Publishers' Tricks

I had written a book on 'Conversation Games'. I wrote it because a lot of people played a lot of such games with me and that experience was more than enough to write it. The main problem with writing a book begins after one completes writing it. It is to find a publisher. The publishers of my medical books would not publish this book, because it was not a medical book and they would not be able to sell it. Then one day I saw an ad in a newspaper. It was about a psychology book being published by MaiXXXya Prakashan, written by a psychiatrist. I thought they would do, since they seemed to have done something in that field. I called them. After telling the guy on the phone who I was and what was the purpose of my call, he asked me what my book was about. “It is about conversation games. I saw your ad about the book written by a psychiatrist and I thought my book being from a similar field, you would be interested in my book.” “Come and meet me with your manuscript” he said. I met him. I gave him my manuscript. “I will call you with my answer in two weeks” he said and wrote that down on his acknowledgement slip. Two weeks passed and still there was no call from him. I knew the ways of book publishers and I decided to wait. I waited for four months and then I called him. “What is it?” he asked. “It is about the manuscript I gave you four months ago” I said. “Yes. I cannot do that book” he said. “Can I collect the manuscript tomorrow?” I asked. “No. I am a bit busy right now” he said. “That is OK” I said. “We don't have to talk. You can leave the manuscript with the receptionist. I will collect it.” “No. You don't understand. I am busy for 3 to 4 days. I will call you next week.” I could not understand how a fellow with a desk job could be so busy that he could not take out my manuscript from the drawer and give it to the receptionist. The next week passed without any call. Finally the receptionist called in the following week and said she would send the manuscript unless I could send someone over. I requested her to send it by post. I hope she does. When I thought about the whole thing more, I realized the only reason he got hold of my manuscript and kept it blocked for four and half months was probably to keep a book that could possibly compete with his book from being published, to cut down competition. I knew that was most probably the case, because something like that had happened to my son. He wrote two books on making aeroplanes by origami, when he was seven years old. There was a book in market, published by a 'JyXXXna Prakashan'. It was different from an origami book. It had models of card board, which were to be constructed after cutting them out of the book. When I contacted the publishing house and stated my interest, the guy called us, took charge of the manuscript and kept it for many months, before returning it with regrets that he could not publish it. By then he had sold his book well. My son's book were published by another publisher later. But the bad aftertaste of the dealing with the first publisher we had approached has still not gone away.