In what is being touted as the biggest advance paid to an Indian author by a home-grown publishing house, Westland has given Amish Tripathi, author of the Shiva trilogy, Rs 5 crore — close to $1 million — as an advance for his next series.
With five lakh copies of his mythological fantasy 'The Oath of the Vayuputras' sold within a day of its release earlier this week, Amish has become the new "literary popstar" as Shekhar Kapurdescribed him. Westland, which published the trilogy, is paying up the big fat advance even though the writer hasn't decided what his next book will be about.
"We made the deal based on Amish's sales record," says Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO of Westland. "It's a pre-emptive bid of Rs 5 crore for the book, audio and e-publishing rights to his next series for the south-Asian region. It's the largest advance we've ever paid, and the largest Indian deal."
Amish was a banker before the success of his second book prompted him to quit and become a full-time author. "It's been a crazy last few days," said the writer, during a break between book-signing events that had queues of delirious fans dressed up as Shiva and chanting 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Previous advances that made waves are a reported £1million (approx Rs 8 crore) for the worldwide rights to Vikram Seth's sequel to 'A Suitable Boy', and a Rs 97 lakh-payout for seven of historian Ramachandra Guha's books, both by Penguin. In 2007, Amitav Ghosh reportedly received about Rs 55 lakh for his Ibis Trilogy, and Nandan Nilekani Rs 25 lakh for 'Imagining India'. Last year, Random House India is said to have paid more than Rs 50 lakh for cricketer Yuvraj Singh's autobiography. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, entrepreneurship expertRashmi Bansal and thriller writer Ashwin Sanghi are also rumoured to get high advances. Rupa's Chetan Bhagat, with sales of more than one million copies for each of his titles, is another high earner.
"Amish's advance is only for the south-Asian rights, which means it could turn into a $4 million deal by the time we finish with film, foreign and translation rights," says Amish's agent Anuj Bahri of Red Ink Literary Agency. Incidentally, Bahri helped publish the first of the trilogy 'The Immortals of Meluha' after it was rejected by more than 20 publishers. He admits the advance is large but says it makes sense considering the Shiva Trilogy has sold more than one million copies over two years and notched up gross retail sales of Rs 22 crore.
Calculated risk
Most authors receive a chunk of money before the manuscript is delivered and it is set off against royalties. Kapish Mehra, MD of Rupa, which publishes Chetan Bhagat, says advances have risen because the possibility of sales has. "An advance is a direct multiple of expected sales," he says. "It's a calculated risk a publisher takes based on the author."
Advances range from Rs 30,000 to tens of lakhs, depending on the author's writing, experience, brand value, and sales record. The calculation is usually a multiplication of MRP, royalty percentage and expected sales, but the amounts have been rising rapidly in the last five years with debut authors demanding — and getting — up to a lakh due to competitive bidding. By regular market standards, Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh are high advances.
Saugata Mukherjee, publisher, Pan Macmillan India, which was also offered the series, describes Amish as a "safe bet" but says the amount is "mind-boggling" by Indian standards. "I thought it was unwise and too much of a risk. The market hasn't been the best over the last few years, so Rs 5 crore is astronomical. Agents have been working hard to get publishers to pay upfront, but advances put a lot of pressure on the publishing house," he says. Sales of Amish's books would have to be more than double for the publishing house to make its money.
Putting a lot of money on an author is a gamble, but publishing houses often take it to retain a star author, poach one, or buttress its list. The risks sometimes come a cropper: A couple of years ago Penguin paid a seven-figure advance for the rights to debut author Sarita Mandanna's TigerHill but it bombed and got lukewarm reviews. "Sometimes you don't recover your advance but you have faith in the author or you want them on your list so you sign," says Mukherjee.
Publishers are quick to say large advances are not a trend. "Amish is a breakaway and Meluha is an exception," says Karthika VK, publisher and chief editor of Harper Collins India. "The Indian market is not booming because one author has got such a large advance. The reality is that it's a tough market though it is growing steadily in a few segments," she says.
Padmanabhan of Westland says large advances are a sign of a market maturing. "We couldn't have dreamt of such sales figures three years ago," he says. "But the market is expanding and we don't know the top end yet."
Story link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shiva-grants-author-Amish-Tripathi-1-million-boon/articleshow/18770497.cms
With five lakh copies of his mythological fantasy 'The Oath of the Vayuputras' sold within a day of its release earlier this week, Amish has become the new "literary popstar" as Shekhar Kapurdescribed him. Westland, which published the trilogy, is paying up the big fat advance even though the writer hasn't decided what his next book will be about.
"We made the deal based on Amish's sales record," says Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO of Westland. "It's a pre-emptive bid of Rs 5 crore for the book, audio and e-publishing rights to his next series for the south-Asian region. It's the largest advance we've ever paid, and the largest Indian deal."
Amish was a banker before the success of his second book prompted him to quit and become a full-time author. "It's been a crazy last few days," said the writer, during a break between book-signing events that had queues of delirious fans dressed up as Shiva and chanting 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Previous advances that made waves are a reported £1million (approx Rs 8 crore) for the worldwide rights to Vikram Seth's sequel to 'A Suitable Boy', and a Rs 97 lakh-payout for seven of historian Ramachandra Guha's books, both by Penguin. In 2007, Amitav Ghosh reportedly received about Rs 55 lakh for his Ibis Trilogy, and Nandan Nilekani Rs 25 lakh for 'Imagining India'. Last year, Random House India is said to have paid more than Rs 50 lakh for cricketer Yuvraj Singh's autobiography. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, entrepreneurship expertRashmi Bansal and thriller writer Ashwin Sanghi are also rumoured to get high advances. Rupa's Chetan Bhagat, with sales of more than one million copies for each of his titles, is another high earner.
"Amish's advance is only for the south-Asian rights, which means it could turn into a $4 million deal by the time we finish with film, foreign and translation rights," says Amish's agent Anuj Bahri of Red Ink Literary Agency. Incidentally, Bahri helped publish the first of the trilogy 'The Immortals of Meluha' after it was rejected by more than 20 publishers. He admits the advance is large but says it makes sense considering the Shiva Trilogy has sold more than one million copies over two years and notched up gross retail sales of Rs 22 crore.
Calculated risk
Most authors receive a chunk of money before the manuscript is delivered and it is set off against royalties. Kapish Mehra, MD of Rupa, which publishes Chetan Bhagat, says advances have risen because the possibility of sales has. "An advance is a direct multiple of expected sales," he says. "It's a calculated risk a publisher takes based on the author."
Advances range from Rs 30,000 to tens of lakhs, depending on the author's writing, experience, brand value, and sales record. The calculation is usually a multiplication of MRP, royalty percentage and expected sales, but the amounts have been rising rapidly in the last five years with debut authors demanding — and getting — up to a lakh due to competitive bidding. By regular market standards, Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh are high advances.
Saugata Mukherjee, publisher, Pan Macmillan India, which was also offered the series, describes Amish as a "safe bet" but says the amount is "mind-boggling" by Indian standards. "I thought it was unwise and too much of a risk. The market hasn't been the best over the last few years, so Rs 5 crore is astronomical. Agents have been working hard to get publishers to pay upfront, but advances put a lot of pressure on the publishing house," he says. Sales of Amish's books would have to be more than double for the publishing house to make its money.
Putting a lot of money on an author is a gamble, but publishing houses often take it to retain a star author, poach one, or buttress its list. The risks sometimes come a cropper: A couple of years ago Penguin paid a seven-figure advance for the rights to debut author Sarita Mandanna's TigerHill but it bombed and got lukewarm reviews. "Sometimes you don't recover your advance but you have faith in the author or you want them on your list so you sign," says Mukherjee.
Publishers are quick to say large advances are not a trend. "Amish is a breakaway and Meluha is an exception," says Karthika VK, publisher and chief editor of Harper Collins India. "The Indian market is not booming because one author has got such a large advance. The reality is that it's a tough market though it is growing steadily in a few segments," she says.
Padmanabhan of Westland says large advances are a sign of a market maturing. "We couldn't have dreamt of such sales figures three years ago," he says. "But the market is expanding and we don't know the top end yet."
Story link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shiva-grants-author-Amish-Tripathi-1-million-boon/articleshow/18770497.cms
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