CHENNAI: Resilience and growth — these are the two lessons that Padmini Viswanathan has learned over the course of her writing career. From her love of writing, to the process of self-publishing, and to personal growth and healing, her latest book, Be the Book, co-authoured with her daughter Aparna Kamkshi was launched at Odyssey Bookstore in Adyar recently. It is an informative and emotional account of her own journey as an author, mother and person.
Love for writing
When Padmini was studying at Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru between 1965 and 1969, she wrote a few light-hearted and humour-filled articles for her college magazine. “A funny thing happened in my life. I got the news that I was engaged through an inland letter from my father. You know how it is in college — all the girls were excited, and a sister had to tell us to settle down. I decided to write about that for my college paper. I never knew I could write until I started,” she said.
Once she got married, she studied at The Cultural Academy in Santhome, where her interest in debate and public speaking was piqued. Her way with words led to her writing down a few stories. Her first book, Mylapore Lodge (2014) and Nostalgia (2015), were penned during this time.
She said that she used to write with her daughter’s assistance, ever since she wrote her first book. Padmini used to spend the day writing a new chapter or scene, and once Aparna returned home from work, she used to put in her mother’s handwritten notes into the computer. “Aparna used to come home every day, excited about the book. She used to ask to read the latest that I had written. She was a huge force behind my books, and we co-wrote together because she loved to write too,” said Padmini.
Publishing problems
Padmini decided to self-publish her first book, Mylapore Lodge, with the help of Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service. However, the book was available only in America, and the cost of shipping hiked the rate to USD 20 or Rs 1,500. She then consulted a local publishing brand and used their services to self-publish her book, as the costs were too high. “I like self-publishing my books because it means that I did the whole thing myself. From start to finish, the work is mine, and that gives me great pride and joy,” she said.
The second part of her book deals with self-publishing, with the steps and hurdles clearly marked down in a do-it-yourself format for aspiring authors to follow so that their process would be smoother than hers. It recounts all the pitfalls and traps Padmini and Aparna fell into during the course of writing their novels.
Among other things, some of the most difficult parts of self-publishing, according to Padmini, is the amount of administrative work that goes into her manuscript. From headers to footers and content pages to page numbers and layout — everything must be done by the authors, lest the book cannot be published. “Another issue that many will face is marketing. I learned how to market my books as I went through the process. You need to get in touch with local retailers and distributors and stay in contact with them, which can be very tricky,” she said.
For the future
On a cool evening in late 2017, Aparna and her mother had gone to Besant Nagar beach. Aparna had a heart condition, but was doing much better. They sat on the sand when Aparna turned to her and told her that they had to finish Be The Book, and add an element of self-discovery to the book. Reinvigorated, they set out to do so.
Aparna passed away on March 25, 2018. “I was filled with anguish. My therapist asked me if the book was the reason why I felt this way, and if I should drop it entirely for my health. But I kept on, and the book has been published. I think Aparna would be very happy with it. At the launch, most of the people who came, came for Aparna. She had that effect on people,” she said.
The last part of the book deals with self-discovery and self-recovery. While there are authors who do look at sales and number, Padmini’s outlook into writing and publishing is a little different. “Aparna and I had a system of Happiness Quotient. It didn’t matter if an activity was fruitful or not — what mattered is that we were happy. Aparna wasn’t supposed to live past three, and she lived till 43. The positivity has to be there with the person who is ill and for the caregiver — then life becomes beautiful, despite everything,” said Padmini.
'Be the Book' is available at Odyssey, Adyar, and Words N Worths. The books sells for Rs 250. For details, you can email Padmini at padmini50@rediffmail.com