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Home > News > India News > Article > Wish you were here Bips

Wish you were here, Bips

Updated on: 09 March,2010 11:06 AM IST  | 
Janaki Viswanathan |

It's no longer about finding a publisher. Convincing a star to drop by for the book launch is the new headache authors are grappling with. Bookstores say, what to do? it brings in crowds

Wish you were here, Bips

It's no longer about finding a publisher. Convincing a star to drop by for the book launch is the new headache authors are grappling with. Bookstores say, what to do? It brings in crowds

George Mathen thought himself lucky when he found a publisher real quick for Moonward. The graphic novel was published last year by Blaft and it was smooth sailing at launches held in Chennai and Bengaluru. Mumbai made George feel a little less lucky. Reason: Crossword Bookstore refused to launch Moonward because they weren't planning on getting a star for the event. "I was told that Crossword needs a celebrity, without that it wasn't happening," says the Chennai-based author with a laugh.

Bookstores and authors agree that a star means more publicity, more interest, more sales. What's disconcerting is that the absence of a star could mean no launch. Kaveri Lalchand, co-founder, Blaft Publishing confirms that Crossword had insisted on a celebrity for Moonward, but she chose not to launch it there. "If I wanted to, I could have pushed for it, told them we'd bear all expenses, but I didn't.

If getting mileage the book deserves is dependent on a celebrity, I don't want that," she says over the phone from Blaft headquarters in Chennai. But it's easy for publishers to understand a bookstore's predicament.






A source from the publishing industry says, largely, book events are poorly attended. A celebrity is needed to draw in crowds. Sivaraman Balakrishnan, deputy manager, marketing, Crossword, agrees. "Even if it's a brilliant book, it may not sell well on its own, so we suggest that the author try and get a celebrity.

A star lends credibility to the book." But he denies ever having refused to launch a book due to the absence of a famous guest. "We receive 30 to 40 event requests every month, but manage to do just six or seven. The dates may not work out or the book may not work for us." Having a celebrity present at a launch increases customers by nearly 15 per cent. "These are walk-in customers. They are not interested in the book, they come in to spot a star," he admits.

Biswanath Ghosh, author of Chai, Chai, admits that he found it difficult to find a celebrity to drop by for a book reading held in Mumbai. The Chennai-based author whose books saw good sales last year, wanted an added push for his travelogue. He almost roped in a celebrity but the popular TV actor from the 90s hinted at a payment, at which point Biswanath politely refused.u00a0

From cricket commentators to politicos

SN Mishra, COO, Apeejay Oxford Bookstores explains that when it comes to a first-time author, the publisher and bookstore usually suggest they bring in a third party, though not necessarily a celebrity, to draw out the author.

"A celebrity does not always bring in an audience, but may do so on most occasions." Niyati Dhuldhoya of Landmark claims they've never said no to authors who can't rope in celebrities. "But it's true, some events are less well attended than others, and it could be due to the absence of a star."

Tuhin A Sinha who launched his first novel That Thing Called Love at Crossword in 2006, with television celebs Shekhar Suman and Pooja Bedi for company, asks, tongue-in-cheek, "How many of you would write about me or my book otherwise?" The author claims that no bookstore, except one in another city, laid down any ground rules for having a celebrity at the launch. That said, he prefers star presence.
u00a0
"Celebrity endorsements always work, they make events grander, people don't shy away from them. Those who say they don't believe in celebrity endorsements probably say so because they haven't managed to get any." Tuhin's second book, 22 Yards, was launched by commentator and host Charu Sharma and actor Tom Alter. He hopes to rope in a top politician to launch his third, Of Love And Politics.u00a0u00a0

Sometimes, the celebrities present at a launch seem irrelevant to the book.u00a0But Tuhin claims that he picked Shekhar and Pooja because of their outspoken nature, which echoed the sentiments of his debut novel.
Mohyna Srinivasan, author, The House on Mall Road, had a launch at night club Blue Frog, but with an equally unusual bunch: lyricists Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi and actor Suneil Shetty. All three, she said, were close friends. Her justification: "Javedsaab has written lyrics for armed force movies (the plot of The House on Mall Road is based on the army), Prasoon holds a corporate job like I once did and he loves writing, like I do. Suneil has played an army officer in movies he's most known for."u00a0

Solo launches

Sivaraman says Crossword has launched books minus celebrities too. But a peek into the launch calendar reveals that most of the authors who do solo launches, like Sankar aka Mani Sankar Mukherji (The Middleman) and Omair Ahmad (Storyteller's Tale), are already well established writers while others like Anuja Chauhan (The Zoya Factor), and Ingrid E Newkirk (One Can Make A Difference) are well-known faces too u00e2u0080u0094 Anuja is an advertising bigwig and the other, president of PeTA.u00a0u00a0

The other side

Writer, blogger and novelist Amit Varma doesn't think books need celebrities to make them successes. "I launched my book, My Friend Sancho, in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad. There weren't any celebs at any of my launches.

It depends on the book and the publisher." Amit, who has launched several books himself including Sadanand Dhume's My Friend The Fanatic and more recently Krishan Pratap Singh's Delhi Durbar, adds, "Good books create their own buzz." But Sonia Faleiro, a blogger-writer and Amit's friend was present at the launch in Mumbai and had heartily recommended the book on her blog too. While she may not be a celebrity, her blog gets at least 95 views a day.u00a0u00a0

To end where it all started, George's Moonward did get launched but at Apeejay Oxford Bookstore, minus a celebrity. But as George says dryly, "There wasn't a great turnout."

Kaveri adds that she was later told by the bookstore that a celebrity may have upped the crowd a bit. "But I don't agree. To me, my author is my celebrity."

The publisher says she's still trying to figure a way out for future launches. "Actually, there's no need to launch a book in a bookstore. We'll find different venues!"

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