Hello! It’s market news time. This week we shall try our hand at food writing. Here are a few sites that you can send your queries to:
Bon Apetit and Happy Writing!
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I’ve been wandering around the e-world - peering at a site here, glancing at a website there. I was trying to find my muse today. The muse, the inspiration, the idea, seemed to have abandoned me. Well, I’m not sure whether the muse has come back after its rather long, languid walk….but what I did find while browsing was a little spark called children’s books in India.
We’ve grown up on a solid diet of Enid Blyton books, Russian fairy tales and Nancy Drews and Girls Best Loves Stories….but for the tiny tots in India today, there are plenty of book options to choose from in India itself. While they enjoy their sojourns with the Famous Five or Betty and Jane in the English countryside, share a pucca English picnic fare of buttered scones, muffins and bread and jam, they can also skip around the alleys of India, sharing an adventure with Basava, the little tribal boy or Norbu, the boy in Sikkim or Moyna, the Why-why girl.
While there are quite a few reading options for children in India, I am speaking about the lovely books by Tulika, a small publishing house in Chennai that brings out some lovely, warm and colourful books…as piquant and interesting as the multi-hued spices that India is so famous for.
I am well-past my single-digit years, but you can’t keep me away from these books. I’ve got a pile of them in my bookshelf, sharing space with mystery, romance, history and humour. Cute characters with an Indian feel and Indian names - Bhadur the baby elephant, Shanmugam the lion, Sunu-sunu the snail, Kali, the snake charmer’s son romp around the playgrounds of these books.
Carefully crafted and brightly illustrated, books by Tulika sure are a treat to the child within. You do not have to be an Indian to read their books - in fact, we suggest you buy some to peek into the warm and wonderful culture of the country. Well, I’m off to take another peek at my books, while you can check out the website to get a glimpse of the books.
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Freelance writing is no joke. This is almost a maxim, but few people outside the realm of such work understand what we freelancers mean by it. The common consent? Complacence, as if no work could be easier. Well, here’s another maxim for such people—it is easier said than done. Try this:
Finish your morning chores—write a page—organize breakfast—send kids off to school—write a few sentences—then dash off to the bank or laundry—cook lunch—write a page or two—drive to the kids’ school to pick them up—give them their snacks—write a couple of sentences—cook dinner, fold the laundry, tuck kiddo into bed—eat—write in the bleary-eyed hours of the night. Deadline? Yesterday. Always.
Well it may not be so choc-a-bloc for all freelance writers. I know of some who write blissfully through morning and afternoon and night, the world’s time on their hands. If you are one of the hapless majorities, what do you do to get started with some solid, heavy duty writing in an organized and undisturbed manner?
• Wake up early. That’s still the best way to get a head start on work for the day
• Make a to-do list of deadlines, queries, feedback, and responses
• Prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize—the mantra for a successful writing effort
• Reserve space and a time slot for your writing. All other work will crowd in upon this space but get at it with a determined pen. Cut through the other work to write, write, and write
• Follow up on the queries and respond to the messages without fail. Today’s query could be tomorrow’s bread and butter for you.
• Write a page every day, even when there are no projects, deadlines, or inspiration
Before the rain washes away all resolve, why not start with writing that compulsory one page now? Or better still, dash off the pending query. You never know what tomorrow brings.
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