Indian author self-publishes novel - the long tail at work

Repentance - a novel - has been self-published by K.S. Rao, a Pune-based, ex-army officer, through iUniverse. What's more interesting, there's a press release announcing the novel and its availability in the U.S. through a print-on-demand model. I wonder if the novel will be available in India and if so at what price?

Repentance is a story of love, guilt, realization and destiny.

Suitable for both sexes, 15 to 55 of age, school/college/graduates interested in FICTION/ROMANCE /SOCIAL ISSUES.

The author retired from the Indian army and took up writing. The army life took him throughout India. This exposure enabled him to understand the social and economic issues. His first book, 'Everything Will Fall in Place', focuses on jobs for everyone. The present social crisis caused in the garb of religion and caste motivated him to write this book. The author chooses to bring out a message through a love story.

Repentance - Fiction/ Romance /General. Format - Paperback. Publication Date: Aug-2006.
Price: $11.95. Size-6 x 9. Pages-148. On demand printing. ISBN: 0-595-40892-3.
Other Format - Abode ebook. Publisher: - iUniverse, Inc.
Available from Ingram Book Group, Baker & Taylor, and from iUniverse, Inc.
To order call 1-800-AUTHORS or for International orders 00-1-402-323-7800 or
for on line order/downloading - visit www.iUniverses.com or www.barnesandNoble.com or www. Booksamillian.com or www.amazon.com

Repentance is also available at Amazon.co.uk for £6.28. At $11.95 for a 148 page book on Amazon.com, its a bit steeply priced, but that's the way the print-on-demand model works. Just for comparison, Kiran Desai's Booker-winning 384 page novel, The Inheritance of Loss, is listed at $14.00 and discounted to $8.09 at Amazon.com and listed at £16.99 and discounted to £8.50 at Amazon.co.uk. But not every novel wins the Booker. On average about 30% of a publisher's print run ends up as returns. With the print on demand model, there won't be any returns for Repentance nor will be there be any overheads of warehousing.

It will be interesting to see if this is the shape of things to come.