Reader, you're 'in'

At 75, when people usually bask in their past achievements, one of the oldest book publishers in India is adapting to the fast changing market trends, entering new genres and firming up expansion plans overseas, always keeping the reader in mind.

"For us the reader is the new 'in' thing," says Kapish Mehra, Managing Director of Rupa & Co, the publishing firm which introduced into the Indian market aggressive marketing and pricing trends along with genres such as campus and corporate fiction, chic-lit, and even experimented with pre-teen authors.

Graduating from a bookseller's representative in 1936, to an independent publisher, Rupa & Co set up by D Mehra had played a role in the freedom struggle supplying books to Allahabad's Naini Jail where the frontline soldiers of the movement were lodged.

"I would say the reader is coming back to the books. I probably would not have said that earlier but look at what the success of Chetan Bhagat's 2 States which has sold two million copies already and is still clocking sales," Mehra said in an interview.

Since its inception, India's only publisher-cum-distributor, says Mehra, has been constantly ahead of the curve by anticipating the reader's needs.

In its platinum year the firm which prides itself as a mass market publisher with a wide variety of books ranging from anthology, non fiction, self-help and management books, among others, is now looking to expand operations.

"We are already very strong in the Middle East and some East Asian countries. We want to deepen our presence in smaller B towns in India and are looking to grow our networks in East Asian markets in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines, among others," says Mehra.

The 27-year-old director who helms the firm points out that to maintain a market position they strive to bring out books that mass readers would like to pick up.

"A book is a noble product. We believe it should be affordable to the reader rather than pricing it so the reader can't afford to buy it," he says.

The publisher has brought out bestsellers such as Sunil Gavaskar's autobiography, Sunny Days that was priced at Rs 20, Chetan Bhagat's debut novel Five Point Someone and his subsequent books, have all been priced at Rs 99.

With around 95 per cent of books in English with a smattering of Hindi, Bengali and Urdu, the firm is particular to keep tabs on the pulse of the market to identify the next big thing.

"The possibility of success of books is determined by acceptance of our readers. We get 10 to 15 manuscripts per day and we are on the look out for fresh writing," says Mehra who has an Economics degree as well as a Management one.

Meanwhile the process of encouraging first time authors like Anurag Mathur, Chetan Bhagat, Sunil Gavaskar, and Ravi Subramanium continues for the company, which prides itself on being able to respond to manuscript offers within 15 days as opposed to four to six months by other publishers.

"Our team usually is out with a title in that much time," says Mehra.

The ultimate determining factor to strike success in the growing publishing industry in India is not to imitate, says the young director.

"The springboard for growth is not to copy a single but to be able to identify new styles of writing. You need to be original in content because the reader is very intelligent and you should always cater to his taste," says Mehra who believes the positioning of a book should be in concurrence with readers' wants.

"Ruskin Bond is still extremely popular amongst our readers. Just recently we published his new titles School Days and School Stories, whose first print were sold out in two weeks," says Mehra.

The firm, which began its operations in Kolkata, moving on to Allahabad and Mumbai before setting up base in Delhi, counts 2009 as a benchmark with 18 bestsellers.


(PTI)