[This volume of SouthSide Chatter was distributed on 26/10/2023. Volume 7 was an introduction to our team.]
Dear Friends,
Our previous newsletter was a joy to make. It felt like a bonding experience, even within the office, so we hope putting a face to our names has made a difference. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond and say a couple of kind words of encouragement. This weekend, Gita, Sashi, and I (Sivani) made our way to Lamakaan for a pop-up stall! Our idea was to put the SouthSide catalogue on display for a potential audience and maybe even encourage conversation on what they would like to see from a publishing house such as ours. Things began by going south (pun very much not intended) in a comical turn of events when we realised the program for the night was not the rock band Anushtup's performance, "Ummeed-e-Sahar ki Baat Suno" but rather a classical Carnatic performance. Unsure of whether our books would have an audience there, and rather skeptical about the endeavor, we sat under a tree, by our books, listening to the music. To our surprise, many came forward to peruse and purchase our books and stayed on for a chat! As publishers, perhaps we get too caught up in the making and marketing of a book that we forget the oldest literary cliche;
do not judge a book by its cover.
We may not want to judge a book by it's cover, literally, but in today's design-centric world, we cannot divorce our perception of the book from how it is presented. The extent of our ability to make a choice has been called into question by many, with varying degrees of sophistication. From philosophers posing the tussle between predetermination and free will as "the most contentious question of metaphysics" (David Hume) to the infamous "Nudge" (Richard Thaler and Cass R Sunstein) where choices are expressed as reactions to a coercive, invisible strategy - how much of a say we have in what we choose has prompted much talk. However, laying aside both predestination and strategy for a moment, what do we look for when we go into a bookstore?
About a week ago, I asked a circle of friends and acquaintances what they hoped to find when they picked up a book and flipped it to read the back. Interestingly, many seemed to lament the presence of a good blurb. Something to predict the nature of what lies within. Clues to the genre or the style of writing. In the same way that a trailer for a movie pulls people into theatre seats and short descriptions of the movie or show on OTT platforms help us make a selection, the blurb serves as a taste of what's to come.
Cover art has a similar value but it casts the net early. It prompts one to pick up a book and turn it over. In the world of publishing where fantasy series like Harry Potter get reprinted regularly, updated cover artwork is common. Anniversary editions and gift sets get special cover treatment. Illustrations change and the colour schemes become more in tune with the aesthetics of the time. The latest trend has been that of box sets with a focus on paraphernalia that surround reading such as bookmarks, tea, or bags. When the world of cover design has crossed the traditional 9.5x8.5, what is it that we are really buying when we enter a bookstore?
The purpose of it all, the blurb and the art, is simple. It isn't always a malicious scheme to lure unsuspecting readers in. When done well and within reason, neither is it a caricature of what lies inside. It is to make the unknown accessible. We have a difficult time breaking out of patterns when it comes to things we enjoy and an initial plunge into new waters is ultimately not preferred. But a good blurb and a well-crafted cover are a promise. Maybe what we buy when we enter bookstores, aside from nostalgia and need, is a promise. That seems like a good deal to me.
Dear reader, what do you think?
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