Name: Vasudev
Murthy
Book Title:
Sherlock Holmes, the Missing Years: Timbuktu
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Poisoned
Pen Press
Thank you for your time in
answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having
you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
Author: I didn’t decide. It
happened to me. My first book was about Classical Music. As life happened, I
had new ideas and inspirations and was impelled to write. Sherlock Holmes in
Japan was first published in India by HarperCollins. It has now been published
in Portuguese, Korean and Japanese and was published by Poisoned Pen Press in
the US. I was encouraged by the editor, Barbara Peters, to write another
Missing Years book. It had to be based in Africa. Timbuktu was the most
interesting place I could think of from many angles – geography, popular
perception, history, culture, music and more. And so, Sherlock Holmes, the
Missing Years: Timbuktu happened. I had to learn two different scripts and
immerse myself as best as I could in the culture of the Tuaregs.
Is this your first book?
Author: No, my sixth. Here is
the list
What
the Raags told me –
a novel based on Indian Classical Music – Rupa
Effective
Proposal Writing – Sage
The
Time Merchants –
LiFi
Sherlock
Holmes, the Missing Years: Japan – HarperCollins, Poisoned Pen
Press, Editora Vestigio and a Korean and Japanese Publisher
How
Organizations Really Work – Bloomsbury
Sherlock
Holmes, the Missing Years: Timbuktu
– Poisoned Pen Press
With this particular book, how
did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you
choose this method?
Author: I went with the best
publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, and I have no regrets. I don’t know or care what
box they are considered to be in. They had done so well with the Japan book
that there was nothing to consider.
Can you tell us a little about
your publishing journey? The pros and
cons?
Author: Over the past ten years
or so, I have been lucky to be published by several well known publishers –
Rupa, Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Editora Vestigio, Poisoned Pen Press, Gamesman
(Korea), Kokusho Kankokai (Japan) and LiFi. But as I write across genres, the
journey has restarted often, with new twists and turns. I don’t mind that. I
don’t wish to be boxed as I have numerous interests in fiction (Crime, Humor,
NOT romance!) and nonfiction (Management, Classical Music) and am not
particularly interested in becoming a brand. Yes, at this moment, Sherlock
Holmes is my muse. I suspect a book on Animal Rights is around the corner.
What lessons do you feel you
learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing
industry as a whole?
Author: Ultimately, it seems
that the brand of the publisher contributes less to the author’s satisfaction
than the health of the relationship with the editor. Find an editor who
understands you, and never let go or him or her. If she switches publishers,
switch too.
Would you recommend this method
of publishing to other authors?
Author: Yes. Find an editor,
not the publisher. If your book got published really fast with no challenges,
you must be a genius or there is a problem somewhere else. Good writing that
passes muster is a result of hard work. He who likes short cuts will be cut short.
What’s the best advice you can
give to aspiring authors?
Author: Words are fickle lovers
and will leave you without notice.
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