The Video as a supporting learning tool.
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Sunday, May 2, 2021
A Method to Grab Branded Free eBooks of Recent Writers
The post
contains two sections. Section One narrates a story. It is the style that I
adopt while writing posts on my blog. I believe the regular readers may have
identified it. I tend to narrate a story to tell my point of view or provide
information.
Section two
contains the method to acquire the Free eBooks of Recent Writers.
Now it is up to
the readers that how far one is interested in reading my posts. However, I invite
the visitor to read the whole post if he or she is really interested in
acquiring the free books.
The present post
substantiates my earlier post, which is titled "Grab a Branded Free eBook".
Section One: The Episode
I have written a
book titled “A Golden Kit for Self-Publish a Book Written in Hindi (eBookWriting 1) (Hindi Edition)”.
It is time to
write the next edition of the book. For me, the current edition has shown a
satisfactory sale. Now, I am working on the fresh edition.
I am following
numerous Self-Publishing trainers. Among their countless free advice, they
suggest that one has to ensure the book's sale regularly. The suggestion
involves different dimensions. They are all related to the marketing of the
product.
A regular sale
is an essential factor in making one successful in the self-publishing field. I
am experiencing it in the case of my portfolio. Many
inside mechanisms are omitted from the present narration. The main thing was
that I had concluded that I should boost the sale of the Golden Kit on
Self-Publishing.
The Kindle
Direct Publishing allows their authors to promote their book free of cost for
five days for a slot of 6 months. As a strategy for my forthcoming edition, I
decided to avail myself the option of free promotion for the Golden Kit on
Self-Publishing. I did not create any advertisement for it. I placed a simple
message on my Facebook page of the Golden Kit that the book would be free for
three days. When the promotion was initiated by Kindle Direct Publishing, the
sale of the book took place. It started reflecting in its ranking in those two
categories. I had placed the book in two categories on Kindle Direct Publishing, which were the
Business Industry and Professions and the language and Writing. In the case of
the Business Industry, it soon found a place in the first hundred Top
Best-Selling List. It remained on the spot One for a day. Such a type of good
happenings related to one's life and thing gives delight. It gives occasion to
know about the other titles also which are popular in that category. There I
located that some highly qualified authors were also listed. The list was about
the Business Industry, and therefore there were titles based on recent
research. The titles of such authors and Business Industry were also available
for free of cost. Some of the titles attracted my attention. In the case of a
dozen of titles, their actual price was more than one thousand rupees.
Now, can one
guess what would I have done?
Before getting
an answer, I say that what I did.
I downloaded
many of them. There were titles on Agricultural practices and food industry
management. I am not interested in those fields. But there were many books on
digital marketing and related industries. I just grabbed them.
Well, that is
about the episode. Now, if one is interested, then read section Two.
Section Two: The Method
There is a
method that can be adopted for acquiring Free Books on Amazon and Kindle Store.
Select any title
of one's interest or search any author who interests you on the Amazon book
store.
Reach the
Product page of the title.
Move down the
Product page of the title and locate the section on Product Details.
Under Product
Details, there is an entry on “Best Sellers Rank”. Such an entry is related to
the categories in which the Kindle Books are distributed.
Just adjacent to
Best Seller Rank, a link for “Top 100 in Kindle Store” is shown. Click it.
The web page of the Top 100 in Best Selling books will be shown.
Catalogue of books written by Sumir Sharma on Amazon
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Grab a Branded Free eBook
The books in the public domain are freely available on the internet.
Many sites have raised a bank of such data and share it on
the internet. One of the ways is that one may frame a search phrase composed of
the title of the book and add 'pdf' to it. There are sites like pdfdrive.com
and archive org which will provide the desired result. In addition to that,
some blogs offer pdfs of books based on a theme. Many of them ask for
donations, and their existence in the virtual world remains doubtful.
Kindle Books on Amazon and Google Playbooks provide a large depository of such books. They put in some efforts to provide a good experience of reading. Therefore, the title of this post is termed as branded about the books offered free of cost by Amazon and Google.
If one is interested in a useful reading and knows the
benefit of reading the books of established mind, then some methods can be used
to acquire a treasure of good books free of cost. No doubt, one cannot get a
recently published book by a famous author. However, if one appreciates the
benefit of reading, then the established authors of bygone days can provide
enough entertainment.
Free eBooks on Kindle Amazon
A reader who is convinced about the benefit of reading may
have a list of earlier writers and titles which she may have desired to read.
Such a reader may visit the Amazon site and, in the search window, type the
name of the author which he or she wishes to read. The result, which may be
obtained, may contain a list of titles by the desired author. Visit the product
site of anyone book and check if there is an author page for that author. On
the author page of the author, one can find a bonanza of free books. Rest one
may guess what to do next.
Free eBooks on Google Play Books.
One has to perform the same exercise on
books.google.com. In the result sheet,
click on the name of the author. In the resulting output, one may find the link
to the preview of the books. Visit the preview section of any of the title. If
the book is in the public domain, then on the left-hand side of the sheet, one
may find a link to the free eBook on Google Playbooks.
The list of the writers and their free books on Amazon
Presently only ten names are provided. If the trick is
understood well, then one may explore further.
Attention
In the above list, one may find many titles are also priced.
One may have to explore the whole bibliography of the author to locate the zero
priced books.
The format on Google playbooks
The names in the above-given list can also be explored on
books.google.com. In the search result, click the title. One may land on the
page of the book, which provides two options. One can download the pdf of the
book or go for an eBook on Google Playbook. One has to remember that the title
is in the public domain. There also, one may find some books with a price tag.
However, Google possesses a giant bank of such books, free and available in pdf
format.
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Kindly Check a substantiating Post titled
"A Method to Grab Branded Free eBooks of Recent Writers"
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Catalogue of books written by Sumir Sharma on Amazon
Catalogue of books written by Sumir Sharma on Google Playbooks
Sunday, February 7, 2021
क्या स्वयं प्रकाशन लाभदायक व्यवसाय हो सकता है? (भाग 2)
इस लेख के शीर्षक परआधारित श्रृंखला में यह दूसरा प्रकरण है|
इस लेख में उन आँकड़ों पर
चर्चा एवं व्याख्यान है जो पिछले एक साल में सामने आयें हैं|
अगर आप पूछें, “चुनीलाल पिछले
एक साल में क्या किया और शीर्षक में लिखे प्रश्न पर अब क्या कहना है?”
तो उस की भी कथा है|
पिछले दस महीनों में मैंने
एक नया काम किया| मैंने अपनी पुस्तकों का प्रकाशन Google Play Books पर किया है| अब मेरी पुस्तकें Amazon और Google Play Books पर भी उपलब्ध हैं|
पहले Google Play Books की कथा
28 मार्च, 2020 को मैंने
अपनी पुस्तकें Google Play Books पर डालनी शुरू कीं| मेरे पास अपनी पुस्तकों
का manuscript तो पहले से तैयार पड़ा था| वह पुस्तकें Amazon पर पहले से प्रकाशित थीं| इस लिए, मुझे Google Play Books पर अपनी पुस्तकों
का Catalogue बनाने में ज्यादा समय नहीं लगा| इस में केवल एक
बंदिश से निकलने में समय लगा| मेरी पहली लिखी हुई पुस्तकें Amazon पर पहले ही उपलब्ध थीं| मैंने सभी को Kindle Select Programme में डाल रखा था| उस से बहार निकलने में
मुझे तीन महीने लग गए थे| परन्तु 2020 के नवम्बर तक मेरी 18
पुस्तकें Google Play Books पर उपलब्ध थीं| परन्तु जल्द ही मुझे उन में से कुछ पुस्तकें हटानी पड़ीं|
अब केवल 14 पुस्तकें ही Google Play Books पर उपलब्ध हैं| (यह आंकड़ा 07/2021 07/02/2021 का है जिसका प्रमाण नीचे Snapshot में दिया गया है|) इस समय तक 1877 पुस्तकें बिक चुकी है| इन पर कुल कमाई
276 रुपए हुई है जो कि मुझे प्राप्त हो चुकी है| प्रमाण के लिए नीचे दिया गया Snapshot देखें|
1877 पर केवल 276 ही?
यह 1877 की बिक्री में उन तीन Titles की बिक्री भी है जो कि मेरे Catalogue से मुफ्त में उपलब्ध है| उन में से एक Title तो खूब download हो रहा है| यह आंकड़ा पिछले 10 महीनों का है जब कि heading में इसे 12 महीनों का बताया गया है| इस की सच्चाई नीचे दिए गए snapshot से प्रमाणित होती है|
Amazon पर बिक्री की एक रोमांचकारी सफलता
Amazon पर Print book की एक रोमांचकारी सफलता भी प्राप्त हुई है| मेरा एक title सिंगापुर की एक लाइब्रेरी ने Amazon से खरीदा है| प्रमाण के लिए नीचे दिए गए snapshots देखें|
Amazon पर से यह पुस्तक 2019 में ही बिक चुकी थी| मेरी एक पुस्तक amazon की जापानी site पर बिकी थी| Amazon पर मेरे खाते में कुछ रक्म येन में भी खड़ी हुई है| परन्तु उन का भुगतान तब तक नहीं होगा जब तक 1000 येन तक की बिक्री नहीं हो जाती|
Amazon और Google Play Books पर संयुक्त बिक्री की समीक्षा
स्वयं प्रकाशन से सफल होने
वाले यह बताते हैं कि अगर आप की पुस्तकों की बिक्री होती रहती है और बिक्री का
आंकड़ा बढ़ता रहता है तो आप सफल लेखक माने जाओगे|
Amazon और Google Play Books पर प्रकाशन के बाद
मेरे संबंध में बिक्री तो बढ़ गई है परन्तु कमाई इतनी नहीं है कि इस को में सफल व्यवसाय
घोषित कर सकूँ|
Amazon और Google Play Books पर संयुक्त बिक्री करने से कुछ और भी पहलू सामने आए हैं| Amazon पर मेरी पुस्तकों की बिक्री कम हो गई है| इस
के कुछ कारण भी समझ आते हैं| एक कारण यह है कि Google Play Books पर अपनी पुस्तकें उपलब्ध करने के लिए मुझे Amazon के Kindle Programme से बाहर
आना पड़ा है| दूसरा, पुस्तक की कीमत निश्चित करने में Google
बहुत सहजता और नरमी दिखाता है| Amazon न्यूनतम मूल्य भी बहुत
ऊँचा रखता है और मुफ्त बिक्री पर नियम लागू कर रखे हैं| परन्तु February 2021 में Amazon बिक्री की एक नई योजना भी लेकर आया
है| उस का प्रभाव अभी देखना रहता है|
कुल मिला कर इस प्रकार के व्यापार में अभी पैसा नहीं दिखा है| जैसा कि मैंने अपने पिछले लेख में कहा था कि अगर आप अपने लेखन से अपनी रस्सोई का खर्चा निकालने लग जाओ तो यह एक सफल व्यवसाय कहा जा सकता है| मेरे साथ अभी ऐसा नहीं हो रहा है|
Catalogue of the books written by Sumir Sharma on Amazon
Monday, December 28, 2020
India Unbound by Gurcharan Das/Ashok Kumar
The book under review is India Unbound – From Independence
to the Global Information Age. 2015, Penguin, Kindle eBook
I wanted to read this book for a long time. Many scholars
had quoted Gurcharan Das. The references to the book had attracted my
attention. Therefore, I wanted to read this book. I did not read it for a long
time. The price was too high, or I did not have the buying power to obtain this
book as I did not find it of immediate concern to me. I am a teacher of
history. I was seeking authors who were the academicians. Gurcharan Das was a
writer, and he was from the corporate world. Secondly, he was writing about
current history and biography. It was nearly a decade back the academicians
like Bipin Chandra wrote 'India after Freedom Struggle'. Almost at the same time,
Ramchandra Guha came out with 'India after Gandhi'. I read both of them. That was
expected of me. Gurcharan Das work did not qualify the criteria of the
selection list. However, there were references to his autobiography in some
writings talking about history. I read 'Marwaris' recently. There are numerous
references to Gurcharan Das. On one fine day, I casually rechecked the book's
availability in the Kindle section of Amazon. I found that the price was within
my reach and I bought it. It was during the reading of Marwaris that I did it.
I had not completed the reading of Marwaris when I started reading this book
in-between.
A history teacher has read the book by Gurcharan Das. The
teacher had already read many references to Gurcharan Das in many essays from
academicians. Now, the teacher had a first-hand experience to go through the
contents. A history mindset was trying to read a reminiscence of a writer who
had experienced the corporate world at the topmost level. The writer of India
Unbound had lived a life of a corporate head in the field of fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG). The trade goods are consumed by a common, unknown,
struggling to survive human beings and the people from the elite classes. The
people dealing with such goods cater to the whole spectrum of the social
classes. They have their experiential learning of the activities on the ground
as they happen. The things which happen is history. They may not be
academician, but they observe history as it has to be observed. The only
difference is that a historian works in an archive or with the already existing
data. The experiential learner has to learn to follow the data as it comes in
touch with his senses. Such a learner may be an academician or CEO of an FMCG
company or a writer. If he is scientific in his temperament, he knows how to
select the relevant data and then put it to formulations guided by an ideology
or just pure analytical skills and formulations to derive a conclusion that can
be used by practitioners from different fields of human activity. (Not by the
scientists dealing with forces covered under the subject of physics and related
sciences.)
After reading the book, I will not call it an autobiography
of the writer. How can it be that when the author was hardly 55 years old? It is an introspection guided by his critical evaluation.
The book has three sections. They are as follows.
Part one – Our Spring of Hope – 1942-65
Part two – The lost generation – 1966-91
Part three – The Rebirth of Dreams 1991-99
The above-mentioned brief is the table of content. In the
part-three, the content refers up to July 2000.
The book was released in 2000.
The edition which I have read contains an additional chapter
which is titled Afterword 2007.
The edition is 15 Anniversary Edition. An impressive essay
has been added in the year 2014. However, the book remains
confined to 2000.
At the end of the book, there are Notes, and it is recommended that the
reader should also go through the notes. It has developed as a footnote
reference. It is given in a unique way and does not follow the prescribed method of
academic papers.
The Acknowledgement section also deserves the reading. It
mentions leading scholars from economics, sociology, history, journalism,
social workers and political scientists. It is needed to get a correct glimpse
of the whole work. It must be read along
with the Notes section.
I will borrow the author's phrase to call it a 'personal
account of events and ideas' of the author about Indian history. It should not
be called an autobiography. It is a personal account of ideas about a
particular period with India as a central stage. The component of 'personal
events' has to be dropped. They are used as garnishing over the pudding. Therefore, it is not a biography as such.
If I am asked to recommend this book for reading, then my
suggestions will be as follows.
I will ask the student of history who would like to study
the historiography of the Colonialism in India and its impact on Indian history to read
the first section of the book which is called ‘Our Spring of Hope’. A similar
survey can be done through the book of B. R. Tomlinson. In the book of Tomlinson, one can find all the
author's perceptual thinkers whom he has sought to develop his personal account of ideas for the
first section. In addition to that the Cambridge Economic History of India by
Dharma Kumar and Meghana Desai, the students of Irfan Habib, Volume II can be read to know the actual drift of the discourse of Gurcharan Das. The author had questioned Irfan Habib's thesis in the Notes about India's economic situation
at the advent of the East India Company. The author claims that Bipin Chandra had gone
through the manuscript of the book. Irfan Habib and Bipin Chandra had strongly
contested Morris D Morris's views as given by the last-mentioned scholar in the
Cambridge Economic History of India. Even then, the author had questioned the thesis.
In the case of students who want an economic and a sociological view of modern India after Independence, I would recommend that
they read the second section of 'Lost Generation'.
Section three is a set of essays which contains the
personal views of the author.
On the whole, the author has skirted away from the political events of
Modern India after Independence. There are many issues which can be pointed out
here wherein the author had just steered away from studying the impact of the
working of democracy during the period called by him 'Lost Generation'.
The book appeared in 2000. If I am right then by 2005, Bipin Chandra and Aditya Mukherjee (A historian who has shifted from economics) wrote the book India after the Freedom Struggle. In 2007, Ramchandra Guha came with his India after Gandhi. In his book, Ramchandra Guha has made a pertinent observation that the study of history in Modern had stopped with 1947. After that, history has been studied by the faculty of Economics and Sociology. The book by Gurcharan Das could have been before the eyes of Prof Guha while making such observation. If one reads the books by Guha and Bipin Chandra, the study gap will be clear.
Gurcharan Das has given the thesis that the rise of
Democracy and Capitalism are two historical forces which should have developed in
India in synchronization. The industrial revolution had not rightly taken place in India. In place
of the Industrial Revolution, the revolution in the service sector has taken
place and even that after 1991. He had passed this judgment without considering
the significant historical developments that had taken place during the period
of the Lost Generation. He mentioned the Emergency and Mandal Commission but did
not elaborate much on giving that where had the democracy failed. Actually, at
every stage, he had avoided discussing the major political issues faced by
India. He had tried to collect only Economic and Sociological ideas for that
period. One of the reviewers on Amazon had expressed his dissatisfaction on the
Caste System in India, which stands as a single chapter in that section. There
are many gaps of a similar kind.
Gurcharan Das is a Management Guru. He had headed P&G at
the highest level. He is an active columnist in a leading newspaper. He is
maintaining his website also. How far he has given lessons on Management in this book, is an
issue which only a management person can tell. It is another thing that he had
recollected many anecdotes of his life when he tried to promote Vicks Vaporub
as a management trainee.
In the third section, Gurcharan Das had tried to draw a
picture of emerging India. He has talked about the success stories of the
Indian entrepreneurs. He has talked about Ranbaxy. But he is mum about the
failure of Fortis, the Religare and the Vial of Lies or Anil Ambani or Satyam. The
author has mentioned that he is being asked to write its second part also. But
I believe that he will not do that.
Anyways, it is a good book.
Next Reviews:
Indian Musalman by W. W. Hunter
A Nation in Making, Being the Reminiscences of Fifty Years
of Public Life by Sir Surendranath Banerjea.
India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
Books by Sumir Sharma
Monday, August 17, 2020
यूटूब पर पुस्तक पर प्रदर्शन का मेरा पहला संस्करण
मैंने अपने यूट्यूब चैनल पर अपनी एक पुस्तक पर वीडियो
बनाकर डाली है। पुस्तक पर वीडियो बनाकर डालने का यह मेरा पहला यत्न है|
मैंने अपनी किताब “हिंदी में लिखी पुस्तक का स्वयं
प्रकाशन करने की सुनहरी किताब” पर वीडियो बनाकर यूट्यूब पर डाली है|
इस प्रकार का कार्य अपनी पुस्तक का प्रचार करने के
लिए किया जाता हैं। इसी भावना से मैंने इसका यूट्यूब पर प्रसारण किया है।
मैंने स्वयं प्रकाशन पर सुनहरी किताब 16 जनवरी 2019 को प्रकाशित की थी। इस प्रकार इस पुस्तक को प्रकाशित
हुए लगभग 18 महीने हो चले है।
मुफ्त वितरण के समय ऐमेज़ॉन से इसकी 37 प्रतियां उतारी गई थी| उसके बाद इसकी 10 प्रतियां पाठकों ने
खुद खरीदी थी। जब मैंने इस पुस्तक की कीमत ₹178 कर दी तब से इसकी
बिक्री लगभग बंद हो गई है।
परंतु किंडल सिलेक्ट योजना के अधीन इस पुस्तक का वाचन लगभग हर महीने होता रहता है।
इसके अलावा मैंने 10 प्रतियां मुफ्त में
अपनी कुछ जानकारों को भी बांटी है।
मुझे अभी भी विश्वास है
कि इस पुस्तक की जरूरत उन पाठकों को है जो अपने manuscript को छापना चाहते
हैं| इसलिए मैंने इस
पुस्तक का वीडियो बनाकर यूट्यूब पर डाला है। उस वीडियो का निरीक्षण नीचे दिए गए
लिंक के द्वारा कर सकते हैं।
मेरा यह प्रदर्शन मेरा पहला संकरण है। मैं अपनी अन्य
पुस्तकों का भी इसी प्रकार का वीडियो प्रदर्शन आने वाले समय में यूट्यूब पर
डालूंगा|
इस लेख के पाठकों से अनुरोध है कि वह मेरे यूट्यूब को
सब्सक्राइब करें जिससे मेरे आने वाले इसी प्रकार के प्रदर्शन को प्रसारित हुया देख
सकें।
Friday, May 29, 2020
World History – A Selective and Limited Content Series 3
World History Series 3 is the third book of the series - (Click to open the embedded link). The earlier
ones are as follows
World History – A Selective and Limited Content Series 1
And
World History – A Selective and Limited Content Series 2
The third book in the series was released on 28-04-2020. The book contains the following lessons.
Chapter 1: American Revolution
Chapter 2: French Revolution
Chapter 3: Congress of Vienna
It gives me pleasure to share this as a fact that Chapter
2 is a replica of my earlier blog post. The blog posts on the French Revolution is
one of the most visited and commented on posts. It can be checked at the following
link.
https://undergraduatehistory.blogspot.com/2005/09/impact-of-french-revolution-1789.html
The Kindle edition of this book is also released. One can access the Kindle edition by a Click HERE.
Catalogue of the books written by Sumir Sharma on Amazon
Sunday, April 5, 2020
WORLD HISTORY – A SELECTIVE AND LIMITED CONTENT SERIES – TWO
My new book “WORLD HISTORY – A SELECTIVE AND LIMITED CONTENT SERIES – TWO” is now available on the Google Play.
The URL of the book is
This is the second book in the series. The URL of the first
book is
With this book, I have released two books on Google
Playbooks directly. It means that these books are not available at Amazon.
One of the significant reasons for abstaining from releasing
this book on Amazon is that these books are without any charges to the buyer on
the Playbooks. I intend to keep it free for some time. It can not be done on
Amazon. One has to approach them and put your case to make your book free. It
is what I have learnt from my reading of some books which are written by such
authors who also run coaching courses for the writers.
There are many reasons for keeping it free. The books are
mainly textbooks. They pertain to the specific syllabus. They are not major
work. Their readers have a specific need, and the books are framed with that
need in mind. They are meant for the students. Therefore, there are many
reasons and constraints which do not allow to keep the price on them.
The other reason is of formatting. In the case of Kindle Publishing,
I have faced some problems. It looks nice that when one formats the book on
Kindle Create, nothing much is required to be done after that. However, the
formatting takes time on Kindle Create. When one writes a manuscript, different
methods are adopted. A Non-Fiction writer deals with an argument, or with some
facts and data; such issues are dealt with separately. It is at a later stage
that the content is built in the main manuscript, and organic unity is imparted
to the whole manuscript. Through all such efforts, a writer reads the
manuscripts again and again. During the process, the author develops his signature
style in which the author formats the manuscript. When the author is satisfied
with the manuscript, and he moves to publish it on Kindle Direct Publishing, it
is my understanding the safest bet is to go through Kindle Create software. In
Kindle Create Software, many aspects of the style are demolished in the Kindle
Create which one has used in MS Word.
Anyhow, I have not abandoned Amazon. I will not do that. I
am presently going with Google. There is another crucial reason behind it. In India,
if you insist on a particular matrix, then you are marked as doing PR for a particular
group. Secondly, you can not direct anybody to follow a specific path. Google
is popular in India. In India, it is the dominating narrative which has the right
to be called the true intellect. So, the best thing is Google, and so I go with
Google.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Going for Google Play Books this time
I have launched my new book on books google. It is now available for purchase for ₹ 0/-. In other words, it is free to download. The Google Preview is also active.
The address of the book is: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0YzZDwAAQBAJ
The title is “World History – A Selective and Limited Content Series – One”.
The book is not presently available on Amazon and Kindle. I have not published it through Kindle Direct Publishing. All my earlier books were first published on Kindle Direct Publishing. However, this time I have picked Google Books.
It is apparent from the title of the book that it is a part of a series. I am going to publish the remaining part of the series very soon.
The publishing of the book on Google Play Books is a pleasant experience. However, it has to be recognized that the skills of changing a manuscript into a printable book format are acquired while working with Kindle Direct Publishing. Hence, the credit goes to KDP for imparting the skill.
Let me collect the finer points of Google Playbooks.
Pricing:
The pricing is a crucial aspect in self-publishing. In the case of Google Play Books, you can continue to sell your book free of cost for weeks together. You do not have to contact the Google people to make such changes. In the case of KDP, the free period is allowed only for five days for a slot of six months.
The second important aspect of pricing is that you can fix it at any amount. One wants to sell the book for ₹1/-. One can do it. In the case of KDP, it is not there. In the case of KDP, your lowest price can only be ₹ 49/-. If it is reduced, then it is the prerogative of KDP.
Response Time:
The response time in the case of Google is quick. They ask for 24 hours. However, the changes happen in less than one hour. For a writer, who is a self-Publishing author, the feature is really useful. A writer can not work by carrying the weight of luggage of pending tasks. It acts as a dampener.
KDP people are also fast. However, in some cases, I had to follow them up for the required changes. One of the issues is still pending for the last six months.
Simpler Uploading:
The uploading process for Google Books is simple. No doubt, there are hidden intricacies. Once, one has understood those intricacies; then it is a smooth ride.
The KDP uploading process is also simple. It passes through three stages. They claim that it will take less than 5 minutes to publish your book. However, that is not true. It takes time.
Real-Time Backup:
The Google chat feature is a commendable one, and the team behind it quite knowledgeable and intuitive. You can get real-time solutions from them.
In the case of KDP, you have to write them an email. You can talk to them on the phone on a real-time basis. However, there remains the problem of time zone difference. Secondly, I have never tried that channel.
On the whole, it is a pleasant experience with Google Books publishing. I have seen that they participate in getting to an effective display. Well, that is my view. It is another thing that I do not appreciate their e-marketing matrix under Adword programme. I have even doubted their analytics which they present. However, presently, I am quite appreciative of their Google Play Books. Is it not?
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS BY SUMIR SHARMA on Amazon
Monday, March 16, 2020
Ramchandra Guha: Gandhi’s Humble Beginnings
Ramchandra Guha is an established historian from India and
presently a writer who adopts a narrative style of writing history.
I have avoided writing
reviews on the work of highly reputed writers, and probably I have an
inferiority complex. I fear that while commenting on the scholarship of an
expert, I may not betray my ignorance and inapt learning.
However, I have ventured
to overcome my shortcomings and picked this task to comment on this book.
In the historiography of
India, Ramchandra Guha is identified with the Subaltern Group. Subaltern Group
is influenced by the thoughts on writing a history of Erick Stokes. The Indian
scholar Ranajit Guha was influenced by his lecture and started a brand of
Subaltern studies in the form of a series of essays. It is considered to be an
exclusive group. The scholars of high calibre with good fortune and research
abilities are given entry to their circle. The Subaltern School belongs to the
Marxist tradition of writing history. They are influenced by the idea of
history by Marx and Gramsci.
In a book which I have
written on Historiography of Modern India, I wrote, “Marxist historian does not
mean that the scholar is a member or a follower of any communist political
association. The Marxian methodology follows the dialectic materialism. The
theory can be as a tool of the research methodology even by a non-communist
scholar.” (Sharma, Sumir. Essays
on Modern India Historiography (KindleLocations 1005-1006). Kindle Edition.) There was a reason to make such an
observation on the Marxist historians. Most of the Marxist historians and their
allied group proudly claim themselves to be real Indians. They raise many such
issues and give such interpretations that they became a target of fierce
criticism by the Nationalist and Fanatic Hindu groups. It was not a surprising
thing that Dr Guha, a Padam Bhusan decorated scholar, was arrested recently
during the protest against the Citizen Amendment Act 2019. (Refer to the
report: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ramachandra-guhas-detention-in-bluru-further-inflames-public-anger-against-caa/articleshow/72894186.cms) Well, he was picked and released on the same day.
Dr Guha is a world-known
scholar on environmental history. In India, it is more famous as the Chipko
Movement started by Vinoba Bhave, a Gandhian leader and Medha Patekar.
Ramachandra Guha is also identified for his work on Contemporary History of
India, a field which is not yet popular among the universities of India. One of
my students, who is seeking to start research in Contemporary History, has yet
not found a guide in contemporary history. In one of his books, Dr Guha has
rightly observed that the Indian history ends with August 15, 1947, and
succeeded by works of Sociologist and Political science. Move around in any
university, and one may quickly come across a Medievalist, but it isn't very
easy to find a guide in the field of contemporary history. I dare to say that
with a strong stance.
Now let us move towards
the book. One can go through the Preview of the book from the thumbnail given below:
The book is mainly a
monograph.
There is only one
chapter in the book. One may read it in less than one hour. The monograph on
the subject merely forms the 30 per cent of the whole book. The Prologue takes
one-third part of the book by the writer. The Prologue and not the Preface is
the feature of the works of Dr Guha. His books have long Prologue. The other
one-third part is given to bibliographic essay and an acknowledgement.
Dr Guha belongs to
Subaltern group. They believe in the fieldwork and use Eco metrics, or one may
say Clio Metric to derive their conclusion. But, Ramchandra Guha adopts a
narrative method of the old school. He is the best in his trade. Therefore, you
will be able to read this monograph in one sitting and complete it in an hour
or a little bit more.
MacMillan publishes many
of his books in paperback form. Penguin has published this edition in eBook
form. His works are available both on Kindle and Google Playbooks.
While formatting the
present volume, the Publisher has missed some aspect of e-formatting. There is
no preface in the book. Dr Guha writes Prologues but no Preface. His Prologues
are quite long. He writes a separate section as an acknowledgement in which he
writes about his collaborators which is generally given in Preface. In the
Prologue, he builds the background for his main work. His Prologue is always in
a narrative style as if he is going to start some novel. In the section, he
writes about his methodology and game plan. For uninitiated, he may sound as if
he is talking too much about himself. But, he has it as a method to provide the
historian's mindset as he works to write his work. The Publisher has not taken
care of it. Dr Guha has mentioned itself in the Bibliography section that how
the people from Penguin pushed him hard to bring out enchanting writing. But
the Publisher has created a Preface section in the Table of Content – TOC which
does not exist. A quotation by Mahatma Gandhi is marked as a Preface. Is it so?
I do not think so.
A Map section is
created. But it has lost its purpose the way it is formatted.
The Bibliography is
termed as “A Note on Sources”. It is so long that one starts wondering that if
it was such extensive research, the author has given a very less material in
the actual body of the book.
The actual book is
termed as Middle Caste, Middle Rank, and it is the only chapter. It traces the
history of the parents of Mahatma Gandhi in Porbandar up to the day when Gandhi
Ji left India for London.
In the monograph, the
historian is successful in sketching the social environment in which Gandhi Ji
was nurtured in his earlier years. It is strongly recommended that readers
should not skip the footnotes. One may read it in one go without referring to
the footnotes. The author writes it in an effortless but effective style. One
keeps on moving from one page to another. A reader virtually glides through the
pages. Nothing is overloaded or sensational weaved into the different episodes
of the life of Gandhi Ji. But, even then, nearly all the aspect of life and its
turfs and ebbs are nicely sketched in words. The author claims to have used
some new documents in writing it. I believe that many people would find some
further information even in this small monograph. But one must seriously read
the Prologue to fully appreciate the structure of the content which refer to
the society and people around Gandhi Ji among whom his earlier days were
fabricated. I wonder that the research scholar has not made some chapter in it.
He has given only one episode. I know that it is a part of a bigger work. But
even then, there is every possibility of making some chapters even in this
book. The period of Porbandar and Rajkot can be separated. The schooling and
later days of academic years in India can make a separate episode.
The scholar has detailed
how this book has gone under scrutiny before appearing in its present form. He
knows better about making chapters in this monograph.
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS BY SUMIR SHARMA on Amazon
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