Interview with Ranjit K Das

Mr. Ranjit K. Das is working with an All India Public Financial Institution. Over 80 articles / write-ups / compositions from him have appeared in various leading Dailies (HT Lucknow Live Section of ‘Hindustan Times’, and The Financial World, Chandigarh), Periodicals, Journals, Newsletters, Souvenirs, etc.

Among the prestigious Periodicals/ Journals, ‘The Statesman Festival 2002’ by Statesman House, Kolkata; ‘CAB Calling (April-June & July-September 2004’ by RBI, CAB, Pune; ‘Journal of Rural Development (Vol. 24, No.2, April-June 2005)’ by NIRD, Hyderabad; and ‘The BEST of Poems & Poets of 2007’ by poetry.com (The International Library of Poetry, Maryland, USA) are worth a mention.

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What is your main occupation?

Service in an All India Public Financial Institution.

Tell us something about your self-published book(s)?

Treasured Slices From Life & Living. Another in the offing is a collection of poems titled 'Songs of a stringed soul'.

[Pothi.com's note: "Treasured Slices..." is available at Pothi.com here].

In the age of easy e-publishing, what motivated you to write a book?

Each has its own advantage. Printed book can be touched, smelled and felt; one can read in bed, in toilet and while traveling; the emotional content of cuddling a book or the feeling of warmth in spreading on one's chest and sleeping half-awake is unparallel.

When/why did you think of self publishing?

Unless you are brand name, no matter how great is your work, it is extremely diffcult to convince a traditional publishing house to accept your book. Further, I don't have much of time to do all these things. But this route is the future of book industry.

What are the pros and cons of self publishing from your experience?

May be it may take more time to reach the size of audience I am aiming at.

How did you go about marketing and promoting your book?

I use my contacts built over a period of three decades.

As a self-publisher, what were the biggest challenges and what kind of support/services you would have liked to have?
I feek that pothi.com should also explore providing some platforms and I am confident that it may already be working in the direction.

Any specific learning/advice you would like to share with other writers wanting to self-publish?
Nothing specific.

Your favourite online website for writers? (might be a social network community, mailing list, a writer's website etc.)

sulekha.com, allfreeessay.com, poetry.com, etc.

Since when are you writing and what do you usually write on?
I have been writing since 1988-89. I give them to various journals, newspapers, souvenirs, etc. Some get published, some not.

Which is your favourite book?
Siddharth, My experiment with truth, Treatise on Vedant, From Sex to Superconsciousness, Srimad Bhagavadgita, etc.

Who is your favourite author?
Herman Hesse.

What are your hobbies?
Definitely, creative writing. Also listening to music, visiting places, particularly countryside.

(Ranjit's e-mail id: rkd850@msn.com)