Becoming Author- The Perks and the Perils

Sketched from the canvas of your thoughts, imaginations, experiences, observations, and ideas, you have that compulsive urge to outpour your creative acumen encompassing various forms and giving it a readability so that people can connect to the unique world you have crafted! Doesn’t it sound mesmeric and appealing? And when you take that leap of faith and indulge in the process of writing, pursuing the fanciful dream, taking the determined hustle through sleepless nights, and slaving away at the computer, soaking in the unbridled magical joy sometimes emerging through dark and pained experience, you begin to embrace what your heart set you out for, with the writer’s confidence, moments of bliss, and feelings of insecurity and self-doubt, all encapsulated within your paradoxes of excitement and despair.

Successfully surviving through the intensive process of giving the form of a manuscript to that dream and then stepping into the real world of goals. The far-fetched fantasy now becomes a long daunting journey laden with author goals, objectives, publishing, and post-publishing aspects. But before all that, you need to be ready with a manuscript to be eligible to worry about the later steps. And thus begins the course of revisions, edits, re-edits, more writing, re-writing, and so on, until you have saturated your heart and soul, and mind. Now follows the task of sending out your manuscript to beta readers among friends, family, and acquaintances, for that firsthand feedback on your work. Constructive criticism and review taken in stride, you set out to polish your work before handing it out to the publishers.

You are still dream walking as you send out queries to the literary agents to represent your work and get you publishing deals. Or whether you opt to be more in control of the content, avoid the disappointments of rejections, speed up the process, and go for self-publishing. Either path you choose, you now go through the grueling drill of rejections, re-submissions, queries, proposals, offers, and acceptances. With the changing trends in the blink of an eye, even if your manuscript finds a place in the editor’s den, there’s no guarantee of ‘winning an Oscar’. You hang on to the reality check that what appeals to one reader may not be approved by another, not everyone would read and perceive your work the same way. As you wait with bated breath for your dream to take the shape of a book, you focus on networking with other writers and developing technical know-how and creative ways to make a strong social media presence so that you are visible. Equipped with a clear plan and detectable path to consistently control and pursue the author’s goals with no fairy dust and no rocket-science approach, you march on through the prolonged wait or an overnight deal if your luck shines with the right access and perfect timing.

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A craft that has reached a particular level of professionalism and worthy to be presented to the literary circuit and the world, is now on its way to impressing the readers. “Writing is subjective, and one should not let one opinion weigh down on them”. Whether you are destined to become a one-book wonder or fated to write several before one shines through, let perseverance, patience, and dedication be your guiding lights to keep you strong and going! It may be exhausting and emotionally draining at times but isn’t this what your heart ached for?

And when you hold your book in your hands, brimming proudly and still dreaming big, do you dare to think how many books actually go beyond impressing family, friends, peers, colleagues, acquaintances, and so on before they exhaust the confined arena of recognition or even marginally reaching a well-read status by critics? What then? Do you give up with sagging enthusiasm, depleting confidence, and declining resources? Of course Not! Continue to dream of becoming a successful author, be a writer before you even begin to fantasize about red-carpet premiers of your book adaptations, a huge army of fan-following of your book, book tours, book launches, book signings, literary events, and awards, media highlights, glam parties at posh destinations, etc, etc. Be clear on your author goals- are you writing for yourself, do you crave fame, is your prime focus the potential earnings, would you want your talent to be recognized, or simply write without bothering about what comes next? Whatever you aspire and expect out of your writing, enjoy the process and journey rather than worrying about the destination. Channelize your dreams to keep them on the pages, create through pen and paper, and be realistic and ready with a long-term plan as you set foot on the writer’s journey ahead, set incremental author goals, and go one step at a time! You may or may not reach what you envisioned, but there’s always progress and a sense of contentment at the end of the day.

Live each day and breathe every moment, be full of life as you transfer the vibe to your readers!

About the columnist

Jyoti Jha is a reputed Author, Former HR Professional, Columnist, and Globetrotter. An esteemed winner of Times of India Write India Season 3, she is a proud Panelist and Guest Speaker in IIM Lucknow and IITs. Speaker at the prestigious Times LitFest, an honorable Judge at Kashiyatra, IIT BHU twice consecutively, a Jury Member at Kritva, the annual Fest at IMI New Delhi, and a receiver of several literary awards, she contributes to both English and Hindi literature.