How to improve your creative writing skills

Almost all the posts you see on this blog focus on what to do after you have completed writing your book. Some focus on writing query letters, pitching to literary agents and publishers, dealing with rejection letters. There have been none on how to improve your creative writing skills. All this while we’ve been ignoring the big elephant in the room – bad writing. That’s a big reason why many authors get rejection letters from publishing companies and literary agency.

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Freelance writing jobs for online content and articles

Freelance writing jobs where you write short online articles or create other online content for popular websites may not be the same as getting a book published. But it can provide enough exposure for new writers to learn how to write marketable content. More like taking baby steps towards the bigger goal of having your name on bestselling novels or non-fiction books. Many sites offer paid and unpaid freelancing writing opportunities for new writers who are hoping to make a mark.

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Beyond The MBA Hype on The Times of India bestsellers list

There was no formal book launch for Beyond The MBA Hype, no celebrities waxing eloquent about the book and consequently very limited media attention. People I knew started finding out that my book got published based on my Facebook comments and they would be kind enough to reach out with their best wishes.

A few days back I got a phone call from a friend congratulating me (yeah, Ravi-bhai, you triggered the story). I thought this was another one of those calls trickling in. But it was unusually early for him to call

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Writer’s block: What is it and how can you deal with it?

Writer’s block can become a roadblock for authors irrespective of the stage in their career. The professional ones who’ve faced this several times just know how to deal with it better. But if you have just started writing you may not know what is happening or why. There’s no way you can completely avoid it and it’s only a matter of time before you start staring at one. Before you hit the panic button, here are a few points that you might help you.

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Ever considered a writing career in the publishing industry?

How often have you picked up a book and thought, ‘This author writes such cr@p and he still gets published by a top tier publishing house. I’m sure I can do a much better job,’ then you’ve got yourself a writing career option for strong consideration. Maybe you should pick up the quill, dip it in ink and take some scented handcrafted paper to start your writing career. If you have access to a computer, your journey might get speeded up a little.

A writing career can take on many forms.

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