Category: #trss

The three books for 2015

Its the 11th day of 2015 and this is my 5th post. If I continue to go at this rate, I think my goal of 250K words will happen. Of course I know that all the words need to take me close to a destination. Destination being – #trss and two more full-length books. By the end of 2015.

Let me talk about them here.

1. #trss
This will be similar to #tnks. I dont know the shape it will take. But this will be published by Grapevine, assuming the team at Grapevine likes what I write.

2. 12×12
I am attempting to write 12 love stories in 12 months. Short stories. Each a fan-fiction to the greatest love stories I’ve read. It’s an initiative by Radhika, who I met on Wrimo India FB group. I dont know if you can still participate in 12 x 12 but may be check this page for more details. I even know what I am going to call it. Dear #sgMS. What else 🙂

P.S.: Last I heard, sgMS is getting married. That means whatever little hopes I had of reconciliation, they’re all gone. Unless I turn into a murderer and kill the lucky man. But then why plunge her into sadness. More on this at some point in time in future. May be when I am ready to kill myself? 

3. Third
This is slightly tricky. I want to write on travel. And on stories that people encounter when they travel. Like 12×12, this will be a collection of sorts. But of essays rather than stories. Observations rather than lesson in history. Again, I dont have a structure in my mind right now. But once I am free from the rigmarole of a clock that I need to punch in at 10, I shall work on this.

In the meanwhile, please do read #tnks and do let me know how can I improve what I write. I am very happy with the response that I’ve got. I know, I know. It’s far from making me rich. But it does make me happy every time I spot my book amongst a pile of books, at my home. The book is still not available at bookstores. I dont know why. The publisher is assuring me that it’s doing everything that he can to make it available. But it’s not.

Any answers anyone?

It costs nothing to encourage an artist…

From Zen Pencils – http://zenpencils.com/comic/kevinsmith/

Kevin Smith says, “it costs nothing to encourage an artist…”

Dear 500+ friends, family, readers, strangers and others, thank you so so so so so much for encouraging me. I dont claim to be an artist. But I want to be one some day. And you guys are helping me become one.

It’s been almost two months since the book came out. And…
I have had people telling me that they love it.
I have had people telling me they hate it.
I have had people telling me to try harder.
Some say, may be, I ought to retire after my first.

There are some who say they don’t want to read because they know that I am no good. I persisted and sent them copies. I don’t know if they read. I hope they do.

Then there are some who read, re-read and sent copies to their friends and family. I asked them not to do so. But they insisted and sent.

Some said I ought to stick to writing my blogs and gave me tips to improve the blog. And on the other hand, some asked me the question that I loved the most – when is my next coming out?

And the answer is, by the end of 2015. It’s WIP. I’d talk about it when I am ready to.

Coming back, to be honest, I couldn’t claim to be a writer without inputs, support and encouragement from all of you. I know I have made mistakes and I know most of you have been tolerant.

Thank you all of you.

#tnks is my first book. And like any other first, it means the world to me. All good bits have happened because I had so many giants to stand on the shoulders of. All the bad things happened because I could not push myself to do better. I promise that I’d leave no stone unturned when my next comes out.

As the cliche goes, the entire journey of #tnks has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride. And I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.

Thank you so so much for sending me on the journey.

Oh, I am not done yet. In fact, I have just started. More books, more mistakes, more pushy marketing, more requests and a lot more is on the way.

Till then, thank you once again for everything.

Regards,
SG

Thanks to Zen Pencils, Grapevine India, Wrimo India, Kevin Smith.

P.S.: Wrote this on the FB page and tnks blog after the FB reached 500 “likes.”

Hello 2015.

2015. Via

Every year, around this time, I get into this self-evaluation mode. I think about what went right and what went wrong during the year. I think about the year ahead and things I would do in the coming year. I am after all, big on new year resolutions!

So, #in2015, I would do the following.

  • #writing. Write 250K words. Yeah. 250,000. Translates into about 4 full-length books. Looks tough to do but if I manage to write a 1000 words everyday, for say 5 days a week, for 50 weeks, I’d do it.
  • #writing. Publish book 2. I don’t know what to call it though. I am thinking of calling is #trss. But let’s see what it ends up being. I have a vague idea of the storyline. I was supposed to get the first draft ready by the year end. But havent been able to even start. So, I am looking at a 2015 release, I will have to get the draft out to Sachin and Parul by end of March 15. 
  • #fitness. Will be 30″. This’s been like a perpetual goal. It’s been three years that I’ve been trying but nothing has happened. I did lose some inches but I am back to my former glory, thanks to long work hours and a sedentary lifestyle. 
  • #running. Will run a FULL marathon in the year. Despite my hernia. I am targeting a marathon in August / September. I am following this book (after I saw it on Prof. Bakshi’s blog). Will start training in January. Have started the prelim training already. I am using the C25K app to get me to start running for 30 minutes before I begin the book. 
  • #money. Will have saved 10 lakhs. Right now, my savings account stands at Rs. 5005 700. Also, I will have created an alternate source of income. And I will not have to work for money. This is the number 1 goal on my list. For this, I am willing to be taken for a ride, willing to follow those babas, talk to those self-help gurus, walk the tight rope between ethics and legality. 
  • #music. Learn to play guitar. It’s going to be an expensive hobby. But I will learn it. Not because I want to perform on the stage but I want to challenge myself to learn a new skill. Why guitar? Because I like it’s sound. I love music. I can give an arm and a leg to be good at it. I just need to give it some time! 
  • #poker. Restart poker. I am an average player and have had some limited success with it. As per my poker stats, I have actually lost a total of 30K (not including travel, hotel and other incidentals) on poker. So, yeah I have lost money. I will focus on it and see if I can get any good at it. I will give it a year and see where it goes. If I dont become any good, I will revert to being a recreational player. The dreams of WSOP can take a back seat then.
  • #social. Identify a cause and work with that. Human conditions, diseases, nature, culture, conflict etc do not move me. Rather, education does. Development does. Sustainability (not in terms of nature but in terms of perpetual existence) does. Or may be something else. I will pick something up and work on it. 
  • #sgMS. I will try to get over her. No promises though. Thanks to rr for pointing out that it’s sucking the soul of me and I need to move on from her. 
  • #read. Read more. Learn more. Write more. Talk less ;P
  • #travel. As much as I can. Irrespective of money. Travel. 
So, in terms of a calendar, the milestones look like…
Mar: 5K race with a friend (Akshay)
May: Stop working for money
Sep: Marathon (full, in about 5 hours)
Dec: Book 2 out in market
Dec: 30″
Dec: Money in the bank
Sometime: Poker Tourney
That’s it. Wish me luck! And may be, help me crack these goals may be?

Oh, to get me to actually achieve these, I will have to resort to a few ideas. These sound like deviation from what I have been like. But like most other learning systems, I remain an evolving specimen of the tribe called the homosapiens. So I am learning. And evolving. Here are the ethos for 2015.

  • Do. 
  • Ship. Steve Jobs way.
  • My time is limited. Money is not. I can earn money. I can make money. Not time.
  • No regret principle. Something that Jeff Bezos says. 
  • Idea to project in 90 days. Read on Anaggh‘s twitter stream. 
  • Get aggressive about marketing (without being obnoxious about it)
For the context, here are the links to previous posts. 
2011

What about you? What are your goals #in2015? And, most importantly, can I do something to help you reach your goal #in2015?