My first book - By Srividhya Venkat
The year 2016 is very special to
me. After dreaming about it for the last three years, this is the year when my
first children's picture book, Brushing
is no fun, was published.
The journey of this book started
about a year ago. After getting rejections from various publishers, I was
graciously asked by one of them (Pratham Books) if I would be interested in
writing a story about brushing teeth and keeping good hygiene. It took me by
surprise, but when I got over it, I accepted the opportunity. The result was
“Brushing is no fun!”
Soon after accepting the
assignment, I researched general information on the topic as well as looked for
other similar books in print. Next, I worked on the characters and the
storyline. I knew it had to be something fun and non-didactic. After toying
around with a few ideas, I finally arrived at one. The bossy big sister and
naughty little brother (as in my family) would be perfect!
Once I was satisfied with the
story, I sent it to the Editor who suggested a few changes which I was happy to
incorporate. Overall it was an interesting experience to work on the book with
the Editor.
Imagine my joy when I saw the soft
copy of ‘my book’ with illustrations! It wasn’t quite what I had expected, only
better! And to top it off, when I received a picture of school children holding
‘the book’, it brought immense happiness.
It is quite a ride to get a book
out there. I always thought my journey would end once the book was published.
But there’s so much more to do after that, as I’m now learning - help it reach
a wider audience and, of course, sell copies of the book!
So far my efforts at marketing the
book have been limited to Singapore where I currently reside. I’ve enjoyed
doing a book reading with children in my neighbourhood. I hope to participate
in school fairs and other local events. Being a part of the local SCBWI chapter
has also been wonderful with members sharing their experiences with marketing
books, giving feedback on manuscripts and just being there to help one another.
For now, I’ve embarked on a new
journey with another story. There are good days and bad days for writing. If
the ideas don’t flow well, I switch gears to reading, researching and
networking, or perhaps even getting some physical exercise for stimulation.
I’d
like to end with a quote by the well known Romanian French playwright,
Eugene Ionesco – “A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life
consists of either writing or thinking about writing.”
Follow Srividhya’s adventures at srividhya-venkat.blogspot.in
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