“I want to do something splendid… Something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead…
I think I shall write books.” ― Louisa May Alcott
It is every writer’s dream-however big are small their writing is- to see their writing in book form. A Thirukkural couplet in Tamil says that a mother would be so happy at the time of her child’s birth but she would be even happier when people say that her son or daughter is an honorable person. Same like that, for a writer, creative output on paper is like delivering a child but when it comes out as a book the writer would be ecstatic. It is so true even in this digital era, a writer will hold his or her book proudly inhaling its raw smell as a mother holds her child with joy and fulfillment. But ever since the beginning of print and publishing it has been a rough journey for writers to bring out their books.
First of all printing and publishing books is an expensive business and secondly it is quite a task to sell the books and get back the money which has been invested. Hence publishers will bet their money only on the winning horses, even though nobody can assure which book will be a hot cake. Traditional ways of publishing books through publishing companies and self-publishing have been proved to be very tough especially on debut writers over the years, this is where the new concept of crowd publishing (through crowd funding) has come up as a savior to the flourishing of book publishing. Crowd funding has been already successful in other creative fields like cinema. In book publishing it can be done in two ways: first, publishing anthologies or collections funded by all contributing authors equally and sharing books or income equally; second, seeking funding from others to publish books of individual authors and sharing dividends with those who have funded. Indian Ruminations along with Roots & Wings is planning to publish books through crowd funding and it will be a boon for Indian English writing and writers. So many debut writers will see their dreams come true.
Sandhya S.N & J.T Jayasingh
Chief Editors, IndianRuminations
