P. Wish's Blog, page 4

Self-Publishing Resources: Part 1: The Book

Self-Publishing Resources


Part 1
The Book: Cover, Formatting, and Editing 


This article is a collection of resources for self-published writers. The first part of this series will focus on resources to enhance your book (cover design, formatting, and editing). I have tried to include as many free resources as possible because I want to make this article accessible to first-time writers. Producing a book is exciting. Personally, I enjoy designing, formatting and polishing my book. Even if you don’t enjoy these things, these resources are here to help you out.


Books 


APE (Author Publisher Entrepreneur) by Guy Kawasaki  
This is a must have book for anyone new to self-publishing. Guy Kawasaki covers the basics of formatting, editing, writing, publishing and marketing your self-published book. The book has a comprehensive list of resources for new writers. The writing style is humorous. The book also has its own website and a Google+ community. 
http://apethebook.com 


Author 2.0 by Joanna Penn 
Joanna Penn’s blog is an essential resource for any self-published writer or authorpreneur. The website has interviews, free ebooks, podcasts, advice and much more. I found many of these resources and tips on her website. You can download her book Author 2.0 on her website. It will put you on the right track. This was the first book I read when I became a self-published writer. You can find other books by her on her website. 
http://www.thecreativepenn.com 


Cover Design


Canva
Canva is a website that helps you design beautiful graphics for social media, ebooks, and other promotional events. I have used other websites that offer similar features, but I find that Canva offers the best quality. They have pre-set formats for various social media profiles. They have different sizes for Kindle ebooks and regular ebooks. The designs are visually appealing and high quality. You need to pay a dollar for most images and some designs. However, this website is worth it. If you want to design your own high-quality ebook cover, Canva is the way to go. 
https://www.canva.com 

Fiverr
Fiverr is a popular website that offers services for $5. You can find people to format, edit and design your book. Though I’m not sure about how well the formatting and editing works, the cover design is a safe bet. If you want a professional cover design but can’t afford big budget designers, try this website. It is good place to find illustrators and cover designers.
https://www.fiverr.com 


Peopleperhour 
Peopleperhour is similar to Fiverr. It is a website where you can find and hire freelancers. I find this website works best for online marketing, editing and formatting. It is a good place to find editors and formatters at a low price. The ones at Fiverr usually don’t edit full-length novels. The services are cheaper. If you’re looking for a good deal, try here. I have used it in the past and the service is good. 
https://www.peopleperhour.com 

Adazing Design 
Adazing design offers some really good resources for creating 3D mockups of your books. This site has a broad range of free resources that help you generate mockups, bestseller logos, barcodes, photoshop book covers, book sale sheets, book spines etc. The website also has a ‘top secret’ list of famous editors. If you’re looking for an editor, this is a useful resource. 
http://www.adazing.com 
http://www.adazing.com/cover-mocks/ 



Royalty-Free Stock Images


Death by Stock Photo
This is by far one of the best resources I have come across. Death by Stock photo is a free service that sends a pack of photos to your e-mail every month. The photos are high quality, stock images that are royalty-free. You need to sign up on their website to receive the images. I find that these images work well with Canva layouts. These photos work well for blog posts and book covers. 
http://deathtothestockphoto.com 


Creative Commons Image Search 
You can search for images that have Creative Commons licenses on their website. Some images may need to be credited. Make sure you read through the specifics of the copyright before downloading and using the images. The search incorporates images from many websites such as Pixabay, Flickr and Google image search
https://search.creativecommons.org 


Formatting


Adobe Indesign 
This is the industry standard. Adobe offers this software as a monthly subscription. To check the latest rates, visit their website. 
 http://www.adobe.com/in/products/indesign.html 


CreativeIndie templates
The day I found this was the happiest day of my life (at least for that week). The formats are beautiful and professional. The formats are useful for those who don’t have Indesign or can’t use it. They work with MS Word (and Pages for MAC users). This is a very good resource for the technologically challenged. 
http://www.diybookformats.com/freebookformatting/ 


Editing


Beta Readers
Beta readers critique your story based on characters, ideas, storyline, plotting, and structure. This is the first stage of your editing and re-writing process. Though some people get their family and friends to act as their first readers, this strategy has its downsides. Make sure your Beta reader is close to the ideal reader (i.e the target audience). You may also find someone who is a professional. Many professional beta reading services are available. However, if you’re a new author, you can cut costs here. There are many avenues to find free beta readers. You can join a writer’s group, online forums, give a shout out on your social media or share the manuscript with those subscribed to your newsletter. The link to the Goodreads group is in my earlier post (Resources for genre fiction writers). 


Here are a few places to find beta readers:


Absolute write: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?30-Beta-Readers-Mentors-and-Writing-Buddies 
You can find Jae’s article on 15 ways to find Beta readers here: https://jaefiction.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/15-ways-to-find-a-beta-reader-or-critique-partner/ 
If you’re a female author, you can find critique partners at Ladies who critique: http://www.ladieswhocritique.com/get-started/ 
Besides these, there are many Yahoo, Google+ and Facebook groups. Run a search to find some relevant to your genre. 


Freelance Editors 

Finding an editor for your book is a personal journey. It depends on many factors such as your budget, genre, preferences, geographical region, working style etc. As I mentioned above, Adazing has a list of editors who have edited novels that have made it to the New York Bestseller lists. 

If you’re on a tight budget, you can find editors on Peopleperhour, Goodreads forums, writing forums and google search. Opt for editors who offer a sample edit so that you can see if they would work for you. There are different types of edits like developmental edits (also called beta reads), line editing, and proofreading. In this book, APE, Guy Kawasaki says that he believes line editing to be the most important type of editing. Even if you skimp on the others, make sure to hire someone to line-edit your work. 


Editing Software

I also mentioned these in my earlier post. Self-editing softwares have gained popularity. I use them because they are cheap, convenient and help you filter out basic errors. Grammarly, Pro-writing aid and After the deadline a few of my go-tos. Let me know if you want a review of any of these. 
http://www.prowritingaid.com   
https://app.grammarly.com 
http://www.afterthedeadline.com 

I hope you found this article helpful. It is aimed at those who are new to self-publishing or on a tight budget. If you want to see a review of specific websites or softwares, drop me a line. I will see you next week with the second part of the self-publishing series which focuses on marketing resources. Please share if you liked the post.  #element-63dcd3d3-0cdb-4e4a-9315-8f38f9086b56 .callout-box--standard { border: 4px solid #a9e976; background: #a9e4f8; padding: 40px; margin: 20px 0;}#element-63dcd3d3-0cdb-4e4a-9315-8f38f9086b56 .callout-box--material { border: 4px solid #a9e976; background: #a9e4f8; padding: 40px; margin: 20px 0; box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);}#element-63dcd3d3-0cdb-4e4a-9315-8f38f9086b56 .callout-base { border: 4px solid #a9e976; background: #a9e4f8; padding: 40px; margin: 20px 0;}#element-63dcd3d3-0cdb-4e4a-9315-8f38f9086b56 .material { box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);} [image error]Click on the image to subscribe to my newsletter for more such articles. 

Story Behind the Stories: Dream Diary

I am back with the final installment of Story behind the stories. This has been a great journey. I feel bittersweet.

All giveaways for Into the Light have ended. Congratulations to everyone who won a copy. I will be offering the book for free on Story Cartel this month. Keep and eye on my social media profiles for updates. 

Dream Diary

Dream diary is another one of my old treasures. I wrote this story a long time ago. Back then, I had no clue what to do with it. I shelved it. I picked it up again when I was looking for inspiration for my short story series. Dream diary was intended to be a novel, but I think it makes a better short story. 

Dream diary is one of my earlier attempts at science fiction. I used to have frequent nightmares when I wrote this story. I maintained a dream diary to record my dreams. I used to write them down every morning. I would then conduct research on them and try to understand what they symbolized. The nightmares stopped after a while. But, this story remained. 

I modified and re-wrote parts of it. I made it into a short story with its own twist ending. Upon reading the story again, I found that the minor themes of the story revolve around the main character’s yearning to belong. ‘Home’ is perhaps a good word to describe the minor theme of this story. The story is mostly fantasy and science fiction. Much like the other science fiction stories, this too connects technology with society. 


The story also makes a side note about changes in communications technology. We can now make millions of friends online through social media websites. This has eliminated the need for physical proximity. Right now, we’re somewhere in between both these paradigms. 
​
I’ll stop for today. I hope this post helped you understand why I wrote this short story. Dream Dairy is Chapter 3 of Into the Light. You can watch the trailer below. 

I want to thank you for reading this series. You can find the other installments on my blog. This is the last post in this series. It has been a pleasure to share my experiences with you all. 

I will be posting articles on writing, self-publishing and content generation this month. I am currently working on my next book which will hopefully (fingers crossed) release in February 2016. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my mailing list to be the first one to read my next book. 

You can follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘Dream Dairy’ and eight other stories.

Purchase Links:

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044039341?ls=1&mt=11 

Amazon (USA): http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-collection-short-stories/dp/151773309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444562137&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+light+p+wish

​Link to my new post, Resources for Genre Fiction Writers:
http://www.pwish.net/blog/resources-for-genre-fiction-writers 

Resources for Genre Fiction Writers

​Writing Resources for Genre Fiction Writers  

Nanowrimo is around the corner. That means a lot of us will be writing a book this month. I put together this article to help you get your book off the ground. This article is a list of useful writing resources by genre. I have tried to include a variety of resources such as books, websites, softwares and forums so that writers from all backgrounds can benefit from it. 

General 

Books 

 1.   Save the cat! by Blake Snyder: I raved about this book on my review blog at BookLikes. I came across this book two years ago and it changed my life. After I read this book, my perception of plotting completely changed. If you want to make your story a commercially solid one, this is your guide. The book breaks down plotting into easy steps. Blake takes you through the writing process in a concise and insightful manner. If you don’t have the time to plot a complete novel, you can sketch a skeleton using his ‘Beat sheet’ method. You’ll be glad you did. 
 2 .   On Writing by Stephen King: This one remains an all time favourite. I read this book recently. Stephen King’s book is valuable because it is realistic. Reference books make writing sound like some sort of fantasy but Stephen King gives you a gist of the reality. The first part of the book is a memoir. The second part comprises of writing tips. I reviewed this book on Goodreads and on mu BookLikes blog. 

Websites

Fiction Factor
This was one of favourite websites. They have a list of useful articles from writers of all genres and abilities. The website design has changed since. It is still worth checking out. 
http://fictionfactor.com 

Writers Digest 
This is the mother of all writing resources. If you’re a writer, you’ve probably come across writer’s digest’s website. You can subscribe to the magazine for updates. They also publish a thick agent and publisher guide each year. The website contains free articles on all aspects of writing. 
http://www.writersdigest.com 

Courses 

ScreenwritingU: Write a Screenplay in 30 days
I did this course last summer. It is an online course. This course is ideal for those who are trying to write their first novel or script in 30 days. It helped me finish my first screenplay. This course uses the mini-movie method to help you get your idea on page. Mini movie method is a great way to plot your works. I swear by it. The template used in this course works for fiction as well. The best part? You have a manuscript in 30 days!
http://www.screenwritingu.com/mmm 
If you’d rather read a book, you can pick up Chris Soth’s Million Dollar Screenwriting. He is the founder of this method. 
http://www.amazon.in/Million-Dollar-Screenwriting-The-Mini-Movie-Method-ebook/dp/B00P5VN8VM 

I recently did Joe Bunting’s free online writing course on how to complete your novel. If you are short on time, this is a good course.Registration to this course is now closed. You can sign up to know when it opens. 
http://my.storycartel.com/join-course/ 
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​Mystery

Howdunit series

If you’re planning to write a mystery, you probably know how important research is. Learning about forensics and the legal system are the basics. the Howdunit is a series of non-fiction guides for mystery writers. These books are lifesavers. They are written for aspiring mystery writers. You don’t need to search all over the internet anymore. Just get one of these.

Here is the old list. Most of the books in his list are either out of stock or out of print now. If you can find them, grab a copy.
http://www.amazon.com/lm/2IS50WU1FMSLU- 
This is a link to the new series: 
Howdunit: Forensics 
http://www.amazon.com/Howdunit-Forensics-D-P-Lyle/dp/1582974748/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446192158&sr=1-1&keywords=howdunit+forensics 
Howdunit: Police Procedure and investigation 
http://www.amazon.com/Police-Procedure-Investigation-Writers-Howdunit/dp/1582974551/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=00YRK8AMR76KGBAFC8V6 
Howdunit: Book of Poisons 
http://www.amazon.com/HowDunit-Book-Poisons-Serita-Stevens/dp/158297456X/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=41wuc1Ny-rL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR120%2C160_&refRID=1GFA1KDG1JCE7ND8BPFN 

Mystery 12 Chapter Formula

I found this page while looking for books on how to write mysteries. If you want to write the traditional Agatha Christie style whodunit mystery, look no further. This plotting template is way more useful than any book could ever be. It reduces plotting to twelve easy chapters that translate directly to a novel. 
http://ticket2write.tripod.com/mysplot.html

Thriller

I find that reading thrillers is the best way to write better thrillers. Here are a few other suggestions.  

This website has a template for plotting all genres of fiction including thrillers:
http://thewisesloth.com/2009/11/17/4-simple-formula-plot-templates/ 

Thriller writer Lee Child talks about his writing process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDZq5Ef3k8  
If you have only two minutes, spend it watching this video. 

How to write thrillers that actually thrill by Steven James
Writer Steven James has also put together a very helpful handout for thriller writers. This six page offers guidelines to make your thriller novels thrilling. http://www.stevenjames.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SJ-How-to-Write-Thrillers-that-Actually-Thrill.pdf 


Romance 

Writer’s World
This site has  articles on various aspects of writing romance such as plot, charatcers, emotion, dialogue etc.
http://www.writing-world.com/romance/

If you’re up for more reading, Harlequin has a list of ten must-read romance writing books:
http://harlequinblog.com/2010/11/ten-books-you-must-read-before-writing-a-romance-novel/  

Romance University
This website is regularly updated. It made Writer’s Digest's 'Best websites for writers' list in 2013, 2014 and 2015. 
http://romanceuniversity.org 

eBook Crossroads
eBook crossroads maintains a comprehensive list of websites for romance writers. 
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/romance-writing.html 

If you’re writing a historical romance and don’t understand titles, author Jo Beverley has you figured out. You can read her easy guide to titles here: http://www.jobev.com/title.html 


If you’re more of a chick lit writer the following book is a good start. It’s pretty hard to come by writing books in this genre. This book is one of the good ones that I found. 


Will Write for Shoes by Cathy Yardley
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312359004/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theminofcoo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0312359004 


Science Fiction

A-Z of Writing Science Fiction by P. Wish

I’ll throw in some shameless self promotion here. I wrote an article for readers+ Writers journal a few weeks ago. This article is a good introduction to writing science fiction. If you’re interested, you can read it here: 
http://readerswritersjournal.com/2015/09/25/the-a-to-z-of-writing-science-fiction/ 

Pop Science Books

I find that reading books about science helps me write better science fiction. Pop science as a genre is gaining popularity. 
I would like to recommend all of Michio Kaku’s books. His books are well written and accessible. I particularly liked Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future. Pop science books are a good way to develop your skills and ideas.http://www.amazon.com/Michio-Kaku/e/B000ARDFYQ 
Goodreads also has a list of highest rated popular science books here:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/science 

Brian Cox’s series on BBC is great for those who prefer a visual medium: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zdhtg 

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card 

This is one of the few books that specifically deal with writing science fiction. I have’t read it yet but it has pretty good reviews on Amazon. If you want to give it a go, you can buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X 

Editing

So, you’ve finished your novel? Great. It’s time to edit. 

Where writers win: Self editing resources 
This website has a list of ten softwares that can help you edit your work without paying large sums of money. A few of these are free while others are subscription based. You can use these to edit chapters of your manuscript as well as blog posts and short stories. I prefer After the Deadline because it lets you make corrections immediately. It is also downloadable and convenient. However, it is basic compared to the other ones on the list. Autocrit is one of the most popular softwares in this category. 
http://writerswin.com/when-your-self-editing-cant-get-you-there-nine-helpful-resources/ 

Goodreads Forums

Goodreads has many forums that allow you to swap your manuscript. This is a good way to get beta readers for free. 
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/50920-beta-reader-group 

That’s it for today. I’ve tried to keep the list manageable. I hope you found some useful resources in there. If you did, please share this article on your social media or with friends. You can also follow me on social media for regular updates. I post useful articles on writing (mine and others’) on my Twitter, Google+ and Facebook accounts everyday. 

If you would like to see a more articles on writing resources, self publishing resources or writing advice, let me know in the comments section. Don’t forget to add your favourite writing resources! 

(Images courtesy of Death by Stock Photo) 

Story Behind the Stories- Anatomy of a Divorce

​I am back with the eighth instalment of Story behind the stories. This week, I will be discussing why I wrote 'Anatomy of a Divorce'. 

Anatomy of a Divorce 

I never thought I’d write something like this. I usually write avoiding writing about contentious social issues. However, I decided to challenge myself on this one. As stated in the trailer, Anatomy of a divorce is a satirical observation of marriage. The story is pure fiction. It captures the emotions of individuals, families and society in relation to divorce. In doing so, it makes some sharp observations on the nature of the institution of marriage. 

The story could also be classified as a reality vs expectations scenario. Though the eyes of the main character, I have tried to portray the feelings that those getting divorced go through. The little annoying things that your partner does can add up to a lot over time. I hope readers can have fun reading the story. 

I enjoyed writing the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it. The book trailer is available on my Youtube channel. You can have a look to decide if the story interests you. 

I want to thank all those who took part in my giveaway. My hard copy giveaways have ended. You can still enter for an ebook giveaway on BookLikes. 

I will also be posting images of quotes from the book. Keep a look out on my social media for these. Into the Light released yesterday. It is now available on Amazon, iBooks and Lulu. The purchase links can be found at the end of the post. 

I hope you enjoyed my post today. You can find more such posts on my blog. I have written a ‘story behind the stories’ post for all my short stories. The last one comes out on 1st November, 2015.

Purchase Links:


Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044039341?ls=1&mt=11 

Amazon (USA): http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-collection-short-stories/dp/151773309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444562137&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+light+p+wish

Story Behind the Stories- Bridge of Memories

I am back with my seventh anecdote. Only two more to go. 
Into the Light releases the day after tomorrow. The purchase links are at the bottom of this post. 

Bridge of Memories

Bridge of memories is a story about second chances and time. It is a love story that unfolds in one scene. A bridge is the central location of the story and an important part of the theme. Bridge of memories is the shortest story in this book. I wrote it within an hour. It encapsulates a situation that I have always wanted to write about. 


Recently, I have been watching a lot of Korean dramas. They’re the craze now and I’ve always been a fan of East Asian cinema. A lot of dramas have the Han river in Seoul as the setting. The bridge on Han river often features as a central theme in the dramas. I figured it makes sense to write about bridges.

There are many famous bridges in the western world too like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Tower Bridge in London. Though they are hotspots for tourists, they don't occupy a central spot in romantic literature. They carry more glamour and less meaning. That is why I decided to include a bridge as the central theme of the story. 


The topic of love, of course, is eternally in demand. It is also a great topic to write about. Bridge of memories, like the other human interest stories in this book seeks to examine society and humanity under a lens. This story narrows the range down to a single event.


The story also has a minor theme of work-life balance. Work-life balance is a hotly debated and popular topic. I think that over time, we, as a society have moved towards better work life balance. The story is set in the 80s or 90s when work-life balance wasn’t considered as important. 

I will be back with another story on the 29th. Thank you for reading this post. I am still running a giveaway on BookLikes. This is the last chance to win a copy of Into the Light. You can enter on my blog (link on the right side) or bootlicks. 


Bridge of memories is Chapter 6 of Into the Light. You can watch the trailer below. I will see you again soon with another anecdote.  Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘Bridge of memories’ and eight other stories. 

Purchase Links:


Amazon Kindle Store (US): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QEPPBS  


Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 


iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044039341?mt=13 


Amazon (USA): http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-collection-short-stories/dp/151773309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444562137&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+light+p+wish

Story Behind the Stories- Case of the Scheming Widow

​Welcome to the sixth instalment of Story behind the stories. This week, I will be talking about 'Case of the Scheming Widow' which is chapter 9 of the short story collection. 

Case of the Scheming Widow

I’ve grown up on mysteries. I love reading Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellery Queen and other classic mystery writers. I love to watch mysteries as much as I love to read them. Therefore, this story was an obvious choice. Now, here is the twist. My logic sucks. My planning is worse.

 I’ve been making vain attempts at writing a mystery novel since I was twelve years old. A few years ago, I downloaded a ‘foolproof’ chapter by chapter formula for writing a mystery novel. However, me being me, I didn’t manage to write one. The logic collapsed before it took shape. Writing mystery is both a science and an art. Releasing the right amount of information at the right time is tricky. Holding the reader’s interest is trickier. But, the climax is the most difficult. If it is not satisfying, it’s no good. 

A time travelling detective was the best thing I could come up with to cure my lack of logic.  The ‘time travel’ part automatically eliminated any need for logic. The story is set in historical England. This is the first mystery in the ‘Detective Adams’ series. At this point, I’m not sure if there will be any more. 

However, the allure of mystery remains. I understand that this is not the golden age for cozy mysteries. Thrillers are much better suited to today’s ADD audience with fast paced lives. I too am better at writing thrillers than mysteries. There are many good mystery writers in the market. Recently Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) released the Cuckoo’s calling series which topped the bestseller lists. This is perhaps testament to the fact that the thirst for intellectual satisfaction never dies. Or perhaps that mystery as a genre still has a sizeable audience. I don't know. I can only hope that I get better at writing mysteries before my next books comes out. 

Case of the scheming widow comes with the signature ‘twist’ that is a trademark of all the stories in this collection. The story trailer can be viewed on my youtube channel. Case of the Scheming Widow is the longest story in this book. Read it to find out more. The first part of the story is available on my blog. I will add the link at the end of this post. Into the Light releases on 28th October, 2015. You can buy the collection on amazon and ibooks.

Thank you for reading through this post. I will see you again with another anecdote. Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘Case of the scheming widow’ and eight other stories. 


Purchase Links 


Amazon Kindle Store (US):  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QEPPBS  

Smashwords store link:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/580805  

Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 

iBooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044913497?mt=11
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044039341?mt=13 

Amazon (USA):  http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-collection-short-stories/dp/151773309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444562137&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+light+p+wish
​
Unedited sample: http://www.pwish.net/blog/short-story... 

Story Behind the Stories- How to Lose a Fortune in 10 Weeks

I am back with the fifth instalment of Story behind the stories. This week I will be talking about How to lose a fortune in 10 weeks which is chapter 8 of Into the Light 

  How to Lose a Fortune in 10 Weeks 

I love historical romance. There, I said it. Contemporary romances are great but historical romance allows you that extra space to fantasize. Contemporary situations are realistic. A skyscraper looks like a skyscraper, a job feels like a job and breakups are breakups. We live in a society where these things are a part of our reality. 

However, any story that takes place in another time period comes with an extra element of imagination. The grass always looks greener on the other side. You can’t help but wonder how your life would be if you lived in that era. The London balls, the titled heroes, the gowns and the romance come with an inbuilt ‘glamour quotient’. Nobody ever says that historically, people bathed only once a week or that the women didn’t have any voting rights. That is part of the fantasy. The fact that we can’t go back to the time period and see the intricacies of their struggle adds fuel to the glamour. 

Anyway, this story is not a romance. It is a historical comedy. I must also confess at this point that I didn’t research the historical aspect of it. I went with whatever felt right. The setting allowed many plots to emerge. This story was fun to write because it is full of twists. ‘Historical comedy’ was also a new genre for me. I have the feeling that I just invented that word. 

How to lose a fortune in 10 weeks is another story that will leave your surprised. The genre, the plot, the story and the setting were all very new to me. However, I enjoyed writing the story immensely. The best part about writing it was not knowing what came next. I also  like the graphic that I made for it. 

Well, that was me ranting about my writing experiences. If you want to give How to Lose a Fortune in 10 Weeks a try, you can find a short preview on my blog. I will link it at the end of this post. Into the Light, my debut short story collection contains the full version of this story. It releases on 28th October, 2015. 

Thank you for reading through this post. I will see you again with another anecdote soon. Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘How to lose a fortune in 10 weeks’ and eight other stories. 

Amazon Kindle Store (US): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QEPPBS 

Smashwords store link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view... 

Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-... 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into...
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into... 

How to lose a fortune in 10 days (Part 1): http://www.pwish.net/blog/short-story... 

Story behind the Stories- Speechless Love

I am back with the fourth instalment of Story behind the Stories. Today, I will be discussing 'Speechless Love', the new story in my collection. 

Speechless Love

This story one my favourites. It’s also very close to my heart. That is the reason I decided to include it in this collection as the last story. I wrote it when I was thirteen. Originally, it was part of a longer novella. However, I felt that this story stood out. Many of my friends and relatives who read the book said that this chapter was the most memorable one. Eventually, I dismantled the novella into short stories. The result was Speechless Love. 


I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve re-written this story. Better language usually comes at the cost of emotion. My state of mind now is very different from what it was when I wrote the story. I have tried to preserve the original emotions behind the tale. I think I was reading a lot of Mitch Albom when I wrote this because it is thematically similar to his works. 


Speechless love is an emotional work based around the quintessential theme of love. It also tackles issues that surround us. I will not go into details. When you read this work, you will understand what I mean. Speechless love contains subtle themes of ageing but not in the way that She comes with the rain does. Above all, it deals with the unconditional and giving nature of love. 


I hope you enjoy reading this story. This is a new addition to the collection. Speechless Love was not serialised on my blog. This is my surprise gift to you. 


I will see you again soon with another anecdote.  Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘Speechless Love’ and eight other stories.

Purchase Links:


Amazon Kindle Store (US): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QEPPBS  


Smashwords store link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/580805  


Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 


iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044913497?mt=11

Story Behind the Stories- She Comes with the Rain

She Comes with the Rain

I came up with this story while living with my grandmother (no surprises!). My grandmother loves to worry. One day, she said that she was considering moving into an old age home. 

We ended up looking at a list of old age homes together. Google is new to her so, she was in awe of that fact that we could see reviews and photos at the click of a button. I really liked some of the old age homes. They had all kinds of facilities like pre-planned meals, exercise classes, doctor visits, social events etc. But, I wondered if she would be happy living alone. 

As you know, I love East Asian film. The Cantonese movie, A Simple Life is one of the inspirations for this short story. The movie is about the relationship between an old maid and her young master. She moves into an old age home after serving the family for many decades. Andy Lau, the young master pays her frequent visits. They have a mother-son relationship minus the blood ties. The story is, as the title suggests, simple. Yet, it brings to light many problems underlying caring for aged people and social dynamics in contemporary society. 

I often worry about my future. I am already looking for places to live when I get older. As you grow older, you become more inflexible. It is difficult to live with someone new and adjust to their routine. Ageing is a topic that is of major concern to economies but it is rarely discussed in literature. It is perhaps one of the less ‘glamorous’ topics to write about. 

I decided to write this story because it offers a different perspective on life. Of course, I threw in a dash of fantasy to lighten it up. The story was written in a very peaceful state of mind. The book trailer that I made for this short story also reflects that inner peace and understanding.

I hope you give this story a chance. An unedited version of 'She comes with the rain' is available on my blog. Please comment and let me know what you thought. 

Thank you for reading this post. I will see you again with another anecdote soon. Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to pre-order ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘She comes with the rain’ and eight other stories. I am currently giving away the book on Goodreads, Amazon and Booklikes (on the right side of this page). 

- P. Wish 

Purchase Links:

Amazon (US): http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-collection-short-stories/dp/151773309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444562137&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+light+p+wish 

Smashwords store link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/580805  

Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044913497?mt=11

Story Behind the Stories- UNDO

I am back with another anecdote this week. I am discussing the inspiration behind 'Undo' the second chapter of Into the Light today. 
​

UNDO

I don’t know what to say about this one. The tag line gives it all away. Undo is a modern science fiction short story about a website that can ‘undo’ your mistakes. I have always been fascinated by horror/ science fiction stories set in the an urban location. I contrived the premise and wrote the first part of the story almost five years ago. Ever since, it has been lying around on my hard drive, waiting to be revived. 


When I started ‘Short Story Wednesdays’, I needed a new idea every week. While searching through my old hard drive, I came across this. I always liked the idea but was too lazy to write it. I wanted it to be a novel originally but converted it into a short story instead. Undo explores the themes of technology, loneliness, agoraphobia, rejection and fear. 


I have always had great empathy for the topic of loneliness. At some point in life, I too was agoraphobic. Of all the characters in the book, Dan is the one I can relate to the most. This story isn’t as dark as it sounds. It contains a minor theme of unrequited love. That part of the story is inspired by the famous Radiohead song ‘Creep’. I love that song. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. If you haven’t heard it yet, give it a listen. 


Undo is perhaps one of the best examples of the book's theme. This story fits extremely well with the ongoing developments in ‘internet of things’. It almost makes you wish you had a website like that. 

You can find the link for the short story trailer of Undo in this post. I hope this post helps you appreciate the short story better. 

I will see you again soon with another anecdote.  Follow ‘The Story behind stories’ series on my blog or through my social media. If you want to support me, click on the link below to purchase ‘Into the Light’, my debut short story collection that contains ‘Undo’ and eight other stories. I am currently running a giveaway for Into the Light on Goodreads and Booklikes so you can register to win a copy of the book. 

- P. Wish 


Amazon Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QEPPBS  

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/580805  
Lulu Store (Paperback): http://www.lulu.com/shop/p-wish/into-the-light/paperback/product-22390299.html 


iBooks:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-light/id1044913497?mt=11

Createspace Store:
https://www.createspace.com/5789670