Although the publishing industry’s revenue reached more than VND4,000 billion (US$162 million), which is a number that recognizes the efforts of the publishing industry in 2023, Director Nguyen Nguyen of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, said that an analysis of book structure in 2023 shows that most types of books will have slight fluctuations including an increase and decrease in both in number of books and number of copies.
Publishing revenue is more than VND4,000 billion but more than half of the amount comes from textbooks and reference books. In addition to the positive aspects brought about by joint publishing activities, many limitations still exist, especially the omission of inaccurate and inappropriate content.
leaders of publishing houses have lax management of the editing process resulting in errors in some affiliated books. Moreover, publishers pour little money into investing in modern facilities to meet the electronic publishing trend. Although there are 4 shared electronic publishing platforms and a 5th platform is being deployed, the application of integrated technology and AI to support the publishing process is still slow.
On the other hand, the e-book segment has only developed strongly in the audio-book market and some university publishers, but overall has not really made strong progress in revenue. Although the number of e-books has increased, it is still low and far behind many countries in the region, said Director Nguyen Nguyen.
The lack of human resources to grasp readers' tastes, build brands, do marketing, and distribute books are present limitations of the publishing industry.
According to Deputy Director Pham Thi Kim Oanh of the Copyright Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, some publishers still only focus on chasing profits while many people have been using books in cyberspace without attention to the responsibilities and obligations of copyright. Moreover, Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh said that some readers still choose to buy cheap books even though they know clearly that these books are pirated.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that the publishing industry is reborn to have a better shape. Despite painful changes in the industry to have a new appearance, it is necessary to adapt to the changing environment. if readers prefer to read on the internet, the industry must publish books on the internet, said Minister Nguyen Manh Hung.
Regarding the selection of manuscripts, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that many publishers choose to buy the copyright of best-selling books abroad and bring them to Vietnam, print and distribute them.
However, best sellers abroad may not be able to sell in the Vietnamese market. Therefore, publishing units need to understand the market in addition to reading many manuscripts to choose works suitable for the Vietnamese market.
Nguyen Manh Hung, founder and Chairman of Thai Ha Book Company, also said that in addition to printing books, the domestic publishing industry also needs to aim at joining hands to create a publishing ecosystem such as building a large collection of books on culture, literature, and nature of the country.
Furthermore, the publishing industry should establish and support reading activities such as reading books for 10 minutes a day in classrooms and in schools and localities across the country to promote reading culture as well as establish a reading and translation promotion fund.
Gian Tu Trung, Principal of PACE Business School cum Director of the IRED Education Institute, said that making good books is difficult, but bringing good books to readers is even more difficult.
Therefore, Principal Gian Tu Trung recommends increasing reading promotion activities, book awards, and the participation of experts in various fields to contribute to the selection of good books for everyone to enjoy.
