Ahmed Faiyaz is a
bestselling author with many books to his credit. The book Best seller presents
the hidden complications of the Editor and how a manuscript gets transformed
into a book. The steps or the process, the manuscript needs to undergo before
it reaches the hands of a reader, the post publishing effects & occupying
the best seller list are the major topics of concern in this book. The working
style of the publishing industry, its competitors, influence of media, writer’s
submissions and various barriers in between are finely crafted. Presenting it
in the form of a story is highly laudable. The story moves around Mumbai - a Metropolitan
city in India, the Hindi words in between makes it a Desi read. The struggle to
bring back the lost glory of a publishing firm is the root of this story.
The book also throws light on the subjects
like disappointing reviews and reasons for book failure which leads to more complications.The financial crisis in the publishing firms
gets bigger, if the technique to gauge the market scenario & the sales
promotion goes wrong. I quote from page 116
“”printing excessive copies of Sudhir’s book has also damaged us; we
have printer bills to clear and dead stock piling up.””
Post the publication of a
book comes the serious issues in the form of copy rights and translations. When selecting a book for publication, it
needs to be weighed in every angle because the author says “ Books serve a
higher purpose.” Quality in the
publication & its importance is underlined in the page 70 of the book. I
quote-“She is really unhappy with the Editors. The publisher didn’t market her
book well and the paper quality of the book is cheaper than what it normally
uses,’’
Preparations for a book
launch includes posters & book marks commissioned and events lined up in
the leading book stores, interviews with newspapers and TV channels are dealt
in a precise way in page 66 of the book. The author has painstakingly covered
all the aspects of the publishing industry to present a complete package to the
readers.
I quote from page 125 of
the book, “A week after its release, the book stood at #1 on the nonfiction
national best seller list, with over 100,000 copies sold in book stores and
online. Angus was delighted and managed to sell the rights in the European and
American markets to Falcon books, the world’s largest, for $500,000, most of
which went to Sandeep and Shipra, given the agreement we had struck.” Becoming the Bestsellers are the dream come
true for both the author and the publishing house. The link for best seller
If it is a best seller
the shower of praise is sure for the Editor. At the same time if it is a
failure even the harsh comments are sure to follow. I quote from page 96 ‘’He claimed that
writers and booklovers were disappointed, as Akshay Mathur had great potential
to make a difference. But it appears he is an editor with a price tag and
neither has the power nor the inclination to do so. Akshay remains a puppet in Kalim’s dog and
pony show in the name of publishing.’’
The book BEST SELLER definitely
makes a good read by keeping the readers engaged in a yearlong challenge of an
Editor.
(Received a copy of the book from WRITER’S MELON
in exchange for a honest review) 
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