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DK India: Keeping up with the Publishing Industry

A full conference room, cups of coffee and tea, eager faces, streams of questions, and some fantastic conversation – this was the latest stop on our Learning and Development journey. Milee Ashwarya, Publisher and Senior Vice President for PRH India, Adult Publishing, came to the Delhi office on a pleasant October morning to talk about her passion for books, keeping up with the dynamism of the publishing industry and what it takes to publish a range of bestsellers consistently. The session was part of a programme launched earlier this year for all DK India managers, with the aim of bringing in industry experts to share their insights into the publishing business as a whole.

The fact that Milee is as passionate about books as we are meant that there was an instant connection – she had us at "I love DK books"! Milee started off by sharing her personal story. She calls herself a small-town girl whose relationship with books began early when she saw her grandma surrounded by stacks all the time. She went on to talk about her early days in the world of publishing. While her drive and ambition are without a doubt critical to her success, what really resonates is her passion and deep involvement with books. As Milee puts it, making a book is not just creative, it's also "deeply personal and emotional".  

Milee also spoke about what inspires her – a sense of purpose and creating books that change readers' lives. She likes to tell stories that either go unheard otherwise or that many are often unable to tell. She also pointed out how it's important to not just create the right books but also find the right channels and partners to market and distribute them. And the most important aspect of doing this is people. Goodwill and amicable relationships, both within the company and externally with authors, bookshop owners, etc., are what make the impossible possible.

One more interesting aspect that Milee brought up was striking the right balance between creativity and commercial success. From brainstorming to watching trends and assessing competition, she shared the process that her team follows at PRH before they freeze their publishing list. She talked about not just identifying topics and authors and going after them, but also looking beyond the immediate and thinking about aspirations and long-term goals for the team and company. She also touched upon influencer-led publishing in the digital world.

Then followed a flurry of questions on topics ranging from Milee's own personal favourites (and regrets!) to audio books and marketing strategy. The three pillars of publishing success – publicity and marketing, digital presence, and using the right keywords so that our books pop up in the right searches – kept the discussion going for a while.

What endeared Milee to us was her avid interest in learning. Although at the top of her game, Milee was fascinated to learn about what's trending in DK's markets and the titles the teams here are currently working on.

Any interaction on books is pretty much endless when a bunch of book-lovers are in the room, and it was no different this time around. While we would have loved to sit and chat longer, we had to bring the session to a close. We all went away fulfilled, with a reminder of why we do what we do and how much we love doing it!


Dharini Ganesh
Deputy Managing Editor, Knowledge