Book Publishing

This is the largest segment of the industry. Publishing houses vary in size from the very large international companies to those run on a shoestring budget by a handful of employees. Various central and state government agencies also have their own publication divisions. 

These include the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and of Education and Culture. Other government-sponsored organizations involved in publishing are the Sahitya Akademi, Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Those that are subsidized or run by public trust funds are the National Book Trust, NCERT and the Children's Book Trust. 

The output from these agencies is mainly cultural or educational in content. Some major universities have set up publishing departments that bring out academic works, as do private educational and charitable institutions, as well as cultural and religious trusts. Some publishers specialize in the nature of the books they bring out. These could be:

TEXT BOOKS

Which are mainly from nationalized presses that fill 80 per cent of the total schoolbook requirement.

PAPERBACKS

That covers a large market for both fiction and non-fiction.

ACADEMIC/TECHNICAL/SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

Require appropriate qualifications particularly for those on the editorial side. These categories are in great demand and form a large percentage of all books published in India.

ART BOOKS

Have an assured if select market. They are well illustrated and usually printed in full color on special paper Art books are expensive to produce, but profit margins are high.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Have long depended on imports. However besides nationalized trusts, some privately owned publishing houses are now bringing out children's books based in the Indian tradition, in an effort to meet a huge, unfulfilled demand.

Feminist Press

Concentrates on works for, by and about women. Books in this slot range from poetry and fiction
sociological studies. This is still a limited area in India, which publishers and readers are a small but committed group. Publishing also encompasses other areas, such as:

Book Packaging

This falls outside traditional publishing and is still a vast small development in India. Book packaging is a market exercise. It involves the commissioning of an author an artist to produce a dummy copy of the book, which is then offered to several publishers, often in different countries
`Packages' are usually highly illustrated. A `bank' of pictures is printed separately, and then overprinted with translated text at minimum production costs. . Promotion, sales a distribution is taken care of by the publishers who buy packaged book.

Distribution

This area is exclusive to sales and marketing. It is a lucrative business, but requires infrastructure and overheads are high. India imports books to the value of Rs 150 crores every year. Distributors often tie up with an international publishing house, to act as their agents in India. Their work involves promotion, supply and retail of all kinds of books.

Magazine Publishing

Very different from book publishing, magazine publishing involves, besides production and marketing skills, a knowledge of journalism and advertising. Most magazine publishers are responsible for the commercial side of the business, and hire an editor to commission features. 

Editorial assistants require experience in `subbing' as well as some idea of layout and production. Magazine publishing as a career is covered more fully in the chapter on journalism.

Desktop Publishing

A recent development, involving a personal computer that makes it possible to edit, design, layout and typeset copy. Due to its substantial cost advantage, desktop publishing has become immensely popular. It is being increasingly used by companies to produce brochures and newsletters for their internal circulation as well as for books with small print orders and limited sales.

OTHER AREAS

Apart from editorial, production and marketing personnel publishing industry constantly requires:

TRANSLATORS

Who are hired in full-time positions by some firms, though most prefer to be commissioned on a freelancer's basis. The bulk of this work entails English and Hindi translations from, and to a regional language. Besides this, particularly in academic and technical publishing there is also some scope for foreign language translation. 

Rates have been fixed by some government agencies at about Rs 40 to Rs 60 per 1,000 words of prose and Re 1 per line of poetry. 

Earnings from commercial publishers are higher. Facility in both languages-the original, and its translation is essential, as are writing skills.

ILLUSTRATORS

Provide the artwork for books. Many publishing houses especially children's book specialists
employ in-house artists. There is also considerable opportunity for freelance and part-time commissions. Artists design book jackets and covers and also develop graphics and illustrations to enhance their contents.

WRITERS

Are, of course, central to the industry. With the exception of literary and creative works of fiction, poetry and drama, most manuscripts are commissioned only after careful consideration of their substance, author and likely market response. 

Even novelists are expected to submit a synopsis of their intended work before contract negotiations begin. All authors are contracted, not hired. Remuneration is usually based on a percentage of the profit, or `royalty', on the book. This is fixed in accordance with the writer's reputation and salability and generally ranges from 5 per cent to 10 per cent. 

Publishers customarily provide their authors with financial support, in the form of an `advance', until the book goes on sale. This is to see them through the period of writing, and the amount varies with the author and the publishing house. 

Powerful imagination and the need to use language for self-expression are the main characteristics of authors of creative and literary works. For specialist writers a fine intellect, wide reading and proficiency at words are important, besides the essential expertise in the subject of the book.