Each Saturday, we ask our founder, Namrata, one thoughtful question, on books, writing, cinema, marketing in India or publishing. One question. One insight. Every week.
Question of the Week: What is your take on the publishing ecosystem in India? Are publishers sufficiently encouraging toward new/first-time authors? Has the growth of self-publishing been a boon for writers? If yes, how and in what ways?
The publishing ecosystem in India has been growing rapidly. Some of the initiatives in the last few years are brilliant like crediting the translator for translations. Acknowledging the cover designers etc.
If you were to compare Indian publishing with worldwide publishing, you might feel we are not sufficiently encouraging toward new/first-time authors. I don’t completely agree with this as we have seen some very interesting debuts in 2025 and an excellent line-up for 2026 from debut writers.
However, I do feel the whole process needs more transparency. Be it the royalties, author rights, or even the number of copies sold – more transparency is what will encourage new entrants. Currently, most of them find it to be a mysterious world where nobody discusses the numbers openly. This secrecy also leads to a lot of romanticization of writing as a career, incorrectly so, most of the time.
We need more transparency in publishing ecosystem in India.
Does the Publishing Ecosystem in India work for authors?
I do feel self-publishing is a huge boon to writers and it is very encouraging to see the taboo attached to self-publishing finally getting off. There are so many traditionally published authors today who have also opted to self-publish their works. And this speaks volumes about the pros of self-publishing.
After the pandemic, we saw an increase in the waiting periods for traditional book publishing deals. It also led to publishers being particular about the genres they wanted to pick. As a result, many previously traditionally published writers saw a not-so-encouraging response from publishers for their new works.
And as you know in today’s times, out of sight is out of mind. One cannot afford to not have any work out for a long while if one wants to stay relevant in a reader’s memory. So many popular writers self-published their work and saw a great response to it.
Self-publishing not only removes unnecessary gatekeeping but also allows a writer to experiment. Be it with the genre, or the style of writing. This is a huge encouragement to a writer. After the pandemic, we saw a lot of memoirs and poetry collections released through self-publishing houses.
These genres would not be normally picked by traditional publishing houses but today, thanks to self-publishing they are out in the world. I firmly believe, every book has its audience. However, big or small. The key to finding it. Self-publishing gives you that platform to find the right audience.
Recommended Read: Self Publishing in India
Like, take my travelogue, A Lost Wanderer for instance. When I was querying it, the responses were mixed. In this sense, there was no rejection. All the responses praised my writing but it also added that the genre was pretty new for Indian markets. I was a new name and they were not sure of sales.
Some seniors in the publishing ecosystem in India encouraged me to consider self-publishing if I was so confident about the book so that they could see the response to the book and decide further. At the end of the day, it is all about taking risks.
There have been so many instances where after self-publishing success those authors are then approached for traditional book publishing deals. Savi Sharma is one such name. Pankaj Giri. And so many others found success in self-publishing and ended up being traditionally published.
The goal of the publishing ecosystem in India should be to bring good stories to the world. The format or the platform shouldn’t matter as long as you believe in your work.
About Namrata, Founder- Keemiya Creatives
Namrata is the founder of Keemiya Creatives, a literary consultancy based in Mumbai, and Bookbots India, an initiative bringing transparency to publishing and book marketing. She also hosts The Bookbot Theory, a podcast that makes book marketing accessible for authors and creators worldwide.
She is the editor of Kitaab, a Singapore-based South Asian literary magazine, and a published author with a focus on travel, relationships, and gender. Her travelogue-cum-memoir, A Lost Wanderer: A Book of Memories, reflects her deep connection with storytelling. A UEA alumna, she has also studied travel writing at the University of Sydney.
She also writes a weekly column on literature called, Between the Lines.
As an independent editor and book reviewer, her work has appeared in Asian Review of Books, Scroll, Contemporary South Asia Journal (King’s College London), The Friday Times, Feminism in India, and more. Her short stories have been featured in various anthologies, and she has published two short story collections of her own. She is currently working on her debut novel.
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