With a boom in self-publishing, e-books and online sale, Indian writers are finding readers from unexpected places, breaking the traditional barriers of physical sale of their works through book stores.
"Social media has opened up immense opportunities to extend the life and soul of a work and I am very happy that social media is there because it is like other forms of communication," Sudeep Chakravarti, the author of best-selling novel 'Tin Fish' (2005), said on the sidelines of Writers and Readers Festival 2014 which began here yesterday.
"Sometimes in print (newspapers or magazines) due to matter of ownership or ideology the opinion gets suppressed.
Social media is far more democratic space," he said.
"Social media is very good for amplification and to overcome traditional blocks. I can, even on my own, reach out to community," said the journalist-turned-author who relocated to Goa from Delhi in 2004.
The online sale of books is increasing, he said.
"The contracts signed with publishers now have separate clause for internet and digital sale of books – both as e-book and online sale of your work. Sometimes book is out of stock in the book store, that time it is unlikely that you will come back, but with the online ordering being an option that is now available," he said.
The author of books like 'Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country' and 'Highway 39 – Journey through a fractured land', claimed that his online and offline sales are pegged at 50-50 %.
'India Psychedellic' writer Siddharth Bhatia says that online sale is now a fact of life.
"I find more and more people who buy my book online. The moment you order book online, you will be able to get it next day," he said.
Bhatia, however, feels that the concept of e-book fits in only for certain kind of works and not all.
"I have mixed feelings when it comes to e-book. My book 'Amar Akbar Anthony' basically comprises of text. I also have another coffee table book with photographs. The coffee table book will not work as e-book. Only problem with online (e-book) is that touch and feel of the book, where you open the book, pick it up smell the paper, is not there," he said.
Moreover, when you go to book store, you go with an intention of buying one book, but you end up buying five to ten books. That will never happen online, Bhatia said.
The writer stated that the social media has helped the penetration of sale to unexpected places.
"My book is sold everywhere. The problem with online is how do you increase its visibility. If you have million books online on a website, how do I make sure that my book is visible, that means only the best sellers will do well.
Already if you are well known you will get better known," he said.
The social media has created a new genre of self publishers, he said.
"A new writer can publish his novel on his own. Self publishing has got a great feature. You can put your book out and if someone downloads then you get money. Even established writers are going to do it. One day, not so far, even a big writer is going to say that I don't want to go the traditional paper route first I will go e-route," Bhatia said.
New-age writers like Yashodhara Lal admit that having e-book out today means you are not restricted by geographical boundaries, which means audience can even be found abroad.
"In fact I have spoken to some people who are getting into self-publishing in a big way. In fact they are selling in decent numbers to American audience which would not have been possible were it not for the explosion of digital reading," said Yashodhara, the author of 'Just Married, Please Excuse' and 'Sorting out Sid'.
The writer vouched for e-reading, claiming that it is catching up in a big way as a habit.
"E-reading is also a habit. When you realise how convenient it is to carry all your books together in a laptop or tab, it becomes a different ballgame. That habit will catch on," she said.
"E-book sales is today only five per cent," she said adding that "India is still a traditional paper book market."
"Ordering online is catching on in a big way. Currently, it is 25 per cent of the total sales," she said.
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