Prospects and perils of textbook publishing

TEXTBOOKS WITH quality on par with those published in western countries are not published in India. The lack of course rigour in our educational institutions, the faulty examination pattern and the poor financial status of the parents do not promote large-scale sale of science books.

Syllabus-centred education: Our hollow educational system in schools and colleges does not promote reading habits among students. They are forced to read the matter, which is just sufficient for writing examinations. Both the teachers and the students are syllabus-centred in their approach. It is regrettable that this is the approach even in professional colleges, where the accent should be on understanding, appreciating and applying the subject of specialisation, such as electronics or surgery. Even a medical student studies the subject with an eye on examination but not with eagerness to understand the subject!

Selection of authors: The selection of talented authors for writing books is a crucial aspect of book publication. The acceptability of a book is largely dependent on the author's ability to write accurate, need-based and contemporaneous matter. The preparation of book manuscript is an art and excellence in this art is not easily achieved; therefore, only a few persons among the thousands of teachers can be successful authors. Identifying them is a difficult process for the publishers.

Manuscript review: The review of a manuscript received from an author is an important process adopted by every publisher. The purpose of this process is to

(a) assess the quality and quantity of the manuscript in relation to the readers to whom it is intended for,

(b) ascertain that it is free from major mistakes,

(c) obtain suggestions for improving the manuscript.

Unfortunately, nine out of ten manuscript reviewers read them cursorily and offer only superficial comments. The reviewers are generally busy professionals who have no patience for incisive reading and understanding of the manuscript. When the reviewer is not paid adequately, his review is likely to be hollow. Substantial payment, say Rs. 3,000 for a 100-page manuscript is likely to elicit a proper review from the reviewer. The reviewers, who themselves have not published books are unlikely to review manuscripts properly. Therefore, choosing an appropriate reviewer is important for proper assessment of each manuscript. His review should be objective, unbiased and speedy.

Pricing textbooks: Science college students are not required by their colleges to buy books. A few of them buy on their own volition. Some of the science students normally buy only when the prices are low. They are hesitant to buy a book even when it is priced at Rs. 50. Understanding this fact, some of the Indian publishers produce inexpensive college books priced in the Rs. 50-100 range. Substandard figures, poor quality paper and jacket, bad binding and inferior printing are adopted by such publishers to keep the book prices as low as possible. Such textbooks last just for a year or two and are then discarded by the user. This appears to be a successful strategy, as old books in tatters cannot be recirculated.

Many of the books published by medium level and low-level publishers lack any good aspects expected of standard books. These books contain innumerable factual mistakes and printing errors, which go unnoticed at the hands of students and even teachers. These publishers do not give sufficient time to the authors for proof-reading; their editorial staff lack expertise to monitor the production of quality books.

Contrary to science students, engineering and medical students are forced to buy books by the college authorities and as such, these books have captive clientele. Even when no compulsion is involved, these students, because of the more rigour of their courses compared to the science courses, are inclined to buy books. This situation has prompted the publishers to be competitive in maintaining quality of engineering and medical books with corresponding higher price tags.

Photocopying menace: The ubiquitous photocopying bunks in cities and towns have wrought havoc to book sales. Whole textbooks or portions pertaining to syllabi, are photocopied by the students for a fraction of the cost of the book, eliminating the need for buying books. In some colleges, the teachers themselves supply such photocopies to the students, which discourages the students from buying books. This menace, which is unlikely to be curbed, would continue to hamper the business of textbook publication in our country.

Textbook market: Publishers who mainly publish syllabus-based textbooks for target student readers have been fairly successful in their business in our country. Their success stems from publishing books which satisfy the following four criteria:

(1) Each book should be strictly based on a prescribed syllabus, with no additional matter.

(2) It should contain easily identifiable answers for the questions usually included in examinations.

(3) Its language should be simple.

(4) Its price should be low.

The following are the important subjects in which both syllabus- oriented and reference books are not available in our country: microbiology, biotechnology, genetics, applied chemistry, cosmetics, material sciences, fibre optics, pharmaceutical chemistry, robotics and computer science. Therefore, the production of quality books on these subjects is likely to be a successful business venture.

R. GOPALAN

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