How can we help publishing industry: Supporting authors and publication houses

Image Source- Bookish Santa

Very recently, like any other industry, publication industry had taken a hit because of COVID too. But in my opinion, publishing industry took some of the worst hit along with a few others. Not only COVID stopped the production for a meanwhile, but people started moving to other forms of entertainment, leaving behind one of the best forms of entertainment - reading. 

It's not just COVID that made publishing industry suffer badly, but shift to endlessly scrolling on social medias and digital forms of entertainment like movies and series also drifted people away from reading. Along with losing the readers, authors and publishers face the grave issue of book piracy or literary theft, along with plagiarism. Buying a pirated book for less cost is just as equal to reading free PDF copy of the book, as the money actually doesn't go to the writer but people who pirate it. Check my earlier blogpost on book piracy here.

Books and literary arts offer the best entertainment. While you can only see what its being shown to you in movies/series/reel, when you read a well-written book, especially while reading fiction, you visualize things that are penned down. It gives a boost to our imagination. I remember reading this on author Ravinder Singh's Instagram timeline (couldn't find that photo/video or maybe it was on his story) - there is nothing such as well-watched person, but it is always a well-read person.

So what can we do to support our authors and publishing industry? How can we save and thus splurge more money on books, well rightly so. Well, you may also take the suggestions given below, as tips on saving your money🙊.

1.  Living a minimalist lifestyle - Not just it only gives peace of mind, it will also save you a lot of money. Buying clothing, make-up and all other accessories (other than a few wants, cause humans) only when it's required will save you a lot of money. It will help you avoid slurging on every new fashion trend that comes along the way. You can save that money and splurge it on books, rightly deserving of your money. Ofcourse, without emptying your bank account.
2. Eating less outside food- Well, this is something that I am working at too (work in progress). Buying less outside food can save us a chunk of money, by which we can easily splurge on books. With reference to Indian contexts, most books cost anywhere between 150-270. And in this generation of Zomato and Swiggy or dining out/take-aways, a meal for one itself cost around 200. If we save more money on outside food, maintaining our health side-by-side too, we can buy one original book in cost of one meal, which gonna stay with us as long as we want or even after we leave this planet as our book collection. 
3. Saving money wherever you can - Disclaimer, this comes with a tag. Saving some money on autos, street food, on something you are tempted to buy but resist it etc. As about the disclaimer, be ready to receive the tag of a...miser. Well, my sister and my mother has given me that tag, but books are love. Pyaar ke liye itna toh chalta hai. Saving my money to buy original books is just all worth it, including the roasting and the tag.

New parents can narrate stories to their infants/toddlers while putting them to bed or feeding them, instead of giving them mobile to look at cartoons. And slowly introduce them to reading at a younger age. Whenever possible, read with them or near to them. Observing parents and elder siblings can intrigue kids too to hold a book and try to read. So in some time, they will get into reading. And though instill the habit of reading in them, by no means I mean that keep them away from digital entertainment either (but keep it restricted). Limited exposure to devices for kids is necessary too to learn digital literacy. 

As someone who is very much against piracy and buying duplicate books, I practice it too. I wouldn't like the guilt trip I will put myself through if I happen to purchase any duplicate book (knowing its a duplicate). I wouldn't mind saving some extra bucks and putting that in buying original books and supporting the authors and Indian publishing industry (which is quite much going through financial troubles than its western counterparts). And I urge all the book readers to buy original books too, rather than free pirated PDFs or buying first/second copies to save some few extra bucks. Even legit sellers of original copy do give amazing discounts on Amazon and Flipkart, which you can keep stalking every now and then (or author's IG story for any discounts on their book) just as you digitally stalk your crush or ex👀💁‍♀️. Woh mile ya na mile, original books acche price pe mil jaayegi.

Here's to a happy and guilt-free reading!

Related blogposts -

1. How to get (back) into reading

2. Why have I (almost) stopped lending my books