How to book a star…

Who doesn’t know Mary Kom? The neglected Indian boxer finally got her due after winning a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. Not much later came her book, simply titled Unbreakable: An Autobiography , published by Harpersport. Given the sudden surge of interest in the diminutive sportswoman from Manipur, the choice of subject was apt.

Publishing, like any industry, survives on profit. It relies on a judicious selection of ideas that can be turned into full-fledged books. Countless titles crowd the market, among which are confirmed bestsellers such as J.K. Rowling and Stephen King novels. Other fiction titles which get catapulted into limelight — such as Booker winners — have guaranteed readership. But, while selecting a new work of fiction requires the editors to go by instinct alone, non-fiction selections targeting the ordinary reader need to have an X factor that is attractive enough. One obvious category that publishers are increasingly opting for is biographies and autobiographies of celebrities in the news.

That explains why Milkha Singh: The Race of My Life hit the market after the legendary Olympian, who had been forgotten for years, was the subject of the Farhan Akhtar-starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Co-authored by Singh’s daughter Sonia Sanwalka, the book brought out by Rupa Publications was a runaway success. Also from Rupa was a biography titled The Fallen Angel: The Making and Unmaking of Rajat Gupta . Gupta, an orphaned immigrant from India who rose phenomenally to become the head of McKinsey and commanded enormous respect, was found guilty of securities fraud and insider trading. Eventually, he was sent behind bars for two years by a New York court. The stories of Singh and Gupta had an irresistible appeal, prompting the publication of these two titles soon after their protagonists had turned into media headlines.

Inspiration between the lines

What matters is which person is popular and exciting enough to work as an idea. An Ebury Press/ Random House India publication, The Test of My Life from Cricket to Cancer and Back written by cricketer Yuvraj Singh along with Sharda Ugra and Nishant Jeet Arora is a pertinent example. After all, every Indian who loves cricket — and even those who don’t — is familiar with the traumatic experience of Singh after his cancer diagnosis. His story, therefore, is an inspirational one.

Saina Nehwal: An Inspirational Biography , written by T.S. Sudhir and published by Nimby/ Westland, had to work as a book. The reasons are obvious. Before the prodigy P.V. Sindhu came along, Saina was the only badminton player who had penetrated the Chinese bastion in the entire world. She also won a bronze at the London Olympics and continues to be a player all the juniors in India look up to. Playing to Win , Saina’s autobiography, was interestingly positioned as a Penguin Young Adult publication. An exciting book in the non-fiction market published by Simon & Schuster was Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong , authored by award-winning sports writer David Walsh. Always sceptical about the American cyclist’s superhuman achievements, Walsh’s book on his pursuit of the truth about the use of performance-enhancing drugs found readers in India, where cycling as a professional sport is virtually unheard of.

Sales and media focus

Publishing books on newsmakers is not a new concept, although India has been witnessing an increase in the number of such titles in recent times. Does the focus on these individuals in the media impact sales? Says Dibakar Ghosh, Executive Editor, Rupa Publications, “Our experience is that a good book will sell. It is as simple as that. Gupta and Singh were talked and written about extensively in the media, but that does not affect the market for such books negatively because not everything related to them is in the public domain. Both of them did quite well.”

Madhulita Mohanty, National Editor, Times Group Books, speaks along similar lines: “Since I am a keen follower of such titles in my personal life, my conclusion is these books answer several questions and doubts in the reader’s mind. Readers of such books are of the naturally curious variety, and accessing complete information about a person from the media is impossible. That is where these books come in. They take the readers through a journey that furnishes great insight on the person whose story excites them. Hardly surprising, therefore, why such titles do well.”

First-mover advantage

Writing such a book is a demanding experience. The author must do extensive research and meet stiff deadlines to ensure s/he goes past the others who might be working on the same idea. For Sonia, who not only co-authored Milkha Singh’s book but also happens to be the Flying Sikh’s daughter, the motivation was different. “When the book was discussed, my father liked the concept. Co-authoring the book was an eye-opener because I became fully aware of the sort of struggles my father went through. Not only did he conquer them, he also went on to achieve an iconic status as a sportsperson. I have always held him very highly as a human being. After hearing him talk about his life, I began respecting him even more.”

One title with obvious potential that Aleph Book Company will release very soon is ‘Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography’ authored by former Army Chief V.K. Singh with Kunal Verma. The controversies surrounding him promise to make it an exciting read. Whether or not it will work cannot be answered with certainty. However, as one waits for the reader’s verdict on this book after it is out in the market, all one can say for sure is that it won’t be the last of its kind.

COMMENT NOW