“Don’t focus on publishing while writing” by Sundari Venkatraman

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3. Don’t focus on publishing while writing

As I had mentioned in my first article, you are a fiction writer because you want to tell a story and the story is not letting you rest till you are done. 

When you begin penning this masterpiece, try to remain focussed on it. If you begin to procrastinate on who’s going to publish it, you are bound to be distracted. And believe me, you will suddenly realise that a few months have gone by and you have written barely a thousand words. 

In such a scenario, a publisher becomes redundant as you don’t have a book to publish.

A writer is a dreamer first. I am sure you all agree with me on that. 

But there is dreaming and there is procrastination. The dictionary meaning of procrastination is, “the action of delaying or postponing something”. So, you spin a story in your mind and dream of publishing it with the biggest publisher in the world, it might be just a waste of time and even worse, a waste of energy.

First write the book. Then think of publishing after your first draft is ready. Imagine the joy of having people read your work, rather than the fame of getting published. You can be published by a famous publisher and even sell a lot, but that still doesn’t guarantee that your books are actually being read. Of course, nothing can guarantee that. But wouldn’t you rather people really read and valued your book than having it just published? And for that the book needs to be written first. 

Focus on writing. Dream of your characters. Allow them to play in your mind. Let them free to deal with each other. Then write down what they have to tell you. 

This is how I breathe life into my characters. Believe me when I say that you can’t fail with your writing in such a scenario. 

If your story is good and well told, publishing is too easy nowadays with the advent of indie publishing. And if you are a success at that, big publishers will knock at your door.

All this is for those writers who are in this game for the long run. We aren’t talking about flash in the pans here.

Sundari Venkatraman is an indie author of 14 titles—12 romance novels & two short story collections, all on Top 100 Bestsellers on Amazon. 

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