Friday, June 28, 2013

First - time author

What it takes to be a first-time author?

Okay, so one fine day, you feel you have a story to tell the entire world. You believe it can influence many people and touch many hearts. And then, you start writing a book, not knowing what is gonna come your way. You write just because you want to write, nothing else matters. You start living in your own world, creating a beautiful world bit-by-bit and moving towards your wonderful dream inch-by-inch. You are always writing, either in your brain or on a paper or on your laptop. But you always keep writing a story in your head. You just never stop.

Day by day week passes, week by week month passes and time flies like a supersonic jet plane.

But like a snail, even though the pace is slow, you keep moving forward. And on another fine day, after writing thousands of words and editing hundreds of times, you are finally done with the manuscript. A sense of joy fills your heart and you wonder if it was really you who had written a book. You start dreaming of people reading your book and appreciating your effort and saying how much they liked your work. You imagine your book lying on the front shelves of the book stores alongside the best authors’ books. You wonder if you’ll become famous and if everything is almost done. But if you thought that you’re done, you are wrong! The journey has not even begun yet. Welcome to the world of publishing!

So, you’re done with your magnum opus and you start your search for a good publisher. But after a little research on the internet and after talking to a few people in the industry, you’ll very soon realize that writing a book is far easier than getting it published, especially if you’re a first timer.

In this 21st century, where almost everything happens at lightning speed, you’ll be shocked to know that publishers can take anywhere between 3 weeks to 6 months to get back to you. (All through the article, when I use the word ‘publisher’, I am excluding the publishers who publish just any crap under the sun) You may have to wait for weeks to get a reply. Most probably, the reply would be a sorry message saying your manuscript was rejected. If the editor is kind hearted, he will mince words and justify why your manuscript was rejected. If not, just a brutal rejection. Worse, no reply at all.

You soon get depressed when you see rejections all over. But then, you have to understand that this is the test of time and you’ll have to be stronger than you ever were. In Paulo Coelho’s language, the universe is testing your strength of character and your will to achieve what you want. What might give you solace is that Harry potter was rejected by dozen publishers and five point someone was rejected by nine publishers. So, if your manuscript gets rejected, it doesn’t mean it is a bad book.

‘How can one person in a publishing house decide the worth of a manuscript?’, so you may ask. Frankly, I don’t have an answer.

And then, after experiencing rejections, you’ll figure out that there is a smarter way of getting a publisher – literary agents. A literary agent doesn’t guarantee finding a publisher for your book, but the chances are high and you can hope for the best. Yes, hope – the beautiful four letter word that has been the basis of every wonderful dream ever realized. And you hope and you’ll be surprised that the very publisher who had rejected your manuscript earlier considers this time and may even accept it for publishing. So, you finally get a publisher – after few rejections or through a literary agent. You pay good amount of your hard-earned money to the agent. But you know that it’s totally worth it. Totally. You forget the past and feel elated. You feel you’re done and you will be signing autographs in near future. But wait, the show has just begun!

Again, you’ll be surprised to know that it takes anywhere between 6 months to a year for your book to finally see the light of the day. But then, since you don’t have too many options, you go for it. You sign the contract for a meager royalty as you realize that getting published is in itself a big deal. Money doesn’t really matter. You tell yourself – “Let me earn good name with my first book. I can demand something for my next book.”

And then, you start working with your editor who, most probably, has a different perspective of your book. A writer-editor relationship is as intriguing and interesting as a husband-wife relationship. But you’ll give your best shot to get along well with your editor. You’ll insist sometimes, you’ll compromise
sometimes. It feels good when the editor makes your work look better and it hurts when he chops off something that’s very special to you. But then, you understand that both of you are working in the best interest of the book. And you finally come up with the final version of the book. It’s done, finally. So you may think. But hey, picture abhi baaki hain mere dost!

Then comes the cover-design part. No matter how good your book is, if the cover isn’t that good, it becomes difficult for your book to do well. The saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover” is being said since ages because people have been judging the books by its cover since ages.(If you’re already famous, cover doesn’t really matter. But I am writing this article for ordinary first timers) Most probably, you’ll get a cover designed and you’ll convince the designer of the publishing house to accept it. If you’re a perfectionist, you’ll also take care of the layout and the font. But most writers don’t do that as it’s handled mostly by the technical team of publishing houses.

And finally, your book is ready. You hold the first copy of your book like a new born baby. Emotional fools may even shed tears of happiness. You feel happy to finally see a tangible product in your hand. You forget all the hardships. You forget the pain. You forget all the sacrifices you made. You just feel an inexplicable joy. But wait, this doesn’t last long! Very soon, you’ll realize that you’ll have to worry about marketing, sales and distribution.

You’ll very soon figure out that marketing a book is at least 10 times more difficult than writing a book. But you’ll do your best nonetheless. Then, you see distribution problems. Retail store owners wouldn’t stock your books, let alone put them in the front shelves, because for them, money matters and books by first time authors hardly sell, at least initially. When you ask them, they’ll say, “If the book comes in demand, we’ll order more copies?” You’ll feel like asking them, “How would people come to know of the book if the book isn’t placed in the front shelves at least for a few days?” But you won’t ask. You’ll just smile. You’ll soon understand that flipkart, homeshop18 and other online retail stores are a blessing for first timers.

As time passes, people start reading your book. They like it. They give it to their friends. Their friends like it. Word of mouth spreads. You keep getting fan mails. You’ll feel happy. Slowly, sales of your book pick up. Retail stores start ordering your book. And even if your book is really good, most probably, it may take six months to a year for it to be in most retail stores. But for this to happen, the book must be really good. Really, really good!

After that, in case you become a little famous, for your next book, you won’t have to really work so hard to get a publisher. No matter what crap you write, people will still read your book. Or at least buy the book. The writer inside you might feel bad because you understand that the name matters more than the worth of the content of the book. And money matters more than it should matter in the publishing industry. But you get along with the truth. You do your best to write good stuff and life moves on.

But the other side of the story, however, is different. Among hundreds of authors, only very few taste success. The rest, depending on their take on life, may write another book or get along with other things in life. But nevertheless, writing is an enriching experience. You’ll discover yourself and you’ll understand the world better. Whether the book becomes a hit or flop, you’ll never be the same old person again.


Finally, coming to the question - What it takes to be a first time author? Well, the answer is – it takes everything.