© Rasana Atreya
Rasana Atreya is the author of Tell A Thousand Lies and The Temple Is Not My Father. Rasana, based in Hyderabad, India, is a great example of an author who chose to self-publish her books confidently. She represents the modern day author who takes on the self-publishing process in a very sensible and organized manner. Here are some lessons from Rasana Atreya’s writing career that may help other writers.
Follow your heart
Rasana left a comfortable job in the IT industry to follow her dreams and become a writer. She is part of a growing group of young, educated Indian professionals who are bitten by the writing bug, and brave enough to leave their good jobs to devote themselves to a writing career. For the most part, these writers have been very successful, and Rasana is no exception. However, this option may not be for everyone. Rasana advises writers to keep their day jobs if they are in it just for the money. A career in writing, especially for self-published authors, does not provide regular and guaranteed income, at least not right away.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with self-publishing
She was actually offered a publishing contract by one of India’s largest publishing houses, after her book Tell A Thousand Lies was shortlisted for an award. But Rasana wanted to retain the digital rights to her book and have control over the entire publishing process. So, despite her friends thinking she was crazy, she went ahead and turned down the offer, and decided to self-publish her book instead. While a book deal from a leading publisher might seem like the Holy Grail to many writers, be aware of the entire picture regarding digital rights, royalties and other factors. Self-publishing your own book might seem overwhelming and scary, but it ends up being the right choice for many writers.
The self-publishing route requires preparation
Once you have decided to self-publish your book, research and preparation are key, and this is where Rasana really shines. Some authors try to take a short-cut and collaborate with vanity publishers or other such publishing setups which don’t make any profit for the writers. Rasana however spent some time researching and understanding the self-publishing process and decided she could handle it herself. She went about it in a careful and planned manner, from having her book professionally edited, to cover designing, formatting and preparing herself for the Amazon Kindle self-publishing process.
Market yourself and your book
Marketing your e-book is not fun, and probably the least appealing thing in the process. However, this is a very, very important step for self-published authors. Rasana has approached this process in a near-textbook-perfect manner. This author has an active presence on social media and manages an interesting and well-written blog on books and publishing related topics. She approached critics and blog owners for honest reviews of her book, which helped her book sales. She also participated in the Kindle’s KDP Select program and made great use of the program to kick-start her sales.
Write about issues that touch your heart
Rasana writes about topics that are near to her heart and which move her. Her books are based on social issues that continue to plague rural India, such as the dowry system and forced slavery of women. According to Rasana Atreya, her books contain elements of tragedy, as well as comedy. Apparently, it is a combination that works. Her novel, Tell a Thousand Lies, was shortlisted for the 2012 Tibor Jones South Asia prize.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CS_Rajan.jpg [/author_image] [author_info]CS Rajan is a freelance writer who loves to write on various topics, and is currently working on her first novel. [/author_info] [/author]