7 easy tips to write and publish your first book

It feels good to be back to writing ways on this platform. For the last few months, apart from a professional change that kept me busy with the transition (of jobs and cities), I also worked on an exciting project with my uncle — of writing and launching a book. YES! I am a published author now and the book I co-authored was an Amazon best seller in India (Top 20) in the Science fiction genre at the time of launch.

Until I actually got involved into the project, I had very limited idea about what it takes to write and more importantly, publish a book. Having gone through the entire process (led by my uncle) over the past 9-10 months, I wanted to put down our learning and tips here, with the hope that it helps some of you to get started on that writing project that you’ve been thinking for long, but have not put into action.

Here goes our list.

1. Find a co-author

Writing and a publishing a book is not an easy process. So don’t go that distance alone, especially if you are writing your first book. Self-doubt might creep in. “Am I going in the right direction?”, “Is the content appealing?”, “Is it worth the effort?”. Some of these demons might get addressed if you discuss freely with a like-minded co-author.

2. You have the time; just make it happen

Family time, work, social life, social media, fitness. We already have lot of activities packed in our lifestyle which makes us think 24 hours in a day is not enough. This stream of thought might dissuade us from even thinking about writing a book. I surprised myself when I was able to find time to work on the book, without compromising on work, family, social life and health.

3. Perfection is a mirage

A product can only be better than what is was yesterday. It can never be perfect. Even 2 days before publishing the book, we were able to find some minor flaws and ambiguities in the manuscript. That is when we realized that reaching a state of perfection is a mirage, and a good product released in time is good enough.

4. Age is just a number

My Uncle Vijay M. R. (author of the book) is 63 years “young”. His dedication and rigor at that age inspired me to push harder to help him bring out a good book. So if you think you’re too old or too young to write a book, just acknowledge that those are your own mental blocks which could easily be addressed. Don’t ever let that be a hindrance to launch your first book.

5. Focus on the process and enjoy it; don’t worry about the results

My idol M. S. Dhoni often used to say this, and I can’t agree more. This applies to any aspect/phase of life.

6. Never give up!

It’s an overused phrase, but is so true! When you think about giving up midway, think about why you started in the first place.

7. Go digital

Publishing an e-book is easier than you think and doesn’t cost much. Just do some google searches and research to understand the process better. We used draft2digital platform to get our ebook live across many different portals at the same time – Amazon Kindle, Apple, Scribd, Barnes & Noble, Rakuten Kobo, among others. The process is not that difficult may take one or two days at best.

I hope these tips would be helpful to you and maybe even inspire you to go write your first book.

Thanks,

Nitin

Co-Author: Gita and her War with the Aliens

Amazon Science Fiction bestseller

4 Life Lessons from Sachin’s “Playing It My Way!”

It’s been a year now since Sachin Tendulkar (hereby called Thalaivar in this post) kissed the Cricket pitch goodbye! He has moved on in life, spending time with family, adopting villages, writing an Autobiography, etc. The Nation is yet to move on. He is the nation’s (okay, majority of the nation’s) greatest pride. So when his Autobiography hit the shelves recently, it was only natural that his countrymen and cricket lovers world-wide expected it be as awesome as his batting. A lot has been written about the book already. I will reserve my comments for a later day. Today, I list down 4 Life Lessons that stand out in Thalaivar’s “Playing It My Way”

Do your duty, everything else will fall in place

To put it bluntly, Thalaivar is just another human being like you and me, who went about doing his duty diligently, day in and day out. When he failed, he practiced hard. When he succeeded, he practiced harder. It’s amazing how just by doing his duty (along with some God given talent), he is literally worshipped by millions of people.

If you deserve something, you’ll get it somehow; today or 20 years later

Imagine. Thalaivar had to see the likes of Andrew Symonds and Brad Hogg lift the World Cup before him having got the chance to do so. Throughout the book, Thalaivar describes the painful journey of working so hard to win the coveted World Cup and failing five times, in succession.  It all comes down to the clichéd phrase, “Quitters Never Win, Winners Never Quit”.

Music heals

If there’s anything apart from Cricket that Thalaivar mentions in “Playing It My Way”, it’s music and food. Music is a great healer. It’s a man’s best friend when he is dejected/disappointed. It helps channelize your emotions and concentrate harder. No wonder a lot of sportsmen (including the likes of Thala Rahul Dravid) take to music to improve concentration levels.

Be grateful to your teachers, family and God

Ramakant Achrekar would have been a proud teacher just to see his pupil (Thalaivar) excel in International Cricket, let alone Thalaivar crediting a major chunk of his success to Achrekar Sir. Thalaivar (mentions in his book) never fails to pay a visit to his teacher Achrekar Sir, his aunt (who played a major part in his early years as a budding cricketer) and two local temples, every single time he leaves India for an away series. Such a simple life lesson – be grateful to your teachers, family and God!

Book review: Life is what you make it

Ankita has everything going her way.  She is great at writing and painting. She is the Arts Club Secretary of her college. She gets MBA  admission in one of the top management Institutes in Mumbai. Then, a chain of events lands her as a patient in a Mental Hospital. How Ankita musters the courage and strength and how love and acceptance changes her life for the better, forms the rest of the book.

I have always been a fan of first person narratives. That’s why I liked Chetan Bhagat. I am yet to figure out why many young Indians hate Chetan Bhagat. May be because he thinks and acts like the representative of India’s youth (he is approaching 40). But, I loved most of his works.

“Life is what you make it” is also a first person narrative, told by Ankita. It is actually apt, since most of the narrative actually deals with what is going on in Ankita’s mind. I liked the way Preeti Shenoy (author of the book) showed the stark contrast in the cultures of conservative Kerala and open Mumbai. The parts describing Ankita’s college days set in Cochin are filled with witticisms that keep the reader engaged.

This is the second work of art relating to Bipolar disorder that I’ve come across. The first was the Dhanush starrer, “3”, a tamil movie. While “3” had the lead character committing suicide, “Life is what you..” is the story of how Ankita overcomes the disorder and truly understands the meaning of her existence.