According to the official Penguin press release,
Through this imprint, Indian authors now have access to the widest range of professional publishing and marketing services that meet the best publishing industry standards, but are appropriately priced for the Indian market.The press release emphasizes--not once, but twice--that "Penguin Books India will be watching key Partridge titles with hopes of picking up authors for the Penguin list." This claim is prominent also on the Partridge website:
Penguin is watching Partridge IndiaWho could resist such a juicy carrot? Whether it is a real or phantom carrot remains to be seen.
Penguin Books India has established itself as the country's largest English language book publisher over the past twenty-five years. Its authors are regarded as India's literary royalty, having won Nobel Prizes, Magsaysay Awards, Jnanpith Awards, Sahitya Akademi Awards, and Commonwealth Writers Prizes, to name a few. Now Penguin will also be watching Partridge India titles that have sales velocity and authors who have a platform for possible acquisition.
Partridge offers a familiar ASI-style range of fetchingly-named publishing packages, starting with the "Coral" (Rs 12,450, around $240) and running all the way up to the "Diamond" (Rs 149,950, around $2,775). Prices are in the low range for ASI services (compare with AuthorHouse, which runs from $749 to $4,249, or Trafford, which runs from $599 to $10,999).
There's also a small (by the standards of the American ASI brands) suite of "marketing" services, some of which are cheaper than the same services offered elsewhere in the ASI universe. Compare Partridge's standard book video, at Rs 86,500 ($1,600) to the $2,699 charged by for this service by ASI's American brands. (Perhaps production costs in India are lower?) A press release blast is also cheaper--Rs 16,200 ($299) for Partridge's Essential Press Release, compared with $429 for the American version.
Other marketing services, however, will cost Indian authors more. For example, Partridge's website creation service will set an Indian author back Rs 25,400 ($470), whereas American ASI brands charge $379. A DIY audiobook from Partridge costs Rs 37,800 ($699), not so very much more than the American version of this service at $649--but that's only if the book is 300 pages or less. For 300-600 pages, an Indian author must hand over Rs 48,600, or $899.
And check out the markup on the Kirkus Indie Review. You can buy one of these yourself, directly from Kirkus, for $425 (or $575, if you want it faster). But if Partridge facilitates your Kirkus Indie Review, prepare to surrender Rs 86,500 ($1,600).
Indian authors should also be aware that unless they obtain a foreign tax number, Partridge must withhold 30% of their royalty earnings. Partridge's FAQ also provides US copyright information only, possibly encouraging Indian authors to incorrectly believe they must register copyright in the US in order to have legal standing to sue for infringement elsewhere.
8 comments:
Last week, agent Rachelle Gardner asked, "Are Self-Pub Books the New Slush Pile?" (http://www.rachellegardner.com/2013/02/are-self-pub-books-the-new-slush-pile/) She listed a number of reasons why this was not likely to be the case, but it certainly looks like Penguin is promoting that idea, doesn't it? As a person who currently has no desire to self-publish, this disturbs me.
I just got back from India. I took a good hard look at the publishing scene there. There is a HUGE market for books. Indians are voracious readers but there is a glut of authors, both good and bad. Most of them are traditionally published, with beautiful looking books but they are all lost in the slush pile of book stores because marketing is zilch. Editing is zilch as well. So there are tons and tons of mediocre books and it is hard to tell the wheat from the chaff. One of my friends, a published author got an advance of $1,000 most of which she had to spend on her own PR and marketing and she hardly has any traction in the book market. If you think selling books is tough in the US, go take a look at India. I think self publishing is just going to add to a bigger landfill. In most cases books do well first in the US before they find a market in India. It rarely works the other way around. I am glad my agent convinced me to find a publisher here first. My novel "Teatime for the Firefly" is being published by Mira Books (October 2013) We are now in the market for foreign rights.
Shona, that's really interesting--thanks for your comment. It sounds as if the pipe dream aspect of a service like Partridge will find an especially receptive audience in India.
JeffO--Talk about a pipe dream. For all the services ASI has set up for publishers (such as West Bow Press for Thomas Nelson), the idea that the pay-to-play division is a sort of proving ground for the big leagues is at least implicit. Partridge's "promise" is the most direct I've seen--but it's a marketing tool designed to draw in customers, nothing more. I believe Nelson has picked up a couple of books from West Bow, but I haven't heard about that happening with any of the other ASI-run pay-to-play divisions.
Shame on Penguin for publishing some of the cyberbullies who frequent this blog!!! For shame!!!
..i have been writing for a while now..and i m still unpublished..why..well..i can write,maybe but absolutely cannot get my head around how to go about approaching a publisher..the myriad of websites..one link leading to another..i write because i love writing but publishing has become so complicated a business i feel like a caveman..Dickens and Twain would have probably been stuck in an office job had they known that witing is just not about finding the right words anymore..:-)..agree with Shona Patel..all of it..
I do not understand why anyone would think it's a good idea to pay for press releases or anything else related to publicity. If someone is self-publishing and not planning to do any of the marketing themselves, it just makes no sense at all-- unless it's strictly a book for family and friends. It certainly isn't a better idea in India than it is anywhere else.
This is all so confusing. To self publish or not...The contracts that traditional publishing houses have nowadays seems enslaving and completely binding for the rest of your literary life...On the other hand, self publishing may make one's book an 'illegitimate child' in a world of 'blue-bloods'...
So which one is better? To wait in queue forever to get your book published and read by the world or just ditch the queue outright and self-publish? Please advice as I am confused myself....
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