Dorling Kindersley turns 40, Indian wing focuses on India!

For forty years, readers all over the world have relied on DK to inform, entertain, and enrich their lives. This year DK India will mark this historic birthday by launching a series of titles especially for the Indian reader. To begin with, they are targeting children and will later move on to titles for adult as well, tells Aparna Sharma, MD, DK India in conversation with Varsha Verma.DK books are already well established in the market, recognised for their high quality content and design, and it seems like the right time to build on this success of DK’s international titles to produce books with India as focus, says Aparna Sharma, MD, DK India.

About DK… 

Founded in 1974 by Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley as a packaging company for other publishers, DK launched its first titles in 1982 when it secured a deal to edit, design and produce a first-aid manual for voluntary aid societies in the UK. It has since grown into an internationally respected publisher of high quality, illustrated products and online resources across all areas of adult and children’s non-fiction – from natural history to travel, food and drink to family reference and even licensing books for Marvel, Lucas Film and Disney.

DK in India…then and now

In 1998, DK began operations in Delhi with a team of just 10 people. Led by Aparna Sharma, it now employs close to 300 people in its Noida office. “In the year 2000, it was taken over by Penguin but it works as an independent business while the sales and marketing is being handled by the Penguin Group. But now, since we are focusing on the Indian market, we have employed our own sales and marketing team as well,” shares Aparna.

“We are now growing and understanding India and are coming up with specific titles for India, which are either made specifically for India or are adapted for it,” she adds. After publishing their first local title last year Young Chefs with Vikas Khanna, in 2014, DK India has released a range of titles like Children’s Eyewitness Guide to Gandhi, 100 Indians Who Made History and

Find-It Delhi, a mini travel guide/activity book for children. “All these books are written in a light manner, with lot of trivia to engage children. Our book on Gandhi is very different in the sense that we have sourced some new information and pictures, which have either never been published or are not so common,” tells Aparna.

India-focused business plans…

DK India plans to publish six to eight titles for the local market each year, with special focus on the children’s segment to start with, expanding into new and emerging areas like lifestyle. “We are focused on children in a measured way. When we say children, we mean the age group of eight plus as this is a big area and children in this age group need to learn a lot. We will also come up with workbooks, reads, etc, as it will be an ages and stages programme, for which we are also partnering with licensors in UK and US. And we will always keep the curriculum in mind and use the right choice of words and number of words as per the age group,” explains Aparna.

“From time to time, we will take feedback from our distributors and customers and then build on the programme,” she shares. “We will later diversify into adult titles like lifestyle, general interest, cookery, gardening, sports, health, travel, natural history, birds of India, etc,” reveals Aparna.

DK India will also continue to play a key role in the company’s expanded global range of digital products that repurpose print content into new and emerging web-based, tablet-based, and mobile-based platforms.

“Other plans include the launch of an online knowledge website for children, scheduled for later this year. The website will support learning in home and school by covering every key subject area from Science to History. The roll-out will involve engaging with schools and students through quizes using DK content,” shares Aparna.

Custom publishing…

And DK India has other plans too…they are also eyeing different avenues and focusing on the bespoke publishing or the custom publishing for distribution or own use. “Almost 95 percent of own content is DK-owned, hence we have a vast depository of content, which we can use and give away for segments like tourism, medicine, wine-tasting, cheese-tasting, etc.” embarks Aparna.

On talent…

“There is lot of talent available in India but exposure is not much. They do not know how to stretch their boundaries of creativity while focusing on the information. Sometimes, the exposure to subject is not there. We keep training our team at DK Academy as an ongoing process. Our colleagues from UK are also engaged in this extensively,” tells Aparna.

Celebrating 40th anniversary…

DK India has always been committed to its green initiatives such as judicious re-use of paper, by encouraging practices such as double-sided printing and using recycled notebooks. “As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations to communities across the globe, DK India has planned to inculcate a tradition of caring for and enriching the quality of lives of the communities where their staff stay and work in. DK will work with local charities to help raise funds, spread awareness and allow staff to volunteer their time,” tells Aparna.

Future plans…

“For the next three years, we will put in our energies and see the impact in the local publishing segment. We have come up with a special pricing for the Indian market, which is 20-30% cheaper and most of the books would be priced between Rs 200-500, which is quite competitive and affordable. These books are produced without compromising on quality in content, paper, printing or the ethical values. We work with empanelled printers who use renewable sources,” tells Aparna.

“There is a lot of clutter in the children publishing segment but DK wants to stay distinct and be valued for its quality product,” concludes Aparna.

“Great books are always rewritten”

“Great books are always rewritten” 

A message to all Asian authors from Nury Vittachi, in conversation with Varsha Verma. 

Nury Vittachi is a journalist and author based in Hong Kong. His columns are published daily, weekly in a variety of newspapers in Asia as well as on his website. He is best known for the comedy-crime novel series The Feng Shui Detective, published in many languages around the world, but he has also written non-fiction works and novels for children. He is also known for his role in founding the Asia Literary Review, the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, the Man Asian Literary Prize, and was the chairman of the judges of the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award in 2008, where he shares more about his love for books and the pleasure of being a judge for literary prizes. 

Being a judge to many literary awards for more than a decade, what are the basic attributes he keeps in mind? “It is tough being a judge as every book is unique. Every organisation has their longlist and they have some key elements on which a book has to be judged, but I personally, do not go by those elements alone but love the enchantment and the magic in a book which makes you forget the world,” he replied. “We are soon launching a World’s Readers Awards in November in Hong Kong to honour the best book written in the world, which is dominated by Asia,” he informed. “Asians are becoming more and more assertive. There are so many literary awards where Asian authors cannot participate. It is ironical that the maximum numbers of internationally successful books are from West while the bulk of audience is in the East. The Asian book industry is growing. Hence, it is important to have an award where Asian writers can compete,” he told. 

On asking about the standards of Asian authors, Nury replied, “Asian authors complain too much about the lack of good editors, agents and distributors. What is important is to write a fantastic book and all things will appear on their own. Asian writers are not very ambitious and they are not very keen on taking creative risk. In the west, authors take at least a year or two to complete one book and do 4-5 revisions before submitting it to the publisher. Great books are always rewritten.” 

As a message to Asian authors, he concluded, “The world is ready for you to write great books.”

“Religious books revere India's spiritual heritage and preserve the culture”

–says Brahmanathaswami, Kauai's Hindu Monastery, 

Himalayan Academy Publications, in conversation with Varsha Verma.

Kauai's Hindu Monastery is located on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Here, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and 20 monks carry on the tradition and mission of an ancient Hindu lineage. The center in Hawaii is the international head-quarters for those who are closely associated with this spiritual lineage. Here, Brahmanathaswami, Kauai's Hindu Monastery, Himalayan Academy Publications, Kapaa, HI shares more on religious books and their impact on readers.

ABP: Why are books on the philosophies and meditation techniques of spiritual gurus, general religion, self-help guides and Indian mythology fetching brisk business these days?

Brahmanathaswami: Once the glamour of wealth, money and the things that money can buy wears off, at the end of the day the innate drive of the soul, the Atman is there regardless of a person's circumstances. That drive is ever onward through the cycles of reincarnation to find and become one with Shiva, Para Brahmin. Whether you know this consciously or not, whatever terms or labels you may give, the path of San Marga, the straight path to God is something every soul tries to find, sooner or later.

In a newly emerging middle class India where Hindu philosophy is the underlying though process of a nation, where the fascination with technology and money is wearing off, then it is a short step onto the spiritual path/search. As a youth you may be very ambitious, but after one or two years in the technology sector, you may find it doesn't bring the happiness you thought it would. Sure, you may have cash in your pocket now, but money doesn't bring peace.

In other areas of the world where youth have not been exposed to affluence, the focus may be more on career. So the market is really not that big except in some sectors. For Himalayan Academy Publications, we don't see a huge growth, but a steady sales year after year that reflects the niche market we serve that is pretty much always there in each new generation of readers.

ABP: How are new age gurus different from older ones? 

Brahmanathaswami: There is one class of "new age gurus" who peddle themselves as "God Men" where they make a particular personality the center of focus for those who become "followers." They try to be universalists and "transcend religion" but they are just re-packaging the ancient teachings of Hindu sages and scriptures in a new language.

Then there are books by the more traditional Gurus who put the perennial teachings into new packages so to speak, but do not promote themselves personally. Our own books are of this genre: we teach traditional Saivite Hinduism and Hindu Basics.

ABP: Tell us more about your publishing house? 

Brahmanathaswami: Our work is solidly rooted in the Vedic tradition and Saiva Agamas as preserved by the Kailasa Paramapara. Himalayan Academy Publications bring the classic wisdom of Hinduism to the 21st century in modern English. The presentations are done in ways that make the ancient teachings of the Vedas and Agamas digestible. We do not present any new age philosophy as such. So for those who revere India's spiritual heritage, want to preserve the culture, and yet find ways to understand and integrate this in your life today, our publications have a big appeal. Some of our bestsellers include Loving Ganesha, Dancing with Siva, Living with Siva, Merging with Siva. Lemurian Scrolls is also a popular book... but of a different genre.

Our authors include Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (now deceased) and Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami (current Mathadeepati of our lineage).

ABP: In general who are the target audience? 

Brahmanathaswami: Hindus who have left India, whose first language is now English, are the main buyers of these books. Western yoga practitioners who have finally woken up to the fact that yoga is, and always has been, a Hindu practice leading to God Realization and part of a larger religious and philosophical context. Sage Patanjali, for example, would go to the temple every day... So when these yoga practioners start to yearn for a more complete religious cultural life, family and community, our books provide a gate way for them to learn about and finally fully become Hindus.

ABP: How important is production quality for such books? 

Brahmanathaswami: Production values are very important for Himalayan Academy Publications. Our books are top notch in quality. That said, "pulp paper" may also work for the publisher who has good avenues to markets where low prices are important. I don't think it is an "either or" equation.

ABP: Are they gaining popularity amongst youngsters? 

Brahmanathaswami: Not really at this time. While we offer free ebooks, youngsters are looking for a more novel form of presentation, video, audio, apps. We hope to start developing these as time goes on.

ABP: In today’s e-world, do you envisage a successful future for printed books? Why/Why not? 

Brahmanathaswami: There will always be a place for printed books because not everyone, today, or tomorrow, wants to sit in front of a screen or read things on a little device. The success of the publisher who depends on print media will depend on his ability to manage capital investment for printing books, marketing and keeping cash equity locked up in unsold inventory as against the revenue stream for selling books to those who still want a physical printed volume. If you measure success by modern standards of continuing growth and volume then probably this kind of success is not an option. If you measure success by the ability to stay in business, then that is certainly possible, provided you have the capacity for continued production of a diversity of new titles while having the fiscal management skills to stay in the black.

From ready-to-print files to e-publishing!

–Pre-media service providers across the country are offering high-quality pre-media services to publishers across the globe. Varsha Verma shares more on this industry segment and trends within.Pre-media is the term that is used in the design, creative and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the conception of original artwork and the manufacturing of final output channel. It is a process that combines creative art and technology to communicate the final message to a consumer. 

A lot of pre-media service providers in India have emerged due to good quality, timely delivery and of course low rates. These pre-media service providers offer and supply ready-to-publish files developed on industry-standard software, delivered on the platform of choice and ensuring that the client’s requirements are met. 

These service providers also work on e-books, e-learning solutions, etc. On an average e-books are 30 percent of revenues from developed markets and are forecasted to be 10 percent of revenues in developing markets like India with the growth anticipated to be three-fold. There are early signs that e-books are going to make a big impact in the Indian sub-continent in the coming years. Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce company and BookGanga have already ventured into e-book infrastructure space, selling e-books in India. Penguin India has also released e-books by Indian authors. Readers in India can purchase e-books from any of these retailers at international prices – Amazon, Apple, Kobo and Google, Gardners, Sony, OLF, Apabi, Go Spoken/Mobcast, OverDrive, eBooks.com, IGroup and Baker & Taylor. 

By 2015, Asia will account for the second highest e-learning expenditures after North America which has till now shown a growth rate of around 10 percent in this segment. In India, the e-learning market is growing at a rate of almost 20 percent. Higher education e-learning is major market revenue generator in e-learning industry today. Right from playschools to universities, everybody is trying to compliment their traditional classroom training with some sort of e-learning courses as well. However not all schools and colleges are open to this technology yet. Some have opted for hybrid learning which includes use of AV and laptops in classrooms with some online learning. 

This has opened up new avenues for publishers who, in turn, are utilising the services of such pre-media service providers, instead of investing on their own in this field. In fact, India is a hub for such pre-media services and almost every other such service provider is working for global companies. 

What makes India a preferred destination? What is the total expanse of this business and what are the opportunities and challenges in this segment, finds out Varsha Verma. 

Publishing industry today… 

“Growth in digital media has revolutionised the world and of course the publishing industry. Authors looking for publishers now have the option of self publishing. The publishing industry is experiencing a paradigm shift. The recent statistics related to digital books sale and purchase, e-readers, tablets and e-book lending, etc. reveal that there is a boom in the e-books domain. The rise in the sale of e-books is having a dramatic effect on the sale of print books,” tells Nitasha Malhotra, e-sales and marketing manager, Realty Pre-Media Service Pvt Ltd, Pune. Headquartered in Pune, India, their core focus has been in pre-media services, e-books, design and digitisation services. Established in the year 1997, they currently have around 120+ employees. 

Pros and cons of going digital…. 

“E-book sales do not involve any overhead cost to the publishers/authors as compared to the print books which involve cost of printing, binding, storing and distribution. Another added advantage is the possibility to add interactivity in the digital version of the books and make reading more engaging for the readers. E-books run over variety of devices – tablets, mobiles, e-readers, etc. Tablet devices (iPad, Kindle Fire, Galaxy Tab) have played a vital role in interactive children e-books,” shared Nitasha. 

Many publishers are struggling with adopting new processes that fit with their existing processes and deliverables. “Content is now available in many different formats, depending on publisher uptake of new technologies. Customers are confused about why they can’t get the content they want in all the ways they want it. The publishing industry is at an inflection point and most publishers seem to be looking to the market to make a strong direct statement about the direction they should take with their products and processes instead of taking the lead,” told Ameet Chauhaan- president and CEO, vPrompt eServices, who offer enhanced, interactive e-books in English and in almost all foreign languages, besides offering services like digitisation of content-XML based solutions, pre-press or composition services for books, journals, magazines, etc. with a staff strength of 350, they work on various platforms. 

At the same time, the publishers/authors have to part with their revenue as commission to the aggregators like Apple, Amazon, etc. “These platforms not only provide them with a popular distribution channel but also provide technology that prevents unauthorised sharing, forwarding and copying of the e-book formats. Also there are some people who advocate that nothing can substitute for the look and feel and smell of a real book. And of course the digital books need a suitable device/platform for reading unlike the print book which can be read by anyone who knows the language,” said Nitasha as a matter of fact. 

Publishers on e-books… 

The publishers were initially reluctant as they were not sure of two things, whether e-books will sell? And whether the e-books will be secure and free from piracy? But now the situation has changed. “Publishers do not want to stay away from this revolution and reap the benefits of earning more revenue at low added cost. Also readers now are more interested in digital formats as the penetration of devices has increased considerably,” added Nitasha. 

“There are major disparities in how publishers are dealing with recent technology changes. Many are experimenting with new models and deliverables on a limited basis, while others are adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach and not changing much at all. In the meantime, new companies are stepping in to fill the gap between existing publishing processes and outputs with products that are born-digital,” shared Ajay Srivastava, managing director, vPrompt eServices. 

In 2013, somewhere between a fifth and a third of book publishing revenue in the US came from the sale of e-books. Till 2013, there was a growth in this number as more and more publishers were getting their backlist converted. But now this figure seems to be stagnated. Now publishers, authors, etc will not hesitate to continue experimenting with new kind of content.” The recent development in digital publishing is augmented reality for print books. By means of this technology, one can add an amazing experience to the print books,” told Nitasha. 

E-learning: a growing segment 

E-learning as an industry is in the midst of massive growth. “With the cost of implementing e-learning tools falling and increase in demand for such courses, more and more schools, colleges, universities have added online courses and distance learning to their programmes. e-learning has led to development of classes without boundaries and walls. The students are benefited as the cost of such programmes is considerably low. At the same time, the lecturers, presenters, etc are also compensated for their knowledge and skills due to large participation. Use of videos, audios, animations make learning fun and effective for the students,” shared Nitasha. 

Publishers have also taken advantage of this new trend and are getting their education content adapted/developed to suit this trend. Due to the limited knowledge regarding the array of features and formats available in digital publishing, publishers need the services of some specialised digital solution providers and consultants. 

Standing out from the crowd… 

But the question is - how can publishers ensure that their books are discovered in the online environment where shelf space is infinite and titles huge? “A properly entered metadata helps in fruitful search of the book on popular search engines. Just converting to e-book and uploading it to stores online may not lead to its sales and popularity. One has to reach out the masses and the best way to do so is use internet to market your book(s). Use of social media marketing services in order to reach out to your target audiences helps to increase the presence and hence sales of the book. We, at Reality Pre-Media, help publishers to harness the benefits of various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and all others. We also offer SEO services to promote their website and hence their books. Use of appropriate keywords is highly recommended,” told Nitasha. 

While, T Giriraj, sr. director strategic planning, vPrompt eServices, shared, “Creating a high quality digital archive is at the top of the list. Engage a high quality content services partner who has good experience in this area. Make sure that content components are done properly (full linking for references, images that scale to work on multiple devices, charts and tables in fixed layout format to preserve context, etc). Once you have a strong set of content, then decide on a sales and delivery model, and finally, license or build tools that make the content more findable and useful. Consider adding interactivity that creates additional value for digital content.” 

Challenges faced… 

The content services industry is very competitive, with numerous new companies coming into the space, increasing operational costs for suppliers and a continued reduction in profit margins as customers look for the very best pricing. “vPrompt is coping by specialising in high quality processes and deliverables and in focusing on customer service and communication that goes beyond expectations,” told Giriraj. 

“Availability of free conversion tool and lack of awareness are the two key challenges that we face today. Many publishers believe that the freely available conversion tools should work equally for them and convert their books to e-book formats without any error. We have to educate the publishers about the shortcoming of such tools as they do not produce professional e-book formats and the styling of the book is often messed up. The e-books so produced are rejected by Apple and other platforms due to invalid characters. We, being one of the pioneers in this field, offer extremely professional service with three levels of quality assurance. 

We not just offer conversion services but act as a digital consultants for our client offering them solutions pertaining to conversion, marketing and distribution,” told Nitasha. 

Besides, there is a cut throat competition and a price war among the service providers and as everywhere the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ hold true here also,” added Nitasha. 

Business… 

“Most of the business comes from international publishers though the domestic publishers have now started taking interest. Approximately 90 percent of our business comes from territories across the globe (excluding India) with major chunk coming from US and UK,” told Nitasha. 

Similarly, Giriraj shared that their major clients are from US, UK, and Australia. “We have started doing work on Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages apart from other languages such as Persian, Urdu and Indian languages,” he added. 

Looking ahead… 

“Though the e-book market is still in its infancy stage in India and may have some teething problems also, like low e-reader adoption and penetration rate, low internet penetration rate and e-commerce transactions (11 percent), etc. The government has plans to have the internet penetration rate of 25 percent by the end of 2015. With a huge population, a literacy rate of 75 percent and growing and a steady growth of infrastructure, domestic market of India is definitely going to be a huge digital publishing market!” shared Nitasha. 

Similar views were shared by Giriraj. “We also think that India is on the verge of digital revolution. With the availability of bandwidth, infrastructure, people are more inclined to using online e-content. This is not to say that the print publishing will go away but with the emergence of e-books, e-content, there is an increasing shift towards online content. Also the rapid growth of mobile smart phones and notebooks has really helped people to access data faster anytime, anywhere. The revolution is happening in every sector be it mobile, healthcare, education, retail, finance, logistics and travel. On content side, interactive e-books, mobile apps and knowledge based services are fast emerging and we at vPrompt are very much a part of this revolution,” concluded Giriraj.

“Publishing is a unique business that needs both skill and technology”

shares Vinay K Singh, executive director, Thomson Digital, a division of Thomson Press (India) Ltd, in a chat with ABP editors SK Khurana and Varsha Verma.

Vinay K Singh

The world is flat wrote Thomas L Friedman. It has never been as levelled and flatter for the publishing industry across the globe. Books can reach anywhere…threats and opportunities are everywhere. Publishing services is not an organised industry in India but the prevailing pessimistic views about the industry are irrelevant; the industry is growing but requires certain degree of healthy competitiveness, discipline and professionalism,” says Vinay K Singh, executive director, Thomson Digital. Thomson Digital is a full-service publishing solutions company with a global reach. With its expertise spanning end-to-end solutions in content development, content processing, e-learning, rich media and conversion services; it is a one-stop-service provider for publishers and professional institutions across the world. As part of India Today Group, a highly regarded media house in India, Thomson Digital carries a legacy of nearly five decades.

“Infact, India has 80 percent of the global pre-media business as a country, which may amount to $4 billion worth of business. But, there are rules in the game, suppliers are falling prey to their own greeds. In a race of growth and overnight success, they are potentially compromising on quality/service which could be a significant trick for its sustenance in future and that is a major deterrent to the industry. Publishing is a cyclical business and there are set number of customers, who allocate different shares to various solutions providing companies,” tells Vinay as a matter of fact.

Pondering on the challenges within the industry, Vinay also talked about the manpower issue, “The employees move from one company to another for instant gratification. In fact, it is difficult to estimate the actual worth of each employee as in an effort to attract talent from the industry, companies do not shy away from giving manifold higher salaries to the people coming from their counterparts. The cost of attrition and training also adds further. It is difficult to find employable talents even in big cities like Delhi and Chennai as the quality of affordable talents are hard to train and retain.”

“Then comes the infrastructure, electricity and the diesel prices, also adding direct costs. This is the reason why publishing houses are also moving from metro cities like Delhi/NCR to other cities like Trivandrum, Dehradun and other two-three tier cities, ” he adds.

New office in Gangtok…

“Very recently, we have also opened up a new facility in Gangtok, which employs 200 people. Since the weather in this place is wonderful and infrastructure and manpower cost does not go that high, we will be able to get good results,” shares Vinay.

Telling more about the new office in Gangtok, Vinay shares that the quality of people is good as their language skills are fine and above all lot of hands-on educated people are females, who make excellent employees in this field. “We have deputed 12 trainers and managers from our NSEZ unit from Noida,” he adds.

On Noida unit…

As a matter of fact, the NSEZ Noida unit of Thomson Digital now employs 1,200 people, working round-the-clock in three shifts on various products like books, journals and magazines. “For magazines, we do everything besides editing while for print and e-products, we provide 100 percent publishing solutions,” tells Vinay. They do a mix of all kinds of books – though less number of black-and-white books. The trade books are full of text, while the illustrated books are all-colour.

Technology is prime at Thomson Digital and they have employed 100 people in R&D and have recently come up with a ‘push-button’ technology which works on the principle 1P1P which means one person, one project. “With this, we are able to cut down our turnaround time from 6 days to 24 hours, besides having complete control over the project. This is a game changing technology and we had launched this last year during Frankfurt Book Fair,” tells Vinay.

On asking about their success mantra, Vinay replies that undoubtedly, the business is run for making money, but there is an element of passion that keeps the management on track and is shared by the employees as well. “Our company can boast of the single set of investors since the day it came into being, thus the passion, culture and objectives of the company have remained intact over the years. We have not believed in growing in numbers, but in the focus towards contribution we make,” he shares.

Looking ahead…

With the new Indian government in place, which seems to be very dynamic and result-oriented, Vinay is also hopeful that the new budget and other reforms would help the industry to grow.

“Publishing is a unique business that needs both skill and technology in equal proportion. The industry has been ever since the mankind existed and it will continue to flourish as there will always be a need for content, publishing and knowledge, but may be in multiple formats,” concludes Vinay optimistically.