Want to write a book? Done!

It isn't difficult to get yourself published today. Sunday MiD DAY speaks to publishers and authors to crack the manuscript-to-book code

It isn't difficult to get yourself published today. Sunday MiD DAY speaks to publishers and authors to crack the manuscript-to-book code

A walk around the 'Indian writing' shelf at any city bookstore is an exercise in hope. Piles of short, quick reads, most by authors you've never heard of, crowd these shelves. How did they get there, who are they? Everyone seems to have a story to tell, and someone, somewhere is ready to read that story.u00a0

The Chicken Soup Write Your Own Story workshop in Mumbai, saw a turnout of about 40 people. PIC/ RANE ASHISH

"There couldn't be a better time for a writer," says Raksha Bharadia, Indian editor of the Chicken Soup series. Launched in the US in 1993, the Chicken Soup series brings out books which are compilations of everyday true stories of courage, perseverance and affection. Bharadia draws your attention to various modes of writing, whether on blogs, or in magazine columns, that ultimately find their way into books. "A website like sulekha.com for instance, publishes a regular anthology of all the writing on its blogs, as does caferatti.com," she says.u00a0

u00a0She's right. Indian publishers print newbie authors and sell them for throwaway prices. Sundry publishing houses have mushroomed in the last few years and international names like Random House have entered the market to exist side-by-side with homegrown publishers like Blaft, Westland, Rupa and Srishti. A first-timer who sells 1,000 copies in a year is said to have arrived. That may not be such a tall order.

4-step guide to getting started
1] You have to find a forum where you can express yourself regularly. It could be a blog that you update frequently, a column on a website, or even a magazine. You need to start somewhere, even if you start small.

2] Recounting a life-changing experience for a forthcoming Chicken Soup book is a great stepping stone to writing. Last month, editor Raksha Bharadia held workshops for aspiring writers across the country, which saw a turnout of 50 participants per city. "At least 80 per cent of their stories could be included in the next Chicken Soup," she says. The series has a simple requirement: you have to be a debutant writer.u00a0

3] If you want to start straight with a novel, we suggest you approach a house like Rupa Publishing (info@rupabooks.com). They accept three chapters from your book, which must amount to not more than 1,500 words. Email it to them or courier them a hard copy. Managing editor Kapish Mehra promises that his team gets back to authors within four weeks to let them know whether they can expect it to go somewhere. That's not too much torture, is it?u00a0u00a0

4] However, you probably stand more of a chance to get published with a publisher like Srishti (srishtipublishers@gmail.com), whose published novels crowd most Indian fiction sections at bookstores. But in this case, you'll have to be ready to wait for three months.

The author's note of warning
Vishal Bhandari has sold 5,000 copies of his debut novel, Rosha, and it's been nominated for a Crossword Award as well as a Commonwealth Award. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. The film scriptwriter whose novel took eight months to see the light of day, says having contacts within the industry doesn't hurt. Influence and networking have a serious role to play.

Expert speak

The editor
Raksha Bharadia, editor for the Indian segment of the Chicken Soup books says the series is a great stepping stone for aspiring writers.

The author
Vishal Bhandari says compromise of some kind is inevitable when one is writing a novel for the first time. From the second book onwards, the author, if successful, can call the shots.

The publisher
Kapish Mehra, managing editor of Rupa & Co, says his publishing house is known to be author-friendly and doesn't take longer than three weeks to inform aspiring authors about whether they have a potential book or not.

The weird demand

Buy your own books
The catch with approaching prestigious publishing houses is their weird demand that authors buy a couple of thousand copies of their own book. "Their standard question is: 'How many copies of your own book will you buy?' Most debut authors published by bigger publishing houses, come from affluent backgrounds and can afford to spend around Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh marketing their own books, unlike me," laughs Bhandari.

The solution
Bhandari says he refused to buy copies of his book and chose to approach a relatively small publishing house, Pustak Mahal. "I told them to print fewer copies, distribute them only in cities, see how the book fared, and then go ahead. I also made sure I reserved the copyright in my name," he says.

Once it reaches bookstores
Even after your book is out, it needs the visibility kick that a bookstore can assure. "Bookstores tend not to put debut titles published by smaller houses on prominent display. Those spaces are reserved for Penguin and other major publishers, regardless of how books printed by these houses fare," Bhandari says. His title Rosha never made it to bookshelves despite good sales, except at Crossword in Pune. "I begged them to display just one copy of Rosha. They did, and they sold 300 copies in just three months."

But there's hope. Once you are through with your first novel, and manage to sell even a 1,000 copies, the going isn't bad thereafter. The next book, as another author tells us, can be published on your terms, and who knows, with a bigger publishing house. And this time, they may not ask you to buy copies of your own book.