BOOKS: Outlook magazine on The Big Fat Indian Advance

Sheela Reddy of Outlook India has a rundown of all the hefty advances Indian publishers are doling out to writers like Nandan Nilekani, Dev Anand and Amitav Ghosh these days. From "Words Worth Millions":

Something funny is going on in the famously tight-fisted circle of Indian publishers. For the past few months, they have been punting dizzily on manuscripts by untried Indian authors, coughing up millions of rupees in advance royalties. The buzz about the boom in Indian advances has spread so fast that publishers and literary agents heading West with Indian manuscripts are swerving right back home, demanding five and six-figure dollar advances that rival those in the UK or Europe. <snip>

With six or seven big publishers here all fishing in the one small pond of Indians writing in English, book auctions are now very much a part of the publishing trade here. Till a year ago, publishers in Delhi usually waited for their annual forays to the Frankfurt or London book fairs, hoping to catch the eye of a literary agent or publisher who would be generous—or stupid—enough to part with Indian rights for next to nothing. As beggars, they didn't count for much. "They wouldn't even give us the time of day when we approached them," recalls a publisher in Delhi ruefully. But now, it's their day in the sun. "All of us get at least four or five queries a month from agents and publishers abroad who think a manuscript might be of interest to Indian readers. Of these, at least two turn into full-scale auctions," she says.

This will be big news for journalists with India-specific projects in mind. Here's mine: a motivational book for India's emerging middle class called, get this, "The NRI Guide to Riches, by Sam Patel." Followed in quick succession by "The NRI Guide to Early Retirement, by Sam Patel," and "The NRI Guide to Home Opulence, by Sam and Darshana Patel" (obviously there are no actual Patels, just models for the book cover).

So where were we? Here's a list of authors Sheela Reddy names, and their nice, chunky advances. Now we get everything in India!

• Palash Mehrotra - The Butterfly Generation - $20,000 (Rs 8 lakh)
• Aravind Adiga - The White Tiger - $35,000 (Rs 14 lakh)
• Tarun Tejpal - The Story Of My Assassins - Rs 22 lakh
• Dev Anand - Romancing With Life - Rs 15 lakh
• Nandan Nilekani - Imagining India - $35,000 (Rs 14 lakh)
• Amitav Ghosh - Sea Of Poppies Trilogy - $110,000 (Rs 44 lakh)
• Tony D’Souza - The Konkans - 4000-5000 pounds (Rs 3-4 lakh)
• Shrabani Basu - Victoria & Abdul - $16,000 (Rs 6.3 lakh)

Now, just how significant are these numbers? On one hand they're far from what some of these writers would get in certain Western markets. But not all; Tarun Tejpal's Indian advance was larger than what he reportedly was offered by an Italian publisher. And for literary fiction, $20,000 to $30,000 for a first time author, even in the U.S., is nothing to sneeze at.

More importantly, for hundreds of potential authors in India who may have been reluctant to enter the industry earlier, because they simply couldn't afford to, these figures will be serious motivation. I can think of former colleagues at my ad agency in Bangalore - the classic frustrated copywriter - who could only dream of leaving their jobs behind in the 90s in order to take on a book project. The standard line was that they'd have to move abroad to pursue their true passion. This has led to many of the best-known Indian writers being NRIs, and that will most certainly change.

An advance, by the way, is not necessarily the total amount one makes off a book - it is merely how much one is paid up front in order to take the time to complete a book. At least here in the U.S., in order for the author to make more money, s/he has to sell a certain number of books before beginning to see royalties. Early on, the percentage earned per book will be on the low side, and will inch up as certain sales thresholds are crossed. And often, when one receives a low advance, they're more likely to start receiving royalties earlier on than if they'd gotten a big advance.

As Reddy explains, the increased advances are generating substantial buzz. A bidding war broke out over rights to Aravind Adiga's White Tiger, "a slim fictional tale, in the form of a letter written by a village-born driver to the Chinese premier, giving his version of India's global economic boom." Harper Collins finally won.

But winning The White Tiger is not a decision she [Harper Collins' VK Karthika] regrets, even if it means selling 40,000 copies of it in hardback—not altogether impossible, as recent successes have proved. "The White Tiger has great commercial potential, a novel that can speak to anyone, anywhere. And don't forget, it includes paperback sales as well. We'll recover our money, even if it takes two years."

The competition for rights to Amitav Ghosh's trilogy was more complex.

Ghosh's agent, Barney Karpfinger, asked the six major rival houses here to not only read the manuscript of the first in the trilogy, Sea of Poppies, but demanded a presentation from each of them: on editing, marketing and positioning on their lists. After that, the bids. It was perhaps the most fiercely fought bidding war on Indian soil for an Indian book, soaring to new and unprecedented heights. It closed—or rather, was brought artificially to a close—somewhere in the region of 1,10,000 dollars (Rs 44 lakh). For the first time, the winning bid was slightly lower than the losing one. After a point, as the winning publisher, Ravi Singh of Penguin, puts it, "It's not only about money, but what you bring to the table in terms of editing and marketing."

Reddy also addresses the changing market conditions brought on by a middle class readership of some 300 million people, along with higher prices for some books (like Dev Anand's presumably scintillating autobiography), allowing publishers to recover advances fairly soon.

Read the rest of her article here. Outlook has more on rising advances for homegrown talent in "The Dollar-Rupee Conversion."

And if you're interested in knowing more about book deals and the latest news from the U.S. publishing industry, subscribe to Publishers Lunch. Another useful source of information is Publishers Weekly, which has a daily news update.

Comments

[sandhya]

Related: At Publishers Weekly's blog "NOTES FROM THE BOOKROOM," Michael Scharf has been writing about the literary festivals and editorial scene in India. He's on a visit there "trying to map some of the ways and means of English-language writing and publishing." See http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/860000286.html#340021434.

He also posted a link to this fascinating article about Harper Collins India's demand for more genre writing: http://www.open.edu/Arts/ferguson-centre/indian-lit/documents/pub-doc-kushal-gulab-sept07.htm

[Sree Sreenivasan]

Arun: This is fascinating stuff. Coinicidentally, I just got a copy of the Random House India catalog and it's terrific. The site is http://www.randomhouse.co.in/

[panditjugalkishoreshastri]

a wonderful story arun. finally, writers deservedly get what has been in the pipeline for a long long time, and coming, but never getting to the spigot.

writers don't need a black suit anymore. They can now look like a million without black suits by 'being' millionaires and 'resses.

yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

kreega, bundolo.

exception to the foregoing: Tarun Tejpal. He will still need a black suit to drape coarseness and crudity which haven't come to him accidentally.

[Jaya Kamlani]

Arun,

Thanks for the article. It is wonderful to know that Indian publishers are finally lending their ears to writers. Early this year I finished writing my memoir, which required many years of effort. But rather than look for an agent in the U.S which I had planned to do someday, I shelved my memoir. It has been professionally edited. I had heard the agents look for someone who is already working on their next book. So rather than waste time marketing my memoir, I started to do online research for my next book. Now that I have also traveled through India doing field research as well for my next book, I am going to start working on it in shortly. It is nice to know there is another option out there for writers of Indian origin.

If any of you know of an agent looking for a memoir manuscript, I would appreciate if you could keep me in mind.

Jaya Kamlani

[Indu Jagannathan]

Every dog has its day. Real good news for Indian writers.

[D]

This is typical of the rah rah India Shining crap that has flooded our media. Speak to most Indian writers who are not celebrities and you will find that we have paid more to work on and promote our books than we have actually been paid. And, it's something that you expect and are warned about by other authors from the moment you start thinking about writing a book....Just thought I would give you the reality check.

[Jaya Kamlani]

Dear D,

Thanks for reminding us of the reality check. I believe you are right. This is what I have also heard among many writers. But you know what? Many writers write because they have a passion for writing. They have a passion for sharing their thoughts with others. They have a passion for bringing awareness to social, political and other issues, for recording culture or history, for bringing the world to others. And thank God for their passion. We learn most from reading.

I truly believe that if you are a great author or speaker, you can really change the world. And that in itself is a wonderful accomplishment. Words can make a difference. They can inspire, build bridges, heal wounds, and bring people of the world together. Now if only authors could make as much money as people in other professions do, it sure would be wonderful. But to make that happen, we need more readers, not movie/television viewers.

Keep the hope, and keep on writing.

Jaya Kamlani

[Achamma Chandersekaran]

Dear Jaya:

D's reality check is absolutely necessary. I published a book of short stories translated from Malayalam titled "Daughters of Kerala." It is a Print On Demand (POD) publication. Most of these are short stories by award winning, legendary writers of Kerala. People like Shashi Tharoor who reviewed the book suggested that I get it published in India also, but it has not been easy. I have been trying for two years. One publisher asked me to PAY HIM Rs.75,000 which I was not ready to do. (This was not for printing the book and giving me the copies, but for publishing and marketing the book.)

I decided to translate rather than write because with over 92 percent literacy level in Kerala, what is written in Malayalam is good literature and for people other than the 32 million in Kerala to read it, it has to be translated. Also,as Greg Mortinson wrote, these stories build cultural bridges.

The most unbelievable experience I had with the book was presenting a copy to the Pope when I was in Rome. You can see the pictures of that and read many reviews on my website www.achammachander.com. The book is available on www.amazon.com

[Jaya Kamlani]

Dear Achamma,

I am so glad you mentioned your book on SAJA Forum. I loved reading your book of short stories. The stories, being that they are a translated version of the legendary Malayalam stories, are an easy read, each with a message. Each night I would read one or two stories and think about them at bedtime. I loved the "Wooden Dolls" story. The dialogue is hilarious, but in a subtle way it brings attention to the social problem of alcoholism.

I also liked the story titled "Female Intellect." The message here being that women are victims of society and traditions, while men are not subjected to such pressures. How true! Hopefully that is gradually changing in a new evolving India, and women will find their place in society. I agree with your protagonist that one can be in love with someone's mind. I too love talking to intellectuals and get completely engrossed in the conversation. It does not matter if they are men or women. Since I worked in the corporate world for most of the four decades I have lived in America, I have worked with a lot of men. I rolled up my sleeves and pretended I was one of them. As a result I learned much.

It should not matter what sex you are, so long as you get the job done. And I am sure that has been true with you too, as you worked for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce for a quarter century. I credit you for laying the groundwork for the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Washington D.C. It is a remarkable accomplishment. Love your website too, including your photos with Indian Prime Ministers and U.S Presidents.

Achamma, I have a suggestion for you. During my two-and-half month trip to India, I also visited villages in Rajasthan. When I was done with the visits, I was to take a bus ride back to Delhi. However, before taking the bus, I stopped for a few hours at the Book Festival held at the Diggi Palace, Jaipur. It was the second day of the 5-day festival. I attended two panel sessions on book translations, such as the one you have just completed from Malayalam to English. A few days ago, I tossed the material I had gathered at the festival, but fortunately I had taken a couple of shots of these panels. In the backdrop, behind the panel of speakers in my photograph I see a large banner that reads: “Vatika presents Siyahi’s Translating Bharat language, globalization, and the right to be read.” Perhaps you may want to research this further on the website. The reason I say this is because in the garden, outside the conference hall, there were tables that had books on display by Indian writers, including translated books. Perhaps, you may want to look into how you can get your book on one of those tables next year, or you may want to communicate with someone from that panel who knows how to market translated books.

P.S: Folks, I know Achamma in person. We had taken a one-week trip together touring the villages of Tamilnadu this past December with Ram Narayanan and Ram Krishnan’s group of 28. More about this RILJ (Rural India Learning Journey) trip at a later date.

Jaya Kamlani

[Achamma Chandersekaran]

Dear Jaya:

It must be the hilarious dialogue that made NetSAP theatre group select "Wooden Dolls" for a stage play. It was staged in December of 2005 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland. They did a great job.

"Female Intellect" by Saraswathyamma is very special. It was written 15 years before Betty Friedan's "Feminine Mystique" which is given credit for igniting the Women's Liberation Movement. It came out in 1963. Isn't it almost unbelievable that a woman writer in Kerala questioned the same things as did Ms. Friedan, 15 years earlier? Unfortunately, Saraswathyamma's new ideas were not recognized until the 90's when feminism became a recognized topic--20 years after her death and 40 years after she wrote "Female Intellect."

Every story in "Daughters of Kerala" is unique with its own message. That's why the book is enjoyable reading.