5 Reasons - Why You Should Choose Traditional Publishing

Writing a book today is not a mere matter of showcasing your talent, its becoming a more of a marketing and image building exercise and to en-cash on the boom there have splurged a plenty of online publishing platforms that offer to publish your book irrespective of the content/quality and guidance. The idea of these online portals is to provide a mere backend service to the users and make some no-strings-attached money from it.

Lets try and understand those 5 reasons as to why one should choose traditional publishing houses as compared to the new online mushroom ventures.

1 The Content Mapping : The general complaint we hear is that publishing houses take their own sweet time to analyse and understand the concept of the book before accepting or rejecting it. If we think logically, it makes sense to have a proper analysis of the content and understanding its market worthiness before investing into a book. Whereas on the other hand online publishing portals welcome one and all without a proper analysis of the content that is published. The idea here is to understand whether you wish to publish the content just to satisfy your will or to enlighten the minds of the readers through it. We definitely get prepared for the nittygrities and weak points in a thesis or a script when someone questions us about it and this only takes place in traditional publishing where an author gets a one to one feed back.

2 Cost Effective : Yes For Sure!!, traditional publishing is very cost effective as compared to the packages offered by online publishing portals. Portals can lure you with offers like free publishing but once registered you get their packages on the platter that cost approximately double of that what a traditional publisher might charge you for. In case of traditional publishing, if the content has a higher market potential the authors can definitely get a royalty backed publishing package from the publisher. The range of packages for online publishing portals usually starts at 20k for 5 hard copies being given to the author and no addition services like promotion or design are provided, whereas for this price one can usually get close to 50 hard copies with ebook rights for sales from a traditional publisher.

3 Acceptability : When is one accepted as a competent or a professional writer??, its when his works are credibly published and well marketed across the mediums. Though the online publishing portals definitely offer the benefits of online market but the credibility of these portals is way too lower. In fact various government universities and educational bodies do not consider you as an author if your books and papers are published by an online publishing portal as these platforms dont regulate or study the content and market for the thesis and welcome anyone who comes to their door.

4 Personalised Guidance: On online publishing portals, this service comes with a premium pricing tag, whereas, in traditional publishing, it comes absolutely free. In traditional publishing you can actually talk to or meet the real publisher of your book who has a good knowledge of the market, rather than dealing with call centre executives like in the case of online portals. Here the authors ca understand the potential of their content and can take guidance from the publisher with regards to modifications, future planning, editions etc. As an author its like a blessing to get someone professional to guide you in the course of your book. I would really like to suggest young authors who wish to write on a specific subject, should visit offices of publishers and try to understand the content thats available in the market and find a niche area for themselves. You never know a guidance session can come with the perks like a adrak wali chai at the office as a bonus :).

5 Standing Out: As shared in all the previous points too, that any tom-dick and harry can get his books published on an online publishing platform. If you think of it, these platforms are nothing more than a printing shop that provides add-on services for a price. Getting published from a genuine traditional source makes an author stand out from the clutter of wannabe writers. The content so published through a traditional channel is well guided, well presented and well respected in the market than any of the online publishing portals.

The idea is not to discourage the use of new technologies, rather the core idea is to understand the process and make publishing a book financially viable and widely accepted as genuine content for both the writer and the publisher rather than being just a PR exercise that fades off within 15 days of release. The writers should understand the importance of economic viabilities and long term standing in the market rather than just rushing in for the ease of the concept. A book is your lasting impression on the mind of the reader and with flooding of new books on a daily basis there are very bleak possibilities of a second chance.

Keep reading the blog post for further information regarding publishing your book.

In case of any queries or guidance needed for book publishing feel free to get in touch with me mehndiratta.vaibhav@gmail.com.
       

The fiction and Poet brigade --- A crackdown on how to landup a publishing contract

"Man, i have got the talent and all it takes to be a successful writer", is that what you think??? or is it the thought of people around you???... if, yes, then you really need to focus on the question.. "am i ready to take on the world with my writing?"

With the success stories of the likes of chetan bhagat, many youngsters think that its a cup of tea to write in generalized Hin-glish language with stories that relate to real life. The points that are not covered by the brain cells is that how much effort has chetan bhagat actually put into his writing in order to match it upto the mass appeal and create a whole new market, actually hats off to him for unleashing the desire to be a writer among the youth of India.

But, where is the youth missing out? or why publishers are reluctant in taking up a fiction or poetry written by a new writer (paid publications apart). Just like other walks of life the technical detailing is on the verge of collapse here. The people who write poetry hardly show a sign of having interest in reading poetry written by others. Whenever a youngster enters the office of a publishers the major points covered are :-
- sir i am confident about my writings
- i write really well and theres no way this book is gonna fail.
- No, i havent read much poetry written by others, but again its personal perspective you know.
Now read the last point "its personal perspective you know"... Now when did your life become so interesting to people that they would love to read about "what you feel".

The fiction writers are not far behind all what 90% have read is nothing beyond a chetan bhagat or a sidney sheldon or a dan brown to the maxxx.I am not saying that one should go and eat up a library but a consistent habit of reading helps you in getting hold of a the various moods, perspectives and technicalities of writing your own book.

"God, I am a good writer, then why dont publishers trust my manuscript?"
heres why:
- Publishing is an expensive process, so you gotta understand and evaluate the worth and market for your script, as publishing house is not into social service even they dont mind making money.

- When people say .. that your idea is good and they are looking forward to the published varient of your book.... they "Might" buy it but its not a certain sale.

- If the book fails you will still have the copy to show people that you wrote a book ..  but a publisher will have nothing positive to show on his balancesheet.. so publishers wont help you build your resume on their expenses.

- Are you qualified to be an author? ... this is quiet a debatable topic... but atleast one should have his basics write and should have the eye to review their book off mistakes.

The right way to go
- Write whats in your heart
- Share your story
- Take your time, write at intervals so that when you keep rading what you have written it helps in finding faults
- Get your work reviewed from parents and teachers who have knowledge
- If you dont get a publisher to publish your work,,, create an amazon account and upload you work as ebook for a minimal cost.
- If your work is accepted then go to publishers showing them the real data of downloads and reviews online.

dont hesitate to follow your dreams but be logical... 

A DATE WITH MY DREAM

A Date with the dream.....

“ITNI SHIDDAT SE MAINE TUMHE PAANE KI KHWAHISH KI HAI ..... KE HARR ZARRE NE MUJHE TUM SE MILANE KI SAAZISH KI HAI........”

– Courtesy “OSO”

21st Feb 2008 5:30 AM

I was lying in my bed struggling hard to sleep, because this was not the usual time for a sleepy personality like to get up. Finally after an hour of struggling i decided to just get up and fag.... i went across the small lobby (In our Lokhandwala 3bhk House) to my friend Kedia’s room to fetch a sutta.... I loved to fag while sitting on the edge of the roof on the rear side of our house. It was a usual morning for me, i had a full schedule at my hand, was going for my first film shoot as an assistant director at Filmistaan studios goregaon .

I was deeply engrossed in thoughts as to how the life has changed for me, an ongoing MBA degree at NMIMS, Mumbai and an Assistant director to a Bollywood debutant, though seems to have no inter-connection but by this time have become the reality of my life. Gazing the sky, busy with my thought process, I never knew that a phone call was about to change my life.

No it was not a call from God.. Like the one in “One Night at a Call Centre”... But it was a call from Ashith (My chief Asst. Director) who indeed was next to god for me after the message he delivered.

We were going to picturize a scene, with Raj Kapoor and Nargis , backdrop from the movie barsaat (Remember the famous still where both of them stand staring at each other under an umbrella in the rain) the scene was suppose to be shot between Manisha Koirala and a model. Ashith called me up to inform me that Rohit (our director) wants to shoot the scene with Manisha Koirala and MEEEEEEEEE.... Wasnt able to believe what i heared... it was a good two scene shoot... and that too opposite an actress like Manisha koirala..... (Though I am not fond of her but still... Cmmon shez a star from yesteryears) At first it loked like some kind of a prank but Ashith was serious on that one ... He went on “ dude rohit saw your screen test video, he liked it and moreover u have some experience in acting too ....so just gearup and be there at the studio sharp at 8 30”....

The call ended .... but the mixed feeling of happiness and nervousness started building on somewhere within me .... I just slided down stairs and got all ready for the shoot, and kickstarted my blue pulsar at around 8 . At around 8:30 i reached the main gate and with broad chest gazed at the big board saying “Filmistaan” .... OOOOO MYYYY GOOOOOOOD....this was something i always dreamt of , but i knew this very well that this day is no ordinary day and have lots of new things coming my way. ...

On the Entry the Schedule chart depicted the shootings on for the day.... OOOOKays so i had Salmaan Khan, Katrina and Anil kapoor shooting for Yuvraaj on the neighbouring floor... U know may be i should just drop by to say hi to sallu and kat.... J .... and my beautiful thoughts were shattered by the course voice of Shahdaab Hussain (Executive producer) “ Abbe Ch###ye abhi board hi dekhta rahega ke anadar aane ka bhi plan hai”.... I don’t understand one thing... why cant people in the industry utter a word without abuses ..anyways.

As i arrived three assistants from my team came to me... in order give me a brief about the two scenes i was going to shoot ... and seriously onlookers felt as if i am the next big thing in film industry ... J I wasn’t given a vanity van but an old makup room next to the shooting floor... i was too excited to mind all that anyways. It was a small room, with a bed, a small sofa and a big well lit dressing table. Soon a guy named munna entered the room with 4 dresses (shirt-pants) and asked me to choose.. while i was in the process the makeup man arrived to give me the foundation makeup, the otherone brought tea and stuff ....... OOOOKAYS to cut it short .....I FELT LIKE GOD............

I was playing a part of a hero from 50s ..... the makeup was over and then i was given the information that Manisha and Gulshan da are ready so i should get going for the floor.

The heartbeat was rising with every step i was taking towards the studio door..... finally with a creak sound i opened the door to see a whole new world.... it was a beautiful set designed by Bjon das gupta ... completely black in backdrop and two beautiful horse carts..... on one side of the studio rohit introduced me to gushan da (gulshan grover) and Thomas Xavier the cinematographer....

I was asked to just feel the properties on the set in order to get hold of the environment.... and i was just roaming on the set.... when suddenly the door opened and Manisha koirala arrived in a pink saree.... though shez old now but..... was looking oooooooo.... anyways .... Rohit introduced me to manisha and discussed with us the scene he was about to shoot..... after a discussion we decided to go for a first take..... i got on the cart and as a gentleman... that i am offered manisha a hand..... and oooooops there i felt what is it like holding a superstar’s hand J.... As i was busy looking at her...with the count of three the rain (obviously artificial) was on set and with one thumbs up i got to her my first ever..... Silence.... Sound...rolling.... Camera...rolling and ACTION......

Trust me a chill ran down ma spine, i immediately forgot that i was wid manisha.... and she just became just a co-actress for me..... For the next 50 seconds there was no sound not even the sound of breathing..... i was looking at her as she was my beloved from ages..... The intensity of acting was building up and making me realise that without even uttering a word how can we make differences of a lifetime.....Suddenly there came a sound........ CUT....Print. (What the F##k i felt as if someone has taken life out of my body).....The scene was okayed in first go..... but somehow i wanted more.. J ..... Next scene was an individual scene.... that too was okayed in two shots......

The shoot was packed up for the day..... But the best part happened while on my way to the makeup room ..... Manisha was just bidding good bye to all called me and said.....” dude that was good stuff.... way to go... all the best”.... and there i was the most satisfied and happy person on this earth.... I just went back humming some stupid song like a 5 years old kid.... and taking words of appreciation from all...... Now was the time to return to the real self ....makup gone..... bole toh bhaade ke kapde gaye ...hair-style change...... Back to the same dusky Vaibhav... J

I thought that this was enough for me to digest for the day.... but picture toh abhi baaki thi mere dost....... just as i came out of the makeuproom to the internal road of filmistaan..... there was my dream gal....KATRINA KAIF... walking out of her studio floor......ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh please god don’t give me so much in just one day......

I just unlocked ma bike and drove back home with a feeling of satisfaction.....and yeah got a warm welcome from all ma buddies bk home....

8:30 PM (131,Lakshmi kripa, Lokhandwala)

I was back on the roof with a sutta in ma hand ....gazing at the stars.....suddenly a sad feeling gripped my heart.... i saw myself all alone.... the most important person in my life wasn’t there with me today when i needed her the most.....

Kuch zyada senti nhi ho gaya?????......... but yes its true....I dnt know when will cheherey (the movie) l get to hit the silver screen ... but yes this movie gave me that one date with my dreams.... that i will cherish for ever.....

With warm regards to

Rohit Kaushik Ji ( My Mentor and Director)

Bruce (AM Movies UK)

Faizan Hussain (Associate Producer)

Ashith D Balal (2^nd A.D.)

Altaf Ansari (Chief A.D.)

Emotions on sale

The title of this blog looks like as if we are talking about some deep social issues or may be someone somewhere getting exploited, But believe me here the point of thought is something that touches lives of each and everyone somewhere or the other. Though in definition it is termed as non personal way of communication but in a more weird sense they reach lives too personally. Yes here we are talking about the business of “ ADVERTISING”.

Being in regular touch with the industry I am not left with the doubt on the time and heavy brainstorming that is required in making a 30sec ad or a still for newspapers and outdoors. Suddenly while going through Agencyfaqs in the morning a deep thought cam to my mind that advertisements depict thousands of emotions related to human life and there featuring of right emotions and situations of daily life make their brand stand apart from the crowd of other brands or competitors. There were a league of ads of separate brands that started hovering at the back of my mind. I felt as to how leaving all a few brands get that space in the mind of an individual depending on their tastes and choices, now that’s the magic of efficient brand positioning. Airtel has been producing one great ad after another setting its league apart from the regular cellular ads the company’s agency (Rediffusion DYR) decided to have an emotional promotion for its brand the speakup commercial is one such master piece that enables you to express yourself depicting various situations out of the regular life of people touching approximately everyone and really makes an urge within ourself to express freely whats there within us, I do sit and wonder how the magician director Shaad Ali conceptualized, captured insights from the minds and habits of Indians and their way of expression for the same and the clip in the ad where the candles are lifted is breath taking and remains in the mind even after the ad is over.

The TATA Safari campaignes coming from the stable of o&m are a treat to watch, now here the planners and conceivers of the ad have a very interesting emotion to depict, with their Reclaim your life campaign the brand understood and analysed the psyche as to how all of us do a lot many things in our life that we take up unwillingly or due to some pressure, these may include a career decision a wish to fly arrond the world and even when we hardly know what we want out of us. So this commercial really makes you think about how it would be if I reclaim ma life and lead it my way.The other one for the same is the latest LINES commercial that inspires leadership , the campaign shows how lines touch our lives and their various classifications but at the end the lines that matter are the ones that you make , leaves with a deep thought of a lifetime and one realizes how real that is for a person to think that way and yes it true the lines that finally matter are the one drown by you o your journey of life.

Advertisers have a tough time creating commercials that although aired for 30 seconds leave an impact for a lifetime and touches the viewers in such a way that he gets the brand on the top of his mind. Various positioning options are worked out based on the consumer usage and mindset and finally the one that matches the brand requirements and needs of the targeted consumers is finalized. We sitting in front of the tv sets hardly realize as to what it takes to create that but really hats off to the masters who gets the right insight and moulds it into right set of emotions with the right directed motive of selling their product.

Mee Mumbai Dairy Part I

Getting an opportunity to visit and live in mumbai was a dream come true for a small town guy like me who was madly in love with the film industry. From the very first day the quest began to gain more and more information about cinema, that had been a childhood passion. the marching steps stopped at a small film firm that used media for social change. My association became firm with the organization with regular meetups and sharing of thoughts on cinema. Here I got an opportunity to shoot for a short film that covers all the social and economic diversities in Mumbai. The movie was to be shot as a part of a film festival within a time span of 101 hours. So there I was with my first film assignment, a city still stranger to me and a mumbaikar partner to work with me.

For the very first meeting to discuss about the film we decided to meet at the churchgate station. The first time that day when I switched on our handycam and looked through lense , I saw mob like I had never before, this was the mob that represents Mumbai and its life that includes hard work to keep the clock of life ticking. The scene that we witnessed during the peek hours at the station could be easily termed as a cinematographer’s delight as we shot thousands of heads moving in one direction. After churchgate station, at mcdeez we just sat to see the footage and figure out the complete storyboard of action. Suddenly my codirector (a creative gal from Mumbai) threw a question at me as to what have I noticed about the city and my answer was like anyother outsider from Mumbai could have given, I talked about film city, 24x7 life of Mumbai and yes the open culture and the red light hangout, but deep inside somewhere I wasn’t satisfied with answer and her look and way of saying ‘ok’ was enough to clear me of my doubt. Suddenly an idea came to her mind to shoot in a local train and the next movement we were off to our journey on a local train to a unknown destination. As the train left the station we saw small kids hiding from the eyes of ticket checker frisked into the moving train with a small dirty bag in his hand. When he managed to get a space in the crowded train he started off with his business and that was of selling comic and colour books in the train. I couldn’t have missed the opportunity to film the boy who was hardly 4-5 years of age. As we tried to get friendly with the kid and startoff with the shoot 3 of his partners came to scene from different part of compartment, we got their story, that was somewhat similar to that of my dad who started off at the age of 5 with the business of selling petty items in the train at a small margin to support the family and in them I found kids of the future who would be proud of their dad just like me. We were about to reach Bandra that was where the kids were supposed to get down and suddenly tension started to get mounted on their faces as they had been involved with us and haven’t even sold a single book. We somewhat understood the reason behind there tension and it made me feel mean so I decided to buy their four comic books, but apart from me paying them I also wanted something from them and that was a footage of all of them smiling and being happy and believe me that footage is my favorite and the best one in the film.

The station arrived and the kids jumped off and this time I saw a glimpse of happiness on the faces of kids and soon they disappeared in the massive crowd but gave me a hangover that I wont ever be able to come out off. Train was about to move and we too decided to getoff too. Stepping down on the platform made me realized that this was the journey towards the transformation of my life and it was the wisest decision for me to shoot this film which was going to be more than just a film for me. Walking towards the end of the station made us feel that the film was about each and every person residing I this beautiful city no matter where one one belongs to, this is everybody’s city…. So that was the time she first gave the name “MEE MUMBAI” which was our first and the last choice as the title of the film.

The Show Un-Veiled

A play is a dream of a group of story tellers who believe in a concept and as a team come forward to narrate it.We all go out for plays, watch it enjoy and if the play is good we bring back some memories from the play that lasts for a lifetime. We see actors who entice you with their performance and some who fail to leave an impression. We get well connected with the life onstage as soon as the veil is drawn off the stage and a story starts to shapeup scene by scene.

The one thing that remains unveiled to the viewers is what goes on the back of the mind of an actor before the show and during the performance. Its not just a story it is life for an actor which he lives for the duration of making and performance.

After long sessions of rehersals and practice over and over the day of performance arrives and it brings along the time for bonding between an actor and each and everything present in the auditorium. Lying down on the stage with eyes closed and trying to feel each and every inch of it gives a feeling of being connected to it as an important organ, the stage assures you complete support which you can fall back on. The rays of light over the stage assure you to be in the sight of the viewer and never in the dark. Touch of each and every prop on the sets to be used during the performance, gives the feeling of trust and mutual understanding , just like the touch of a beloved. The crowd starts to pour in and there is just the partition of a curtain between the on and off the stage, that’s where the tension starts to build up I the mind of each and everyone connected to the show, although you cant see the crowd through the veils but the mixed sounds of thousand of people starts humming into your ears.

Finally the team comes together for a final huddle, for a second in the huddle everything is so quiet that you can feel the air close to your ears, then its time for the director to give you important motivating speech that really works at that time and then a few points to be kept in mind are specified and after a hug the team disperses and the first bell rings and all the actors and crew member take up their specific positions. At this juncture the actor is completely intoxicated into the role and everything around him gives the feeling of motivation and a responsibility to work it out to the best of abilities. The second bell rings and the curtains are drown the lights fall on the stage and illuminates the arena and the actor behind the side walls takes a deep breath with eyes closed and steps ahead to face the crowd, for a second it gives u a feeling of fear to be in front of the viewers and makes every part of ur body realizes that you re being watched . But as one gets into the act the fear all fades off and things start coming naturally and the confidence sky rockets when he receives the sounds of clapping hands and whistles at his first fadeout and so the story carries on till the end.

The cast introduction and the sounds of clapping hands and hooting does it all for an actor to move ahead in life and work even better than before , the hugs of team mates after the performance without even uttering a word says that yes we have done it . After the audi is empty then comes the time of introspection sitting on the chair of a viewer here comes the time for the actor to realize the things that went wrong and the improvements that could be made for making the situation better next time.

This is a piece of sharing from personal experiences as an actor who really aspires to act well in life ahead.