SourcingNotes’ Blog on Publishing Outsourcing
A lot has been said and written about ebooks, ebook readers and the stimulus that the publishing industry has been giving to anything and everything digital. The arrival of a technology behemoth such as Google just goes to validate that the market is in fact, worth it.
It’s easy to dismiss technological alternatives to established time-tested tools as fads… And easier still, to get carried away by the sweeping power of technological innovation! Well, in this case I am referring to the Kindle, Sony reader and the ever-evolving e-reader clan and the writing off of paper and print. Critics across generational divides have strong opinions supporting both sides. Technology drove the music industry’s evolution and the fade-out of non-adapters. Will this be replicated in the publishing industry, evolving rapidly in a digital era?
Over the last few years, there has been a trend among Indian service providers to build complementary capabilities by acquiring smaller publishing service companies in the US. Naturally, the all-time-low valuations have helped seal deals faster for service providers, who are looking to complete the missing piece of ‘high-value content’ in the end-to-end service provider puzzle.
The outbreak of swine flu has sent countries, cities, people, media, the bureaucracy and governments across the world in a frenzy. In the context of publishing, the swine flu threatens to disrupt sourcing to countries such as India and Philippines.
Indian writing in English in the trade category is becoming more accepted as also well-established, with acclaimed authors ranging from Naipaul, Rushdie, Vikram Seth to Jhumpa Lahiri and Kiran Desai. Indian English writing, if I may say, has arrived …! Apart from various other factors, the growing curiosity about different cultures and the stories of these characters has led to a growing readership… Imagining India undoubtedly interests…
Getting up at 3.30 AM is not a good way for me to start my day… especially if I need to dress up in formals. But one flight to Chennai and twelve hours later, I can safely say it was worth it!
Recently I had discussions with managers at some leading publishing companies to assess why there is hesitance to offshore some creative services – especially book cover design, illustrations, image design etc. in a big way. I find that most responses are ‘colored’ … with their perceptions about outsourcing and that too ‘outsourcing high-end’ work … Until … I spoke to a small UK-based publisher who was sold out on the concept of outsourcing and has over the last two years managed to offshore his entire production, design and even sub-editing! And is happy being an almost ‘one-man show’ at his UK office.
Continue reading ‘Offshoring Creative Services – The Fitment Factor’ »
I have access to the internet almost all my waking hours. I read a lot of news and articles online, yet I subscribe to a newspaper. I have thought to myself – I just need to go online and I have access to all the news as they come in, I can forward it to whom I want, set up RSS feeds, yet I buy the newspaper?
It has been five years since we started the publishing practice here at ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice. Over the years, we have researched and interacted with various industry segments and people – it is something that we have enjoyed and are keen to take forward.
