—The Jakarta Post.Com, Februari 18, 2008—
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.►
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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