Depot, the publishing, books, music and gifts division of the Future Group is launching ?Depot self-publishing?. Through its website Depotindia.in, writers can upload the manuscript and get it published. The writer will have to bear the cost of the publication. For instance, 25 copies of an entire novel, including editing, page making, cover design and printing will cost around Rs 15,000. Initially, this service will be only available for writers in English. If one has a manuscript in Hindi, which doesn?t need editing, then the company would publish it.
Preeti Vyas, business head, Depot said, ?Internally, we do proof reading, editing, etc. We are also the meeting point for a number of service providers. A traditional publisher prints a minimum of 2,000 copies. In Depot, one can publish a minimum of 25 books. The writer also gets a launch platform in our stores and we will keep the book on the shelves for a minimum of three months.?
Depot?s current revenue is to the tune of Rs 50 crore, of which 50% is contributed by the books business. It acts as traders and acquires titles from national and international distributors. It also has its own publication division wherein it prints books of exclusive authors and are sold only in Depot stores. It also acquires copyright for international titles which are either not available in India or are very expensive and prints them in India.
Vyas added, ?I do not have any projection as to what will be the contribution of the new division. It is commercially viable and is a good business strategy for the company. But it?s also a first-of-its kind business model in India. So we will have to wait and see how this division performs.?