An INTERVIEW with RUCHI by AMIT PANDEY
Ruchi is an Akshaya Patra of smiles and positive energy. Right from the very first interaction via blogs, she has given us a lot of cheers and thumbs up than anyone else. The special thing about her is she just not keep the positive attitude with her but also spreads it to you. She is a homemaker by choice and freelance writer by passion, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The passionate lover of Mother Nature and Photography expressed that writing gives her a creative space to express herself and extended her gratitude to her lovely family, friends & mentors for their leap of faith in her capabilities.
Hi Ruchi Ma’am, thank you for agreeing to this
interview.
Amit~ What made you become a writer?
Ruchi~ Writing
is my passion. I feel everyone
who can understands the nuances of the expressions and emotions can write.
I have always been inclined towards books and have been reading
comics and novels during my formative years. Especially during long train
journey books & comics were my buddies. It definitely was my first
step towards polishing my skills for writing short rhyming verses for family
around birthdays & other special occasion.
Gradually, over the years, after I completed my graduation, I
felt to excel in the field of Mass Communications and pursued my career in
Broadcasting & Print Media later on. I guess writing/communications was the
only field I wanted to make my career.
Amit~ Do you read fiction? Which genre do you
prefer? Who are your favorite authors?
Ruchi~ Yes I
am an avid reader of fiction. I read everything that could be deliberative and
stimulating enough for my mental aptitude. Crime Thriller, Mystery/detective
& Literary Fiction are few of my favorite genres.
Rabindranath Tagore,
Munshi Premchand, Shakespeare, Robert Frost, James Patterson, Jane Austen,
Charles Dickens, Dan Brown, Amish Tripathi and Margaret Atwood are few of my
favorite authors.
Amit~ What are some of the lessons you have
learnt about the publishing business?
Ruchi~ These
days we saw mushrooming of self-publishing houses and thanks to Internet, so
many other options for self-publishing are available. From my experience I have
learned that, Quality & Dedication towards this profession guarantees
success. But there are no short cuts.
Publishing business have seen tremendous changes over years,
from traditional publication houses to self-publication houses, it’s been a
momentous growth. Lessons learnt from this journey are varied. A word of
caution, don’t just go with tall promises, see publication report card than
commit to it. Talk, Talk and reach out for the like minded people/aspiring
writers, online groups/forums where you can follow the good opportunity coming
your way. The possibilities are immense; all you need to have is persistence to
follow your dream.
Amit~ What are your views on two monsters in
the publishing world – self-publishing and eBooks?
Ruchi~ The
self-publishing houses have been supporting budding authors from the very young
age to write and to get published with the stipulated amount of money for the
printing and marketing pre-requisites. Only a word of caution would be that
learn from your experiences both good and bad. Keep writing and improvising on
every step you take as a writer. Keep exploring new opportunities, which comes
in your ways. As there is no set golden rule for being successful in any field
in my opinion except, you have to learn and grow with your own
experiences.
E-books are adjunct to
the growing technological feat. We have come long way since Internet was first
introduced. Many online tools, apparatus and guidebooks are available for
aspiring writers looking for the self-publishing & e- books options.
Internet is gold mine for exposure & technological convergence in contemporary
society. I would suggest 3E’s-“Explore, Exposure & Expand.” One should not
hesitate to “Explore” available publishing options. Have “Exposure” to
information & “Expand” available possibilities weighing pros &
cons.
Amit~ What are you currently working on?
Ruchi~ Right
now I am catching up with my backlog of reading pending novels, which include,
Half a Rupee by Gulzar, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn & Inferno by Dan Brown.
Amit~ What advice would you have for writers
who are trying to get their first book published?
Ruchi~ Just
don’t opt for aimless hunting, its good to get published in some book, its nice
feeling but you have to continuously work for that, improve your skills & don’t
stop reading as it helps you grow holistically. Always read the FAQ and about
publisher submission policy before jumping into the boat of expectations. If
you can reach anyone to mentor you, ask him or her for guidance, work on the
market analysis for that publisher by reading customers reviews. You can get
access to this work report card easily thanks to social media platform. Last
but not least, learn from experience both good and bad.
Amit~ Which part of writing you consider the
hardest?
Ruchi~ I love
to experiment with different writing styles and genres. What seems hardest for
me would be that day when I stop learning, as it will stunts my creative
growth.
Amit~ Tell us about your earliest piece of
writing?
Ruchi~ If you
want to know about the first time I got officially published than it was almost
19 years back for HT youth section, in which one of my articles got published.
I have contributed my write-ups, reviews and articles for many online websites.
I took my first step as a contributing author with “Her story” Anthology
where I got a chance and platform to write the title story for the book.
Unofficial writing has been my dedications verses for my family
over birthdays and other special occasions.
Amit~ Tell us about a normal day that you
spend writing?
Ruchi~ A
normal writing day for me is with my MacBook, a nice cup of tea & peaceful
atmosphere to create live characters.
Amit~ Something personal about you, people may
surprise to know?
Ruchi~ Hmm, I would love to share about
my hobbies & passion other than reading books and they are - Photography,
Cooking, Nature Walks & Gardening.
Leave a Comment