Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Getting Published and Contest wins

I have normally found that humor does not win you contests. Seems to me like people actually do not like to laugh – Life is grim, Life is earnest and he who laughs at it is at best frivolous and at worst a fool. Maybe, I am getting too grim in my turn!
I can well imagine that contest judges find it difficult to take a humor post as a serious entry for the contest. “What do you mean it is a serious entry? It is humorous for Christ’s sake! How can a post be humorous and serious at the same time?” they probably say while tossing the entry into the nearest recycle bin.
In all my contesting days, only Lakme tried to console me for my post “A Season of Hope, A Season of Despair”. Maybe they got mislead by the title which is a quote from Charles Dickens and, as anyone can tell you - but for an aberration in ‘Pickwick Papers’ - he is as bleak an author as you can get. Why, the man even wrote a book called ‘Bleak House’!
I put my theory to the test by writing posts practically dripping with tears. Of those posts, my stories “The Gates of Hell” won a Write-up CafĂ© contest and “Yesterdays and Tomorrows” won the Blogaton. Now I had found the recipe to win contests – adopt the ‘Life is Stern, Life is Earnest’ philosophy. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Even when I fractured a right hand, I could not find so much pathos in me that I could readily weep copiously into my blog.
This year, strangely, humor seems to have found favor of a sudden. To win one of the second prizes for ‘Straighten up or die’ in the Sunsilk contest was, perhaps, not too outrĂ© considering that Sunsilk was asking for humor posts. To win the Blogaton for “The Silent World”, however, was one hell of a surprise. (I do not agree that my weeping copiously about how I was participating with a fractured right hand got me the sympathy vote!)
Am I forgetting something? Ah yes, so what is all that ‘Getting Published’ in the title about? Well! Mahavir Publishers ran a short story contest for a collection that they intend publishing entitled “Uff Ye emotions” and, apparently, I am one of the ten authors selected for it. This was not a humorous story, however. Banish your incredulity for the moment for what I have written is a serious love story!

P.S: If you think this sort of behavior from me - writing love stories, I mean - ought to be encouraged you could go to this link and click on the Heart there, before or after reading that post!
If you want to try any of my humor or fiction, click on those words to find an index of the posts!

44 comments:

  1. Well, it doesn't matter if you write a humourous post or a sad one written with a broken hand, you will find me in line to read your work!
    Congratulations on all the wins, especially the latest one! And now I am getting all teary...Uff, Yeh Emotions kaise control karoon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rickie! The strange thing is that I have written only humorous posts with the broken hand :) Was not tragedy in life sufficient that I had to be tragic in my posts as well? :)

      Bade aaraamse control kar loge, Rickie :) Yah phir yeh kahoon 'woh behthe hain tho behne do'?

      Delete
  2. So you need to be encouraged to write 'love stories'?
    Now that's a reasonable appeal as I think it is anyway far easier for the younger crowd of pen-pushers to write mushy stuff... because as you grow it gets easier to write angry ones or funny ones or even those where social activism is visible.

    Share with us all if you hit upon a formula for writing love stories... even I'd want to write a few!

    Love reading your posts...

    Arvind Passey
    www.passey.info

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Arvind! It is probably the fact that I am still single that keeps Romance still alive in my heart :)

      Delete
  3. Laughter is the best gift which Existence has given only to the man, and we the ungrateful,'sober'(?) lot should be thankful that it has also given us great ticklers like you! Oh, the sickly, serious world so desperately needs you Suresh:) Hearty congrats and lots of love:):)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot Amit! It is encouragement from friends like you that keeps me going!

      Delete
  4. Humourous or serious or quirky or self-deprecatory... flavours do undergo seasonal changes. Maybe or rather your writing is the flavour of this season now :)

    Congratulations, Suresh, and best wishes for many more to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sudha! Wish I could believe that it is true - abt the flavor of the season :)

      Delete
  5. Whatever floats your boat I guess!! Congrats on the publication and hope your Shoppers Stop entry also wins to cap a memorable year for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The year has just begun, DS! Don't want it capped just yet :)

      Delete
  6. Great going, Suresh. You have stolen a march ahead of me. Now you have matched me on all 3 - Blog-a-ton wins, Indi wins and publication. Seems like your book will come ahead of the Fablery one. Mahaveer seems super excited about this one while they seem pretty lukewarm about the Fablery one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I seem to be following in illustrious footsteps! Why do you say that they are lukewarm about the Fablery book?

      Delete
    2. Hi Suresh

      Really enjoy reading your musings! What book are you writing?

      Amar

      Delete
    3. Amar! My story is a part of a collection that is to be published by Mahaivir! It is that book - the collection - that is being discussed.

      Delete
  7. you have won quite a few contests Suresh!!! congratulations!!! and are you going to be a published author now? wow!!!! unfortunately, i don't buy books because everytime i go to a book store, i get a strange look from everyone. so, i would request you not to stop writing on your blog.

    enjoyed reading this post! hilarious as usual!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well - at least my name on the inside of the book, Debs! I shall be writing on the blog for sure - even if one swallow does make a summer!

      Delete
  8. You have finally found the recipe to win contests and you are running at great speed even before you realize that you have.January has just started and already you are there in the list of great companies .Congrats !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't found any recipe yet, Uma! The starts seem aligned right just now, that is all :)

      Delete
  9. This is just the start Suresh... there are many more to come :) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the wishes Rajrupa! Sure hope so - would not want to disappoint you :)

      Delete
  10. congrats Suresh ! I personally like humor , though your last post was on a serious note but was equally good ! keep up the good work , so pretty soon I will be holding a book with your name on it ! wow !!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks TTT! My story shall be one of ten in the book - so it does not seem highly likely that my name shall be on it - in it, yes, when the book does come out!

      Delete
  11. To My dear old friend Suresh,I have only this to say.I have been fortunate to have read some very good works of yours 30 (Thirty)years back and i guess you must have only got much better.Looking forward to reading more of yours.
    CONGRATS.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi CS,

    Well, you have a long list of contest titles and winning entries to describe here whereas I don't have any, so I don't know whether I can really comment on this topic.
    The contests have been a mixed bag, I guess because the judges are humans, so they're eligible to make errors.
    Good insight into the mechanics of the contests on various platforms.

    Regards

    Jay
    My Blog | My FB Page

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmmm! Jay! That was meant mainly in fun - not as serious insight! :)

      Delete
  13. Ahh Suresh.. Tell me about it :) .. And while I have toggled with both humor and serious posts... serious posts are outpourings of angst at times.. the moment I think of contests, all I can think of is 'humor'. Surf excel, Dove.. I baulk at doing an out and out product promotion.. so humor comes handy.Heh heh. I didnt know you had won so many ! Congrats !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many?? True, there is no end to human greed - so maybe I have won a lot after all :)

      Delete
  14. congrats!! and well win or not, humour or not, with a broken arm or not, so long you enjoy dishing out fab figments of fiction and thoughts, read and applauded, then all is fair and well!! :)

    Akila

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If indeed what I write is read and applauded, I enjoy dishing it out :)

      Delete
  15. congrats on the upcoming book....sounds pretty exciting!! aap toh humour ke badshah ho...making mincemeat of the serious'est' stuff that comes ur way!! so keep rocking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arre! Baadshah-waadshah kuch nahin - aur saare shaahi andaaz katam ho jayegi yedi kitaab ke nikalne ke baad apni kahaani ka mincemeat koi kara de tho :)

      Delete
  16. Congratulations on all your wins and also for getting published! I've always enjoyed your posts :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ilakshee! Not yet published - my story has been selected as one of ten to be published by Mahavir!

      Delete
  17. Humour has to find its way some day Suresh. The taste won't remain the same for ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I doubt that, Diwa! When the same thing is said humorously - other than as satire - by one and sentimentally by another the latter seems better because there is a tacit assumption that he who writes humorously is being frivolous about the issue. :) This assumption of frivolity is probably never going to go :)

      Delete
  18. Congrats, a few misses and hits, just the right way :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where is the human being who does not prefer all hits and no misses? :)

      Delete
  19. Congo on so many wins and getting your short story published.Humor or not I know you write so well!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ghazala! The short story has just been selected for publication.

      Delete
  20. Congrats :) Happy for you Sir, and I have already pre-ordered my copy of the book :) Yayyy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Prasanna and hope you find the book rewarding!

      Delete