I owe so much to NaNoWriMo, and all my readers know that. Sonia Rao who looks after NaNoWriMo for the India region published this interview with me in her blog recently. Yes, it was about how much NaNoWriMo means to me.
Category: On Writing: Resources for Writers
Sharing insights, suggestions, tips and almost anything which will help you, and me, become better writers.
So, what’s the deal about being a writer? How does one get to be a writer in the first place? Let me try to give a quick summary of what can be a long-drawn and torturous process.
Firstly, you write a book. Yes, a complete one, duly edited, proof read and the rest of it. You then try to sell the book to a publisher. At times, and this make happen only after you are an established writer more often than not, you could be represented by a literary agent who sells your work. On publication, you get paid royalty based on the contract you sign with your publisher.
On occasion, and here’s where the glamorous image of being a writer comes in, you could sign a multi-book deal. The publisher signs you up to deliver a couple of books, without seeing what is in them. This is based on your track record and largely on what the world thinks of you, as evidenced by your book’s sales figures.
If you are good, you could be paid an advance too. Renowned writers have been paid huge advances and a few such cases inspire every writer to believe that someday, somewhere, someone might sign them up on very lucrative terms.
But the world of publishing is becoming increasingly competitive, and I am not even talking about the self-publishing world. This too churns out a huge number of books into an already crowded market place.
As the traditional publishers seek to improve their profitability, they tend to consolidate through mergers and acquisitions at times. They seek various means to improve their business results. One move can be in the matter of advances. Here’s news that the famous writer Vikram Seth has been asked to pay back an advance. It’s only for $ 1.7 million !!!
I am not sure which was the first book about the Second World War that I read as a kid. I rather suspect it was “Reach For The Sky” by Paul Brickhill, that enthralling story of Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, the legless RAF fighter ace. This led me to read more and more books based on the Second World War and due to my interest in military history, I became a confirmed fan of stories about the War. I must add that I was reading them in India some 20 odd years after the war had ended with the total surrender of first Nazi Germany, and later of the Imperial Japan of those times. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: William L. Shirer”
Looking back over the years, I guess I did most of my reading in the period from 1964 to 1972. This means I was between the ages of 13 and 21. Although his debut novel “Casino Royale” had been published way back in 1953, Ian Fleming reached his greatest heights of popularity around the time I speak of, although he passed away in 1964. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Ian Fleming”
Students and practitioners of management will tell you that it makes a lot of sense to periodically take stock of what you want to achieve ( your goals) and where you are , with reference to the goals, at any point in time. I am sure this principle is equally applicable to writers too. I guess my background in management makes me present my report to you , for whatever it is worth.
If nothing else, it helps me figure out where I am and helps me to assign priorities. So here we go:
“Let The Dead Stay Dead” was written as my NaNo novel in 2011, which means the first 50,000 words were written way back in November 2011 for the National Novel Writing Month. This is again a thriller but writing this has been a very different, and may I add, demanding experience for me, as it deals with subjects which are new to me like mental health and law. As a result, the editing is still on and I took more time than I ordinarily would to make sure I was sure of my facts. This involved getting opinions and views of experts in fields I knew little about. I have written over 88,000 words so far, and the novel is nearing completion. I would guess it’s about 90 % complete. I need to buckle down and close this project in the next 3-5 months.
” A Bouquet From India” is a collection of short stories which I wrote for NaNoWriMo in November 2012. This was my first attempt in writing a bunch of short stories for the NaNoWriMo. There are 10 in all in about 51,000 words and I need to edit and improve upon them.
” Get Ahead! Your Personal Effectiveness Workbook” is a non-fiction project which, as the title suggests, is a collection of ideas that can help professionals, working in business organizations, large and small , as well as independent professionals/ entrepreneurs get ahead in their lives. These are largely based on my own experiences as a practicing Human Resources executive, entrepreneur and executive coach for nearly four decades. The manuscript for this is complete at about 46,000 words and I guess the next step will be to see if anyone will buy it! I will of course share more about this as we go along.
So, as you can see, I have so much to do and really have my hands full which is why I often describe myself as a full time writer.
More often than not, my blog posts are not planned but come about through some trigger, usually from something I saw or read. Today’s is no exception. The inspiration comes from this interesting article in the New York Times by Edward Kelsey Moore, ” At 52, Not Too Old for a Debut Novel.” Continue reading “Too Old To Write?”
A couple of weeks ago, when I read the date on my newspaper I remembered that on June 6, 1944, the first of the Allied troops had landed on the beachhead at Normandy. This was a date no Second World War buff, like me, could ever forget.
Only today, I came across these awesome hitherto unpublished pictures taken by “Life” photographer, Frank Scherschel in an article in The Daily Mail. Memories are funny things. One thing leads to another and my mind was soon flooded by memories of that classic movie, “The Longest Day”. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Cornelius Ryan”
Today is the death anniversary of Manohar Malgonkar, whom I consider to be one of India’s finest writers in English. Here’s my small tribute to him in my writing blog, ” Writing To Be Read.”
I am not too sure how many of today’s generation would read or would have read Manohar “Mac” Malgonkar or for that matter even heard of him. As a kid I was very fond of his writing and even today I consider him one of India’s finest writers. This is a small tribute to him as his death anniversary dawns on June 14. He passed away at the ripe old age of 97 in 2010. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Manohar Malgonkar”
How does your novel start? Is the first line memorable? Does it grab the attention of the reader? In my debut novel, a psychological thriller, “It Can’t Be You” I wanted to start by telling the reader about an important event that had taken place in as concise and impactful manner as I could. The result:” The man was dead.” Continue reading “The First Line”
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 