Chicken Soup for free?

BY Suneetha B| IN Media Practice | 26/12/2007

I wouldn’t have felt so sore about this if Westland had been a fledgling, stand-alone publisher launching their first book.

Suneetha B on why a Tata venture should not be exploiting freelancers.

Search Google for "Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul" and you see the media going gaga over the publication of the series in India.

NDTV says:

"There¿s good news for those who¿ve enjoyed the countless servings of Chicken Soup for the Soul; an original desi version of the bestselling series is on its way to a bookstore next door. The soon to be released collection of heartwarming stories from around the country boasts of bylines from eminent personalities other than unknown everyday heroes."

ExpressIndia.com says:

"India has got another first to its credit as it completed its 60 years as a free country. This is the first time a country-specific Chicken Soup is being published."

A blog writer elatedly posts her ecstasy on being discovered by the editor at random while scouring the Google. Forums like Sulekha and Kala Kahani excitedly carry the notice to authors who want to contribute. Yes, you can also be a contributor! "One does not need be a Nobel or Pulitzer candidate to write from the heart. All experiences that you think are worth sharing are welcome" says the editor of the series Raksha Bharadia.

Perhaps I should make a correction to the Expressindia report that Singapore and Canada have had this series produced for them and India is not a proud first. And there is something about which India shouldn¿t be proud at all in this venture. I hope Westland books; the publisher who has the rights for publishing this in India and intends to bring out 40 books in the series is listening.

I first came to know this from a posting on my writer¿s group in Yahoo. We are a group of writers, most of us freelancers and therefore concerned about getting paid for what we write. The notice on the Chicken Soup series in India had us all naturally excited. This series is a tough market to break into, and very few of us have succeeded in getting a byline in the US series. Apart from the byline the US series offers a fair payment of $ 200-300 per story which means about 6-8 rupees per word. The Indian market is still dormant at 1 Re for most and 2-4 for the grander markets.

We were in for a shock when we read Raksha¿s mail further, there was no compensation offered for this by Westland Books. Several writers made enquiries officially and unofficially and someone even wrote to the original publishers in the US. The US people replied that that Westland Books are their foreign licensees for the series and the policy of non payment is actually that of the Indian publisher. As the express report says the Westland Books has certainly decided "to cash in on the spiritual nature of Indians and the soulful encounters in their everyday lives."

The media reports say that many eminent personalities like Anupam Kher and Narayana Moorthy have been roped in to write in the first book and the publisher expects it to be a runaway success. Yes, both the above gentlemen may have no need for a compensation for a 1000 word write up. Other amateur writers may find it thrilling to get a byline, retaining the copyright and get an international release too.

But it is different for the hundreds of professional writers here. We pay our bills with the money we earn from writing, writing is our bread( I wont mention butter) May I ask you, you pay the plumber and electrician, you tip the waiter, you even flip a coin to a beggar to save your soul…but the writer has to starve? And contribute free to let flourishing publishers like the Westland Books to make millions? I wouldn¿t have felt so sore about this if Westland had been a fledgling, stand alone publisher launching their first book. But a publishing house from the Tata group doing this?

And you say it is the West that exploits the Indians all the way?