In an exclusive interview with Rooprashi, Author of “The Girl Who Saw It All”, talks about Book Writing and Publishing For Aspiring Writers In India
Q: How to start writing a book?
A: Every new writer is confused about how to start writing a book and whether he/she will be able to write a book or not. I would suggest that you just need to pick up your pen and write and take the first step, everything else will follow. When I started writing my first book, I tried to pour the thoughts as raw as they were coming in my mind because I think that the best way to write thoughts is to pen them down as raw as they are.
Q: What are the hardships one faces during writing a book?
A: Writing a book is an amazing journey. It’s not easy but you will enjoy it if you love writing. A few times you may feel stuck too and you may think that you would not be able to proceed further as writing a book can be mentally draining at times where you feel short of thoughts and ideas. I think at that time what can help you a lot is reading. You can stop writing at those moments and read. I think reading opens up your mind if you are stuck with ideas. Reading can be the best way to open up your mind when it feels tired and short of ideas. It gives you other perspectives and other angles to see things around you. You can perceive things, other’s emotions and perspectives in a better way. So, I think reading and writing go hand in hand. You can proceed slowly and only wrote when you actually feel like writing and never take it as a task to complete. I think writing is something which comes from the soul. If you do it as a task or job, it loses a bit of its flavour.
Q: Why is editing important?
A: A good editor gives your book a new look grammatically, the formation of sentences and expression of words. I think it acts like garnishing a food item to make it look beautiful and presentable. Good editing can make a huge difference to your book’s performance. So, I would recommend a book to be edited before being sent to the publishers for final publishing.
Q: How to get a book published?
A: I think getting published has become very easy these days. You can easily get your Kindle version published. Self-publishing has also opened the way and made path easier for writers. Getting published used to be a big thing in the past but now a day many publishers offer self-publishing packages. But I do not believe in getting published this way. I think one should always try to get published traditionally. Getting published traditionally is still a very tough task. Traditional publishing means that the publisher selects your script to be published from their publishing house. They do this because they see the potential in the book and expect the book to a sale and do good business for their publishing house. I think one should compete and try to get their book published through traditional publishing if they really want to grow as a writer. I feel that before getting the book published, the book should have all the qualities to be read and be appreciated by the readers. Because in the end the quality of book matters a lot.
Q: What are the basic requirements of publishers when we contact to get published?
A: Most publishers usually accept the manuscripts through emails. You can send the 2-3 sample chapters to different publishers. Every publisher has their specific guidelines for manuscript submission which you can find on their websites. Some of the main publishers where new authors stand a chance to get published are:
HarperCollins
Rupa Publications
Penguin
Random House
Srishti Publishers
Leadstart
Fingerprints
Petals Publishers
Juggernaut
Mahaveer
Roli books
Westland
Getting published traditionally can be a tough job many times. So, I would advise not to lose patience and keep trying. The publishing houses usually take 2-3 months to respond and it can a quite a tough time sometimes. But if the book is selected for publishing traditionally, you will be at a great advantage because the real struggle starts after getting the book published. So, the whole process of book writing and publishing will require a lot of patience and most importantly belief in oneself. All the best.
-Rooprashi (Author of The Girl Who Saw It All)
Photo Credit: Anukampa Sharma (@astralrover)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Management Executive and blogger, Rooprashi is an individual brimming with stories. She is an HR Professional who works in GAIL (India) Ltd., a Maharatna Public-Sector Unit (PSU). Her debut book “The Girl Who Saw It All” has created waves across the nation and is receiving great response from the readers all over India including Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mr. Satya Pal Jain (Additional Solicitor General Of India). The book has received positive coverage from different media (newspapers, tv, and radio). The book is available on Amazon
Read more from Rooprashi: www.rooprashi.in
Read the Book Review of “The Girl Who Saw It All” here
Disclaimer: The Daily Brunch does not hold the rights to the images.
