The Insecurities of a Writer

About time to confess my insecurities as a writer. Trust me I am not alone facing this. Every writer goes through this. However, there can be a slight difference in the way they react to it. Some go to hibernation, some may swear never pick up the pen again while some bounce back with the same force. Amongst all there also exists another subspecies of writers who are not even bothered about insecurities. All they do is just brush them off from their cloak and move ahead.

So watch out which league you fall into. I won’t even mention mine. I shall keep it for you to guess it. Okay, so before I start this let me remind my disclaimer once again.

Welcome to a new series of blog posts titled “Authors’ Tips – A to Z of Writing”. Authors Devika Fernando, Preethi Venugopala, Reet Singh, Ruchi Singh, Adite Banerjie, Saiswaroopa Iyer , Sudesna Ghosh and myself — will be posting on a multitude of subjects related to writing. Topics will be chosen alphabetically and each week we propose to cover at least one or more subjects characterized by the Alphabet of the Week.

Okay, so here are a few things that give me shockers.

• A new plot for your book.

A new idea always excites me however, I am equally insecure about my idea theft. I have seen writers go bonkers over the thought of it. A plot that they have been toying around for some time is suddenly in front of them in the form of a book or series written by another writer. Oh my God! It is the biggest nightmare for any writer. Goosebumps.

• The first draft of your book.

Oppps. It’s more like an emotional vomit actually. Pardon me for using the word but that’s how it is. Actually, the first draft has everything the writer thought to make his book stand out among the other books of the genre. The only difference is you consider this as your masterpiece and expect others to think of it too. But shit is a shit – good or bad doesn’t matter. Throw it on the wall, if it sticks on the wall it’s a good shit and if falls it’s a bad shit.  As long as it sticks its fine but if it falls down, will you still feel the same? Meaning self edit your work as if there is no stopping. Several rounds done will still make it feel as if a little more is needed. So you are trapped in this vicious circle.

• At the editor’s table, your book is anything but at mercy.

The treatment your protagonist and the situations will get from your editor can leave you sleepless for nights. Do you take a yes or a no is all that is actually going to take place as long as your book is undergoing treatment with your editor. What you thought to be your book’s best scene might be shown the way to the trash. Are you ready to face it?

• Your beta readers, the angels, actually your first readers.

Oops! Biting nails. Yes, you can be earnestly waiting to know the reaction of your beta readers. That’s one of the longest waits ever. They will precisely tell you how they feel about your book. Take it as they come. You have all the chances of applying the changes if you want to.

• Finally, your book is ready for the public. Now all your chances of making any changes are gone. Of course on KDP you can always go and update your book. However, the reaction is never the same. The first time you declare that your book is out it is the readers who will give the final verdict to your book baby. As you count your sales your eyes will also be on the lookout for the reviews they leave. OMG, a poor star rating or someone has given out spoilers and you might consider your book finished even before it takes off.

Every writer goes through these insecurities irrespective of the genre of the book. However, one thing  should always be kept in mind that – one book cannot make or break a writer. So keep writing.

Overcoming all of my insecurities I have finally managed to write the Jungle Series that is based on jungle theme. The first book of the series is a stand alone novel, The Clockmaker, #paranormal #thriller #horror is ready for release very soon.

You can read the excerpts and the book trailer here

 

 

Character Interview of the book The Clockmaker

“A clock fixed by us never stops working.”

                                                                            – Ashish Raj Gupta

 

Let’s welcome Ashish Raj Gupta, the protagonist of the book THE CLOCKMAKER, to our hot seat today.

(A man in his early forties enters nervously folding his hands and takes the seat)

Q: Hello Ashish, how have you been?

Ashish: Feeling better now. Thank you. (Looks around)

Q:  You are a very passionate clockmaker. Did you always know that you will take on your family legacy?

Ashish: I grew up listening to the stories of valor of clock making from my Biji and grandfather. From antique timepiece to modern watches we have fixed them all successfully. A saying goes, “A clock fixed by us never stops working.” We are one of the affluent families in the community.

I could never imagine myself in any other profession.

Q: That’s amazing. Does your son too wish to join this family legacy?

Ashish: I am very positive about it. He will when the time comes. He is too young now, so I don’t want to persuade him into anything.

Q:  Ashish, I heard that something happened during the Vaishno Devi trip. What happened there?

Ashish:  (Beads of perspiration on his forehead and he looks very distant suddenly. The feeling of uneasiness clearly shown on his face. He looks down at the wristwatch on his hand and then looking up said in almost a whisper) I can’t answer your question. I got to go!

Q:  Ashish please wait… Is everything alright?

Ashish leaves without looking back.

Let’s welcome Vicky, one of the supporting characters of the novel.

(A young man in his twenties enters smiling confidently and takes his seat)

Vicky: It is my pleasure to be here today. Actually, I am glad to skip my classes today. (Smiles)

Q: Oh! Is it? Okay, tell us something about yourself first.

Vicky: Hi all. I am Vikram Raj Gupta, Vicky for short. I am pursuing Business studies at the moment but that’s because of my Nanu. My passion lies elsewhere – Speed, Biking. I want to participate in the Mountain Biking Rally someday and show the world what I am capable of.

Q: Wow! Does your family know about your passion?

Vicky: (Shrugs) I don’t think so. They don’t even know I am part of the Biker’s Gang. Otherwise, I would have been thrown out of the house long back. (Thinking) I long for their support sometimes but I know it’s not possible.

Q: Sorry to hear that. So are you not going to pursue your dream then?

Vicky: Yeah, of course. Someday I will. But before that, I have to win their trust in me. Right now they are more worried about my professional career.

Q: So are you going to be a clockmaker like your father?

Vicky : (Looks up with a sheepish smile on his face)

I hate to answer it.

Q: Okay. I shall move on to the next question then. Any girlfriend?

Vicky: Umm…

(Blushing again and avoiding eye contact. No answer)

Q: So I guess there is one. What’s her name?

Vicky: (saying shyly) We are just friends.

Q: (Laughs) So you haven’t proposed her yet?

Vicky: Just waiting for the right time I guess.

Q: Hmm, I guess I can make it out now. Okay here is the lifetime opportunity for you then. I am inviting Kavya Menon.

Readers, let’s welcome Kavya Menon, another supporting character of the novel.

 (A girl in her early twenties walks in smiling and waving her hand. Vicky stands up looking nervous)

Q: Hi Kavya. Good to see you here.

Kavya: (Takes her seat beside Vicky) Hello to you all.

(Turns to Vicky)

Glad to see you here Vicky. I am so damn nervous.

Vicky: Me too.

(Shakes hand with her)

Q: Kavya how long have you known Vicky?

Kavya: We met a few days back. Strange he is my classmate too but we hardly interacted before.

Vicky: That’s because I am the backbencher and she is the frontbencher. (laughs)

Kavya: (Gives a naughty glare)

Q: Quite obvious it seems. So Kavya what are your dreams?

Kavya: My family is my dream. I have very loving parents who have always encouraged each one of us to dream big and achieve it. My father is the only bread earner in the family and a heart patient too. But that has never stopped him from fulfilling our wishes. So after my business studies, I plan to get myself a good job and help my family achieve their dreams.

Q: It’s a very noble thought Kavya. I am sure you will do good for your family. But I am also curious to know about your love life. You are so pretty I am sure you have boyfriends too.

Kavya: (Blushing) Actually, I have never thought about it. In fact, there is no time in my routine for all these stuff. My hands are full with my studies, work, and family. (Thinks) Maybe someday I will think about it when I have settled down in life.

Vicky: (Looks towards her and sighs)

Q: Sure, it’s all about the TIME. Isn’t the novel THE CLOCKMAKER about it too?

Vicky & Kavya: (Jointly) Yup. We heartily hope the readers enjoy it. We are going to sharing the blurb and the video trailer of our book. Do check it out.

Q: I am sure they will.  Thank you for your time guys. And thanks to the readers.

Vicky & Kavya: (Jointly) Thanks for inviting us here. Bye. (waves hand)

Releasing on soon on Amazon Kindle. 

 

Stay tuned for the book blurb and the next announcement on the next post

until then

 

Watch the

VIDEO TRAILER OF THE CLOCKMAKER

Engin Akyurek Fan post

Engin Akyurek you stole my heart once more. Kara Para Ask #turkishdrama. Would love to cast you in one of my books.

‘Start marketing your book way before it is published,’ says author Paromita Goswami

The following post first appeared in

http://www.tbcblogtours.com/2017/05/start-marketing-your-book-way-before-it.html

What are the challenges of a debutante author in marketing their first book? And how to overcome them?

Okay, so you wrote a book. Congratulations! The hours of sitting and plotting out your novel, the sleepless nights with your character’s conflict and the tons of times your family and friends might have looked at you with disapproval are finally going to vanish with the new book baby in your hands. There is no doubt that your family and friends will be the first one to shout on top of their voice that we have a new author in the rising. You will be more excited when your book’s sales start rolling in and your book ranking is pacing fast towards the bestseller chart. Wow! You made it. Yahoo!

Is this what actually happens? I am afraid to say no. We all would love to see it happen that way but

it just won’t happen on its own. It will last as long as you have the support of your friends and family. And after the first month, the sales will come down drastically. And then you have to look out for the genuine readers for your book. And that’s when marketing your book comes in. Like all the other products, that you see in the market, your book needs advertising too. Now, what would be the probable challenges you could face as a debutante author in marketing your first book? This is what we are going to discuss today.

The first challenge is visibility. As they say, “Show to sell”. So make your book visible in all goddamn places one could reach. Of course, offline it won’t be possible, but yes through online promotions it can be possible. Luckily, there are many agencies that offer both offline and online promotions these days. That also calls for the good amount of investment. Moreover, you also have to check out the credential of the agency before investing, otherwise you may end up paying to bogus companies.

Second is getting reviews. Today majority of buyers check out the reviews before purchasing a product and that is applicable to books as well. If you are a debutant then getting a good reviewer is also a big challenge. Mind it when I say good reviewer it means someone who has a good fan following and whose reviews turn into sales. Definitely, you will come across many people who claim to be a reviewer, but know nothing about the art of writing a good review. A review should not be just the synopsis of your book and a rating on a scale of five, it should also be able to show how

different your book is why it should be picked up to read. You should try to get reviews before your book is out in the market so that you have good things to talk about your book in the market. Give out ARC copies to reputed reviewers way in advance.

The third is doing book events across major Indian cities. It is a trend now that an author usually does book tours. The major problem is getting a viewer for the book launch or book reading in a different city other than yours. Sum it up as how many people you know in that city and out of those how many would turn up for your book show and out of them how many will pick up your book. A debutante’s first book may not have that pull. So it is better to tie up with an established author or book club in that city and then do your book tour. This way you will surely connect with some genuine book lovers in that city and create a base for your upcoming books.

 Read more

 

 

And I came across the king…

Isn’t it strange? I have been watching his movies chewing my nails with my eyes rolling around most of the time to see if there was anyone standing right behind me. Gosh! Scary horror movies have always been my favorite time pass during my school summer vacation. Not that I knew about many English directors or Hollywood actors but they had this thrill in their horror movies which I always found missing in our Bollywood movies. Even the famous  Zee TV show of Ramsay Production didn’t excite as did most of the Hollywood horror movies.

I am more of a visual person and hence what I have seen once in safely saved in my memory. And one such memory is of Pet Sematary. It was the story of a family that had shifted to a new home and just when you thought everything was going perfect all hell broke loose. For weeks I was so disturbed by the movie that I could hardly sleep at night. Even strange was I had picked up the movie just by its title. I had no idea about the actors or director of the movie. It was only the title that drew my attention. Those were the days when we use to watch videos in VCP in our bedroom with all the curtains of the windows drawn in to darken the room when it was broad daylight outside. Most of the times it was me and my sisters insanely staring at the TV screen to see what would be the next scene. A slight knock on the door would startle us like anything and nights use to scare the hell of us.

Today after so many decades, I watched a movie trailer on Facebook that was shared by one of my friends. It was of the upcoming movie “IT” written by Stephen King, The king of horror. I have never read Stephen King but today the trailer made me fall in love with his work. He is a terrific storyteller. And then my search for his other work started  on the internet. I came across Pet Sematary and I remembered how it had left me frightened for weeks. So I may not have read his books but his movies did keep me hitched. Like this time it was the trailer of IT.

I am trying my hands on supernatural, paranormal this time. And sincerely hope that I may  incite similar feelings in my reader with my work. Wish me good luck!

 

A still from the movie Pet Sematary

Catch me LIVE at 9:30pm (IST)

Hello friends.

I am pretty new to it and I won’t say no I am not nervous. In fact I am very comfortable behind the lens. I feel I can capture more. However, there are times when you need to come out of your shell and share your experiences which can help some one do better.

So here I am associated with the BLOGCHATTER community, which is a blogging community in India and have  lots of aspiring writers and bloggers from various field. You can say its a platform where many can connect and your blog gets visibility.

So this community is organizing three month writing festival starting from March till May with the April participating in the AtoZchallenge 2017 as a host too. So I am very fortunate to be part of this writing festival with eight more buddy authors who have made their mark with their recent releases.

So join me tonight at 9:30pm on facebook live at

https://www.facebook.com/blogchatter/

 

A small chat about my writing work and my new book.

This post first appeared in

https://shillonggal.blogspot.in/2017/02/author-interview-paromita-goswami.html

In conversation with Paromita Goswami 

Grow Up Messy is a story of a 5-year-old girl Misry who is called as Messy by everyone because of the mess she creates. Misry father has a job which makes him change cities frequently.

The story is from the point of view of Messy which shows her innocence and guile. Messy is a ball of anxiousness and excitement which causes a ruckus and hence she got coined as Messy.

• How did you come up with the idea? Were you like Misry as a child?

Throughout the story it is cute and sweet moments of a mother-daughter relationship in which makes the read more enjoyable.

Every child wants to be like Misry, akka Messy. She is free like a bird and curious like a cat. My inspiration of penning down this beautiful story is for the kids of today’s generation. They are so piled up in their studies pressure or are gazette freak that they don’t know what they are missing in life. The story is set in an era, the early eighties, when there was no television set in most of our homes.

Was I like Misry as a child? Misry lives in every adult who had experienced an  adventurous childhood and I am one of them.

• Are there parenting lessons in Misry’s tale?

She lives with her father Anurag, a paramilitary border security force (B.S.F) personnel, and mother, Madhavi, in the border out post (BOP) camp near Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, India.

Misry’s tale has lots of such moments which a parent can easily relate to. As a Mom I too wondered if it was okay to do that with my child. For example,

Misry’s character in the book Grow Up Messy! is that of an innocent child who depends more on her mother for her smaller needs. The best part is she expects her mother to know everything like a superwoman. She believes there is nothing which her Ma cannot do or hasn’t seen. So when she requests her mother to make Pinjiri, something which she had tasted for the first time elsewhere, it never occurred to her that Ma might not know about its preparation.

You can read more such facts about the book in my website:

https://paromitagoswami.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/fun-facts-about-the-book-grow-up-messy-the-writing-journey/

• That is an interesting setting. Tell us how you came up with it?

Cramped in two or three bedroom Apartment in a metro city with hardly any space for the children to play outside compelled me to look for an alternate setting. It is the fact today. Children either end up playing in the street or parking areas.

They say playground is the best teacher. So I made the setting of my book vast. And there can be no better way than the villages and the sleepy smaller towns near a metro city.

Since I am Bengali, Kolkata is my first choice of a metro city. And idealizing a place nearby the big city was never a problem as I had been there many times to meet my extended family. So that’s how Misry’s Dadu’s house came into my mind, a sleepy town on the outskirts of Howrah. And the setting of B.S.F campus is also inspired by my real life experience as I grew up in that environment. In both the settings I used the facts more that fantasy as I believe that makes the plot more real.

• Writing fiction that caters to the children and the young readers is a steep challenge. What made you choose the genre?

“Choose the genre”, a very good question Paulami. Thanks for putting it up. Actually I don’t write genre specific books. I am more inclined towards the story or the plot. So when Messy was penned I had no doubts that it would be equally liked by both children and adult. Something that each of us as adults still remember doing in your childhood.

One happy hilarious moment when we can be a child again – Grow Up Messy!

Yes of course,  when writing for children and young readers there is certain criteria that you have to keep in mind. Although the book, Grow Up Messy! is from a child’s perspective, it has been very much appreciated by the adults too.

• You also run the Raipur Little Minds Book Reading Club. Tell us something about this.

I started this club to enhance reading habits in children. Print media is one thing today’s kids in our part of world don’t enjoy. Because it takes effort to understand and visualize when you read a book which in case of electronic media is effortless. And mostly kids take that way as they are spending more time getting ready for the rat race in their near future. Courtesy is us , the adults, parents. We want them to do just about everything and that too fast, even gulping a glass of milk. So they take easy when they are left alone. So easy that picking a book and reading for mere pleasure looks very tiring.

I would like to share an incident here. On my son’s birthday, I gave each of the invited child Amar Chitra Katha Comics as return gift. I was very excited when I was distributing it, remembering my childhood times when I use to share it with my friends. But I was in for a surprise. None of children were ready to go home. I told them the birthday party was over. They replied they were waiting for the return gift. I just gave you that I said. Their answer shocked me.

“It’s no gift. It’s a book.”

I had no doubts that I had to start the reading club and it has been an year since then.

• Your previous book Shamsuddin’s Grave has a very different plotline and is a completely different genre. Tell us something about Shamsuddin’s Grave.

Shamsuddin’s Grave is different zone completely. It’s more of a  tear jerker. A book based on critical issue of illegal migrants from Bangladesh in Assam. The book talks about the scenario of today’s issue in the state of Assam. The setting of the book is in Guwahati and how this issue along with many other is affecting its people. It is a social drama based on the lives of two people – one is Shamsuddin, the daily wager who moved into the city for a better living and another is Latika, the N.G.O activist who is back home after a shattered personal life. How their paths cross and intermingle on the wide canvas where so many shades colours from the palette of today’s life  paint their life, sometimes deep, sometimes light.

You can know more about the book from the goodread reviews.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24923650-shamsuddin-s-grave

• Tell us about the rebel Paromita Goswami. Something crazy that you have done.

Laughs. Rebel yeah! So here it goes.

One day while returning from office I took a cycle rickshaw to reach home early. Usually I walked home. Certainly not for doing exercise but for saving money. It was a time when I lived on my own and even a single penny counted. My father didn’t approve my decision of moving out of the house and so I knew I had to fend on my own no matter what. So I always kept that in mind.

So that very day, this guy whose cycle rickshaw I had boarded was pissed off for some reason. He was muttering under his breath all the way but brought me safely to my place. It was a fifteen rupees ride.  I gave him a twenty rupees note and waited for him to give me back the five rupees change. But he didn’t. I knew he was overcharging cause I mostly take rickshaw ride while on my way to the office. I asked him and he said the rates had changed. We had an argument. I don’t mind giving tips for good service but this man was trying to steal my money and I couldn’t let him do that. I didn’t get down from the rickshaw. It stood right in front of my gate but I didn’t get down.

Looking at my intentions the man started pulling crowd to gain sympathy saying  how an educated girl like me was ruining his daily business. I saw the crowd looking at me with questioning eyes. But I didn’t get down. When they started asking me I said upfront the man was cheating me. Luckily, most of the people in the crowd were Rickshaw boarders like me and took my side. The man ultimately had to pay me back the extra money he had taken.

Sometimes when I still remember that incident I laugh out loud now.

Message for new writers.

Enjoy your writing. Don’t get influenced by what others are writing. If you have a story inside you then don’t hesitate to bring it out. Someone somewhere is waiting to read it.