Hi All,
This set me thinking .......
First Point: Which books on Goa will have the largest audience and
can also possibly have an overseas audience?
Second Point the cost: Firstly your time, if research is involved
(Specially outside goa) then travel and stay in that location e.g.
Bombay, Pune getting permissions for archive access and
photography/xerox.
Then event photographs (if covering festivals etc) or photographs of
heritage structure - do it yourself if you are are reasonably good
enough at it or hire a professional (Quite Costly)
or license photographs from Goa's well known photographers
Third: Making a draft
Fourth: contacting a publisher and getting an estimate for
publishing. (FN being an expert on this can through some light on
how much it will cost to print a paperback book of 400 pages around
3,000 copies)
Some of the topics in my opinion that could do well .......
1) On Goa's Heritage trail
2) Emerald Paradise of the Goa - All the natural spots Beaches,
Waterfalls and places unknown
3) Goa Carnaval - Origins, History and Celebrations over the Ages
4) Goa Shigmo Through the Ages
5)History of post Liberation Goa
6) Cultural Heritage of Goa
7) Catholic Festivals and observances in Goa
8) Hindu Festivals in Goa
9) Documentation of history of each place in Goa like Dominic Fernandes
has written on Mapusa
10) Books covering specific theme like Beaches of Goa, Forts of Goa,
Churches of Goa, Temples of Goa
11) Goa's Administration - Goa's Rulers through the ages from
Pre-Portuguese times to the Present
12)Prominent personalities of Goa through the Ages
I am sure that other readers of Goanet will have more ideas to share
with budding writers.
Joseph de Souza
On 21-Apr-15 5:12 PM, Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك
نورونيا wrote:
Anyone reading this and thinking of authoring a book? Well, the Government
of Goa has some small grants scheme. They offer upto Rs 25,000 to upcoming
authors. This is currently open only to those domiciled in Goa.
It is open to:
- Anyone based in Goa
- You can write on any topic, in any genre
- Grants are decided on by an official committee
What it means:
- They will give a grant of upto Rs 25k, maybe less.
- They will expect 100 copies of your book in return
- Plus an acknowledgement of the grant, printed in your book
The time frame:
- You need to submit to the Directorate of Arts & Culture by April 30, 2015
- They will take (roughly speaking) 5-8 months to decide
- You have another 3-6 months to publish your book
Documentation needed
- Two copies of your manuscript (work-in-progress will do)
- Some official document to show you are Goa domiciled (e.g. voter card)
- The form completed, which can be downloaded from the site, or below.
The economics
- Rs 25k may not be enough for printing a book, but it fills a vital gap
- You can sell some copies to the library and to other readers
- If it's a good, non-fiction book with some potential, it's not tough.
If you miss this year's deadline (April 30), you could always aim for next
year....
Any other questions? Feel free to contact me, off list. Some others you
might know might have also taken support of this scheme. In my view,
there's a fair chance of getting the support.
See
http://artandculture.goa.gov.in/uploads/content_item/596_doc_AUTHOR-FORM.pdf
FN
