CTRL+P
A self-publishing workshop
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for the wonderful response to my YA writing workshop, which concluded last Saturday. I had a group of incredibly talented writers, and we had a great time discussing books, writing, and everything in between. I truly hope that what they learned during the course will help them take meaningful steps toward publishing their YA novels. India definitely needs more homegrown YA stories!
This month, I’m back with a new offering — a two-hour self-publishing workshop on Amazon KDP called CTRL + P on 18 July.
Why self-publishing? Well, why not?
I stepped into the world of Amazon KDP back in 2019, when I decided to write My Sister’s Wedding — a novel readers had been asking for, but which the publishers of the first book, My Brother’s Wedding, weren’t interested in. After thinking it over for a while, I finally gave in, wrote the book, and self-published it on KDP. That decision was a game-changer. Especially for someone like me — someone who writes a lot and doesn’t always have the luxury of waiting months for publishers to make up their minds.
Over the years, I’ve learned a great deal. And if there’s one thing I’ve realised, it’s that the KDP landscape keeps evolving. What worked in 2019 doesn’t work today. Even what worked in 2022 — my most successful KDP year — had already changed before I could fully process it.
If you’ve written a novel but don’t necessarily want to self-publish, that’s perfectly fine. This workshop will still offer you valuable insight into what the self-publishing process looks like. Understanding the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing can help you make more informed decisions about your book’s future.
I’m also thrilled to have my friend and fellow writer Apeksha Rao joining us as a guest speaker. Apeksha self-published her debut romance in 2021 on Amazon KDP under the pseudonym Alisha Kay — and that book went on to win the Amazon Pen to Publish award. Since then, she’s been on a roll, writing across multiple pseudonyms and thriving in each of them.
That’s all from me for now. I hope to see some of you on the 18th.
Register for CTRL + P here: https://forms.gle/hY9KcdmsWTjZ1A5FA
Warmly,
Andaleeb
P.S. If you know someone who’s written a book but is unsure what to do next, please feel free to forward this to them. This workshop is beginner-friendly, practical, and a great place to start.
Let’s make publishing less intimidating and more empowering — one book at a time.