Guest Post by Neil D'Silva

Neil and I connected through his brother Roy who I had worked with previously in Pune. Soon, we began chatting about my books and marketing strategies. It was around the same time that Neil launched his first book – Maya’s New Husband, which went on to become a bestseller. Today, Neil shares his experience with budding authors and interested readers on my blog. 

Thanks for sharing Neil and all the best for your forthcoming projects!

Maya’s New Husband: How I Wrote a Bestseller

Despite being a debut novel, Maya’s New Husband has gone on to rank at #1 on Amazon shortly after its paperback release, win awards, and earn a considerable amount of critical appreciation. People usually ask me questions on how I did it, and this is my humble attempt to guide others who might wish to take something from my experience.

Be Inspired

You cannot write a good book if you aren’t inspired by a story. Do not go looking for inspiration; let it hit you. This inspiration could be just a thought, or a story you hear, or something you see, but it should have an impact on you.

For me, it happened when I was on a holiday in Goa. While spending a cozy evening with my wife in the balcony of our room that faced the Calangute Beach, and seeing the happy couples holding hands and sharing their love, a thought entered my mind—How much of each other do these couples really know? What if one of these has a dark unmentionable secret?

The idea shook me to the core. Thus, the grain of Maya’s New Husband was born.

Build an Outline

You may be a plotter or a pantser, it doesn’t really matter. I am a bit of both. I plot the beginning and the end of the story, and a few of the vital scenes that occur in between. But a lot of the flow occurs when you actually sit down and write. If you are really convinced in your work, trust me, your story will begin writing itself.

Feel Your Characters

In any story, the characters are the most important. Every aspect of them has to be pat down, and the author must know fully well how the characters would react in different situations. With my book, I started with the titular husband first. I closed my eyes until I could actually see Bhaskar Sadachari in my mind, every wrinkle on his face, and I put him into different situations mentally and decided how he would react. I did the same with the protagonist, Maya Bhargava, and the rest of the characters. For me, it helped to establish physical traits first and then the behavioral aspects.

Being True to Genre

My book is a horror-thriller. When I began, a question that loomed large in my head as to how horrific I wanted it to be. Tales of aghoris and tantriks are common. But I intended to write a very different tale. Though it had a dark aspect of our Indian lore as its basic theme, I wanted it to be an urban story. I wanted no clichés. Hence, I decided on all-out, no-holds-barred horror.

At times, the story was so chilling that I could not write it at nights. I had to shut down even in the middle of a totally intriguing scene, because the horror was that difficult to take. But that made me sure of one thing—this was the right direction to take if I was writing horror. Horror is, after all, meant to horrify.

That’s the way it should be. You should feel the genre you are writing in. If it is humor, you should laugh at the jokes first. If it is romance, you should feel the pangs.

The Writing and The Editing

I wrote Maya’s New Husband quite fast, and for that the credit goes to NaNoWriMo 2014. The initial manuscript of the book was written in this month of November, and I became a winner as well. That was my first accolade for writing. I wrote around 3000-6000 words a day. Once you have the entire outline in your mind, the going gets easy.

I moved away from the book for three weeks and then got to editing around mid-December. Editing was furious, and I did my own stuff as well as incorporated suggestions from various people I had sent the book out to. Every word was weighed against its value, and the final product was ready by January 2015.

A Book Is Never Done

I always maintain that the actual work of a writer begins after penning the words ‘The End’. Completing a book is of no avail if no one reads it. For Maya’s New Husband, I did quite a few things, including creating a platform on Facebook and Twitter, building my website to reflect my writing, collaborate with other writers for cross-promotions, submit my book to awards (MNH has won at the Literary Awards 2015 in The Entertainer category) among other things.

But the best bit of advice I can give is this: The greatest advertisement for a writer is to write another book. So don’t stop! You never know which of your books will hit the mark, and that will create an interest in your other books as well. I wrote The Evil Eye and The Charm three months after MNH and that has helped me immensely.

So, keep writing, and take care!

You can contact him at -  http://neildsilva.com

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24284039-maya-s-new-husband

Interview with Author Santosh Avvannavar

A God-fearing man, a kind-hearted human and a person who uses his skills and knowledge to write about social issues with the intention of drawing the attention of readers to the problems at hand and then working together to provide a solution for the same. Santosh Avvannvar is all of this and much more! Recently I sent him a mail asking him if he was interested in doing an interview for my blog; he replied in the affirmative. Here are the questions I asked the writer and this is what he has to say about himself, his work and what makes him choose the topics he does.

Me: All your books I have reviewed so far have a social message…how does the idea germinate? How do you zero in on a certain theme?

Santosh: Thanks for an interesting question. Let me give a brief on this, Second Heart, a book on awareness of Kidney issues through fiction stories ,was through a brain-storming session with Dr. Sandeep Huilgol, which was done over a cup of coffee. Title is Untitled was a book that has a focused structure preparation based on the social issues that I have read about through various sources. Then I went in search of such stories and it needed patience and persistence to pen down their views. Black, Grey and White began with a workshop on Sexual Transmitted Diseases by Dr. Saurabh. This led me to search for stories related to the myths surrounding HIV/AIDS. The book, Surrogate Author was out of an idea from Devdas and critics have helped shape the book. It’s similar to the books - The Departing Point and God’s Table. I believe in brainstorming to write a variety of stories.

Me: Since most of your books have been co-authored - Tell us a little about the pros and cons involved in this process.

Santosh: Teamwork is advantageous for most tasks. People with complementary skills are a great help in reaching the objective. Dividing tasks help to achieve them much better. However, sometimes there could be a lag in taking the work forward. Having said this, some collaborations may not be promising if one of the authors sees it just as an opportunity rather than a collective effort. This is more of a learning phase.

Me: I am sure that you have received a lot of reviews about the topics you choose to write about and the style you write it in…..what is the nicest and the most critical review you have received?

Santosh: The first name that comes to my mind is, book blogger Maniparna Sengupta. I like her carefully articulated reviews, which gives out negative criticism in a positive way. In other words, I see that her writing has an assertive style which is inspiring to read. I also noticed that she has never shunned away from writing honest reviews irrespective of personal expectations as a reader. I see her as an example of a good critic!

Me: How long does the whole writing process take?

Santosh: Most of my writing has been done over a span of 10 years.  A lot of backlog was also there as some books take a lot of time like for e.g - Get a Job WITHOUT an Interview took nearly seven years. Ideally books related to social issues take me about a year to write. I foster the process with the help of an editor who works along with me and completes the editing work as soon as I complete a chapter.

Me: What other books are you working on?

Santosh: I am presently working on the biography of a business leader and am hoping to wind up the writing by May end. Apart from this I am also working on two interesting books, one on Lucid dreams and another on the life of a Quality Engineer. These books should be available in stores by the end of this year.

Me: You are into a lot of other things…how do you find the time to write?

Santosh: I pen down points whenever there is little time between tasks. Apart from this, I have a fixed schedule to script a story. I don’t attend to phone calls and neither do I browse the internet during this time.

Me: How do you spend your time on weekends?

Santosh: I am in constant search of stories. Sunday’s I attend church in the first half and spend the remaining time meeting new people.

Me: Who is your favorite author?

Santosh: The Bible has a good and positive impact on my understanding and writing. Next to it are M. K. Gandhi’s books. I also enjoy reading Subroto Bagchi’s books.

Me: What is your favorite quote?

Santosh: There are several ones; however here is one …

“One does not need to create assets for future generation, make them an asset instead.”

Me: If you had one wish, what would you wish for and why?

Santosh: To put a smile on the faces of the underprivileged children! This wish would make it worth being named "Santosh" (Happy).

You can contact me at -

www.rachnagupta.in

myriadhues14@gmail.com

Twitter - @GuptaRach

Guest Post by Jyoti Arora - Author of "Lemon Girl"

In her guest post, author Jyoti Arora talks about her book “Lemon Girl,” the reason she chose the title and why she decided to self-publish her second novel. Read on to know more…

What’s in a name?

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said William Shakespeare.

And yet, are names really so inconsequential? If they were, parents wouldn’t worry their minds for months to find a perfect name for their child and authors wouldn’t worry for as long and just as hard to find the perfect title for their book.

As my first novel Dream’s Sake was traditionally published, I had little control over its title, but as I decided to self-publish my second book, choosing a perfect name was entirely my responsibility. And I chose to call it LEMON GIRL….

And since Lemon Girl released, I have been asked often about how I came to decide such a weird sounding name for such a serious book. But the good thing is that many readers have written to me saying that they understood the relevance of the title upon reading the book. Some have even said that there couldn’t have been a better title for this book. At the same time, some people have called it a funny name, but such comments have so far come from only those who had not yet read the book. One such person actually told me that Lemon Girl was a title more fit for a comic book than a book based on such a serious issue.

Not that I minded this comment. In my on-going love affair with books, comics decidedly occupy the pride of place of being my first love. And even though I may have grown over that first crush, I can’t in good faith accept that I still don’t secretly adore them!

But I digress. So, getting back to the title of the book, do I regret having selected Lemon Girl as the title of my second novel?

The answer is, not at all!

I won’t say that there couldn’t have been a better title for my book. After all, there’s no limit to imagination and possibilities, but I love the title Lemon Girl. I love its uniqueness and its catchy sound and the curiosity that it generates in the readers’ mind. As whimsical as Lemon Girl might sound, I did not select it because of a whim or fancy. I am well aware of the importance of a good title for a book.

Yes, a good title is as important for a book as a good cover. Of course, traditionally published authors can’t have a total control on the covers and titles of their books. Publishers often have more say in naming a book. And I have heard of publishers who actually name their books based on numerological consideration rather than relevance to the story! But not being familiar with the precepts of numerology, here’s what I personally think are important considerations for choosing a book title.

First of all, the title should sound good and intriguing. A reader should feel curious about the book just by hearing its title. The world of books is too full of competition now. And if my Facebook friend list is any indication, then India has far more writers now than readers! And if that’s true, you can well imagine the competition we writers are facing. Well, the book’s title can serve as a very useful tool to make the book stand out from the rest.

However, interest value of the title must not be allowed to compromise its relevance to the book. Even the best sounding title will lose its value if the reader is left wondering at its relevance to the story of the book. My novel’s title Lemon Girl may sound unusual, but it has a very marked and symbolic relevance in the book and actually plays a major role in the story. And that is why several readers have told me that there couldn’t have been a more apt title for the book.

These days, I’m seeing many books that bear titles that sound more like sentences. I won’t say they are wrong. People have different choices and some may perhaps like them better than smaller titles, but I find them very cumbersome. If the author or the reader has to use an acronym for the title of the book; than that’s a sure sign that the title is too long for comfort. It is ironical that at a time when the readers prefer shorter books, the titles of the books are getting longer and longer.

Titles of the books can’t be copyrighted. That means more than one book can have similar titles. However, if a writer takes the liberty to copy an already famous title like Harry Potter or Da Vinci Code, it will do more harm than good and might even affect the writer’s reputation adversely. So, while it is not always possible for writers to be sure that their book’s title is unique, one must resist the temptation of using an already famous title or one that sounds too blatantly similar to it.

Similar blatant and unjustified use of celebrity names must also be avoided. One can name a book Madhuri Dixit – the Diva if the book is about Madhuri Dixit. But it will certainly be wrong if a writer names a book Madhuri Dixit’s Style Tips when the tips in the book come from the Madhuri Dixit of the writer’s neighbourhood beauty salon rather than the Bollywood star.

That said, let me tell you how I decided the title Lemon Girl.

Well, I had not yet started writing my book at that time. I was only mentally weighing various ideas about it and trying to plan out its story. In short, procrastinating and pushing the task of writing to another and another day. Just as I’m busy doing with my third novel!

But anyway, I was also wondering what I should call the book. I was thinking of listing out possible names and then using whichever would seem most suitable once the book was complete. I knew that I wanted a short name; one that would draw attention. And I wanted it to reflect the real character of the heroine. Well, the heroine Nirvi in my book is a girl full of spirit and laughter. She’s fresh and innocent, full of tangy retorts. At least till she is made to face the bitter realities of the world! These bitter realities then make her discard her real self and turn into a voiceless and submissive doll. But her real and honest self is not quite so easy to put down or forget. I somehow ended up thinking of lemons when I thought more about Nirvi’s real personality - Her freshness, her spirit, her tangy wit. Some of that made the words Lemon Girl to light up in my mind. And I decided then and there that Lemon Girl was going to be the title of my next book. I did not bother to think of any other name after that. Instead, I concentrated on weaving the title into the fabric of the story till it became an integral part of the book.

The theme of Lemon Girl is very current. So I decided to self-publish it instead of waiting for months and years to get a positive nod from a publisher. And so, I was able to use the name that I had selected. And thankfully, responses from the readers and reviewers are giving me sufficient proof that it was a fortunate and delicious choice.

About the Author

Jyoti Arora is a Post Graduate in English Literature and Applied Psychology. Her writing achievements include two novels, three blogs, several wins in national and international level blog competitions, over five years of freelance writing experience, developing books for kids and abridging 24 famous English novels like Jane Eyre, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn etc.

Jyoti's first novel, Dream's Sake, was published in 2011 by V&S Publishers. It received great reviews and much appreciation from readers. Her second novel Lemon Girl released in November, 2015 and has been winning much love from all readers and reviewers.

Books have always been Jyoti’s best friends. In fact, books so fascinated her from early childhood that she learnt reading, by herself, even before she started going to school. And she considers herself most fortunate that she is able to pursue her dream of being a novelist and work at what she loves best.

However, if books are Jyoti’s first love, and she’s still very devoted to them, the thrilling and steadily advancing world of technology also fascinates her. As a result, one of Jyoti’s blog is a technological blog called Techn0Treats. In 2011, a post in this blog won her the title of Samsung Mobiler when Samsung made her a part of the team of twenty bloggers chosen from all over India through a blogging competition. In this team of twenty bloggers, she was the only woman and perhaps the only one who had studied literature instead of science. As a Samsung Mobiler, Jyoti acted as the promoter and ambassador of Samsung on her blog.

Jyoti is a patient of Thalassemia Major which forced her to stop going to school after class seventh. After that, she continued her studies on her own through correspondence courses. Her zest to overcome her medical problems and zeal to achieve success keeps her striving on to make her dreams come true.

Links -

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jy0tiar0ra

Twitter: Jy0tiAr0ra

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jyotiarora

Website: http://www.jyotiarora.com/

Free download of first 12 chapters of Lemon Girl: http://www.jyotiarora.com/lemon-girl

Contact me at myriadhues14@gmail.com if you want to be featured on my blog or would like me to review your book!