About us
Writing can be an enriching, but highly challenging process. While many dream to be published authors some day, the basic roadmap to get there is generally absent.
The objective of Booksoarus is to support, guide and train aspiring authors in their quest to get published.
We hope to create a rich repository of resources that will help writers pick up the nuances of story writing, script writing and pretty much anything that’s related to improving their writing skills.
If you are a new writer hoping to get your first book published or if you’ve already gone through the learning curve, we hope you will find some useful tips from our site.
About the Founder
Sameer Kamat is a published author and an entrepreneur. His book Beyond The MBA Hype, published by HarperCollins, rapidly sold out 5 print-runs in 5 years of getting published. His second book (self-published), Business Doctors – Management Consulting Gone Wild sold out in under a year.
He is also the founder of MBA Crystal Ball, an MBA admissions consulting venture and Careerizma, a career guidance site. He’s the creator of Bizcool, a online mini MBA course for folks who haven’t attended (or can’t attend) a full-time MBA. Here’s more on the mini MBA.
He has been quoted in many leading, mainstream publications for his views on the publishing industry and management education – including Fortune, Forbes, Financial Times, CNN IBN Live, The Times of India, The New Indian Express (and an interview), The Hindu, Rediff and Firstpost.
He has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of General Management, a leading UK-based academic publication that has a global readership.
Contact Booksoarus
[Update: We are not taking up new counselling requests at this stage]
Do you have suggestions for us? We’d love to hear from you!
Email: info [at] booksoarus [dot] com
I have written a book. I want to get it edited by a professional editor. My one book is already published and doing reasonably well in the market. I am looking forward to get my second book published with a big publishers. It has potential to be a mega hit for sure. I want to get it edited well and then want to submit for evaluation with big publishers.
Please suggest me good professional editors. Also suggest me agents to find me a big publisher.
Thanks
Prashant
Hi Prashant,
We can’t help out with the agenting / publishing aspects at this stage. But, on a selective basis, we are taking on manuscript editing requests.
If you are interested, send us an email (with details about yourself & your book) to:
info [at] booksoarus [dot] com
Hi,
I need help. I have written and filled some pages(that is how I look at it) in my life and would like to get some honest and unbiased reviews for my writing.
Let me know where and how I can do this. Also, please let me know if the service is paid and how much it would cost for a 35,000 words written work..(Just to get an approximation.)
All your help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Sri.
Sri,
Please send across the first 10 pages of your work to: info [at] booksoarus [dot] com
We’ll review it to see the quality of writing. If we think we can help, we’ll suggest options to take it forward.
Hi Sameer:
Thanks a lot for the help. I sent you the first 10 pages of my book that I am working on. My first draft is done.
Your feedback will definitely help improve it.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks once again for your time and concern in the matter. Appreciated.
Sri.
Hi Sameer … I’m nearing completion of my first book, a non-fiction document on customer service. I have sent a short note about it to the email id mentioned.
I would be keen to have your views on the intent and content of the book.
regards … Sunil
Hi,
I’ve been writing a book and have begun a search for publishers.
I’ve been going through your blog – thanks for your help. Not sure if we will connect, I just wanted to wave out in appreciation of the effort you take.
Regards,
Shobna
Dear Sir,
I have been a regular visitor of your blog and thought you might be in a position to answer my query. I’d be grateful if you could take a few minutes of your time to answer me. 🙂
Sir, about a month back I had sent emails out to publishing houses and some literary agents .My book is a part of the New Adult Romance Genre(pretty graphic and explicit). Over the course of this time, I got reverted back by Srishthi and Leadstart(pub houses) and Siyahi and Sherna Khambatta(Lit agents), asking to send me the complete manuscript. Since I still hadn’t exhausted my list of publishers and reputed agents, I kept sending out emails till today, hoping to have more options to exercise, if the others were to get back.
So my questions are
1. Should a literary agent be seriously considered because in my knowledge both the agents who have reverted back have a reputed standing in the publishing scene.
2. Can I send my manuscript to agents and pub houses simultaneously?
3. If a lit agent finalizes my manuscript, should I wait till they finalize my deal with a pub house(cause the agents most likely will take time to pitch my book to a publisher) or will they expect me to stop considering other publishing sources once they’ve agreed take my book under their wing ?
Hi Star: Ideally, agents would want you to stop sending manuscripts directly to publishers after they’ve agreed to represent you.
They’d also want to know the list of publishers that you’ve approached earlier. That way they can avoid sending your manuscript again.
What this means is that you’d be hurting yourself if you’ve exhausted all the publisher options and then an agent offers representation.
If you get any interest directly from publishers, that’s the best, as it cuts down on the extra waiting time to get published.
Thank you so much. That’s been really helpful 🙂
Sir,
I have been getting offers from publishers who are asking me to furnish my manuscript, but Siyahi told me to hold on, till they pitch my book forward(They said they’ll revert in 10-12 weeks). So I’m guessing they’d be able to strike a better deal. Whats the best way to keep the other publishers(who are approaching me) at bay at the same time not disappoint them? So far, I’m choosing to simply not respond and maybe later, if things don;t work out, I could approach them.
One thing that was bothering me about getting associated with Lit agents was if if they charge any money before hand? One blog said they charge for polishing your book before they pitch it out to publishers and I was hoping if you’d have any knowledge if Siyahi did the same( I’m strictly avoiding shelling out my own money, especially now since the publishers have so far been kind).
Thank you so much for your time and all the help.
@J: You haven’t mentioned if you already have a representation from the agency. Either ways, you could let them know about the interest you’ve got directly from publishers.
It might hasten the decision process at their end as well and focus their energies on reaching out to the right publishers.
And to reiterate, you don’t need to pay literary agencies for representing you. They get their money from publishers.
Thanks so much 🙂
Hi Sameer,
Have a question. I know it sounds foolish but still want to confirm. Does a good publisher holds a better marker penetration power over the others, and does it puts same effort for every new writer or is it something else. I am totally unaware about how the publishing and distribution business works.
Could you please advise.
Subhajit: The answer is Yes to the first question (about market penetration) and No to the second one (about getting better marketing support).
Once the book is out in the market, you are pretty much driving the sales independently via your own marketing efforts.
Thank you Sameer.
Any tips & tricks which you think might drive the sales. And what in your opinion is a better marketing tool.
Hi Sameer
I placed a request to edit my book with booksoarus.
I got a reply that you are not taking up new commitments. Rather let down.
I do not know what to do i was banking on you.
Any suggestions? Where can i find reliable editors.
Help me please.
@Subhajit: Plenty of helpful stuff here: Book marketing Tips
@Gautam: Sorry for now being able to take up your request.
We’d rather be upfront when we can’t help (due to capacity constraints or any other reason), rather than sign up folks and do a shoddy job.
You’d have to check with other authors (that you trust) to see if they can recommend names of good editors for your book.
Dear Mr Sameer,
Needless to say you and your website is indeed helpful for writers. Although you have been commended a lot by all those who read your posts and articles and I don’t know what more commending would do to you. Nonetheless the commendation I would like to bestow you is a title of a ‘friend’. No writer or enquirer knows you(I presume) personally yet you have really acted as a ‘friend’ in need.
Like everybody else I too need your help. I am a Delhi based writer. I have three of my work published with a online journal and a literary magazine. I have crafted a non fiction–Ramayana in succinct form. I have extracted it from the full fledge book of Valmiki Ramayana(of salokas) and from a Hindi version that I have at my place. It is a translation of 20K words. The purpose behind crafting it was that I found no succinct form of Ramayana in English. Thereby I created it and I think Ramayana in brief could be helpful for many readers.
Now could you tell publishers or agent or both to get this published?
It would be really helpful.
Regards
R. Bajaj
Dear Mr.Sameer,
Can I get help from Booksoarus.team for uploading my book in Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing or should it be done only by the author. If so, kindly let me know the cost involved for the same.
Thank you
@Bajaj: Thanks for all the nice words. But I’m afraid, I can’t help you in reaching out to publishers or literary agents. You’ll have to do that on your own.
@Hemlatha: Why pay someone for something that you can do independently. Amazon’s KDP interface has been designed to be simple, so that authors can use it independently. If you aren’t comfortable doing it, get a tech savvy friend to sit with you while you are doing it.
Hi, Sameer,
I love the chick lit type of books. I am a wannabe, amateur writer. I have completed a story 25,000 word long. It has a personal blog like feel to it where a 40 something widow finds love in a college sweetheart. It has a healthy dose of comic situations. Is there a particular publishing house where such a story would be accepted in particular? It is not the typical mill n boon or harlequin story. It is more adapted to a suburban India situation where family ties play a part,in a Maharastrian setting. Where could I go with this sort of a story?
Hi Sameer
I read somewhere that manuscripts should be sent to a publisher loose leafed .
Is it true that my manuscript should not be filed but should be sentas loose leafs
Please advise.
Gautam
Hi Sameer,
I am way behind to be even called a rookie writer. Writing and reading has never been my passion, but i somehow have developed some interest in writing a book. I have a fantastic idea (this is what i believe) to write a book on but don’t know where to start from. I keep on reading blogs of other authors about book writing and end up sleeping in the bed again thinking “where to start from”. The only thing that i am sure about at this stage is that i will definitely write a book on that idea.
Coming to the point, i need some help on what all is required from a writer’s perspective to start and complete a book (if i am not exaggerating, the idea is not going to fit in one book). I have no idea how to manage characters, my thoughts, story lines, plot, create blue prints etc and on top of that, i really don’t write impressive english (i am sure editor will come into picture once i complete writing).
I will be great if you can suggest some links or write a little to help me write this book.
Any help would be appreciated.
–
Thanks
Hi Sameer,
Is Booksoarus currently taking requests/jobs for Editing and Critiques?
I ask because your services page hasn’t been updated in a long while.
Abhishek, We are not taking up new requests as this stage.
Thanks for the response.
Dear Sammer,
I have been working on a multi-volume fiction series on making of the Indian civilization – based on an alternative prehistory of the Indian subcontinent. Word count for Book-1 has reached about 45,000 and I expect to write another 20-25 k words to complete the book probably by this moth-end. I wonder if you can tell which of sub-genres under the Fiction category would be most appropriate for the series.
Thanks in advance,
Niraj
Hi Sameer,
I enjoyed reading about the motivating manner in which you enhanced the sales of your book, Business Doctors!
It was inspiring and can show writers a successful path to follow.
My books are in the genre of New Age philosophy. Last year I self-published the first two books of the Karmic City Trilogy.
The books were well received, but I am having a problem with distribution.
My distributors in Delhi are not paying and I would not like to avail of their services in future.
I would value your assistance in any possible way!
I am requesting you to share the names of a few reliable book distributors in Mumbai!
Thank you!