How to write a book

Have you been thinking of writing a book but aren't sure how to go about it? Here are some tips that will help you out.

Dedicate days: Plan a day in a week or a few in a month when you will concentrate on writing. Do not clutter your thoughts with other work to be done. Wake


up early, take your laptop and go to your favourite café. Absorb the atmosphere and start writing.
Structure first: Have a basic idea of what you want to write about in your mind. Spend a few days thinking of a great topic to start with. If you go with a confused concept or with a couple of ideas on your mind, it may not work out well. A coherent thinking is essential for a flawless book, so begin well.

Go with the flow: Once you have a basic idea in mind, let your thoughts run. Be creative, thoughtful, even pensive. Whatever your mood commands go for it. It’s easier to edit later but sometimes the most natural thoughts are the best ones.

How to become a writer today

With more and more aspiring authors being rejected, what must one do to get noticed? One of the reasons for rejection is that writers fail to see the considerable change in reading habits over the last decade and that mergers and acquisitions have compelled bigger companies to demand more from authors. Also, the progress of communication technology and the entertainment industry has brought more competition to the publishing industry. Notwithstanding what the cultural pundits say, the typical book-buyer today no longer looks for great insights into the human condition; it is entertainment that pushes up sales.

So what should be the starting point for an author in the making? There are four key points: Study the market; read what has made other authors successful; what do they offer that you may be missing out? Will buyers pay about Rs 150 to read what you have to say? In other words, if the book has marketing potential, which is the crucial word. Literary excellence may still matter to some publishers, but the first line that a publisher looks at is the bottom line.

So how do you go about it? First, find the publisher who focuses on your areas of interest. Not every publisher handles every subject now. Aspiring authors would be wasting time and money submitting proposals that don’t suit a publisher’s list. Second, resist the urge to go only for leading publishers. They don’t give much attention to unsolicited material. And, in India at least, celebrity status takes an author a long way: writers with easily recognizable profiles are preferred because publishers don’t have to invest in order to tell readers who the authors are.

Full report here Telegraph

So what if you can't publish my book

Mrinal Bose has been a physician for many years. He has been an aspiring writer for even longer, waking up early every morning to write his blogs. But last year, he fulfilled a dream: he became a published novelist.

The story of Kolkata-based Bose, who dabbles in medicine and literature in equal measure, is typical of many literary stragglers who juggle their bill-paying jobs and writing. But what sets Bose apart is the route he took to publication.

With mainstream publishers showing little interest in his novel, Shadowland, Bose displayed admirable self-reliance by not taking the vanity publishing route. He did not, for instance, take his manuscript to the publisher of last resort for permanently aspiring Indian poets, Writers’ Workshop, which, conveniently enough, has its offices not very far from where he lives. Instead, he elected to publish it himself, online, as an e-book. And all you need to do, to be able to read it, is to download it on to your computer or laptop.

Full report here DNA