Dipti Patel

What are some of the major differences between a self-published book and a traditionally published one?

Generally speaking, the traditionally published book would have gone through greater rigor on quality because of the advice received from the editors and literary agents. Also, the traditionally published books will have greater reach and distribution across multiple outlets and online platforms.

How has the growth and spread of E-books and Audiobooks changed the role of a literary agent globally and in India?

E-books and Audiobooks have increased the readership of books in India and globally. It has therefore increased the number of budding authors too and therefore it has meant more work for LAs. In terms of the role of LA’s while the aspects around editing and placement of books remain the same, the inputs related to distribution change from physical placements to online sales.

We all know, a literary agent seeks an author bio, 1000 words synopsis, and 3 chapters of the manuscript. But, What are the things a literary agent looks for while selecting or rejecting a manuscript?

There are a number of factors involved while selecting a manuscript – the genre, writing style, quality of content, and target audience. Just one line for the authors – give your best writing. Try to be unique. A lot of authors are coming with marketing plans, but your Manuscript is always selected based on your content.

LAs are aware of the market, the publishing houses’ preferences, and their requirements, which help us commission books.

What is the volume of books a prominent literary agency like yours receives for evaluation on a yearly basis? How do you go about filtering books to the next stage?

It’s crazy. We get dozens of scripts every week. We have a principle of completing script evaluation and decide on representing the authors in 2-3months. It’s been tough now due to pandemic. We have a signed backlog with the publishers for 1.5 yrs. It’s slowly getting released. So taking up new manuscripts has been further reduced.

With so many books getting adapted into a visual medium like movies or series on OTTs, How will this aspect impact the book publishing industry?

This has been a boon for the publishing industry. The books to be adapted have helped the sales immensely. It gets the notice of the readers instantly. It’s a win-win situation for the screen and publishing.

How can a literary agency help a new and upcoming author in marketing his/her book and reach out to more readers? What will be your advice to young authors?

Once a manuscript is taken up by a literary agent, the two together work as a team. There is vast knowledge that an agent possesses and that is imparted to the authors to make the book a success.

What is the range of Author Royalties achieved in a traditional contract? What all things could fetch a better royalty for an author? How many books do you need to sell to become a best seller in India?

Ranges from 7.5% to 10% It’s usually standard for each publishing. I don’t think real authors write to increase the royalty. There is no one accurate estimate of the sales of a book that makes it a bestseller. It varies.

Please give a bit of a background about your Literary agency, its’ presence in India, its Vision & Mission, Top management, the Kind of books you publish, your biggest strength as a Publisher, popular authors published, years of experience, etc.

WordFamous literary agents is now a reputed name among the top literary agents in India. Our vision is to get good books published. We have a reputed list of authors and have published books with all the traditional publishing houses. We have a good team of editors as well. It’s been 7 years now and we have published more than 70 books. We have published books across genres like fiction (mythology, thriller, romantic, drama, and poetry) and non-fiction (self-help, biography, well-researched books on history, science, astronomy, politics, sports, business books, and recipe book) also children books.

What change would you like to see in the publishing industry in India and globally?

We all understand the publishing is dependent on the readers. There is a need to make that push for readership. Especially every genre needs that push. There are writers for every genre and there isn’t an equal amount of readership for the same. That gap has been reducing over the last decade, but it needs to be reduced further.

At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Kids’. Please suggest some books that you think every child should read before the age of 15 (mostly the character-defining age), teaching them life lessons. Things like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.

Children’s books today are different and fast-growing. There is so much variety today. Such feel-good books with stickers and extra activities for very young kids. The kids above 8 years have their own choice today and that’s incredible. I will not limit the choice by naming a few. “Sharing stories” is doing great work in developing this and this is the need of the hour. Yes, promote reading.

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