Help for Aspiring Authors
I am an aspiring author and recently became aware that there are a few like me on Indiblogger as well.
Hence I would request experienced persons (Publishers, Published Authors, Editors and Anyone with Relevant Info) to provide any information or otherwise help of any kind to us, aspiring authors.
All Aspiring authors can also introduce themselves on this post.
1. The no of chapters are upto the author..It does not make a difference really.. you could ditch chapter numbering and just go for chapter headings if you do feel worried about it... But it's really not an issue.
2. word count mein there is no min limit as such, it should be just enough to make a book..there are books like Who Moved My Cheese that consist of 150 pages and there are others like Middlemarch with 900...so there are no such set rules here.
3. The book is finalised only after signing the deal so you can always change your mind before that if u get a better publisher. It all depends on you. But once the deal is signed, it's final.
4. Exquisite words are not the benchmark for a good book. Don't worry about that!
Haha!!!! At your service!!! 
Any trouble with writing and spellings, contact me! 
True... this would have been..like his hotspot or so!!! Aspiring publisher me is having a field day though! 
Well while reading a book recently (Uncommon Wisdom by Fritjof Capra), I noticed that the author was having troubles finding a publisher for his first book, The Tao of Physics. Someone suggested him to find an agent first. And that was what he did, after which finding a publisher was much easier. So does the concept of agents exist in India or not?
Literary agents are an emerging phenomenon in India, not really so big yet. Publishing houses have their submission guidelines and agents are not really required around here, perhaps useful as a shortcut, if you manage to get them to accept ur mss though!
hey arjuna... thanks for this one! I am an aspiring author too... I stay in chennai and am an Rj (radio jockey) by profession... Hoping to meet publishers and such people thanks to this attempt!
this i what i am hunting for since three years. how to unlock the doors of good dailies and magazines?
Finally a topic useful to bloggers amidst all this national award winning film centered on a female protagonist harakiri...
I have been covering topics on sports since I can remember. I have been writing them down, for me, as I simply love following sports. I want to get into sports journalism, but what I feel is that me currently pursuing Engineering(into my final year now) would hamper my chances of reporting or even writing columns for a newspaper, as there they would obviously have people with fancy journalism degrees from fancy colleges. Is this right or can I still make it?
@ arjuna
yeah i m trying the same brother
www.shayar4u4ever.blogspot.comMy Infatution Love Demystified
@ arjuna
thanks for visiting my page
I have compiled a manuscript of the book i mentioned.
I have penned around hundred poems and i have placed some of the poems in my book. also i am just 22 and i had a bad experience approachibg publihers. almost evrybody denied to plunge a risk in publishing a book on poetry. some of them asked for PR as well as previous writing experiences which i dint have so i failed to publish but i keep on writing and uploading on my dying blog..
i sincerly feel that one should write for some newspaper or local stuff and then go for publishing...
not everybody is a chetan bhagat
Note: reviews are personal
www.shayar4u4ever.blogspot.comMy Infatuation Love Demystified
Regards,Amit
poetry is a less profitable venture Amit, and ultimately publishers do need to make money. You should try some of the smaller publishing houses, there are some that do focus on poetry, but the name eludes me right now unfortunately!
I am also an aspiring author. :)
Best wishes to all! :)
Hey...
I am an aspiring author blogging sice 3 years..i write poetry and prose. I too wana get published ...
currently working on my book 'My Infatuation Love Demystified'
Blog:www.shayar4u4ever.blogspot.com (My Infatuation Love Demysdtified)
Hi there, just went through your blog great work! In your blog you have mentioned that you have already penned your book and are searching for a publisher...
Please do share your experience and/or queries regarding your search for a publisher on this thread.
Who knows you may find a potential publisher on this forum itself!!!
Great to see that this thread is picking up momentum once again...
@Deepak Could you tell me what question you are referring to in your answer
Hey Arjuna... contact Renie for all dat....
he wil give u cheat code 4 dat....
Ajay, Recently I did a blog marathon as a part of NaBloPoMo. You have to write a post every single day for a month. I did that last year as well. The link which explains what it is all about is http://www.nablopomo.com/
I did this last year too.
Yes--they all turned out to be as good as my normal writing as it was notjing but working on a deadline which I am used to (as I used to write for readers digest, TOI and others)
I think to be a good writer one has to write every single day.
There are many sites which help you and motivate you to do this. See
http://www.inkygirl.com/ and click on writing challenges on right side to see if you can do 250,500 or 1000 words a day challenges.
Don't bite off more than you can chew and stick to your goal.That's all.
Hope this helps.
wow thanks a lot for sharing these links..they are extremely useful...have already read quite a bit on inkygirl..
Im trying to write daily for the website which I work for and include some writing time for my own work as well.. but i get stuck a lot when I"m writing or editing something which is personal ...Im confused whether its writers block or not..coz my work articles and writing are often appreciated..
Anyways..thanks a lot...u helped a great deal..congrats on your book...will try to catch it soon...
Parth, Mag: A simple google search for my name would have led you to it :) All details here:
http://preetishenoy.com/
Ajay: I write about simple incidents in daily life on my blog. But you can write about anything really. Blogging helped in my growth as a writer, as i treated each post as a writing exercise.
I'm no book writer (at least not at present). But I've been blogging for some time now and I too believe that blogging has helped me improve my writing. Each post has certianly been - in Preeti's words - a writing exercise. Hopefully, someday I can also start writing a book.
I havent read your blog yet I'll make sure I do..but ya what u said totally makes sense..cause that the one thing I'm lacking right now..is the discipline that writing needs..thanks a lot for the pointers..
if you dont mind id like to pick your brain about one more thing..have u ever written anything when u dint feel like writing? say because of an unavoidable deadline..or something like that..n did it turn out to be as good as your normal writing?
@preeti.... same question as of mag
Hi all,
I just re-read what I wrote. A slight correction: Publishing houses receive more than 200 manuscripts a month, not a day :P But you get the picture I was trying to convey.
First thing, is to sit down and complete that book. It is easy to think that you will do it. But writing it all down and actually completing it is a different thing altogether! Most novels have a word count of about 50,000- 60,000 words.
Believe in your story. Else it will not work.
Avoid cliches. They have been done to death.
No sudden coincidences either. Yes, they happen in real life, but in fiction, it seems incredible :-)
Have your own voice. Do not copy styles.
Write, write, write!
My second book which is a full length fiction will be out in a few months. I followed the above mentioned things while writing it.
Good luck and once you have a manuscript ready start approaching the publishing houses.
Hope this helps!
Cheers
Preeti
Hi Arjun, you can join http://www.youthkiawaaz.com and further your writing skills. Visit http://www.youthkiawaaz.com now!
Here Anshul has reminded me of another issue- does blogging contribute to your writing career or does it give you any initial boost for publishing and stuff???
Two books I found very useful for writing are,
1. Bird by Bird - Anne lamott (http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016)
Don't get mislead by the name. It is the best writing books available in the market.
2. On writing - Stephen King
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Stephen-King/dp/0743455967
This book has King's biography as well as writing instructions. Both are good but the second part is essential. Many don't like Stephen King novels. I don't like them too. However this is a diffrent book. It's very good.
Once again, great tips...will try to get a hand on those books!!!
Now if we could see some new faces on the threads with thier queries, answers, suggestions, experiences or almost anything!!!
Ravi has made some very effective points in his post.The one I cannot agree more is Read ,Read and Read.
I would add that it is important for a writer to get very very real and sensitive to what's happening all around him.Your ideas,characters,emotions will sprout once the field has become fertile enough.
Also,It is important to focus on writing something good and original,publishing and all come much later.Would like to take this opportunity to present my work to all the authors club on indiblogger.You can chekc it out at :
If you are not happy with the endings please write to Ravi.He has suggested the changes(which I liked and incorporated)
Here are some points I collated.
http://ravilobo.blogspot.com/
Great Tips Ravi, I think any aspirer should read the tips on your posts before beginning.
Now...does anybody have more info on publishing???
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