The journey of a book starts from the creativity of an author and reaches its culmination through his readers. On the other hand, the journey of publishing is a complicated one and involves many perils and pitfalls. The authors need to take decisions in the publishing process that may affect the fate of the book. One such decision is the mode and process of publishing. The choice is between traditional publishing vs self-publishing. This decision can impact the distribution of books in book stores, and its sales. This blog will look at what is traditional publishing, 10 publishers in India, and a comparison to make you decide what option is best for an author.

Top 10 Traditional Publishers of India

A traditional publishing house is an established publisher with an experienced team of editors responsible for editing, proofreading, the marketing is also done by the publishing house. The traditional publisher signs a contract which kicks off the publishing process which includes editing, and proofreading.

1. Penguin Random House: It is the one of the largest publishing houses in India which was published in 1985, and accepts unsolicited manuscripts for fiction, non-fiction via their online portal. They publish novels, short stories and non-fiction. It publishes 70 thousand digital books each year on average, as well as 15 thousand print books.

2. Harper Collins India: It was established in 1992, It accepts manuscript submissions through email. They publish compelling narratives in fiction, and non-fiction. The company publishes 10,000 new books every year, and has a print and digital catalogue of more than 200,000 titles.

3. Rupa Publications: This is a publishing company which was established in 1936, and it accepts submissions directly by email. They are open to publishing multiple genres of books such as thrillers, historical fiction. It publishes 160 titles each year.

4. Westland Publications: This was established in the year 1962. It accepts manuscripts in all major genres, in addition accepts submission via email. It also provides robust marketing in the digital publishing space.

5. Hachette India: Indian arm of this publishing house was established in the year 2008. Authors need to send a synopsis, along with three chapters of the manuscript through email. It has a global network which can provide good exposure to authors.

6. Jaico Publishing House: It was established in the year 1946. manuscripts can be submitted directly from the website. It publishes fiction, and non-fiction books and it publishes around 1500 titles.

7. Aleph Book Company: It was established in the year 2011, authors wishing to publish with this publisher need to send detailed proposals via email, including synopsis and sample chapters. It publishes 50 titles.

8. Fingerprint Publishing: It is an adult imprint of Prakash Books, it has offices in the UAE and Canada also. It accepts manuscript submissions via email. They publish a variety of genres such as popular fiction, non-fiction, classics. It offers personalised approach to each author with innovative market strategies.

9. Srishti Publishers: This is a well-known traditional publishing house in Delhi founded in the year 1999. It has published more than 350 books till now, and publishes books in fiction, and non-fiction. The author needs to provide an author bio, three sample chapters and a synopsis.

10. Bloomsbury: It is a traditional publishing company established in year 2012 in India. It has its office located in Delhi. It publishes books across fiction, non- fiction, children, academic, business and education and it has published 1400 titles each year.

Traditional publishing remains the gold standard for authors, who wish to get their books published. In this model, the editing, distribution and marketing is managed by the publisher. The prestige associated with traditional publishers is more, as it is easier to reach a broad audience through traditional publishing. It can also enhance an author's reputation and open doors to great opportunities to be recognised.

There are some budding traditional publishers looking to publish new authors, as well such as Double9 Books located in Noida. The approval time taken is comparatively shorter which works well for new authors, who wish to establish their footing. It is 10-12 days for a manuscript. Each manuscript needs to be submitted with a proposal, a manuscript which should be more than 100 pages.

Traditional Publishing Vs Self-Publishing

Self–publishing is a model, when the entire creative control falls on the author. The author has to pay for editing, proofreading and marketing. Authors who wish to publisher faster can also explore the option of self- publishing. It is slightly more expensive, but there is no approval required and you can publisher. Notable self–publishers include Partridge publishers which offer digitally customised packages, along with a host of services, White Falcon services provide global distribution to its authors.

Thus, traditional publishers and self-publishing are good models to publish a book, however, the choice which you wish to undertake is up to you. Traditional publishing works well for authors who wish to seek validation from established institutions, it works well for authors who have limited time to market their book, traditional publishing open doors for recognition and global access to many authors.

Traditional publishing open doors to editors and broader networks in the publishing space. Authors need to weigh in the odds for the best decision to publish their book for higher growth and better leverage, in addition, if you are an author looking to publish, then this information will help you narrow down your decision of choosing the publishing house that suits your taste.