15 November,2016 10:38 AM IST | | Shraddha Uchil
The path to becoming a successful author might seem daunting. Here’s a workshop to ease you into the big bad world of publishing
Meghna Pant
If you've always been a closet novelist, here's your chance to burst out of it. All you have to do is attend a writing workshop over a boozy brunch this weekend.
November is National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo, in short) and to celebrate it, Books on Toast is hosting a series of author-led writing workshops through the month, titled Stories on Toast.
This weekend, Meghna Pant, an award-winning author, journalist and TEDx speaker will introduce participants to the world of publishing. Her debut collection of short stories, Happy Birthday (Random House, 2013), was longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Award 2014, the world's biggest short story prize.
"Attending writing workshops helped me immensely when I was an unpublished, aspiring author. I believe it is important to understand where you stand and how youcan better yourself," says Pant.
The workshop will give novice writers advice on planning their writing schedule and improving their prose.
For this, Pant encourages attendees to bring along a piece of their writing. "People can read a page or two of their work, and we can then critique it. Critiquing has helped me in the past, so I make sure I do it at the workshops I hold too," she says.
Participants will also get tips on how to get published and market their books. "One question I get asked far too often is, âHow do I get published?' It's a valid query - the publishing industry is difficult to navigate, especially if you don't have any guidance," says Pant.
Moreover, she adds that it's better for writers to edit their own stories - choosing what to keep and what to get rid of - rather than relying on a publisher to do the job for them. Pant shares, "Publishing houses end up releasing, on average, roughly 60 new books a month. That's a lot of work. Because of this, the editing of books, in most cases, is superficial."
Pant's session has limited seats so if you want to learn more and be a published author yourself, sign up at the earliest.
