Ann Treasa took a liking to poetry writing as a hobby that over time found itself on the back burner. When the love for writing came knocking on her door the second time, she ended up publishing a book. The author of the fantasy fiction, The Ocean In My Sky opens up about her experience in writing and illustrating a book that was published traditionally.
When asked about the beginnings of her writing journey, Ann reminisced, “When I took up commerce in 11th grade and I realised it was not my cup of tea. I shifted to studying literature after graduation. I finally reconnected with writing once again. I soon received good reviews of the poems from my family and friends and that motivated me to write more. I consider writing to be a form of meditation. I enjoy writing in free verse. I would write in a flow and try to understand what I have written after the writing is completed. I don't usually read a lot before I write because it influences me.”
Conceptualising and publishing the book
Ann calls it ‘the 5-minute spark’. “I had always planned on writing a novel. I wanted a book with my name on it. I wanted to write something realistic but I loved fantasy more. You can call it the 5-minute spark. I don’t know where the idea came from but it was just a flash. The first people I narrated the story to was my mother and brother. It was during the pandemic and I straightaway got to writing the book,” recalled Ann enthusiastically.
It took her two years to complete the story but what remained were the illustrations. “I had to wait on illustrators to finish my book. It was then that a friend of mine suggested that I illustrate them myself. During that time, drawing was just a hobby so I took up drawing courses after which I started working on illustrations. Three drafts later, the novel was finally put together,” said Ann.
After much searching and mailing publishers, she finally found a publisher who agreed to publish the book. A lot of thought went into creating it. “I wanted something different so I printed it in a square shape which was not easy since it was not the normal printing dimensions for a novel. It was difficult to publish in my budget. I had to bear the marketing expenses and the publishers took money for printing the book."
Hindsight and advice
Every type of publishing has its pros and cons. Ann took us through what you can do better when you are planning to publish a book. “We need good budget to self-publish it in a better way. In traditional publishing, they are not supposed to ask for money but most of them do. We should only sign them after thoroughly checking their services or go for free publishing platforms.”
Ann Treasa thought about the process and continued, “I would ask writers to not rush into publishing. If you have a low budget, you can always publish on Amazon for free and then hire a marketing team. If you are publishing the traditional way, it is important to publish with the people you trust.”
As final thoughts, she said, “When you have decided to write a book, just go for it. You will have second thoughts or you might feel less confident. Keep in mind that it is a good initiative and go ahead and publish your book.”
About the author
Ann Treasa Joseph
Is a BA in English Literature, Communication and Journalism student from Kerala. She is a compassionate writer and has an eye for detail. She is known for her ability to pen down exquisite nature into her pages with utmost delicacy while providing a figurative meaning. She has published in the anthologies Bookmarks, Magic In the Willows, Life is beautiful, The Table Talks and Echoes from the Plain and have compiled three other anthologies.
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