Publishers cast a wary eye on the Internet

What makes a good reading experience — the book itself or the words of the author printed on some inexpensive paper or read on a computer screen?

The answer will vary from person to person. Both Arvind Mehra and Nitya Jain are familiar with the works of Oscar Wilde. Mehra takes pride in his leather-bound tome that comprises all of Wilde’s work, while Nitya went to Project Gutenberg on the Internet and downloaded the eBooks.

She’s not the only one doing that. More and more readers are now finding it easier on the pocket to simply download eBooks from online libraries. And though they are limited to works whose copyrights have expired, they are not spoilt for choice. For instance, the Internet’s oldest and most comprehensive library — Project Gutenberg — has over 25,000 free books in its online catalogue.

When Michael Hart launched Gutenberg in 1971, the initial response he says was about “six per cent of all the people I knew on the Net, which was larger than I expected.” Thirty years later, the first file has been downloaded, copied, re-edited, etc by millions, if not a billion readers, he says.

There’s a new generation of people who are comfortable downloading eBooks, and they’re clamouring for newer books to be made available on the Internet. This explains why Google — which has a history of spotting the golden goose and cashing in on it — has launched Google Books in an attempt to become the world’s biggest source for free books and previews. And publishers are wary, if not cautious.

“When I was in Hamburg, I attended a seminar hosted by Google on this, but I wasn’t too impressed,” says Saugata Mukherjee, senior commissioning editor at Harper Collins India. “For one, they cannot infringe on copyright, which means that they will have to buy it out from publishing houses or those who hold the copyright.”

In the publishing world, the digital revolution that took the music industry by storm is still in its early stages, the effects of which have not been felt in the Indian market. Kapish Mehra of Rupa and Company concurs with Mukherjee. “Even if there are thousand new books published online, it wouldn’t make a difference,” he says.

They are banking on the fact that the experience of reading a book is different from listening to music. “What happened in the music industry will not be felt here,” says Mehra. “The joy of holding a book, and reading it in the comfort of your bedroom, is different from downloading an mp3 song and listening to it while you’re on the move.”
But then, how does one write-off three million ebooks downloaded online from just one library in California. According to Mukherjee, it’s academic publishing houses that have had to adapt.

“It’s easier for them to shift online, where students can buy only those chapters of the text book they need,” he explains. But the industry —  smaller publishing houses — relies on the likes of Gutenberg to source eBooks and reprint them at minimum cost. Technically, they’re not doing anything illegal, not if the copyright has expired.

Writers and authors are yet to submit works directly online. Gutenberg receives just two per cent of their books from copyrighted sources. Says author Rupa Gulab: “We need a system that will be mutually beneficial. I wouldn’t mind putting up a few chapters of a book to give readers an idea, and it will help me in terms of publicity and response. Then I wouldn’t charge a copyright fee.”

It appears that Stephen King’s eBook Riding The Bullet, is the exception rather than the rule.
t_anjali@dnaindia.net