September Issue - On Writing

More documents

Recommendations

Info

INK DRIFT MAGAZINE What is Must Before you Publish Prachi Sharma Nowadays, it has become a trend for anyone and everyone to put “Author” before or after their names. It has also become quite the trend to want to get published. Everyone wants to get published. And the way publishing companies, vanity or otherwise, are mushrooming across India, it is considered okay to want to get published, irrespective of interest or aptitude for literature. Now, with the advent of Kindle as a self-publishing website, writers can upload their manuscripts and get them published at a nominal cost. Yes, the writers are no longer required to wait for months, or even years, for the traditional publishing companies to accept or reject their manuscripts. Traditional publishers are no longer the gatekeepers of publishing- no longer are they the sole arbiters of what the public gets to read and what they don’t. Self-publishing has democratized publishing and given authors a platform to advertise and share their works with the world, without having to go through a middleman or having to change their voice. This has, no doubt, brought some genuinely good authors to the fore, who otherwise would not have ever got a chance to be read, probably. But it has also brought out a battalion of “authors” who are, sad to say, very amateurish, sloppy, clueless, incompetent, and grossly underprepared. I don’t want to sound like a snob here- it’s not like I can decree who is a “real”; author and who is not. Are authors made or born? I have no idea. But the one thing I have always maintained is that if you are serious about writing, you have got to be prepared. You have got to undergo a process of intense hard work and whetting. I have waited for almost three years before pitching my first complete manuscript to a publisher. So, what did I do in these three years? Firstly, I started writing only because of the books I read. I have been reading since I was four. When I was nineteen, I picked up the pen to write my own stories. And I found that all those years of reading had given me a solid foundation of words, grammar, thoughts, and imagination. But, that wasn’t enough. I had to mould all my acquired knowledge into something better, something that belongs to me. My voice, my style. I had to learn the nuances of the craft, as I was going to write my stories. I had to learn the art of storytelling- narration, plotting, characterization. I had to learn to mould my prose in a more acceptable format, which suited the tastes of modern readers, including myself. I had to learn the tone and tenor of using language, words, and phraseology. So, I wrote, and wrote, and got critique. I joined a writers’ group named Wrimo India, where we wrote short stories for over a year. I wrote mine regularly and got it critiqued by very competent writers. Some of the feedback I received was honest and harsh, but it helped me. Oh, how it helped me. I learned the flaws and strengths of my writing, and how to build on the strengths and improve my weak areas. I read more books- in fact, I started reading literary fiction at some point, www.inkdrift.com PAGE 8
INK DRIFT MAGAZINE which helped me hone the technicalities like the plot, the language, and the narration etc. Three years after I started writing seriously, my short story won an award. Six months later, I had a publishing contract under my belt. The first publisher I sent my first complete manuscript to accepted it. That manuscript was the one I took six months to finish writing. Then another eight months were spent editing it, getting feedback from beta readers. I didn't pitch the book to publishers till I was sure there was nothing more I could do from my side. Another two months, and I had two more publishing contracts under my belt. Today, I am editing my third book, which has been accepted, writing my sixth, pitching another and planning more, I am still learning. I still read books back to back, whether genre fiction or literary. I have worked with some of the most competent writers ever, and here’s what I think a lot of other contemporary writers lack today: • Reading background: No, reading the books authored by Chetan Bhagat and Durjoy Dutta does NOT, make you a competent writer. These books are for pastime- they cannot fire your imagination or teach you the nuance of the craft. • <strong>Writing</strong> practice: Having read a lot of contemporary fiction, I can say that most of them have never ever bothered to exercise writing, practiced their craft, developed their style or found their voice. What they have published is not even first draft material. I’ve read better first drafts. • Critique: You need to practice stories- whether short stories or novelettes or full-length books, and then you need to show them to your fellow writers, the people whose judgement you can trust, and who are hopefully not your friends. A fresh pair of eyes will always be more critical about your work. You may accept all advice, reject all of it, or take some and dismiss some, but it will force you to look at your work in a new way, show you what you might have missed. • Seriousness: A lot of contemporary writers seem extremely lazy and uninterested in the quality of the product they have churned out. It seems as if the basic tools like grammar, syntax, language, prose, plot, and originality which are vital in any serious writer’s kitty are not much important for them. They don’t care to self-edit, or at least have the manuscript professionally edited before it goes for publishing. The story is more important, they say. But what about the nuances of storytelling, the language in which you communicate them, are they not that important? India’s publishing industry is going through an interesting phase, a boom. More people are coming forward to try their hand at it. So, if you are going to put out a book, make sure you put in all the possible efforts like reading, writing practice, critique, and editing. Might as well put out a book that is a product of hard work. Let your name on the cover be associated with competence. <strong>Writing</strong> is a venerated craft- might as well do it right, or don’t do it at all. Grab your copy of “THE ALPHABET KILLER” Authored by Prachi Sharma From Amazon PAGE 9 www.inkdrift.com
Page 1 and 2: SEPTEMBER 2017 ON WRITING Price 300
Page 3 and 4: MASTHEAD NIKITA D’MONTE Editor in
Page 5 and 6: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE Writing Horror A
Page 7 and 8: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE of the same thin
Page 9 and 10: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE Then there will
Page 11: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE houses. But for
Page 15 and 16: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE derstand such th
Page 17 and 18: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE Farfetched as it
Page 19 and 20: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE Oksana Marafioti
Page 21 and 22: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE Three Tips for T
Page 23 and 24: INK DRIFT MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTING AUT

September Issue - On Writing

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?