By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
6
‘Books on Demand. Need a book publisher in a hurry? Publish within 48 hours…’
A random sampling of few self-publishing houses in the U.S.: OutskirtsPress.com, Xlibris.com, iuniverse.com, 48HrBooks.com,
One such publisher has even tries to attract new writer with an enticing offer - Keep 100% Royalties and 100% Rights to Your Book…
This makes everything easy, you don’t need to worry about any thing, not even money, use your credit card and go broke in the process but get published… Now you are a writer… Most importantly there are NO Natwar Gandhis who would criticize these publishers or the writers who get published through such outfits. Not any different then legalized brothels. And like brothels, such publishing has become a necessary evil. We know we have such literary pimps or dalals- brokers. For the right price, they would take good care of you. Then you can call yourself a WRITER.
In Gujarat, while computers and word processors are used to typeset and printing of the books. And there are failed novelists and journalists in Gujarat who have made a business of ‘guiding’ an NRI through the self-publishing process, even a gullible editor of a respectable magazine is conned in to writing a glowing preface. So call this what you want – legalized book publishing brothel or a back-room delivery, err printing of a questionable book and if needed even a back-room abortion – when printing is aborted because the Gujarati NRI developed cold feet and did not want to go through the process…and I have learned that in one recent incident the writer refused to pay mega bucks that the vanity publisher had demanded.
Book on demand phenomena has yet to emerge in Gujarat. But that is only a matter of time. May be there already is one in service as I write this, who knows?
So if a publisher in India or for that matter in any country, chooses to print some thing written by a Gujarati NRI writer, whose fault it is, the writer's or the publisher’s? No ones, regardless of screams and moans of wise man in the U.S. The law of supply and demand always plays an important role in such ventures and the Gujarati publishing is not immune from it.
‘Gujarati NRI writers look homeward for approval particularly for what they write. They strive to get good reviews and they get them easily in India. A North American return address on the envelope or a call from North America works wonders in India. As long as you are willing to pay, Indian publishers are willing to print and publish any rubbish any one pretending to be a writer comes up with.’ See above.
‘What is worse now is that with the advent of World Wide Web and blogosphere, who needs even a publisher? Any idiot can start a blog and put whatever he writes on his log and reach thousands of people who surf web daily. Many do. There are hundreds of Gujarati blogs originating from far and near. They are filled with a vast variety of poetry, essays, short stories and all sort of personal ruminations that the blogger feels appropriate. It is a sort of euphoria of abundance. (This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language. Hundreds of people are writing it regularly and tens of thousands are reading it regularly around the globe.)’
On the one hand Natwarbhai complains about NRIs who write 'rubbish' on the World Wide Web but then he condones it by stating, ‘This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language.’ Does this mean that even if one writes 'rubbish' he/she saves Gujarati language by such an effort? I do not believe that this is what Natwarbhai wanted to convey…
Let’s just wait till Gujarati books on line flood the web. I am sure we won’t have to wait for that very long. Even now one can download from the web a very popular novel by one of our leading novelist (available only in English language version) for a price.
Suffice it to say that the subject of the volatile mix of literature and commerce is not worth wasting time about.
‘If the critics in India really cared for the NRI writer, they should be advising him to study the masters of Gujarati literature as well as other literary masters.’(Page 3) Obviously, Natwarbhai is assuming that the critics in India really pay any attention to Gujarati NRI writers and their writings or vice a versa. Or for that matter he assumes that the Gujarati NRI writers in this country want or need any guidance from critics in India. May be Natwarbhai knows something that I do not, just like his informing us all that there were hundreds of thousands of people in District of Columbia who not only read Gujarati but specifically read Divya Bhaskar and Madhu Rye's columns. Oh, well!
‘Question is does it make literature?’ Well, that depends upon what one calls 'Literature'. Natwarbhai has avoided giving us his definition of literature. And in the next sentence (see below) he forgets the question he had just raised and asks ‘What is the literary value of blogs as well as international Gujarati literary exchanges?’ Natwarbhai may venture to suggest anything he pleases and write anything he pleases... But he should at least give us some examples or proof to validate his assertion when he writes, ‘I venture to suggest that visits of Indian writers here as well as NRI writers back home are not only not useful, but actually harmful to Gujarati Diaspora literature…’
Earlier Natwarbhai wrote, ‘Indeed, Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, the preeminent literary association among Gujarati NRIs, has a long established practice of inviting writers and poets from India. It also arranges their coast-to-coast North American tours so that Gujarati community settled across the U.S. and Canada can benefit from their visits.’
So what is it? Are such visits good or are they harmful? And who cares?
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