A writer's dream!

Since I am a writer, I visualised that one day my picture would adorn the wall of fame. After all, writers are not born every day. Or so I thought. Until I entered the world of publication! There I saw that our population tree, which miraculously also had a literary branch, was overloaded with authors, novelists, poets and playwrights, each dangling for attention. For a nonentity with no contacts whatsoever, I was shocked. I remained rooted to the ground for years and even after I somehow managed to mount my creation onto the tree, the experience left me totally disheartened.
Some people are hard wired for this current style of commercial anxieties related to art. Others are more comfortable with the whole deal. And then there are some that are not at all troubled by the paradoxes and injustices of this whole system. But all this was new to me. There were rules that every modern writer was supposed to know. Well, I certainly hadn’t heard them. There were releases and launches here and there. Not to forget the flourishing autograph ceremonies. In fact the flattering speeches by the elite hims and the hers of the literary industry were so sweet I thought I’d drift into a diabetic coma of recognition. But alas! Not many were even willing to glance at, leave alone pluck out the creative fruits of my labour. It was only then I began to see the darker side of the marketing industry. And just when the interest was renewed through good reviews by journalists and some blogger friends, the books had simply vanished from the market. So had the publishing company! And mind you, it was an international establishment with promises in abundance. Hence to me publishing became a word for the death of creativity. After my first book I vowed I’d never write again.
But I guess there is more to life than merely watching others live it. Although we writers sit confined in a room, there are a million voices desperately wanting to be heard. And despite trying to still them, the echoes continue, forcing us to have a consultation with our conscience. And even without wanting to, we end up freezing our thoughts on paper. Then of course, the human side takes over and we hope that one day, some day, these frozen words will be thawed by the warm eyes of the readers. The desperate voices, our frantic thoughts and the critical appreciation of the world are almost useless by themselves. But together they form a triad of power!
Therefore to make this literary branch of the population tree more powerful, another book was born. As a published author, even though the second experience was a lot less intimidating, it still proved unsettling. Most of the copies were sold out but a year later some were also returned with thanks – a kind gesture by the generous publishers which in self- publishing terms also meant ‘get lost because the shelf life of your book is now over!’
I was so hurt I now pictured myself framing all my valued creations in the wall of shame. Then I knew that it was time to start pinching the vain author in me with gigantic pliers and wake up to a bitter fact- that even though there is an unseen, infinite thrumming web that joins everything and everybody in this universe, in the publishing field my friend, you are all alone. This truth is not depressing but sad. You see, depression is but a state of personal taste but sad..? Well, sad is universal.
And I was sad because my dream of becoming a celebrity was finally shattered. I still had to learn that very often it takes years to become a celebrity overnight. I guess sometimes one has to surrender to the areas of ignorance. Learning is an ongoing process. The moment you think you know everything, that is when the problems begin.
And then my son helped me exorcise the painful ghosts by leading me into a whole new world- the e-publishing industry. Here in the electronic domain all one needed was the core ingredient- the book and an enterprising son who has the basic know how to upload it :-} There were no contacts to pursue, no editors to cajole, no academics to coax, no managers to flatter, no launches to attend, no media to wheedle, no contracts to deal with. And even if there were no autographs to sign, the experience proved rewarding. So what if a million copies wouldn’t be sold at least I knew that now my book was available and would always be available.
Finally I understood what the ‘silver lining’ in every cloud actually meant. It was perhaps the shimmering line between your old thinking and your new understanding. This is something I learnt and which I’d like to teach all my dreamy, contact- less, publicity- shy, forced- to- live- a- life- in- shadow- writer friends out here. From what I have experienced, publishing and marketing don’t fit into nice little schedule boxes. Sometimes they also spell mess- two huge ‘s’s and a lonely little ‘me’. If you have burnt the midnight oil and your book is still languishing in computers, eagerly waiting to see the light of day, I’d suggest you try giving it the electronic touch. And the best part is you don’t even have to write a book. A compilation of some of your poems or your blogs can also qualify for publication. There are no restrictions for pricing either.
The biggest ebook publisher out there is Amazon Kindle Publishing program, followed by others like Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Pubit, Google Books and Smashword. For getting it published in Amazon, you need to –
Create an Amazon account, if you don’t already have one. You can do this for free by just giving an email address.
Log into Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at the following link - https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
Combine your ebook into a single word document, and format it using this guide - https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2RYO17TIRUIVI
Publish on Kindle. Here is where you will need to enter the title, upload the cover, and enter pricing information. It is advisable to price it as low as possible to encourage readership. Here’s a link to the video tutorial explaining the process - https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2M7MM0UP7PHK0
Once the book is published, you can track its sales through the online KDP reports site.
If you have your book ready, all it takes is a few minutes!
I know some of you here are a talented lot. But most are like peacocks whose dancing plumes are invisible to the world outside. Talent should be recognized. But talent should also be independent. Not dependent on someone else’s whims and fancies. Now you no longer have to be afraid of the reality in the dreams of others because that way, when the dreamer awakes you will also cease to exist. So with your creative hands, go ahead and grab the pillow that they dream on. Go ahead and dare to craft your own dreams. And then turn them into reality. All the very best. From one writer to another!