Ronit J

As I’ve embarked on my self-publishing journey, I welcome you all to my author blog. This is my second blog, if I’m being honest; when I was younger, I tried my hand at blogging. But with no vision or goal, that blog just fizzled out. 

But I’m back, and this time with somewhat better intent. 

This is going to be my first post, and I don’t know why but I thought I’d tackle what was my biggest insecurity as a writer – my failures. As the title says, I have written 3 full books (a 246k word manuscript in 2014, a 90k in 2016, and a 65k in 2018.) Yes, I know my word counts diminished with each subsequent attempt, but I can say without a doubt that my writing quality only improved.

Despite failing to publish either of the three manuscripts, I’m still constantly working on something new, and this year I’ve decided to take the leap into self-publishing. Why did I do that? Let me break it down: 

My Failed Manuscripts:

Let me expand on my three unpublished manuscripts a little bit. 

Manuscript 1:

This was book 1 of an epic fantasy series that I wanted to write. I hoped this would be my magnum opus – my LOTR, my ASOIAF. But here’s why I failed – I hadn’t read enough. I wanted to write EPIC, without having a clear vision for what it really meant. 

The book was basically a LOTR/Inheritance Cycle rip-off. I have no shame in admitting it. Now that is. I didn’t have a clear enough idea for where the story was headed. Neither did I have enough patience to develop the story or characters, nor enough maturity to handle characters well… these are the three main reasons I believe I failed. 

If I had been a little more open about sharing my work with the writing community, and mature enough to take criticism, I would’ve probably gotten better at writing much earlier. But I wasn’t, so I didn’t. Though, I don’t regret not getting published early on. As I write this blog, I have a perspective on how much I just didn’t know. And I am grateful for having the opportunities and resources to learn everything I didn’t know, and become humble in admitting things I don’t know with the willingness to learn them. 

Also, I first started writing this book at 11, and finished about 10-20%. I actually finished writing the manuscript with an updated draft when I turned 19, but even that was so far behind my visions of grandeur that it would be impossible to get that book out. 

Honestly, I considered self-publishing this one too, but my lack of experience held me back from taking the leap, and I am glad.

Manuscript 2:

This started off as a novella set in the same world as manuscript 1. It even featured a secondary character as the protagonist (a half-crustacean, half-humanoid race; the idea is something I’d like to explore in a future novel). Objectively, this was a much better-written manuscript than my previous one. Why did I fail, then? 

My inexperience in understanding narrative structures, plot, character development, and basically everything. Yes, I learned from my mistakes in manuscript one, and I had started studying fantasy writing [shoutout to Brandon Sanderson’s writing lectures on YouTube], I was still far away from becoming the writer I wanted to be.

The manuscript was a rough draft even after multiple rounds of edit. And now, I can see that clearly. If I had to go back and edit the book, I’d only rewrite the first 40% and the book would significantly improve. But, I don’t regret this one either. Because by the time I finished this manuscript, I had gained enough confidence in myself as a writer. Despite my failure, I knew that I could hone my skills and become a half-decent writer to say the least. 

I almost considered self-publishing this one, but I’m glad I didn’t.

Manuscript 3:

This was my first NaNoWriMo attempt. And I succeeded. The manuscript is an absurdist post-apocalyptic black comedy, and – at the time of finishing that draft – my best work so far. I had significantly improved with plotting, character work, and world-building. I even considered self-publishing this one, but only if I could perfect this draft.

That is where I failed. I couldn’t perfect this draft because I couldn’t edit it as brutally as needed. I was still too attached to my original draft to make too many changes. Yes, I removed sections and rewrote bits as best I could, but I wasn’t brutal enough in cutting things out. The improvements were insufficient. 

However, one thing that I knew for sure by the time I finished this manuscript was that I was close. I had identified what kind of a writer I am. I just had to keep at it. Besides, I had a full-time job, so money wasn’t an issue. If I could find the time to keep working, I would eventually publish my manuscript. 

Why I will NEVER stop!

Because this is one of the only things I know I am good at. And this is one of the only things that brings me joy. I don’t want to sit behind a desk and produce YouTube videos or ad creatives for things I don’t believe in or have no interest in. I want to explore the absurdities of my mind, and writing – fantasy & speculative fiction in particular – are the best ways for me to do that. 

And the bottom line is that I love reading fantasy, and I love writing fantasy. Even when I’m stuck in a dead-end job, I continue to keep myself sane by working on side projects that help me come closer to achieving my goal of being a fantasy author. 

Small but successful projects since completing Manuscript 3

In 2019, I started working on what I was hoping to make my debut novel — an epic fantasy trilogy with an Indian mythology inspired setting. I wrote about 100k words of that novel (One section of 50k written as part of NaNoWriMo), but have since changed so much of it that I pretty much have to rewrite the manuscript from scratch. That is still my main focus, and hopefully I’ll finish writing it soon. 

I know I’ll be self-publishing this one later.

I also wrote a bunch of short stories. One fantasy short titled ‘The Enlightened Rakshasa’ was an honorary mention in Quarter 4 of Writers of the Future Magazine in 2020. The same year, I wrote a literary fiction short titled ‘Shhhh!’, which was published in University of Vienna’s Anthology book ‘Pocket Universe #3’ in 2021.

In 2022, I challenged myself to write a short story every month. I wrote 12 shorts by the end of August. One of those shorts, ‘Dacoit, Son of a Noble’ is going to be published in Dark Horses Magazine’s November Issue later. 

Self-publishing My Debut Novel, Finally!

In April 2023, I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo and wrote a 55k-word manuscript. It is an urban fantasy novel that is – in my objective opinion – the best piece of writing I have written so far. By July, I finished 2 rounds of self-editing. By mid-August, I received a lot of good feedback from beta-readers. Around the same time, I got an editor on board to polish my manuscript. 

But, if I’m being honest, I knew this is it. This day I finished writing the rough draft, I knew this would be my debut novel. April 30th, the day I decided I will self-publish my first book this year. 

And here we are. 

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About my debut novel:

Title: Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One!

Word Count: ~70,000

Description: 

Kunal is forced to adventure…
Because his dog is the Chosen One! 

Kunal is just your average guy living on rent, working from home, and suffering from anxiety. His world is turned upside down when his girlfriend asks him to foster a rescued a street dog. Despite his qualms, Kunal agrees because, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

That’s when the extra-dimensional dark lord attacks.

The dog is the only one who can stop the dark lord, but he can’t do it without Kunal’s help. Can Kunal overcome his many anxieties or will our world suffer for eternity?

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The book is now available worldwide! Pick your preferred store from the link below:

This is my first time self-publishing, and there have been more than many hiccoughs along the road. But I’m confident I can pull this off.

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Thank you for reading, and have a good day!