Hello lovelies..

It’s been a while since I updated any interview. Today we have Sandeep Sharma, an author, publisher and a dear friend of mine. He is the co-founder of Author Paradise and the author of two books Hey Dad Meet My Mom and Let the Game Begin. When I was interviewing people, I realised that I forgot to interview him and I quickly pinged him up; luckily he took out time from his busy schedule and shared his valuable thoughts. He is not just an author but a person who can change the lives of many people. He is a true inspiration and if you ever get a chance to listen to his lives sessions, you shall surely salute him for his wisdom and the suggestions he offer. A kind person at heart and a jolly personality who can make you smile with his motivational talks. Lets start then:

When did you realize you are meant for writing?

I started writing because there’s a long story attached to it that I have discussed many a times in different interviews. Actually my father loved to write but he never let anyone read what he has written in his diary and one fine day, he just put the diary on flames. I don’t know the reason of this but this very incident drives me to write and I have just one motto of writing and that is to be read.

What are your thoughts about co- authoring? Please tell us in context to your book Hey Dad Meet My Mom.

Co-authoring is tough and one should only go for co-authoring when there’s actually a need of it. For example, those who have read HDM3 (Hey Dad Meet my Mom) knows that there are two different timelines and to provide justice to my book, I thought to bring Co-author in and Leepi did fabulous job. Her writing style is so different from mine that the motive got fulfilled.

Which genres have you tried till now? Is there any genre which you wish to try?

I have tried Romance and Thriller but I really want to write Erotic fiction. I found this genre really difficult. It’s a challenge to write an erotica.

Let the Game Begin is a tricky book. What was your inspiration behind this?

My favourite past time is surfing internet for unusual things. I search about aliens, ghosts, accidents, diseases and many more such things. One fine day, this article, about the origin of Chess, landed on my laptop screen. I took a print out of it and started developing the plot. It took me around 6 months to draw the outline of what I should write. The most difficult part about writing this book is setting everything in two different timelines. My whole room was full of A2 sheets where I used to write everything regarding the plot. Those days were nightmares for me.

Tell us about your publishers whom you have worked with? 

Every publisher teaches you a lot. With Gargi Publishing (Pulkit Gupta), I learnt bit about marketing. Why marketing is essential and how effectively this can be carried forward. With Inspire India (Richard Matta), I learned how to increase your reader base. He is a gem of a person, who holds your hand till the end.

How many rejections you faced till now and what you learnt from them?

I got rejected 15 times for HDM3 and 9 (so far) for Let the game begin.

Which genre you can say is your forte?

Thriller, of course. I love writing it.

How much time you take to finish your novel?

This question pops out very often. Actually it took me 2 years to write LTGB, around 9 months to write HDM3 and 2 months to write my next ‘Just a few lies’. Basically, writing can’t be divided in years. There come one day when you don’t feel writing anything and on the very next day, you just want to finish the novel completely. So those days count and no one knows when they will come.

Please throw light on your journey from being an author to a publisher?

I started publishing because I learnt that self-publishing is becoming costly. (Before that let me clear out that I am in favour of Self-Publishing.) I have seen people getting published by throwing 50k for printing and then another lakhs on marketing. So I came up with an idea where the author will pay for his/her marketing, and I’ll print the books for him/her by investing on it.
Coming to the question, there’s no bridge between me being an author and publisher. I am handling both the tasks, so there’s no journey at all.

Which is more difficult? Being an author or being a publisher?

Being a publisher. There are so many things, about being a publisher that annoys me a lot. You have to deal with so many of people that if you lose track, everything’s gone. Being a publisher is surely a headache but I love it because once the book comes in your hand, it feels great.

When can we expect your new works?

Few great stories. I can assure every single reader of mine that all the coming stories are unexpected and will make you walk the roads that are less travelled.

What is more important? Best Seller tag or A Best writer?

For me, Best Seller Tag is important because if no one is reading out there than who will judge that you are a best writer? And conversely, if people are reading you and are content with it, then it means that they consider you as a good writer.

 

ABout the Author

Sandeep Sharma (23), made his debut in the writing industry with ‘Hey Dad! Meet my mom’, the book which is still a hot topic of discussion amongst readers. He is currently working on his start-up venture named ‘Author Paradise’ that works for the benefit of Authors to provide them well-organized online & offline publicity. By education, he is a civil engineer who graduated from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida.

He is very passionate about writing and has been writing short stories for his personal blog since 6 years and they were published various times. He has also co-founded ‘The Author’s Blog’, a platform that tries to bridge the gap between authors and readers. He is an avid reader and loves to review books on his blog. He is a well-known reviewer in the literary world.

He can be contacted through:
E-Mail: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sandeeplochansharma

P.S. Also read my book review on his first novel Hey Dad, Meet My Mom –http://reviewswithsur.blogspot.in/2016/03/book-review-hey-dad-meet-my-mom-by.html

Book Review of LTGB: /2016/06/21/let-the-game-begin-a-book-review/

and the guest post –/2016/05/29/guest-post-by-sandeep-sharma/