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Selling Books
The common view is
that Indonesians don’t like to read, something usually blamed on low
purchasing power. If disinterest in reading really is widespread in
this fifth most populous country in the world, then is money the major
cause? Tyler Branaman talks to publishers about their
business.
 Business was brisk on
a late Thursday afternoon at Griya Matraman bookstore in Central
Jakarta. Although that particular day and time are not considered a
peak selling period, the store was swarming with customers, browsing
through the racks and peppering the information desk with questions.
It’s one of the most popular bookstores in the country; 5,000-7,000
books are sold each day in the store (up to 12,000 on the weekend). In
general, sales have been up since last year, as they have been at
three other major Jakarta bookstores.
Not surprisingly, the Harry Potter series, both the original and
Indonesian translation versions, continues to be a success (last
month, Deathly Hallows sold 700 copies in one outlet alone).
However, the Potter chronicles usually sell well for short periods,
from 1-3 months, before sales trail off.
The enduring best-sellers are non-fiction works, particularly
self-help guides.
A best-seller for the past year is La Tahzan from Qisthi Press; former
president BJ Habibie’s memoir of his time in office, Detik-Detik
Menentukan (Decisive Seconds) also has recorded notable sales.
Only a few works of fiction are on the store’s monthly Top 100
best-seller list; the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta by Habiburrahman El
Shirazy.
Robinson Rusdi, who heads the promotions and reading interest
department of the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI), is upbeat
about the industry. Although it has yet to reach its full potential
after the economic crisis in the late 1990s, many new publishers,
interesting materials and designs have emerged in the last five years.
The association has 756 members but there are many more publishers who
have not registered.
There are still problems, particularly in the area of sales.
Yani Kurniawan, intellectual rights coordinator at Serambi, one of the
top 10 publishing houses, said that if a title sold out its initial
print run of about 3,000 books then it was considered a success (the
Indonesian translation of The Da Vinci Code, now in its 27th
edition, is its all-time best-seller).
Sales of books and other reading materials are usually associated with
interest in reading. UNESCO, for example, measures a country’s
interest in reading from the amount of new books published in a year
and newspaper circulation figures compared to the number of residents.
Researchers Agus Irkham and Primanto Nugroho believe the conventional
methods used to determine interest in reading are potentially flawed
in Indonesia.
“The numbers are definite, yes, because the number of people with
purchasing power in this country is small. But it’s not that simple.”
said Irkham, who has been interested in this area of study since late
1999.
“Interest in reading should instead be measured by the potential to
read.”
Nugroho also faulted the black-or-white, absolute nature of such
measurements.
“This whole interest in reading, as far as I know, is still seen from
a certain mentality, meaning that it’s considered as something to be
measured and compared to other countries, which always leads to a low
number,” he says, adding that interest in reading “has no business
with consumption, high and low numbers, like or dislike.”
Several NGOs focused on developing reading interest and a literary
culture have been founded in recent years. Among them is Forum
Indonesia Membaca (Forum for Indonesian Reading), founded six years
ago by 15 people from different backgrounds who share a love of
reading.
It started by opening a library at its headquarters in Jakarta; today
it focuses efforts on opening libraries throughout the country with
different partners and concepts tailored to the particular area.
The group does not believe reading interest is low among Indonesians,
but the lack of access to books, especially with the disappearance of
local non-franchise bookstores in many areas. Another problem is the
high price of books, says FIM program director
Dessy Sekar Astina.
Publishers also concede price remains an issue. Book prices are
determined by a number of factors. First, the publisher considers the
age and social bracket of the book’s intended readers (adult and upper
middle class readers are deemed able to afford a higher price tag, for
example). The cost incurred before printing is next, plus the
translation (if needed), editing, copy editing, setting, photography
and/or illustration and design.
Printing and paper cost, promotion, royalty fees, profit,
value-added tax and discounts for bookstores then come into play.
Publishers bemoan VAT as burdensome.
“Right now, the only books exempt from VAT are religious
books and schoolbooks. By making all books exempt from it, the price
would be lowered and the government could help stimulate interest
among the public,” says TH Nung Atasana, Gramedia Pustaka Utama
marketing manager.
But researchers like Irkham contend that high personal income is not
correlated to literary interest. In a survey of university lecturers
and students in 2004, Irkham found middle-class respondents mostly
preferred relaxing to reading.
And then there is the “Wonosobo phenomenon”. Sales of books at special
expos in the Central Java town are always high, and up to 3,000 people
visit its public library daily, Irkham says.
He believes the most important factors in determining reading interest
are having sufficient spare time, access to literature, literacy rates
and how reading affects an individual’s financial situation.
The perception that most Indonesians are disinterested in reading may
be outdated, he says.
“It probably stems from how the older generation was brought up. After
growing up in an agricultural background, books were probably the last
thing on their minds. But we’ve moved on for the better. Even a
2-year-old is being given a book nowadays.”
Which is how Rusdi likes it. “To increase interest in reading, we have
to start on the young ones, even toddlers. Persuade mothers to make
their young children read.”
Overall, Irkham has a positive outlook. He is heartened by recent
developments; in Yogyakarta alone, there are hundreds of publishers,
thousands of new titles and millions of books in print.
Reading
groups promote their love of books, and there are regular discussions
in many cities and towns. Aspiring writers also find space in
short-story columns in newspapers and journal.
The situation is not perfect, but books still find an audience.
Small Print
Known as a dynamic hub of publishing, Yogyakarta is home to a modern-day publishing David with an idealistic agenda.
Astaghfirullah! Islam
Jangan Dijual
(Don’t Sell Islam).
Jadilah Intelektual Progresif! (Becoming a Progressive
Intellectual). Tan Malaka Dibunuh! (Tan Malaka was Murdered).
That’s a lot of exclamation marks from a small publisher. But
Resist Book is no ordinary publisher offering works with commercially
oriented subject matter. Since 2004, it has set out to publish books
with contents as daring as its in-your-face titles in a bid to raise
public awareness and effect social change.
Its readers are mostly NGO workers, researchers, university
students and lecturers. With an average of two new titles published
every month, consisting of 1,500 copies each, Resist currently has 67
titles to its name. Its best-selling title to date is Orang Miskin
Dilarang Sekolah (The Poor are Barred from Going to School) by Eko
Prasetyo.
“In terms of copies sold, what we consider bestsellers are
obviously not comparable to the normal standards,” says Darmawan,
Resist Book editorial coordinator.
Sales are usually slow, and bookstores have a strict policy
because of space constraints: if a title doesn’t satisfy their sales
quota during a designated period, then the books are put in storage.
And Resist books usually end up there.
As a small publishing house, Resist has little bargaining
power against the big distributors who control the market. The
situation has forced them to look for unconventional marketing
approaches. Aside from bookstores, they sell their books online, and
work with several partners such as independent bookstores and NGOs.
They also go on radio programs, hold book discussions and sell
merchandise with socially conscious messages to build the Resist
brand.
Finding readers is only part of the problem; quality
manuscripts are hard to come by.
Most manuscripts sent to Resist are dissertations, not
something originally written for publication. “We even have a hard
time finding a writer for a journal article, let alone a book,” said
Darmawan.
He insisted that it’s not because they cannot offer lucrative
compensation.
“The writers who specialize in the themes we support don’t
really concern themselves with financial incentives. What matters for
them is getting their work to as many people as possible and be a
drive for social change.”
He hopes the government will make book more accessible to the
public, step in to regulate the soaring price of paper and
““reevaluate taxes. The book industry is different from other
industries, after all”.
Will this David
manage to triumph? Let’s keep our socially aware fingers crossed,
because it takes more than a sling these days to confront the industry
Goliaths.
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