The Process of Writing- My Debut Hosting on Bhutan Echoes

I feel honoured to be given this opportunity to host a session on the process of writing, a subject that is close to my heart, a subject that I worked so hard to understand when I co-founded the Writers Association of Bhutan and a subject that's at the heart of what I do with BOOKNESE.

You will see how natural and spontaneous we are during the discussion, not because we rehearsed so much but because the subject was as close to their hearts as mine. My guest Tshering Wangchuk, former CEO of Business Bhutan and BBS, is the author of A Thousand Footprints. My Other guest Utsav Khatiwara is an editor who works as a lecturer at Royal Thimphu College. Within an hour that I spent with the two outstanding personalities, with whom I haven't had so much associations in the past-- especially I met Utsav for the first time on the day of the shoot-- I felt a lot richer in terms of my knowledge on writing and publishing. 

Save all your questions until the end of this show;

How to Self-Publish Your First Book (in Bhutan)

In 2003, I took the manuscript of my collection of 30 short stories and went to the two places I knew might help me in publishing it. I first went to Kuensel and then to DSB. It cost me all my pocket money to print two manuscripts, and both the places didn’t even read them yet kept them. My idea of publishing was limited to them, and it stopped there. I now understand that even they were limited by so many factors. They were not the true kind of publishers we have heard of to expect anything. And I fear we still don’t have that kind of a publisher. Therefore, I shall tell you about self-publishing. 

 

In 2018, during the Mountain Echoes Literature Festival, I told DSB how it broke my little heart when I didn’t get back my manuscript. He couldn’t believe that I came to him 16 years ago. He went back, dug into his storeroom and fished out the manuscript I submitted. 

 

That book could not be published. It’s been my dearest dream to print that book, but somehow, I published another book. With the experience from publishing PaSsu Diary, my first book of selected posts from this blog, and several other books for friends, I have acquired the knowledge and confidence to publish books. I may finally publish my short stories any time this year.

 

In this post, I will use my experience to create a simple guide to self-publishing a book in Bhutan. I will do it as if I am explaining the process to my younger self back in 2003 to help everyone who is aspiring to publish a book. 

 

WRITING & EDITING

Once you finished writing the book, start rewriting it. It’s said that good stories are not written; they are rewritten. You must hire a good editor to refine your book. Even professional writers have to get their works edited by their editors. Stephen King said, “To write is human, to edit is Devine”  

 

It could cost you anywhere between Nu. 20,000 to Nu. 80,000 for a serious editor. But don’t worry, you could get your English teacher or someone who is strong in language to edit your work for free. 

TITLE & COVER

This process is about branding your book. For your book to be discussed or bought, way before the story is read and reviews wrote, the book needs to carry a captivating title and cover. 

You can start off with a working title for the book while writing but once you have completed the story, consider naming the book all over again. Note that for a Bhutanese book to stand out with its own identity, always try to add some Bhutanese elements in the name and even the cover. 

 

Cover design (Jacket) with spine and Blurb  

The book cover is the face of the book, and you must invest as much time in it as you did in writing the book. Seek help from artists, graphic designers and people who have experience in the field. Look for examples and show them to your designers to work out several drafts for you. 

Remember, a book with poor cover design can hardly sell because people judge the book by its cover no matter what. Forgive them. 

LAYOUT & DESIGN 

Hire a graphic designer to design the layout of your book. This is when your book is transformed from MS Word format to PDF format on software like InDesign, in exact shape and size it will appear when printing. 

You must let the designer know the size you desire for the book. If you are not familiar with the standard dimensions of the book, take a book of desirable size and ask the designers to design your books like that.

Technical page and sample layout work done.

Once you have your book layout done, you know the number of pages and the exact amount of paper it will require. These details are required for the printing company to decide the cost of printing your book. 

 

Designing the layout of your book could cost you Nu. 10,000 to Nu. 20,000. Some printing company will do it pro bono since you are printing the book with them. 

COST OF PRINTING

The cost of printing a book is determined by the following factors;

 

1. Paper quality
2. Number of pages (after the layout is done)
3. Colour or B&W
4. And the number of copies

 

To give you a rough idea, if you are printing a novel of 200 pages on a good quality paper, and you are printing 1000 copies of the novel, the printing house will quote approximately Nu.150 per copy, which means you need to pay Nu. 150,000 for printing the 1000 copies. 

However, if you are going for 2000 copies, then the price per copy will drop from Nu.150 to somewhere around Nu. 110. So, you will be paying Nu. 220,000 for printing 2000 copies. That’s because the printing machines use a certain aluminium plate to transfer the image onto the papers, and when you increase the number of copies, the cost of the plates gets divided further. If you are not interested in the technical details, just note that the printing cost per book reduces if we increase the number of copies. It’s more economical to print in bigger bulk, but the risk is big too.

 

Once you know the cost of printing, then you can determine the price of your book. If you are paying Nu.150 per book, then let the price of your book be Nu.300, be gentle on the price since it’s your first book. One day when you are popular, then you could strike higher. 

 

Always print the price of your book on the back cover to ensure that your readers get the book at the price you set and that bookstores don’t charge higher than you intended. 

The book's cover page will either have a separate cost (Nu. 5 per piece) or come as a compliment with the book. This has to be agreed upon while negotiating. 

ISBN & BICMA No.

ISBN Number is issued by the Centre for Bhutan Studies (CBS) in Bhutan. Go to their website and apply for an ISBN number for your book by furnishing the online form with your book details or (download an actual form and emailing it to Mr Tashi Tshering at ttcering@gmail.com/ttshering@bhutanstudies.org.bt.) 

You will get it issued within a day or two. You don't have to pay for this service. 

 

Also, you need to get the publishing approval from BICMA. Print a dummy copy of your book and submit it to BICMA along with the application form. You should get the approval certificate with the BICMA number within a week or so. A Nu.1500 fee is charged.

Certificate of Registration for Book Publication from BICMA

You have to put both the ISBN and BICMA number on the back-cover page along with MRP and on the book's technical page. Generate a bar code using the ISBN number and have it printed on the back cover. 

Barcode and Price on the Back Cover

Once you have these details, you can wrap up the design and layout works and send the work to the printing house. 

Note: You must compulsorily deposit three copies of your book to the National ISBN Agency, the Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research, and additionally 2 copies to National Library. 

PROOFREADING 

But wait, one last thing before sending for mass printing, send it for proofreading. This is the last chance for you to remove any error from the book, so get the copy proofread by someone good at it, preferably a fresh pair of eyes. If any error is spotted, you have to ask your designer to make the necessary corrections. 

Once all is done, you give the green flag to the printer, and they will take about a month to print your book and deliver it to you. 

LAUNCH and PROMOTION 

Once you receive the book from the printing press, organize a book launch ceremony. Invite people from media as guests. This is your opportunity to let the country know that you have published a book. Set up a bookstall somewhere and let the guests buy the book, but let someone else sell the book for you. Arrange a corner for 'book Signing', where you sign the book for the guests.

Book Signing during the launch of PaSsu Diary

When this event is over, it's time for you to run for marketing. I know it's a little too undignified, but the goal is to sell your book, and there is no other way around unless you have someone else who will do it for you. Go to the bookstores and distribute the books and negotiate a percentage commission for them. They will ask anywhere between 20-30%. The tragedy is that you don't get paid upfront. They will pay you only when the books are sold, so it's important to keep your online promotion aggressive and send buyers to bookstores. 

For wider recognition and possible promotion, register your book on BOOKNESE, the online platform for Bhutanese books. They will help you stage your book in the circle of readers and get it discussed, besides marketing it online and distributing it to different dzongkhags through Bhutan Post. 

 

 NOTE: If you don't have the money to publish your book, wait for my post on Crowdpublshing. 

Publishing PaSsu Diary; Blog to Book

My favorite Oscar Wilde said ‘memory is the diary that we all carry about with us’. Another wise man said ‘God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.’

It’s already June in my life and spring flowers should keep blooming in my head till December but given my punctured memory I don’t think I can remember the color of the rose I picked this morning. I often meet familiar people on the street, shake hands, pretend to know them and wonder how I knew them after they are gone. They talk about a fond family incident I am clueless about.

As if I knew this was coming I never really trusted my memory, perhaps I never had a good one I could trust. I scribbled everything all around and one day in June 2006, in Ms. Loh’s class, I began this blog PaSsu Diary. It was just another classwork. I never thought it would go on with me for ten years and become my memory keeper.

Talking about so many years I am wondering how the hell a decade passed with nothing so significant to call as my achievement. Did I sleepwalk across years? I’m still struggling with the first car loan I ever took and every month it’s the same old tale of endless compromises.

But then I look at my blog archive and there are over 620 fragments of stories telling me that I have lived in little moments for little things. There are over a million hits telling me that the little things mattered. O’ I shall have roses in December after all.

I think I owe my blog something for its 10^th anniversary and this is where the idea of publishing my blog into a book comes. But I swear I am having hard time picking the best 100 articles for the book. If you have been reading my blog I am sure you would have liked some articles. Please let me know your favourite PaSsu Diary article(s) and help me narrow down my choices. I hope it has at least 100 articles worth publishing into a book. 

Draft Book Cover

Note: I am aware of my terrible grammar and typos. I trust my editor Nawang Phuntsho to deal with that. The cover is just the first draft. Our designer Che Dorji will have to work on it and I may have to sit with Chimi R Namgyal for another art work.

The First Bhutanese Writers’ Retreat

We called it a retreat because it was too modest to be called a festival. This was something we have been looking forward to since the time we founded Writers Association of Bhutan (WAB) in 2009. This time around we entrusted two of our prominent members in Phuntsholing to lead us. Kinley Wangchuk and Namgay Tshering took less than two months to make the first ever Bhutanese Writers’ Retreat happen. It was a distant dream for the longest time, and now it seems like we have finally found our way. Thanks to the leadership of the two men.

Aue Supe with Super Presentation 

The event took place on 23rd Jan 2016 in a quiet conference hall of Centennial Hotel in the middle of busy Phuntsholing town. The attendance at the event was as modest as our event but quite a few people believed in us to travel from Thimphu to take part in the event while some seemed to wait till we are big enough to deserve their time. We might never make it there but if we ever do we shall remember the people who were with us during our small beginnings, who did more than just watching us struggle. It’s been years now and I know if some of our established writers showed a little faith and came together we could have already come up with something substantial to proudly call our own.

Super Cop in Deep Muse 

In 2003 I completed my first book of short stories and invested all my pocket money into printing the manuscript. First I didn’t know where to go and second the places I went to didn’t even read my stories, and at last they threw away my manuscript. Thirteen years have passed and I haven’t published that book yet. This need not happen to any aspiring writer now. There are people at WAB who will read the manuscript and if the stories are good then we have a team to edit the story, layout the book, design the cover, find financial support for printing if necessary, and produce a book that is of international standard. This already happened with at least six new authors. With each new book we have learned better ways to do things.

The Modest Population

And the Retreat is to celebrate and showcase our team efforts because everyone at WAB is a part timer and every new author is a new team member. So at the retreat we come together to share experiences, to promote books, to have workshops on writing, editing, publishing, and book designing. It’s basically to beat the path to publication flatter.

My Friend and Co Founder Nawang on Alternative Publishing 

Following list of activities from the event will tell you what the retreat was all about:

1. Mindfulness – Namgay Tshering
2. Book Promotion and Sale: Kadrinche-beyond words, Cronical of a Love Foretold, Darkest June, La Ama, Barnyard Murder, and Restless Relic
3. On the road to publication- Experience sharing by Kinley wangchuk and Karma Tenzin Yongba
4. Poetic Inspiration- Tshering C Dorji
5. Simplicity in Writing- Kunga Tenzin Dorji (Supe)
6. Writers and Blogging- PaSsu
7. Editor’s Story- Needup Zangpo
8. Elements of Detective stories – Karma Tenzin Yongba
9. Crowd Publishing- Alternative Publishing- Nawang P Phuntsho
10. Book signing by Authors; Karma Tenzin Yongba and Kinley Wangchuk

The day was overloaded but every session seemed to bring another dead cell in me back to live. That evening I threw myself on my bed in complete exhaustion but I couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction.  I have never been more motivated to dust my old manuscript and dream of publishing again.

Among the many conferences, retreats, and forums I have attended on my own expenses so far this one put an additional smile on my face because I was given a free accommodation in a nice hotel, not to mention the magnificent venue and meals since our arrival on 22^nd Jan evening till our departure on 24^th Jan afternoon. Therefore I would like to thank the duo Namgay Tshering, and Kinley Wangchuk for paving the difficult path and would like to join them and their supporters in thanking the event sponsors on behalf of WAB:

• Proprietor of Dophu Transport, Karma Dophu Thinley
• Proprietor of Namgay Woods, Dasho KS Dhendup
• CEO of Bhutan Polythnen Company
• CEO of Rabdhuen Pvt Ltd
• Mr. Sonam Wangchuk and Yanka of Phuntsho Norphel Trading
• Proprietor of Centennial Hotel

Story About and Inside Monu Tamang's Book

Monu Tamang made news with his first book 'Joy of Beautiful Dreams' when he was still in high school. Then he left for college in India on scholarship where along with his four years physiotherapy course he completed his first novel 'Chronicle of a Love Foretold' and made another news.

The story about the book and the story in the book, both are equally fascinating. A young college student publishing a novel in itself is a big story considering how lots of young people waste their college life like a vacation. Besides, the book was crowdpublished, which made another story. It's a unique model improvised by my friend and co-founder of Writers Association of Bhutan (WAB) Nawang Phuntsho that divides the cost of publishing into packets and allow individuals to invest in parts. Monu's book was jointly published by over 30 WAB members and what is more interesting is the marketing strategy the model offers. All 30 investors become marketers making the model crowd publishing and crowd marketing. Thus the book became the fastest sold book in small Bhutanese market.

The story in the book is set in Raichur in south India and it's narrated in the first person by a physiotherapy student Kinga. Personally knowing the author too well and knowing that he went to that college and took that course made it difficult for me to separate Kinga from Monu in most of the chapters. However, having been there for four years Monu takes us on a very exciting tour of his college and gives us an insight into his course through Kinga with fascinating details.

It's a story of friendship and love in college told very convincingly with interesting characters. The parent elements add strength to the entire fabric of the story. Kinga loves his mother and hates his father, whom he never met. He has serious trust issues and avoids intimate relationships until he meets Namsa. She happens to be engaged with another man. And when he thinks the worst has passed he finds Rani from his past ruining his present with Namsa. She leaves and his world crumbles. Years later his patient in Paro Hospital gives him the direction in life, and more... I shall stop here before I risk ruining the charm of suspense.

In between the stories of fun the author gives us a disturbing insight into the lives of our children studying in India. This book is not for parents whose children are studying in India because it could cause a heart attack. They are going to discover where their children are pumping their hard-earned money into -- romance, amusement parks, smoking, drinking, fighting, biking, holidaying ...without a care in the world. Could the rumour of some students intentionally failing so that they could go to Indian college be true?

The author, Monu Tamang, on the contrary, not only aced his physiotherapy course but also completed a 227 paged novel, which is evident that he spent his days in India differently and did the nation proud.

Update: Get the book from BOOKNESE