Even as I stare at the laptop screen in front of me, and feel enthused as I work on another write-up which would serve as PR material for the opinion-makers, there is Varuna shuttling from Gurugram to Delhi, hopping on metros and autos, to meet a potential panel-discussion (based on the book) organiser or meet an 'influencer' and while she is on the move, one part of her brain is devising the next best thing to effectively publicise and market Shaadi-ka-Laddoo.com which is our baby and which we have co-authored.
So, here goes the first and most important pro of writing a book together. First, neither of the authors need to do it all; rather, the forte of each can best be utilised towards the desired ends. If one is good at the collection of material or research—there he or she goes ahead and does it and if the other is good at knitting it all together and producing coherent paragraphs, laced with wit and humour if need be—he or she does that! The stress of having to do what one is not good at or one is not naturally inclined to do—afflicts neither. Both can relish the fun-filled journey that writing is.
And then, of course, technology assists the process even if two or more authors of a book stay in different corners of the country/world. In our case, Varuna is in Gurugram while I live in Kuwait and the last fleeting meeting that we had for about 10 minutes was at the Delhi airport in 2015. Yet, it was over Whatsapp calls that the idea/plot of our book was conceived together and shared and explored and it was on the laptop that it was polished/discussed and penned. Technology even aided our mutual efforts at finding a publisher and on having found one, we could jointly edit and re-work and polish the MS several times till it was all gleaming and ready to take birth and claim its rightful place on the book-shelves.
And, thus a dream we shared has come true!
Also, our book being a comic novel, the chuckles were multiplied as the two of us laughed together and there emerged a variety in expressions. Each person has a particular sense of humour but when two bubbling hearts burst out laughing together over jokes—the two different takes on the same situation make the jokes more vivid. And of course, they tickle much more!
On the whole, it seems pros all the way and yet, the cons are a real possibility too. We pat ourselves for having managed to avert them.
First, when two or more writers are involved—the resulting magnitude of the total ego in the scene can well be imagined. I do not know if it is a correct or a wrongful assumption but people who are creative are believed to have an inflated ego, and particularly so is the case with writers. Fortunately, we did not spend sleepless nights tossing and turning over disturbing thoughts such as ‘Why can’t she see what I am trying to say?’/ ‘Why should I take a back-seat?’ / ‘Why does she dictate or dominate every time?’
There are, however, numerous occasions when insecurity and ego try to take over rationality and calmness. There are times when one of the two is tightly wound or highly-wrung and the other must ‘understand’ and just let things be… There were impulses to shout and accuse each other over the other not doing enough or doing too much but we restrained ourselves and it all passed.
Moreover, it is also true that the greatest con of writing a book together is that a thought is likely to lurk somewhere in the hearts of both and that is: ‘Whose contribution was more valuable and whose efforts are yielding the fruitful results?’
Well, the only solution to this is to let the rational streak in us take over and keep the above-mentioned sometimes-elusive and sometimes-visible naughty thought at bay and at its rightful place!
And then, finally when all is done—sit back, relax and enjoy the rewards! By the way, poor Varuna is still stuck in the traffic jam on the Dhaula Kuan stretch while I have picked up the phone to order Chinese food tonight. See, it works to have a co-author!
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