Aparna Das Sadhukhan loves writing as much as Julia Child enjoyed cooking. She believes that a writer should feed the story in one's head to fatten it up (like a turkey for Thanksgiving). And adds that one must do so until it is bursting at the seams! It's no wonder that her book won the Pen to Publish contest for Kindle Direct Publishing.
From being a writer to becoming an author
The author of Escape Routes says her book is a collection of such stories that were waiting to be shared with the world. When she saw that they all shared a common theme of wanting to escape - she knew that she had to write! So, Aparna put pen to paper and wrote compelling stories about escaping situations, relationships and places. Aparna pointed out that the tendency to escape is inherent to people from all walks of life, and not confined to the times that we live in.
In a world that prefers to use abbreviations, tweets and emojis, there are very few who are ready to write things out. Aparna Das Sadhukhan is a storyteller who believes that writing isn't tedious when one enjoys it.
Her inspiration
The writer is also an avid reader. Aparna provided an interesting list of authors that she admires and draws inspiration from. The curious bookworm explains that Murakami and Pico Iyer are authors who help her escape to unknown territories. She mentioned that poetry by Emily Dickinson and Pablo Nerudo makes life easier to get by. And added that she admires stories written by Jhumpa Lahiri, Anuradha Roy and Amy Tan.
Journey with KDP
When asked about publishing, Aparna voiced her thoughts of how disorganized the publishing industry is. She correctly pointed out that it is nearly impossible for a new writer to have their work read and published. She also highlighted that one can only get to the finish line if they know the system and have the right connections.
Aparna shared details about her journey to self-publishing with Amazon's KDP. She started with how a couple of rejection letters for her book made her feel that it wouldn't see the light of day. But every cloud has a silver lining, and the author found hers when she learned about Kindle Direct Publishing.
KDP – a success indeed!
A friend of hers and an ex-Amazonian introduced Aparna to KDP. She recalled feeling empowered, knowing that the keys to publishing her book and making her dreams come true were in her hands. It was too good to be true! She didn't believe it at first and was sure there was a catch. But, she soon learned how easy and wonderful it was to use KDP. She wanted to learn more about self-publishing and did plenty of research. All roads lead her to KDP as it was the simplest and most attractive option for self-publishing. Aparna said that the best feature of KDP is that paperbacks are printed on demand.
When asked if she had any words for budding artists and writers, the inspiring author said: "NOW is the best time to start realising your dreams. Wake up and wield the pen!"
Read Escape Routes: Short Stories by Aparna Das Sadhukhan.
To participate in the upcoming Pen to Publish 2019 edition, click here.
