Since I was a kid, loved reading. I grew up on mystery and school novels by Enid Blyton. I still remember when I received my first book as a birthday gift, it was by the author Enid Blyton – Mr. Pink Whistle. I simply loved the book. I kept reading it over and over until I got my next one!
As I grew I read all the different series of books by Enid Blyton, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers……, the list is long! Not just these books, I also read plenty of “Amar Chitrkathas”(picture books about India). With age, the authors changed but the interest continued. My favorite genre was mystery and suspense. So, I progressed to Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner(Author of Perry Mason books), etc.
While I loved reading, I was also observant about the different writing styles. Of all the authors I read, I found the content of Sidney Sheldon to be most engaging. It was difficult to put down his books because there was something left at the end of each chapter so that the reader would feel like looking at the next page.
I wondered if I would ever be able to write a book, especially one that keeps the readers hooked. Of course, this was a childhood dream, a time when we dream too many things, want to become too many people!
Then reality strikes and you have to think of a steady career and give up unnecessary risks that might have even been your dream!
So, I chose engineering among the many career options available to me! Then I worked in different roles, enjoying each of them. I gave up on my professional career to become a full-time mother. Got so engrossed with all these activities that becoming a self help author now seemed to be a far-away dream!
After a sabbatical of 20 years when I decided to work again, I did not know where to start. And, destiny directed me to the profession of a content writer. And, I became a writer! Within months I became a good writer, by clients’ standards and those of Search Engines.
When I was working as a writer, I had a wonderful opportunity to edit an e-book for a client. And, the topic of the book was parenting, something that I could relate to. I loved the work and put my heart and soul into it. And, the client loved my work.
It was while working on this book, that my long-forgotten dream of writing a book surfaced. I felt a separate urge to write one myself. So, I started one. But with multiple professional and personal responsibilities, the book could not get completed.
Life went on! But this time the author in me did not die! I wanted to write a book. After a few years, when I had started freelancing and had a little more time, I again thought of writing a book. And, as luck would have it, I happened to watch a movie with a strong message that inspired me to write.
I could not sleep the night after I watched the movie. In fact, I had all the chapters floating in my mind. I knew my genre then-self-help books! I started the next day. I wrote for a few days but again got caught up in other things and the book could not get completed.
The incomplete manuscript was present on my laptop but after a gap of a month, I had lost the flow of thoughts. I tried writing but could not progress. I began to doubt my abilities. In fact, I convinced myself that I was good for blogs/articles but cannot write a book!
It was then that I realized that becoming an author is not an easy task. But I did not want to think too much about these things so I gave up!
Then came the dreaded pandemic in 2020 and lockdowns were imposed one after the other. The initial days of lockdown were really hard to cope with. But soon things got streamlined. And, with reduced interactions with the outside world, I had a chance for some close encounters with my inner world.
I began my journey of self-discovery and self-empowerment. My world changed! Everything was amazing! I felt good from within and despite the pandemic everything outside became beautiful!
Being extremely active on social media, I thought of creating a Facebook post in which I would share my experience of lockdown. But when I started to list down the positives, the list was too long. And, this is how my first book, A Lockdown Story came about!
I had too many things to write. And, I had learned to be self-disciplined. I committed myself to my work and completed my first book in May 2020. It was a short book that I completed writing in one month. I self-published the book of Kindle on 4th June 2020.
My first book was a big achievement for me. Finally publishing my book on my own was a huge step that transformed my life.
After the first, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th were easier. I also steadily increased the content in the books that followed!
Today I am an author with 5 published books that have 5-star ratings on Amazon and am working on others!
Just like me, I know many of you want to write their books, there are so many stories waiting to be told!
You can convert your dream into reality! Just subscribe to my email newsletter for monthly tips on book writing and publishing!