Jukebox : A collection of stellar short stories by budding writers of India - By Writersmelon

PublishedNovember 22, 2022

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\”We are our choices\” – Jean Paul Sartre.�

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Life would have been very different, but for the choices we make.

�7 years ago, we all had a very different life. And what it is today, is a culmination of the choices we made along the way. Our lives are indeed about the choices we make.

�A group of crazy book lovers, set out to start an online abode just to�hang out with books and try their hands at creative writing. They named it ‘Writersmelon’ after a fruit (just like apple) with a slightly humorous and a rather unusual chutzpah added to it. Little did they know, that it could start a completely new and unusual chapter in at least one of their lives.

Finding order in chaos,�

We spoke to countless professionals – authors, publishers, marketing professionals & bloggers about this initiative – to showcase new writers. Is the writing competition making any sense? Are the publishers finding it worthwhile to publish the stories we compile year on year? Should we self-publish? Pool money from authors? What is the best way to promote the book and the cardinal question- �\”How many copies can we really sell\”? With all these questions and a lot more,�I went to India last year.

I met Dipankar, owner of Readomania, a fledgling publishing house in Delhi. �I believe a lot in serendipity, signs that universe tries to show. For me the biggest testimony was, the publisher really cared about the manuscript. Yes, trust me for all those who are starting out, it is a big deal. And not just that, they actually read the stories, hand holding us throughout the process of creating the blurb and an overall selling proposition for the book.

Most importantly and�thankfully, absolutely ‘nothing‘ in the area that makes an author uncomfortable. Yes, something that is�generally kept under the wraps initially and eventually shows up on your face, like a shopping bill you never anticipated! Heard of this term called ‘author investments’, ‘buying back copies’ etc? Well has several absolutely insane manifestations to it.

Words of gratitude not enough for much loved and widely read author of this generation :�Preeti Shenoy who was not only one of the judges for the writing competition – Melonade but also someone who very graciously read the complete manuscript and agreed to write a glowing foreword.\n

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\”The stories had me enthralled, mesmerised and spellbound.\” – Preeti Shenoy�

We also found a super designer in Shikha Medhekar for the cover.

With that, we were all set to go. Fearlessly marching ahead. Ready to take on love & criticism anything that was coming our way. �This book therefore is literally a journey from chaos to order.

14�authors of �Jukebox, and a guest author Archana Sarat�share stories of hope & choices that shape some interesting lives and beautiful stories. �Jaibala Rao – a prolific blogger,�Priyanka Roy Banerjee -�the super talented and meticulous editor of this book, share their very interesting personal journeys. A glimpse of which you will find right here, very soon, in case you are yet to buy the book.

\n\nSo ladies and gentlemen, presenting our latest, Jukebox and the very special first one – First brush on the canvas. \n\nThese two books are an outcome of Melonade – A nationwide writing competition,�that we have run for over 6 years�and aims at encouraging new writers of all ages & from all walks of life.\n\nOur latest book – Jukebox�-�A collection of stellar short stories by budding writers of India, is a book that will help you make a choice, a choice from chaos to order. And has some very interesting stories that will stay with you for long.\n\n

\nOur first book -�First Brush on the canvas – Celebrating that special feeling of doing something for the first time, is a collection of short stories across Romance, Comedy & Drama.\n\n