Why You will Choose to Publish Your Book from India
India, being a land of art and culture, has a rich past in knowledge creation and preservation. India gave the world its first university – Takshashila, the numeral – Zero; the game of chess, Ayurveda– an alternative system of medicine, the trigonometric functions, Martial arts, the procedures for cataract surgery and many more. In the field of performing arts, sculptures and architecture too India reached the peak of excellence. Ajanta & Ellora caves of Maharashtra, Taj Mahal of Agra, Konark Sun Temple of Odisha, Khajuraho of Madhya Pradesh, The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, The Pink City of Jaipur still continue to baffle the minds of the historians and architects. Indian music, film and literature with their mind-boggling variety and soul-stirring quality have earned the world’s highest honours. From indigenous art forms like Warli, Madhubani, Kalamkari, meenakari, Tanjore and Pat-painting to fine arts flowing on the canvases of M. F. Husain, Raja Ravi Varma, Ramkinkar Baij, Jamini Roy, Amria Sher-Gil etc. are rich with symbols and motifs from Indian life and culture. The 5000 year-old Indian civilization boasts of multiple cultural and religious origins, hundreds of languages, lifestyles, cuisines and traditions; and through all of these reaches an exemplary cultural osmosis- a cosmopolitan identity which the world today is struggling to achieve.
All these are a reflection of a very expressive and self-aware nation of people. This perpetual desire to express oneself has got an impetus through the recent wave of self-publication: the act of documenting one’s thoughts, emotions and experience as an individual or society. This universal longing to publish one’s ideas finds itself in a utopia of literary democracy with the advent of the modern digital communication system: this is evident in the soaring popularity of self-publishing in India and aboard. Additionally, India’s cultural ideology not only appreciates but also supports new attempts at the creation and preservation of art and literature. It welcomes artistic expressions from all over the world.
The Culture of Self-publishing in India
Self-publishing has revolutionized the publishing world. Without this, many books could not have seen the daylight. Many first-timers self-published their books and enjoyed mainstream success.
When Ashwin Sanghi wanted to publish his first book ‘The Rozabal Line’, a mythological thriller, he was told, mythology would not find acceptance with this generation of Indian readers. He went on to self-publish books only to become a best-selling author in India.
Amish Tripathi has had a record of 20 rejections before he decided to self-publish his first book, a mythological fiction, ‘The Immortals of Meluha’. Amish’s Shiva trilogy is considered to be one of India’s most successful series.
Savi Sharma self-published her first book ‘Everyone Has a Story’ to become India’s first self-published female author. Her vigorous marketing strategies made this motivational book a best-seller.
Their combined efforts and success reformed the publishing industry conventions, making self-publishing a wise choice in India, to an extent where dozens of bestsellers are reeling out of various self-publishers in India, every year.
Why Self-publishing is for You
In recent times, self-publishing has spread rapidly in the world and India is not an exception to that. Many young Indian authors are opting to go for self publishing. Initially, the authors had fewer choices with publishing and they would have to wait very long or go through repeated rejection to publish under the banner of some traditional publishing house. The authors usually got impatient and they were in complete darkness when their manuscript would get the form of the book and reach the readers. There was also doubt and discomfort about the royalty sharing.
Nowadays, more authors choose to self-publish because self-publishers in India, and pretty much everywhere else, are working closely with the author to make their book successful. The authors are on the winning side in terms of earning royalty and building author brand.
If you are a newcomer in the field of writing get recognition as a published author by choosing to self-publish. Self-publishing in India has opened up a lot of avenues for new writers who do not get any opportunity to publish traditionally. If you are an experienced author, choose to self-publish as it gives you complete control over their content. Neither the editor nor the proof-reader will ever try to twist the work to suit the publisher’s brand or philosophy. You will have the liberty to decide the price of the book. Most self-publishers in India give you almost 100% royalty on profit and the sales figures are transparent. Moreover, the process is quick and customizable according to your need.
At this moment, self-publishing is the fastest growing segment of the publishing industry, the reasons being complete ownership, comparatively less handling time and full freedom over content. This combination is encouraging more authors to give self-publishing a try and unbuckle their ideas in front of the world.