I never consider problems as an impediment, says award winning author Soma Bose on the eve of International Women’s Day

My journey as an author owes its genesis from the inspiration of another woman, my grandmother, she was an incredibly warm and welcoming spirit. In her presence, one couldn’t help but feel comfortable. She was non-confrontational and easy going. The biggest learning from her was the unselfish, giving nature in her and her amazing spirit to think of others and be caring, compassionate, warm, friendly, vibrant, and lovable. She knew that adjusting was critical in order to survive. In today’s world when everyone seems to be living for him or herself, she opened the world of magnanimity and true family values to me.

Ofcourse the biggest moment for me was when I got to hold my first copy of my debut book, “Frenny & the Other Women You Have Met”. The sense of accomplishment, including the thrill of the object itself—actually holding the physical book in their hands. The connection with readers, knowing that you had touched someone’s life. Nothing is more gratifying than to know that something you wrote truly landed with people, that they got what you were trying to say. Knowing I’d touched someone and helped them understand something new. Knowing that something I wrote resonated with another human being. I’ve never been a joiner, so it’s been really surprising to me how important this tribe of writers has become to me. Problems are a natural course in one’s life and I have never considered problems as impediments but actually they have triggered my resolve to overcome and succeed. Overcoming hurdles and succeeding actually make it memorable.

It is very difficult to get a good Publication House for new authors. All reputed Publishers are interested to publish the books by the celebrity or well known authors. In that case what are the new authors going to do! And if the books are not published through a reputable house, there is no distributor who will take the books for distribution to the BookStores for sale…it’s totally a chain effect. And if this is the scenario then new authors like me will never be able to reach to the reader’s in spite of writing good stories.

Large, household-name publishers do not accept submissions directly from authors. There are five or six conglomerate publishing houses operating a large number of well known imprints; between them, they account for around 80% of all the books published. Those companies rely on literary agents to act as their gatekeepers. That means an author must first find a literary agent willing to represent and sell their work to the publisher. For an unpublished author, that is incredibly difficult at the best of times. In the current climate however, the chances are something akin to getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery; sure, it might happen and undoubtedly does on occasion, but the odds are miniscule.

Major publishers have been holding off releasing books during the pandemic because the usual launch-events, book fairs, celebrity signings and other marketing activities used to promote them have not been possible. That means a long pipeline of books has built up over the summer and publishers have only recently begun to release the pressure valve. The result is that there is now a glut of books flooding the market; all of them competing for the attention of bookshops and readers at the same time. In that context, the last thing most publishers are going to do is take the risk on an unknown author. Very few literary agents will even read your book at the moment for that very reason.

As an aside, whilst literary agents hold enormous influence over what does and does not get published, the role has no formal, professional status whatsoever. Essentially, they are the self-appointed arbiters in an unregulated market. If you were being cynical, you might even say that good networking skills, a long contacts list and a sizeable hospitality budget are the only competencies you really need for the job. That may be unfair and hyperbolic, but there is still more truth in it than there should be. Whilst I am very sure that many agents are passionate, reputable and treat aspiring authors with respect – even deigning to respond to submissions on occasion – I can say from personal experience that others are not. The world of publishing is opaque at best. At worst, it is impenetrable. It is probably why so many books that do make it into the bookshops just aren't very good.

Hence on behalf of all new authors I would earnestly request the reputed Publication House to give fair chance to new authors like me so that we can also reach out to the readers with our creative skill.

I hope every woman is able to fulfil their dream by pursuing them with honesty and determination.