‘What got you here won’t get you there’ is a fantastic title
of a bestselling book by Marshall Goldsmith and is often used by management
experts to crystallise the essence of businesses. The question though that we first
need to ask in Indian publishing is—‘Is where we are the place we wanted to
be?’ Let’s ask a few more questions to understand that.
So where exactly are we? In the middle of nowhere? Or as the
joke goes—we are exactly where
we were yesterday but are running much faster to remain there!
2015
began with the news that one of the largest e-commerce platforms will only
stock and sell—your guess is as good as mine—bestsellers. Most of the remaining
independent and chain stores have anyway been doing just that, or stocking remainders.
So the mid-list, which is conventionally the backbone of a publishing organisation
is eroding, and eroding fast. Some publishers have already decided to only
publish, what else but bestsellers! So are bestsellers the final frontier of
publishing? Or is there more to this profession?
Festive
seasons come and go but discounts are consistently doled out like Christmas
candies and Diwali mithai—from mostly large and multinational publishers to
retailers on account of the race for bestsellers and the large import lists that
they have to tackle, and from retailers, specifically the e-commerce ones to
consumers for greater eyeballs and mouse clicks, and hence, greater valuation.
But is the market expanding because of heavy discounts and excessive product
landing or is it like treating anaemia with steroids?
Financially,
as revenue per square feet of shelf space, are books any competition to Chinese
toys or stationery? Maybe, only remaindered books are and that is why more and
more shelves in more and more bookstores are filled with them. But as shelf
space gets dearer, more from the accountant’s perspective than from the
booklover’s, how long will books be able to withstand the onslaught?
Finally,
is the age of subtlety really over? And are we in an era of in-your-face
engagement and entertainment? Can a book then, with its old-world charm remain
relevant? Or will it, even in its new
avatar as an embedded e-book or an app be any competition to cinema, television
or internet?
And then,
just how did we get here? Indian publishing industry has seen three
generational shifts in one generation. From largely independent stores driven
market to chain stores to e-commerce and e-books, change has been rapid and
hence, stormy. All this was an extension and a part of what was happening to
the rest of the economy—real estate was booming; rentals were skyrocketing and
a middle class of continental proportions was taking shape bringing with it
huge disposable income. So while the publishing industry has grown, it is no
match to say, the FMCG or white goods industry with which it has to compete,
not just in per square feet of revenue but now, ticket size per click as well.
It looks
like it’s time to collectively re-examine our diagnosis and treatment. The
system needs a boost of sustainability, even if it has to take a bitter pill,
that is, forego some immediate benefits. For, if we really don’t like where we
are, we know what not to do to get us out of here!
