Oct
8
Want to write a book?
Filed Under Think About It
A few years ago, when I was publishing a youth newspaper, The Campus Paper, one of the student journalists working with me came to me for guidance on writing a book. She did not have a theme in mind, but just wanted to write one. Her enthusiasm was definitely very impressive.
At that stage, I did convey that I am not exactly the right judge of what goes into the making of a good book. I started jogging my mind to see if I knew any suitable editors or publishers, but could not think of any who might have been willing to help out.
But a thought struck me the other day. There is a person who can be writer, editor and publisher all thrown into one. That person is YOU. Yes, I am not kidding. Let me explain.
Like the girl who approached me a while back, many of you must be having a desire to write a book. But there must be many of the obvious issues holding you back like: Can I write well? Will anyone publish me? Will people laugh at me? Will I be read?
Here is my suggestion: Go ahead and write a book anyway. Pick any theme you like. It could be about butterflies or about sadhus. It could be the love story of a boy in love with his teacher, or something about college politics. Write a psycho-thriller, or someone’s biography. Or even your own autobiography. Write a book based on historical events or characters, or even a travelogue. Just pick a theme you like.
And then go ahead and write the book. Assume the worst: no one will read it. Write it for yourself. If you are lucky, your family, relations and friends will read it. You might get some readers if you post it on the net. If you are damn lucky, you could have a bestseller on your hands.
And why should you write it? The most important reason is you will feel good about it, no matter what the quality of the job done. Don’t let your self-esteem suffer if others don’t read it or are too critical; you still did a lot better than them.
But make sure you research the subject well. Talk to as many people concerned with the subject to broaden your perspective. At least you will be richer with the knowledge gained, undoubtedly invaluable in every respect. (On a lighter note, perhaps it might help you score some brownie points with the opposite sex. Or enable you to participate in BBC’s Mastermind.) What it will also enable you to do is learn the art of research and presentation. Trust me, this is such a vital skill needed in whatever we do but missing in most of us. If you show your manuscripts at various stages to those around you, you will get inputs to help improve your work.
The effort will also instill a sense of discipline in you if you make and follow schedules for yourself. You will also get to meet a lot of people in the process, some of whom can be friends or mentors for life. It will also look good on your CV for future academic pursuits and jobs. (I would definitely give points to any candidate who has been enterprising enough to write a book just like that).
In case you are thinking about it, you don’t need a publisher to print it for you. Just type it on a computer and print it. Or even a handwritten one will do. A book is a book.
For those of you still in school or college, you have all the time in the world. So go ahead and do it. You might be your only reader. But you are also the most important reader.
An idea worth pondering over? Think about it.
[Incidentally, I took my own advice and have since then gone on to write two books and a third one is currently being edited]
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8 Responses to “Want to write a book?”
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Nice blog!! I am suffering from writing inertia. I can think and come up with the idea but don’t have presistence to write them down.
I’m going to take your advice !!
All the best Satyajit…If I can help in any way, would be happy to do so.
Cheers… Ajay
Excellent Ajay. Hopefully I will get out of my lethargy and start typing for the idea is already their and I have already written one paragraph about 3 months ago.
I will say one line first ” You are my Inspiration”
Sometimes god sends u answers when you are not looking for them and sometimes wen u least expect them… this blog post was an answer to all the questions i have ponderd wenevr i have thought of writting one…
I’ll just say thanks a lot… I dont know when will i do so or wat subject wats my theme or how will I manage with my already too fucked up schedule, but I believe where there is a will there is a way and i will do it for sure and will rember this god sent answer wenevr there is a doubt on the way.
But first I need to look for another Inspiration for a topic inspiring enough to write on.
Thanks again… and i am too impresses about the topic of your book… the road signs… very innovative…congrats.. and all the best
Hi,
Thanks for the motivation u have pumped in, i have already started to write a book, will come to you soon with the same.
Hey Amit, great to find your ideas (Opps I mean I stole your contact details from the a lady who held your visiting card), and I am motivated to find your ideas. Keep it up Cheers :-). I am amongst those who want to write book and freelance.
I did write something when i was in college but it ended in just 11 pages… since then I have thought over a few topics, a couple of them quite seriously but never got enough material to be jotted down.. how should i collect matter for my subject??