“New model for book distribution: POD, eBook, Amazon, Apple, Google…and China”

says Robert Fletcher, CEO, Global Exhibition Marketing in conversation with Varsha Verma of AABP, who believes that China would be the next publishing hub.Global Exhibition Marketing (GEM) creates additional sales and revenues for tradeshow owners around the globe. They help find new corporate exhibitors for the show and also specialize in bringing “best practices” new revenue ideas to show including innovative ideas for sponsorships, advertising, list monetization and more. More recently, they were in India to market China tradeshow – 19th Beijing International Book Fair – BIBF 2012.

Here Robert Fletcher, CEO, Global Exhibition Marketing discusses his experience at the New Delhi World Fair. Excerpts.

Varsha: How was your experience at the New Delhi World book Fair vis-a-vis other book fairs across the world?

Robert: The New Delhi World Book Fair should be considered in the top five book fairs in the world. We did more business with top Indian publishers and providers than any other book show in the world with the possible exception of China/BIBF. We find that India and China have tremendous assets and ideas to bring to the world publishing markets and the New Delhi World Book Fair is one great place to connect with the publishing community of India.

Varsha: What was the response you got at your stand for the Chinese publishers?

Robet: We always smile when we think of the dynamic that we are a US company, selling the Chinese publishing tradeshow to businesses in India!

However, if you think about it, sending a native English speaker to sell to other English speakers makes good sense. Publishers in India and from around the world know that China is the next big publishing hub. Leaders from India are already in China and new Indian entrepreneurs are looking at China very closely. We are proud to be a part of connecting the two largest publishing populations in the world.

Varsha: In your opinion, what is the future of the publishing industry and how is it poised to grow in the coming years, focusing on the major growth areas and the challenges it is facing from digital publishing, etc?

Robert: The future of the publishing industry can be summed up as “globalization”. Forget nations, the new game is based on language. For example, an e-book can be sold anywhere in the world. You can license a language; you can no longer license a digital book by country. And, the new model for distribution can be summed up as POD, eBook, Amazon, Apple, and Google, and going with the statistics - China.

Publishing companies in India face the same issues that we face in the US, namely a hyper-competitive market and fighting for merely bigger slices of the same pie. If the publisher is looking inwards to only their country, their market is limited. If the publisher is looking globally to the developing world, then there is no limit to the expansion that we see. China, Latin America, Eastern Europe, some parts of Africa… that’s where the action is.

Varsha: Also, tell us something about the other book fairs that you are participating and how can Indian publishers benefit from it?

Robert: Indian publishers are already looking around the world with entities like Capexil. However, nothing beats a hands-on visit to a country of choice. If I had to sum up our experiences with tradeshows around the world, I would say, “Seek the first mover advantage”. Forget Frankfurt and BEA, and the US, the developed countries are just too tough to break into. Spend your money in China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa… that’s where the game is being played.

The other dynamic that I still haven’t gotten my head around is the tremendous quantity and quality of STM that Indian publishers put out. I see more STM here than even the US. Your STM industry is amazing and I think there is a tremendous opportunity to be a provider at par with the US and even undercut the US’ lead in STM. 

Kids inspire to write for kids!

As a boy, Peter Abrahams read voraciously, almost anything he could get his hands on, but he enjoyed adventure stories the most. “I wasn't one of those unhappy kids who loses himself in books. I was a pretty happy kid who did it,” he says. No other form of entertainment- movies, TV or Internet--comes close for him. Today, he feels very lucky that he has been able to add a few new stories to the collective body of written work.

Peter Abrahams is today a well-known American writer of crime thrillers. His works include Oblivion, The Tutor, The Fury of Rachel Monette, Hard Rain, The Fan, Crying Wolf, Last of the Dixie Heroes, the Echo Falls Mysteries, and Lights Out, the last of which was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. He also has a series for younger readers called the Echo Falls Mysteries. There are three books in the series: Down the Rabbit Hole, Behind the Curtain, Into the Dark. They are all based around teen super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill. Besides, his series on Chet and Bernie Mysteries are also very popular. Here’s more on this renowned author.

Varsha: You have been an established children and young adult author for many years now. Describe your journey so far?

Peter: I was lucky in the beginning. An editor at HarperCollins children’s division read an adult suspense novel I'd written called The Tutor, in which some scenes were from the viewpoint of a ten-year old girl. The editor asked me if I was interested in writing for kids, and from that came the Echo Falls series. After that I just kept getting more ideas - another lucky development. And two more lucky circumstances which have helped include: my four kids - an enormous amount of raw material and secondly, I was once a kid myself.


Varsha: In your opinion, what is the hardest part of writing a book? Why?

Peter: Plotting, no question. For me, it seems to test the same part of the brain that geometry does. What's the fun in that?


Varsha: What factors are kept in mind while writing for children and young adults?

Peter: Because I either write in third-person close (Echo Falls, Reality Check, for example) or first person (Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street) I don't think much about this. The language and attitudes just naturally unfold in the right ways. For children, you do have to avoid certain obvious words, which can sometimes be a hindrance to realistic-sounding dialogue.


Varsha: What are you reading right now? Are there any authors or books that you would name as influences?

Peter: Right now I'm rereading Crime and Punishment. As for influences – Graham Greene and Ross Macdonald, but not to any huge extent. But, reading in itself has influenced my life. I will also admit that an obscure pirate story called ‘Red Pete The Ruthles’s I read as a kid stayed with me for a long time.


Varsha: What are your favorite books to give and get as gifts?

Peter: Lately I like getting good non-fiction, especially about the Civil War. As for gifting books, I prefer Lincoln's Sword (also Civil War) and all about Lincoln the writer - our greatest president and also our greatest writing president.


Varsha: Which is your next book that readers can look forward to?

Peter: Speaking of dogs, my next book is A Fistful of Collars. This is #5 in my Chet and Bernie series, written under my pen name, Spencer Quinn. These novels (all NYT bestsellers so far, knock on wood) are for adults, but lots of teens are reading them. They're classic P.I. novels narrated by the P.I.'s sidekick. In this case, that means that the narrator is Chet, the detective's dog. He's not a talking dog or human in any way...and, therefore, a sort of unreliable narrator. Chet is online; he has a blog - chetthedog.com, and is also on Facebook and Twitter. 

100 years in publishing!

For Rajpal & Sons, the year 2012 is special – they are completing 100 years of publishing this year. To commemorate the occasion, they have a plethora of new launches this year. Pranav, marketing director briefs about the company’s memorable 100 years to Varsha Verma.

The facts…

With more than 4,000 titles of which 2,000 are active till date, Rajpal & Sons has come a long way. “Infact as many as 50 titles have been continuously printed for the last 50 years. These are the evergreen classics of Indian literature,” informed Pranav, marketing director, Rajpal & Sons.

So what are the average print runs for their books? “Across all, we can say that the average print run is about 3,000 copies but there are a few titles like Madhushala by Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Abdul Kalam’s books with print run upto 10,000 copies,” he disclosed.

Perhaps their multi-packaging strategy for almost all titles, has kept Rajpal & Sons afloat. “We package the same book in different formats – paperback, hardbound, premium packaging, etc to suit the customer’s budgets,” told Pranav. “Hence, we have a same book at different prices – the content is the same but the look differs. Each of our title is available in at least two formats. This way, we spread cost across all the formats and pass on the benefit to the consumer.”

A new ‘centenary logo’ has been designed to mark the 100 years of publishing at Rajpal & Sons.

Reviving the old classics…

As a part of this celebrations, Rajpal & Sons is bringing out centenary editions of classics like Madhushala, Gitanjali, etc in a bigger format.

Major launches this year…

There are four major launches this year – Kalam on Corruption, Straight Talk by Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and books on Narayan Murthy and Irom Sharmila. The pre-booking of these books has already begun at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2012.

Foray into children books…

More recently, Rajpal & Sons has diversified into children books. “We are heavily investing in the designing of children books…it’s not just the cover but the inside pages as well. We wish to enhance the child’s experience for the entire book,” told Pranav.

The books on Panchtantra, mythology and places have already been launched and during this year itself, they plan to launch 35 titles in this genre. For this, they have tied up with different set of distributors and retailer for the Indian sub-continent. And with Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan in full swing, Pranav hopes that the demand for graphical books will grow with time.

Enhancing the reading experience…

Not just children books, illustrations and pictures have become a part of their books now. Pranav also mentioned about their book Sunset Club which is set in the lush Lodhi Garden. “In order to take the readers to feel the set-up, we used a lot of pictures as well,” he added. Similarly, their book on Abdul Kalam has real-life pictures with text. “It really helps set the tone and context of the story being talked about. The content gets automatically elevated using design inputs,” he said.

Similarly their cookbooks by Sanjeev Kapur have a lot of pictures. “Besides we are bringing out a series of comprehensive range of ‘shayri’ books. We are not just repackaging the cover but are also integrating illustrations to go with the particular piece,” shared Pranav.

On language publishing…

Most of the books at Rajpal & Sons are available in four languages, of which Hindi and English are always there. “We have regular tie-ups for regional languages like Marathi, Telugu, Kannada and Gujarati,” told Pranav. “In fact, we pioneered the concept of India-made books in regional languages. We started the concept with Kalam’s book Indomitable Spirit which was published in eight languages in one year. This concept is very successful for books on national icons.”

On e-books…

“It is interesting that the old and modern are coming together. “Our e-book formats for Kindle and iPads are generating good response and demand, especially for the old classics,” conveyed Pranav.

Publishing is never going to die and the fact that publishers like Rajpal & Sons having firm roots in this industry for over a centenary, stress this point even more.