A writers’ club!
Viewpoint
Eroshani Nadika De Silva
I read Hemakumar Nanayakkara’s views with interest. Excellently said!
Being a writer is not easy and when people rub it on you it’s even
worse. No work of art is perfect but instead of critics telling you what
is wrong in your work, it is always better to get advice on how to
improve the work.
But the only problem is there is only a handful of critics who can do
constructive criticism.
Recently there was a story from Dr. Nimal Sedera, requesting for
poems for a book that is being published soon and if the poems get
selected we need to pay Rs500/- to get them published on the book, which
I felt was reasonable.
It was a good idea and maybe Artscope can do the same concept for a
book of short stories by different authors. I am sure that anyone would
be willing to pay an affordable amount towards the publishing cost. This
way many authors get to be published at an affordable cost.
However this could apply only to short stories but it is better to
get some kind of publication than none at all.
Another suggestion is that we should form a amateur author’s club or
membership through Artscope and get writers to be members for an
affordable annual or half yearly membership fee. Annually or half yearly
this membership collection can go towards publishing one book for a
deserving member.
This could be an encouragement as well as a competition, where the
manuscripts have to be judged and the best one published.
However to give everyone a fair chance each member’s work should be
published only once from the club’s collection. Also if the published
member likes, 50 percent or all of the books profits could be donated to
the club for future writers to benefit form. If all of us want to be
authors working together I am sure we can get our work published and
help other publish their work along the way.
I have published my own book last year called ‘Beneath Rose Villa’
and it was not easy doing it on my own and being in Bahrain I have
managed to get it on print through Tharanjee Prints, Maharagama - with a
lot of help from friends of course. I learnt and believe that if there
is a will there is always a way.
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