How to write your first book

Sidin Vadukut is the managing editor of livemint.com, Mint's website (one of the best I have seen). He is also a technologist (National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli) with an MBA degree from IIM-A. Now he also has a novel to his credit, Dork! The Incredible Adventures Of Robin Einstein Verghese. He was in Bangalore recently to launch the book (you can read about First Year student Dipshikha Kaur Chowdhury's interaction with him in The Commits Chronicle).

Back in January, when Dork! had not yet been released, Vadukut wrote an eloquent and instructive article in Mint describing how he wrote his first book. Reading it will also give you an insight into the publishing world in India.

In the concluding paragraphs he offers a bonus to everyone intested in knowing more about writing and writers:

As for your first book, a good place to start is perhaps with a few audio interviews with the best authors. These interviews will tell you not only how these writers find inspiration, but also how, where and, most importantly, why they write. Get them here:

• BBC World Book Club

• CBC Writers and Company

• New York Times Books

Afterwards, read this excerpt from Dork! and check out Vadukut's blog, Domain Maximus.

• A copy of Dork!, autographed by the author, has been placed in the Commits library. Thanks, Dipshikha!