How to publish a book in India

Writing a book is not easy; getting it published is even more challenging.  As a writer, you must be aware of a few things if you wish to publish your book in India.

The two major players besides you who play a very crucial role in getting your book published are the agent and the publisher. Agents are people who have contacts within various publishing houses and therefore act as a catalyst in speeding up the process and ensuring the manuscript reaches the hands of individuals who matter.

Publisher on the other hand is the company that will publish your book. The editors in the publishing house are the ones who select books that they deem worth publishing. In India, these editors can be approached directly by writers. However, you and your work both will be taken more seriously if you can be recommended by an agent.

In order to initiate the process, do not share the entire manuscript with the agent or the publisher. It is always advisable to write a query letter first. A query letter typically contains details about your manuscript, such as the name, type and length. It contains a brief synopsis on what the book is about, your qualifications and a thank you note to the editor /agent for reading the letter. Remember, the query letter should be a single page document.

Some very famous publishing houses in India are Penguin Books India, Westland, Ratna Sagar, Scholastic etc.

After you submit your query letter, wait for a response. The response might not always be positive but the mantra is to keep trying.

If you want to read about an author's point of view about writing, read our interview with Manreet Someshwar Sodhi, the best selling author of "The Taj Conspiracy'

Happy writing!