tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.comments2012-02-22T22:55:20.087-08:00New Indian Writing- Fresh ClassicsHershhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06746263260855586341noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-20577584336622659852012-01-30T06:12:36.418-08:002012-01-30T06:12:36.418-08:00Congratz, Ram!
I am glad to see an Indian author w...Congratz, Ram!<br />I am glad to see an Indian author who thinks we need more children's literature. I was just telling the same to a friend today. That India needs some unforgettable children's books. I grew up reading Enid Blyton and other stuffs and got the chance because I studied in a school affiliated to CBSE, with English as medium. But that's such a rare population here, in my place. Even now as I am in college, I doubt if anyone other than half a dozen students know EB at all. The common people don't fetch the Western classic kids' books for their kids (which they are definitely missing out on), because they fear they can't relate to it or understand it. But then, to give the youngsters a book to which they can relate, there isn't an author here who we can recommend. May be except for Ruskin Bond. :)<br />I am thinking of some stuff myself. I hope this turns out to be a success, Ram. :) Wishing you all the best.Sana Rosehttp://www.sanarose.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-83797298918965881502012-01-05T07:15:02.831-08:002012-01-05T07:15:02.831-08:00Thanks, Heslin. :) Well, I got more on the intervi...Thanks, Heslin. :) Well, I got more on the interview, some reviews tell me I can still make it better. Still, this is me talking about myself as an aspiring author rather than about my book or an established author. It's just the dawn. :)<br /><br />@Hersh : The pleasure was mine. It's my first interview on a blog. And I could've made it look professional, but that would be boring. :)) I loved being earnest and put across my simple thoughts and reasons.<br /><br />Regarding editing, true, I know how many nights I spent on the manuscript. But still, I have found a mistake in one of my poems in the book- basic grammar. It goes unnoticed because of the similar structure of the stanzas. The point is, I probably got bored by the 3rd revision and rushed through the final draft. It wouldn't have been the case, if another person had revised it. :)<br /><br />Editing is an art. And I guess I'm an editor as much as I'm a poet/writer. The errors in grammar and spelling do make me itch. But there's another element to a piece of work- the what-could-make-it-better element, that eats you up. A good editor knows it all.<br />In poetry, it's important that the essence of it isn't lost while editing, and that makes it tough. And I didn't give it out for editing because I knew I could make it better if I tried, and I had been collecting feedbacks from international poets. Editing and proofing is real hard work. It's not just the spelling and grammar errors that jump out at you from a page. It's the whole constitution of a work that includes a lot of elements. I have read novels that really could use some better way of narration or expressions though they are published after professional editing.<br /><br />I'm glad you got to read some of my poems. The book, I'll try to send it but the poems are mostly of the kid I was, rather than the woman I'm now. So it does worry me a bit. :) And reviewing a poetry book would be like slicing the poet's soul and it would only make you wonder more! But I happen to be very explanatory in my poems, too.Sana Rosehttp://www.sanarose.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-42530434107414170552012-01-05T00:18:39.688-08:002012-01-05T00:18:39.688-08:00'Mirror Neurons' is an interesting theory ...'Mirror Neurons' is an interesting theory to illustrate multi-faceted voices within one single text. Still, bringing it forth is an art no less. <br /><br />Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets jokes about character forming in writing, when his fan asks 'how do you write women so well?', Jack( Melvin Udall in the film) replies- ' I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability'.<br /><br />HBHershhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06746263260855586341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-73627021317429705262012-01-05T00:06:41.599-08:002012-01-05T00:06:41.599-08:00Thanks Sana, and thanks Heslin for your participat...Thanks Sana, and thanks Heslin for your participation.<br />I had a chance to read a few of Sana's poems over last few days. I am awaiting to review as per her request( if one can actually review a poetry book,phew!). <br /> I am not sure about your views on editing. Editing is it' s as great if not respected art-form than writing itself. Most great writers have edited their works themselves. Unedited text is called a 'draft' never a finished manuscript.<br />Wish you luck Sana and Heslin please keep visiting us.<br />HBHershhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06746263260855586341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-33303395151616810042012-01-04T09:24:18.431-08:002012-01-04T09:24:18.431-08:00Hmm..I know this author for 8yrs..so it ws easy fo...Hmm..I know this author for 8yrs..so it ws easy for me to go thru it..First of all,let me congratulate u for being compared to balachandran chullikkad.I have also heard his recitings..its nice to hear though i have not listened to any other poets' much..I truly agree with your description about poetry..As Wordsworth has said 'Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of emotions' and since every1 has emotions..and so poetry..While reading a poem..we should look into it's soul.I believe its the same in every other writings and that's why i dont support editing of them unless for grammatical errors.<br /><br />God bless You!!Heslin Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955125223584852158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-71481273691261281432012-01-03T22:31:14.049-08:002012-01-03T22:31:14.049-08:00The fact is in today's book industry, the auth...The fact is in today's book industry, the author is the real seller. My publisher was basically a marketing company which just began a small publishing department. And they were marketing experts. And always had tips to the authors. And the points Hersh included in this post are the same ones the American marketers advised too. <br />The online marketing is a huge power area. My book hasn't sold much because of the issue of its cost. The imported editions are pretty costly for an Indian reader. Especially when it's poetry. But the small number of copies I sold were because of my sole effort, I'm proud to say. <br />And I have hopes that that wouldn't be the case if my book is a novel and if they are published in India. I have more than 300 people on my fan pages. But what we have to keep in mind is that even half of these members won't read our stuff. That's the hard truth of it. But there has been improvement of course.<br />But still, I have made better plans like republishing my first book in India as a low cost edition with improvements in the content, so that its affordable to the mediocre groups. And I have already started campaign for my next poetry book on social networks, though it's only in edits.<br />These things are actually easy to do. And my blogging has got me a few buyers too. The publishers don't do marketing for poetry books. It's as simple as that.<br /><br />As far as fiction is concerned, even then, the authors are required to build up followers.<br />Chetan Bhagat's strategies might have been successful but his books have clearly disintegrated the reading standards of Indian Youth. I never read him, to be frank.<br />But what he does to reach his readers are good plans. He didn't pass IIM for nothing. <br /><br />We have to meet more people - in media, in networks and all. I have an interview booked at another blog that has a huge number of followers. A poem from my book has already been posted there. And I built a good friendship with that blogger from UK and it's good to know what's going on around the world in the books department. :)And a local newspaper is giving a write-up about me and my book. It took some time and much contact between people to get this around. But in the end, it pays off.<br /><br />In another time and place, authors used to think they only had to write and the publishers marketed their books. It was true for their time. But today, the authors step out for themselves. Book-signings, visits, meetings, speeches etc. The publishers distribute the books, but the books sell, because the authors have done their homework before and after publishing a book. They are their own brands. <br />It's not about being known by everyone. It's about being read. When we read the name Arundhati Roy, everyone knows that person, that she wrote one novel and won the Booker prize in '97 and even those who don't read books have heard about her. But when I say the name Kristin Hannah, only her readers know her. That's what is a brand. And the fact is her readers WAIT for her books. <br />But Chetan Bhagat has managed to attain both. I won't agree that he is a writer, but he is a good story teller and a good marketer. But good writers must be ready to do what he has done for his books. Making noise is much needed. And it is wrong to believe that a writer can only write the book, not the fate of the book. The book is written when it's written. The fate of the book is written before, while and after writing the book.Sana Rosehttp://www.sanarose.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-28868980806526293762012-01-03T02:26:19.177-08:002012-01-03T02:26:19.177-08:00Sury,
I'll start by asking the questions I ha...Sury,<br /><br />I'll start by asking the questions I have asked in the post---<br />what have you done so far? What do you intend to do?<br />See ,I am trying to attack that mindset of authors which believe that 'selling' is someone else' job( maybe publisher's). <br /><br />So, what have you done so far? Have you been looking for ways to spread your brand online/offline?Hershhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06746263260855586341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-23969793380522879622012-01-02T22:03:17.180-08:002012-01-02T22:03:17.180-08:00So, what does a new author, whose books have not s...So, what does a new author, whose books have not sold a single copy do? Advice please.<br />vssury@rediffmail.comSURYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14547181864871586774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-28390305071536423262011-12-31T07:04:39.461-08:002011-12-31T07:04:39.461-08:00Thanks Sana for your insights as an author.
For th...Thanks Sana for your insights as an author.<br />For the lack of a better word- I believe that all artists 'copy' the masters. Let's put it more politely- All artists start up by imitating their idols. Is that wrong...Never! But 'style' makes one a James Joyce or Salman Rushdie. 'Style' is your signature. Strive to achieve your style that's the key to becoming a great artist.<br /><br />My humble tuppence!<br /><br />Hersh BhardwajHershhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06746263260855586341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2140025858243246758.post-20168753639944114112011-12-28T08:02:27.980-08:002011-12-28T08:02:27.980-08:00Well, you said it. :) Anton Chekov said in his fam...Well, you said it. :) Anton Chekov said in his famous short story The Bet, "The geniuses of all ages and of all lands speak different languages, but the same flame burns in them all..." So, are we guys on fire? <br />Stories are all the same, written, rewritten and mixed up and written again in some way or other. But still there would be some difference. These days, most of the writings are more about emphasizing and agreeing with a fact than discovering or establishing a new one. But then, that's how the world moves. Round and round to the same place.<br />My own experience has been different though, derived from the constant feedback I get from my readers. Some readers of my poetry were like, "You should read more of those classic poets," "You should make your poetry more indirect." etc. They are right in both sense, but that doesn't make what I do wrong. It only makes what I do different. The influence is almost absent in the verses. As for the novel I am writing, yes, the influence is there. Not in the storyline. Not in the theme or the story. But the language. I read western contemporary women writers and my writing style and language corresponds to them rather than Indian. That sure does make me a little anxious, considering the fact that majority of Indians are concerned about patriotism and cultural blending in the strangest matters. :)Sana Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14125812848889772256noreply@blogger.com