By IANS,
New Delhi : Author Ramchandra Guha, has who clinched a Rs.97 lakh deal with Penguin India for seven books, feels that the “amount paid by the publisher is an acknowledgement of the imbalance that exists between fiction and non-fiction”.
“It is a welcome acknowledgement of the imbalance between fiction and non-fiction. Fictional genres like poetry, prose and novels always had a great place in literature, but non-fiction is also important. This would encourage young authors to write non-fiction,” Guha told IANS from Bangalore.
The author, who is working on the “Makers of Modern India” and “The Past and Future of Indian Democracy” described the deal as a part of his writing process.
“It is a part of my writing process. Like any other professional, my job is to write. It is a part of the mechanics of life – of making a living and ensuring my own safety and security,” the commentator-author said.
“For instance, at this moment I am sitting in front of my computer writing a column for a leading national daily. So, I may sound a little brusque,” he laughed.
Guha has settled for a Rs.97 lakh deal with Penguin India for seven books, including a two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi, spread over 2010-2015.
Publisher of Penguin Books, Ravi Singh said the books were about most significant and fascinating aspects of national life. “It doesn’t get any bigger and more important than this in contemporary non-fiction,” Singh said.
The book publishing and the market in India, according to industry surveys, is pegged at approximately Rs.10,000 crore and is growing at a rate of nearly 10 percent.
And, despite a marginal slowdown because of the economic crisis, advances to authors for books are becoming heftier, thanks to competitive bidding by the surfeit of publishers in the Indian market.
Guha’s book deal is an example. Three high-profile bidders were in the fray for the deal and Random House reportedly offered him Rs.1 crore.
Harper Collins India had also bid, with an offer matching the Penguin bid, chief executive officer of Harper Collins, P.N. Sukumar, told IANS.
But Guha and his agent Gill Coleridge opted for Penguin.
Penguin had paid Rs.55 lakh for Amitav Ghosh’s “Ibis” trilogy – of which “Sea of Poppies” was the first book. Nandan Nilekani fetched Rs.25 lakh for “Imagining India” and Arvind Adiga raked in Rs.13 lakh for “White Tiger”, reports said.
“Hefty advances, especially for fiction, has been a trend for the last two years. It can be attributed to the growing number of publishers in India that is making for cut-throat competition and pushing up advances,” Sukumar said.
“Publishing houses are eying long-term markets. The trend is here to stay because the publishing houses will stay. Advances will continue to be hefty for bigger books,” he added.
Author Advaita Kala, whose debut novel “Almost Single” has sold 40,000 copies in India since its release in 2007, says book auctions involving multiple bidders help novelists get the right price and publisher for their works.
“I have gone through the process myself. Random House won the bid for my book in New York in June 2008. Between the first and the last bid, the price of my book went up four-fold,” Kala told IANS.
The young novelist felt this was a great time for popular commercial fiction writers, “though non-fictions in India was picking up like in the West”.
Literary agents say the average advance for first-time authors and relatively new novelists in India was in the region of Rs.25,000-50,000, though it could sometimes be as low as Rs.10,000-Rs.20,000 depending upon the writers and publishers.
Sukumar said the quality of writing has improved over the years, along with the market, because of the high literacy level and higher incomes paving the way for bigger advances.
“And the difference between advances paid to established authors in India and abroad is not much any longer,” he said.
Author Omair Ahmad, whose book “The Storyteller’s Tale”, was published by Penguin India this month, said the trend could see more stories about India being told.
However, a publishing industry veteran Yogesh Sharma (formerly with Harper Collins) sounded a note of caution. “The hype could result in an highly inflated market,” Sharma told IANS.
New authors do not get high advances till some high-profile agent builds up the hype, he said.