(Prashant Shrivastava)The gap between an aspiring writer and a professionally established one is huge, at least what a new writer sees. Actually, the said gap is a thing of past. Earlier when writers had to write with a pen, manually, and then submit their scripts with publications for considerations, in that age, publishers also preferred established authors to ensure a steady sale of the copies. The chances of being considered for publication were thin. And many aspiring writers’ work would get lost in papers stored in racks at home.
Today, the situation is different. At least you can be sure that your work will be seen by a sizable group of people. Thanks to free services by social media platforms.
On a book publishing front, even today if you see the established publishers prefer known and popular authors. Although new writers are given chances that share is pretty low. You must be extremely lucky to be selected by renowned publishers.
To check facts, just see the ‘Write With Us’ or ‘Publish With Us’ sections on websites of publication houses. They will ask you to send the script and then wait for about six months for their reply. Six months is a long period but the publishers get many scripts on a daily basis and they need time to read through and evaluate a story on various fronts like the meat of the story and commercial viability etc.
Writing itself is a tedious job. Carrying a story for 200 odd pages and keeping every page interesting is a task in itself. And then, if you have to wait for months just with one publisher, you start losing focus and motivation.
It does not mean that you should not try with big publishers. In fact, you must but you cannot wait forever.
Today, self-publishing has also become a good option where you pay a fixed price to the publisher and you get your book ready in your hand within a couple of weeks. Depending on your contract with the publisher, you get good royalty and you may also retain all the rights of the work. This indeed is a win-win situation.
But it comes at a cost. You may or may not be willing to spend a whopping amount on a book, which might not do well as you are new to the block.
Another popular option is posting your work on the internet on free blogs. Chefs, musicians, singer, actors, and dancer have become an internet sensation after they put their work on videos sharing channels. Today, avid readers also flock to various blog sites to find good stories. You only need a valid email account to be able to join a blog service and then you can post your stories online. Once posted, you can share them with your friends and readers. You surely will get a good response for your good work and you also will get review comments of criticism from a section of readers. You get the motivation to write and ideas to improve as well.
All that you need is a desire to be a writer and then you have plenty of options open before you to use. The point is that today, in this age of internet and mobility, you stand the best chance to live your dream as a writer. You do not need the approval of anyone. Starting writing and see, which platform suits you? Get going.
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