Women Authors On Why They Chose Self Publishing

Many people dream of becoming authors, but it is not an easy task. Picking up writing as a profession is challenging and it can be a long journey to become a published author. I spoke to some women authors who chose to “self-publish” their books. They talk about the challenges that they have faced. Read on to know more.

# Nisha Gandhi Fofaria, Author- Love Me Forever!

Nisha revealed that when she started, she was unaware about how book publishing worked. A couple of her friends had published their books so she took their help. She says, "There were fewer publishing houses back then or  'one-stop platform' which would clear all the queries related to the various aspects of publishing. I opted for 'self-publishing' because it gave me self-satisfaction.” With all her life lessons on publishing Nisha is writing her second book to be self-published, soon.

Your ‘experience’ is the best teacher. It teaches you the Dos and the Don’ts. The degree of the struggle is different for different individuals. The challenges that were there a decade ago, may not exist now or we may have found a solution to them.

# Vineeta Taneja, Author- Ved Maya and The Nameless Encounter.

“I approached literary agents and publishing houses, they are actually ‘too busy' to answer my queries. A godfather is needed to guide you”, says Vineeta. Vineeta added, the plus point of self-publishing is that the "rights remain with you 100% and one can publish at their convenience. Zero cost is the main advantage". She also chose self-marketing for her books.

Today, Vineeta has two self-published books along with their kindle versions, few more books in the pipeline which will be self-published too.

I took this discussion ahead with an experienced author next. Rajana has books on marketing published by some renowned publishing houses, she opines and narrates her side of the story that why she has opted for self-publishing now.

# Rajana Tripathi, Author- Life Unplugged

“Becoming an author has some kind of a glamour quotient these days, because of the vanity associated with it. More than the quality what now matters for many is the quantity and if you see, the number of the avid readers has reduced drastically these days”, opines Ranjana Tripathi.

“Becoming an author has some kind of a glamour quotient these days."

Kindle or Paperback

According to her, a Kindle version or a paperback is an individual’s choice. When her book was launched some of her friends had asked for the kindle version, they mentioned that for them it is easy to read a digital book anywhere, whereas a paperback needs to be carried all the time and might get misplaced. She further adds that the biggest challenge is to find a suitable publisher who will be supportive and experienced.

Next, I spoke to an author, who not only is the founder of an online story group but also has come out with two books.

 #Shilpi Chauhan Sinha- Compiler and Editor, The Storyteller’s: A season of love (Series 1) and A season of suspense (Series 2) Anthology.

Shilpi Chauhan Sinha while sharing her experiences with me added a statistics which really surprised me, she mentioned "Every year 2.2 million books are being published, 90,000 in India alone, to make your niche is very tough and the whole arena is very competitive."

“For your book to have proper visibility, it’s important to market it in the right way, while I look forward for budget-friendly paid promotions this is where the bottleneck is and I am still stuck but trying in my own way”, Shilpi added.

Be Aware

Further, Shilpi mentioned about the scams in the field of publishing. According to her, "one has to be watchful of the vanity publishers in the garb of traditional and self-publishers." She suggests that one shouldn’t fall prey to their "exorbitant packages, unsolicited invitation to submit your manuscript and lousy offers."

Indeed, the field of publishing isn’t an easy walk, but one can find their space. The world of writing and reading is beautiful. With proper information and awareness and hard work, one can sure become a published author.

Kaveri Purandhar is an outreach Editor and a talk show host at Shethepeople.tv