I never thought I'd ever be referred to as an author...
Simultaneously while writing the manuscript, I spoke to some of my writer friends about further steps. They told me to think about publishing the book –either by myself or through a publisher. I got two different types of suggestions. Some friends advised self-publishing as it would be difficult to get acceptance from publishers for a first-time writer like me. They also said it would be time-consuming to work with publishers as a lot of processes and steps would be involved.
But my friend Hari from Hyderabad recommended actually trying to find a publisher first. He suggested allocating a fixed period of probably 6 months to approach publishers and if within that time I did not receive acceptance from any of them to then go ahead with self-publishing. There was no point in waiting indefinitely. Another advantage of working with publishers as per his view is that publishers wouldn’t give the green signal for publishing till the manuscript is edited to their utmost satisfaction. With self-publishing, at some point of time, we may in our eagerness to bring it out quickly, compromise and try to publish without trying fully for the best outcome.
Finally after listening to all the suggestions, I decided to try approaching publishers keeping in mind self-publishing as the last resort, as this field is new for me.
Another dilemma soon arose – At what stage does one reach out to publishers? Some suggested that it is best to do it while writing the manuscript as the process is time-consuming. And others suggested completing writing the manuscript first and then approaching publishers. As per their view, there is no point in approaching publishers without having the completed manuscript in our hand.
Surprisingly I completed writing the first draft by 18th Jul., 2020, in less than two months.
I felt so happy thinking I'd crossed a major milestone.
But little did I know that the real work started only then..
Watch this space for more on my journey...
Swimming against the tide - True Story of Para Swimmer Madhavi Latha Prathigudupu
By Madhavi Latha Prathigudupu
To get updates on the available platforms of this book, pl visit www.pmlatha.com
Proceeds from the royalty on this book would be used to fund our activities at YWTC CHARITABLE TRUST (www.ywtc.org).
As we are discussing about editing, I am sharing this pic to show you the difference between the original and the edited one. Which one do you like?
