I'd like to react unreasonably to
Random House's decision to pull back from the deal with Vikram Seth
for his next novel 'ASuitable Girl', a sequel to his famous 'ASuitable Boy'. It's understood that it is a shock to the veteran
author. However, it shows Random House's insecurity with regard to
changing market dynamics in the publishing industry. Random Penguin
House, after the merger, has lost much of its marketshare to
Amazon.com and many of its counterparts which are allowing
several—budding or established—authors to publish their books
online for their Kindle or otherwise customers.
I believe that Random Penguin publisher
is insecure with regard to the $1.3 mn amount they'd promised to the
author for his manuscript. And I don't want to invalidate their
apprehensions. They might be true. But the question is whether it
will impact Vikram Seth. Yes, in the short term monetarily.
In the wider perspective, Vikram Seth has
got an opportunity to prove that online or digital world can be a
place to sell his book. Seth can teach a lesson to the opportunist Random
House having sold his book for far more larger audience than Random House will ever reach to. He can also set a trend which might change the lives of many fellow Indian or global authors. A number of authors even today
spend years waiting for publishers to notice their novels, stories or books
in general. Only a few succeed. Seth is a name in itself and would sell like hot cakes on
Amazon or similar platforms. He can be a definite example and a turning point in the history of book or novel publishing. Or he might rather devote time by jumping into the business by creating a whole new digital platform.
What's your thought?
What's your thought?
Comments
Post a Comment