"Karthika is a great editor, and HarperCollins are the best publisher in India-perhaps in the world.They did such a wonderful job with The White Tiger. I'm honoured and delighted that they arepublishing my new book."

Aravinda Adiga,

Mail Today, 30.10.2009.

 

Roli Books in Retail
Mr. Pramod Kapur CEO Roli Books have started their exclusive showroom CMYK, a boutique store focusing on art, architecture and design books. The first outlet is in Mehar Chand Market in Delhi and the second is in the premises of Mumbai Art Gallery. He wants to experiment with different formats like showing movies, having a coffee shop etc. and then go on an expansion mode from 2011. He feels that there are many publishers now and one’s own bookshop can offer a greater exposure to one’s own titles.

Buyer Seller Meet in Jaipur
CAPEXIL is organising a Buyer-Seller Meet by inviting buyers from Africa, Latin America, CIS and ASEAN countries from 27th-28th January before the opening of the New Delhi World Book Fair. For further details contact: AK Chakravorty, Director, Capexil Book Division. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jnanpith Award
The 42nd Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour for the first time was jointly shared by Prof. Satyavrat Shastri, a Sanskrit scholar, and Konkani author Ravindra Kelkar. Shastri has several literary achievements to his credit including introducing genres like autobiography and diary into Sanskrit writing. Kelkar is a well-known Konkani scholar and has authored nearly 100 books, edited Jaag magazine for more than 20 years. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the Sahitya Akademi Award and several other laurels.

Bookaroo 2009
This time round Bookaroo held 64 events and hosted 44 authors. It is meant for children to develop an interest in books and for them to appreciate various aspects of art related to books. This year they also included non-storytelling activities like cartoon drawing workshops, math workshop, and ambitiously, the writing of the world’s longest friendship poem!
(Courtesy: The Hindu, Metroplus, New Delhi, 16.04.09)

Kindle and E-Books Outsell Paper Books on Amazon
Christmas shoppers bought more of the e-book reader Kindle and e-books, than the regular paper books, claimed the internet retail giant Amazon.com. They claimed that the Kindle had “become the most gifted item in Amazon’s history”. Presently the Kindle online store offers 390,000 digitized books on sale.

Book Retail Chain Expansion in 2010
Crosswords, Reliance Time Out and Odyssey, all leading retail chains with large store formats are planning on expanding their presence in the country in 2010. Reliance Time out has planned the opening of 20 stores concentrated in south and west India. Odyssey, which has 46 stores at present, is planning to launch 10 more stores. Crosswords, that currently runs 55 stores is planning on opening more stores too. All of these retail chains will also be opening express stores of smaller sizes with Odyssey launching small kiosks that will enable e-book and music downloads. These will be strategically placed at Delhi Metro stations and IT parks in the south.

Yet the publishing industry feels that the lack of stores is a key factor holding back growth.

Bookstores For All Reasons
Bookstores no longer store books alone. They stock stationery, CDs, toys and host a number of activities for kids, and promotional offers by publishers. While books alone do not attract a large variety of clientele, a judicious product mix lures the whole family and even those not in the habit of buying books walk into such stores to browse and buy even if they did not initially intend to.

Manas Saikia is awarded the Honoris Causa M.A.
Manas Saikia, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd. was awarded the Honoris Causa M. A. by the Univeristy of Cambridge, UK. It is a great honour and recognition of his services in making Cambridge University Press publications known in this part of the world. Keep up the good work, Mr. Saikia!

Publishing Professionals awarded by FPBAI
Five publishing professionals were awarded in the Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Publishers and Booksellers Association of India.