Born and brought up in Delhi, Arup’s association with books and publishing has been since childhood. After working as a Risk Consultant and Mitigation expert for a leading Insurer, he decided to hang up his boots and enter the world of publishing. The shift was but a logical extension of his background of both love for books and familial association with the industry. An MBA by education, he currently looks after the day-to-day operations at Srishti Publishers while driving the growth by diversifying into new genres and entering unexplored markets.
Arup is a prolific speaker and has spoken at various colleges, Lit Fests, and other events. He is a voracious reader and spends his free time reading books, listening to music, and mentoring upcoming entrepreneurs as a Business Development Coach. He has successfully helped many entrepreneurs scale up their small and medium-scale businesses to the next level. He has been invited to many key industry conferences and has been the keynote speaker at many of them.
In an Exclusive Interview with Nitish Raj; Editor-in-Chief, The Literary Mirror the veteran publisher talks about the various aspects of publishing along with the various aspects of literary landscape.
Q.1 How has the transition from being a Risk Consultant and Mitigation Expert to joining the Publishing province been?
AB: My association with books and publishing has been since childhood. Growing up in the 90s, entertainment mostly meant reading books or watching Doordarshan. Added to that, a positive family environment deeply entrenched in publishing and education led to intense respect and preference for books over other media.
Shifting from the corporate profile of a Risk Consultant and Mitigation expert to the world of publishing was but a logical extension of my love for books and association with the publishing industry. Suffice to say that the last dozen years have been most satisfying, both personally and professionally.
Q.2 How important is it for a publishing entity to diversify and explore genres and voices in order to continue its growth?
AB: In today’s fast-paced world, where it is as tough to grab readers’ attention as creating quality content or books, it is imperative that we diversify. We are trying to give the readers the best books – that can entertain them, educate them, charm them… all at once. The key is to experiment, mix and match, and explore uncharted terrains. Fresh voices, unheard narratives, add a slight magic to the reading experience. The diversification is not only in genres and voices, but also formats – we have a diversified presence ranging from paperback to eBooks to audiobooks to other upcoming platforms as well.
Q.3 Beyond the realms of reading and writing, how impactful is it for the authors to develop their speaking acumen?
AB: My dear friend and author Rishabh Shah says, “Your network is your net worth in today’s age!” And networking requires communication, whether it be written, verbal, or any other. Authors, we are aware, weave magic with words. That’s their art. Which is also how they’re able to reach out to and make a place for themselves in the hearts of thousands of readers. Speaking skills are an added benefit in that case.
Having said that, we must also make a conscious effort of not judging people about their accents, dialects and local flavours in their way of talking. We have to be more open to diversity, and inclusive in all possible ways.
Q.4 How far do Literature Festivals and Literary Awards succeed in keeping up the motive of literary excellence?
AB: In my opinion, there are 2 aspects to this. One is to bring the community of writers together, so they can exchange ideas and try new ways of expression. Two – bringing literary activities to the popular domain, to larger masses and audience to help inculcate the habit of reading, and to encourage healthy discussions.
Literary excellence in itself is a two-way road: Knowing what to write and how; and bridging the gap between the writer and the reader. Literary festivals help a great deal with all these aspects.
Q.5 Spearheading a team that loves books at Srishti Publishers, what else motivates you to keep your passion and enthusiasm alive?
AB: I am surrounded by books all the time – published and still in the pipeline. It’s elating to know that my team and I have the responsibility of publishing books that can change the world, one book at a time. Apart from reading to our heart’s content, we also get to dabble in audio-visual media, audiobooks, e-books, new experimental forms of writing and expression, and the best part – interaction with readers. Our huge database of emails and a robust social media following allow us to stay connected with those who write, and all those who they’re writing for! That’s enough to pump in all the adrenaline we want!
Q.6 How do you see digital media impacting and influencing the trends in the publishing industry over the next few years?
AB: We saw the onset of digital books in 2013 in India – e-books, audio, etc. Srishti, as a matter of fact, was one of the first few publishers in India to hop on to the trend and make our books available in electronic versions. Why am I mentioning that? Even though it’s been years, our approach is the same. We are happy to hop on and try out any new trends.
In the recent years we’ve brought great foreign fiction and non-fiction titles to the country’s readers – at a price they can happily afford. And we could identify the trend owing to digital media platforms. Similarly, when dramatized audio books were to be done as episodes, we were quite excited and partnered with Audible, Kuku FM and some select audio platforms to try it out.
The new generation always finds a preferred medium of consuming knowledge and books. Digital media greatly helps us stay connected to them, and stay updated about their requirements and expectations. It’s all about the ease of availability, at an affordable price, in a medium of their preference – and we are always ready to explore!
Q.7 How important is an Author Brand in today’s literary landscape, and what other aspects help improve book sales and visibility?
AB: If you look at the publishing landscape from a decade ago, some names ruled the charts, book after book. Now, on the other hand, that trend has faded. There’s space for everyone, and it will boil down to reaching out to the right audience at the right time. That’s where an author brand comes in handy.
The readers usually attach a set of expectations and markers with each author – on the basis of the genre they write in, their style of writing, etc. That’s what makes an author special in today’s day and age.
We also encourage all our authors to stay active on social media, so that they can directly connect with readers. Book signings and meeting the staff at bookstores is an important strategy for us, as those who are selling the book to the reader need to know all about it. And what better than hearing it from the author themselves!
If authors wish to see their books ruling hearts for days and months, and years, a slow and steady build-up of word-of-mouth publicity is a must! Book talk events, discussions, and readings contribute greatly to that!
Q.8 What genres is Srishti Publishers working on currently?
AB: Everything that our readers want to read! We have a wide array of genres in the pipeline – from mysteries to romance to horror to thrillers to true crimes to autobiographies to biographies; finance, military non-fiction, health and wellness, children’s fiction and activity books – you name it; we have it! Watch out for some amazing, unputdownable books from our banner.
Q.9 How does AI and AI-assisted writing affect the working experience for you?
AB: I will be honest, we are now getting technically better-edited books as submissions, all thanks to these AI editing tools. We are big fans of technology, and appreciate writers using these aids to make their writing better and more enjoyable. On the flip side, as a publishing team, we have to keep an eye out for AI-generated content that is put together as a book for plagiarism of any kind and other such technicalities. Two sides of the same coin, I guess. But if authors use these tools judiciously, it can open new avenues for them and us to explore.
Q. 10 Your words of advice to aspiring writers?
AB: Write from your heart, write what you really, really feel like, and that is all you’ll ever need to do – is the biggest lie anyone ever told you. If you are writing for yourself, please follow your heart and emotions and write to your heart’s content. There’s nothing more healing than putting those thoughts and emotions on paper. But if you aim to write something that is read by thousands of people, then writing is just the first part of it. Be prepared to meet people, talk about the book, invest your time and energy in publicity of the work, be available for readers, and go all out when it comes to making your book a buddy for all your readers. If this sounds too much and too overwhelming, remember – we’re happy to help.
