Sudeep Nagarkar, who quit his high-paying job to become a full-time author, has authored over 15 novels and connected with readers with his lucid language and relatable plots. The bestselling author was part of the fifth edition of Amazon’s flagship event Pen to Publish contest that concluded last month. Nagarkar, who has sold more than five lakh copies of It Started With A Friend Request, talks to The Telegraph about turning judge with the contest.
How does it feel being part of Amazon Pen to Publish contest? And what does it mean to you?
Associating with KDP for Pen to Publish contest was indeed a special journey for me as I was an aspiring writer at one point, and I could not emphasise enough that it is a great opportunity for aspiring writers. Just by participating in the contest aspiring writers can become self-published authors and can avail the benefit of reaching a global audience and garner visibility for their eBooks among readers. The cash awards and mentorship by established authors are an added advantage that fuels the journey as a full-time writer.
How challenging was the task and what were your personal parameters?
Judging new authors is indeed challenging but equally refreshing as one gets to see the talent of upcoming writers. While it is a privilege to be among the jury panel, there is a lot of responsibility on our shoulders as while judging others’ literary work we have to keep our critical eye and ear tuned to what the book is saying. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and judging the English language entries received for the fifth edition of the Pen to Publish contest. The entries submitted for the contest had quite engaging storylines that made judging even more difficult as passion and dedication could be felt in every eBook. The stories were very captivating and I decided to go with the script that had defined the character arc beautifully. Also, cliffhangers play a crucial role to keep readers hooked.
Publishing a novel has become a lot easier with a deluge of self-publishing platforms in India. What was your breakthrough in the literary world like?
The self-publishing route is the most preferred way of publishing because of the ease it offers and given the growth of online readers, self-publishing provides a huge platform for budding authors to reach billions of readers. Along with this, it also offers complete transparency and a better royalty rate as compared to traditional publishers. Speaking of breakthroughs, I used to write a personal diary during my college days because of my habit of penning down the events that occurred in and around my college. My friend happened to read them and suggested that I should follow my passion for writing. It was only then I added fictional elements and wrote it in a novel format. In 2008, when my first book was published, self-publishing was not available. At that time, we used to write, submit hard copies of our manuscripts to publishers, and wait to know whether it was selected or not. I completed my first book around 2008-2009 and the book got published in 2011 under the name Few Things Left Unsaid via traditional publishing.
You have written 15 novels since 2011. What is it that kept you going?
It would be safe to say that I have become a writer by chance, not by choice. While I was writing my first book, which took two years to complete, I realised that the whole process of writing brought me a definite kind of pleasure. I started my career quite early at the age of 23 by working in an IT company and was also pursuing a part-time MBA degree. During that time, I realised that there is no sense of satisfaction with my current job and felt I should pursue my interest. So, I told my parents to give me a couple of years as I wanted to continue writing. Writing became my passion in those three-four years and following my passion kept me going as I was motivated by the level of satisfaction I was getting from writing.
Do you like reading new authors? Which new authors have you read recently?
Yes, of course. Apart from the shortlisted books in KDP Pen to Publish, recently I read You Only Live Once by Stuti Changle. I believe that the work of new authors always strikes new chords and encourages me to write more. I love discovering new authors who craft their words in a completely different manner from me.
Coming back to your books, what are you working on?
I am working on an e-book and look forward for my readers to read it.