By Rupali Rotti
Writing, and getting your work
published, is an experience where a writer goes through metamorphosis. There
are many things he/she learns during this whole process. Following are the
things that I learned:
[1] A good logic and 360 degree thought
process can help you form a general plot or a story, but you still need to
research, be you a fiction writer or otherwise.
[2] Write attacks usually happen when
you’ve just hit the bed at night, or early morning before you even brush your
teeth!
[3] You burn a lot of calories thinking
your way to glory. Yippee!! But after you are done, you are famished!
[4] When you are done writing your
book, you feel very happy and satisfied. But if you don’t belong to the writing
world, you will learn that this is only the “Initial Draft”! The actual hard
work starts after this.
[5] Being new to the writing/publishing
world, you wouldn’t understand the importance of ‘editing’ unless you get an
editor to work with you – preferably a paid one. A good editor creates magic
like you’ve never seen before, because he/she has created that magic for your
baby – your pet project.
[6] Many of your friends or family may
offer to help you with editing, even without any experience as an editor.
Hence, they may or may not be good at the job.
[7] I personally had never looked
at the names of the editors of any movies/TV shows I had watched, or any books
I had read. But now, I know that an editor can make or break your work. I
learned this after having a good editor work on my book, and then a bad one.
Surprisingly, the one who appreciated my work turned out to be the bad one. The
editor who tore my work apart with many corrections and feedbacks turned out to
be the good one.
[8] I have learned that editing
contains the following things: (i) Spelling and grammar corrections (ii)
Thought flow checking (iii) Logical paragraph making (iv) Plot review (v)
Character strength formation/checking (vi) Dialogue strength checking, and a
few other things, which I’m still learning.
[9] All people in this industry are
very polite (unlike the job world where you are never good enough, or the
business world, which is a dog-eat-dog world).
[10] There are various ways of getting
your book published: (i) Self-publishing a paperback (ii) Self-publishing an
ebook (iii) Publishing through a Vanity Publisher (iv) You’ll be lucky if your
work gets selected by a Commercial/Trade Publisher. Check this link out.
[11] Once your book is selected for
publishing, it is never a good idea to tell your friends and family that you
are going to be a published author soon. Tell them only when the printing is
done and over with. This is because the total time from your book getting
selected for publishing to the book coming on bookstands is a very long period.
You may lose most of your customers during this waiting period.
[12] When you are finally a published
author, good wishes and congratulations are showered on you by your near and
dear ones. But there is an equal risk of ALL of them asking for a complimentary
copy to read, or to stock.
[13] It is a good idea to have your
autograph different than your signature in the banks. :-p
[14] You get addicted to ‘checking
stats’ on each and every site. However, avoiding this addiction and
concentrating on your next project helps better.
[15] You feel like packing a bunch of
your books in your back-pack and pitching it to every person you meet, so you
could sell more copies. And, you feel like making this trip every day! ;-)
[16] Just like there’s a beta-testing for
all software before launch, you can have beta-readers for your work before
sending it to publication. But be wary, because once in a while, a crackpot
beta reader may steal your work! Don’t worry there are ways to safeguard your
work as well. One of them is to seek online copyrights, and another way is to
have multiple beta-readers working on the same piece of work, so you have a lot
of ‘witnesses’ to prove it was ‘your’ work. But most of the beta-readers are
very helpful and knowledgeable. You could find beta-readers on www.goodreads.com
or www.fictionpress.com.
[17] It always helps to connect to
other authors and share tips/tricks/experiences. Check out: www.writersdigest.com
[18] Nobody is interested in getting
spammed by your messages to buy your book. This means that direct promotion
never works. You have to think of other ways to present your book to the
reading mass.
[19] Marketing is better left to the
pros. But if you can’t afford spending on professional marketing efforts, then
refer to point 16 above. Check this link out.
[20] Maintaining a blog and creating a
Facebook page are easy ways to gain followers. Check out my blog and Facebook page that I have created. For ‘your’
Facebook page, take marketing advice
here.
[21] Even if you feel like getting into
marketing/publicity of your book, don’t let it affect your writing, because
that’s your main product. Keep on learning, and keep on improving your craft of
writing.
[22] And finally, what my characters,
the NAYAK BROTHERS, learn the hard way, and an advice that applies to all of
us: “It is easier to break your will when you don’t have a purpose to go on.”
Also don’t forget that “a kick in the a** is also a step forward.
About Rupali Rotti:
After working in the corporate world and running business, Rupali
finally ventured into writing. Her first book, "The Valentine's Day
Clue", has just been published under the series title: "Nayak
Brothers". This is a detective adventure series that revolves around
two aspiring detectives living out of Pune, India. Like any other teenager,
they have dreamy eyes, fire in their bellies, friends they care about, and an
urge to make a difference. And yet, they struggle with their daily routine,
studies (!), self-doubt, coming-into-age woes, and inexperience. But along the
way, a mystery and an adventure of a lifetime is in the offing...
Visit Rupali at her website or on Facebook.
Visit Rupali at her website or on Facebook.
