Team Stay Featured is extremely happy for bringing an exclusive interview with author Preeti Narang
1 What made you become an author? – Since college, I loved writing but only for myself. I had never thought about becoming an author. However, when I came across a true story a few years ago, I just knew I had to pen it down. One can say, I became an author by chance but am pursuing it by choice. My first story ‘Prodigal Love?’ or ‘Yeh Kaisa Pyar?’ is a wonderful story, very close to my heart. I am sure everyone will love it and learn from it.
2 How do you balance your writing and work profession? – I always craved for a balanced life and now I can say I have it. I limit my work to 8-10 hours a day and the rest I keep for my hobbies and day-to-day activities. In my personal time as well, I prioritize my tasks and it allows me to focus on important activities. For instance, writing takes priority over watching television. I prefer doing productive things that make me happy. They give me peace of mind and mental satisfaction. I commit myself one hundred per cent to everything I do.
3 Tips for somebody who wants to start his/her career in writing – The only and the most important tip I would like to give them is ‘Do it and do it now’. Life is too short and there is no right time. The present time is the only time. In today’s competitive world, we often forget about the things that make us happy. We get too busy in the rat race we don’t realize when life takes us away from ourselves. We get busy fulfilling duties and responsibilities, we don’t recognize when life ends. So, do it now. Many people in this world think about writing a book, but only a few do it. Be the latter. There is no lack of time, only a lack of commitment. Find the time and fulfil your dream.
4 What inspires an author to pick up a subject for writing a book? – Anything can inspire an author. A conversation, a song or a movie, another book, television, a dream, day-to-day life, just anything. We get ideas from everywhere.
5 How do you zero down on one topic? – As prioritization is important in any work, it is important in writing as well. I started with the topic that is closest to my heart and am slowly moving towards another topic which I never thought I would write about.
6 How long does it take you to write a book? - For my English book ‘Prodigal Love?’, it took me one year and ten months to research, write, edit and publish the book. For the Hindi book ‘Yeh Kaisa Pyar?’, it took me only a month to write, edit and publish the book. The timeframe depends on the research needed for the book. Once the research is done, it’s all about penning it down.
7 How do you see the Author’s market? – It’s declining. Nowadays, fewer people are reading books because of their busy lives and the rise of social media. People like spending their free time on social media, reading brief messages, and watching videos than reading a long book. They look for quick entertainment, whereas reading a book takes time. Inflation and rise in paper prices have also added to the decline as many still like reading a hard copy and are not yet comfortable in reading an eBook.
8 Future Plans – Soon I plan to work on my next book. It will focus on the grief and struggle of the families who lost their loved ones during COVID. It will be a ray of new normal and hope in this unpredictable environment. My long-term plan includes writing more books, blogs, poems and articles, especially based on real life. Some might focus on humanity, grief, women, Indian culture, western culture or something else.
Author website : www.narangpreeti.com English Book Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085PQBWB6 Hindi Book Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Y8RQZRQ