Prabhuprasad Paduchuri's Blog

I, Meena Mishra, CEO, The Impish Lass Publishing House wish you all a bright and prosperous New Year. Cheers to a new year and new opportunities! On this occasion team ILPH shares the journey so far This Publishing house, which is the brainchild of Ms Meena Mishra, started humbly with a mega vision four years […]

Effective collaborations are the key to success in any organization. Collaboration brings people together and enables teams outperform. After the pandemic, our office at electronic city is once again buzzing with high magnitude energy. Smart coffee vending machines, chilled infused water, team lunches and beautiful smiles across the floor is making our return to office […]

Her nomination for Padma Shri didn’t come as a surprise.For all the selfless job she has been doing, she deserves this prize.She masters her work with such splendourAnd, dons many hats with much grandeurWhen shapes young bards with her FiskarsA li’l girl peeps from her grave demeanour.The queen of hearts sans a crown and a […]

No – I Am Not Okay  Where did I go wrong? Moments of reflective wonder haunt me, Shadowy questions that resonate disturbing answers Freedom to create – can it become crushing oppression? Listening to advice- does it begin to limit my growth? Why are the dichotomy of positive values, scribbling unshapen ideas across my life’s […]

Bishakha Das The Impish Lass Publishing House gave birth to many writers and editors – and I am one of them. My first publication in the ILPH is for the anthology ‘Meticulous men of mettle’. A writer-friend of Mumbai informed us in our literary WhatsApp group about this anthology. The title was captivating and inspiring […]

NO! I AM NOT Okay! By – Meena Mishra  Where did I go wrong?  Moments of reflective wonder haunt me, Shadowy questions that resonate disturbing answers  Freedom to create – can it become crushing oppression?  Listening to advice- does it begin to limit my growth? Why are the dichotomy of positive values, scribbling unshapen ideas […]

 Meena Mishra Bagged Best Indian Author Award for her novel “ No! I Don’t Love You ! -Book 1.” That was well received by none other than Mr. . Shashi Tharoor. I decided to contact her and the  author of “ No! I Don’t Love You ! – Book 2 ,” Vishwas Vaidya for an […]

The Celebritygone missing is a story of a famous actor Lee Eun Sang from Korea. One fineday, he receives a call from his crew, and they realize that he is missing andnot at home.

I found the conversationbetween Amy, Sia and her mother very interesting. This conversation is mostly relatablein Indian homes. I loved the way the author has picturized Lee Eun Sang’sobservation about Sia.

Seoul, New Delhi and London, the author has brilliantly captured the small piece of story narrated in these cities. This type of scenes is usually setup in movies. Author has put a great effort in connecting the story and narrating it to perfection. The excitement in each chapter is of a different level. What I personally liked is the author’s choice of words in finer feelings. The end is also thrilling.  

This book iswritten in a very simple and easy to understand language. I believe any beginnercan read and understand the content easily. Title of the book is also eye catching.I recommend all the readers to read this book. This will not disappoint you byany means. I congratulate the author and wish that I read more books of her infuture.

Meet Ms. Meena Mishra, the author who sold 1000 copies of her latest book ‘The Impish Lass- Book 2 ‘without spending a penny on any sales, promotion or advertisement, in less than 2 months, in this pandemic.

– Meena Mishra

What is more challenging – writing a book successfully or selling it?

Writinga book is easier than selling it. You have control over your writing, but youhave no control over the sales of the book. If you have lots of money to spendon marketing and advertisement, the visibility of your book helps you reach outto the readers. If you are already famous with a big sales record you don’t have to put in efforts forthese things but if you are a beginner like me who is beginning from thescratch with no support from any big name in the industry, it’s very difficultto sell your book.

Ma’am, your book has got 5-star ratings on amazon.in and kindleapart from receiving raving reviews from the readers including the greatestnuclear scientist of this country Padma Vibhushan Dr. R. Chidambaram. How areyou feeling as an author?

Iam glad ‘The Impish Lass- Part 2’ has been well received by the readers.Actually at the end of the day you feel delighted as an author if your readersvalue and appreciate your efforts. I would like to take this opportunity tothank all the people who have been a part of my editing team.

(Theparticipants of ‘Be an Editor for a Day,’ contest, Yutika Bhansali for handlingthis contest. Core editing and proofreading team – Praniti Gulyani, IshaniBehari, Kirthika Jayakumar, Sheila Bhattacharya, Shruti Bhardwaj, Anamika Kunduand Aparna Bhat for editing and proofreading all the stories at least 5 times.I am so very grateful to my self-motivated team.

Ofcourse, I would like to express my infinite gratitude towards Dr. R.Chidambaram for being kind enough to accept my invitation of writing theforeword for this book. The official letter sent by him is like ‘Bharat Ratna’for me. Something I would like to treasure for lifetime.

How did you manage to sell 1000 copies within two months in thispandemic and lockdown without any marketing or advertisement?

Ido have my personal contacts that includes my friends, colleagues, poets,writers, editors, relatives, and ex-students. I received an overwhelmingresponse from all of them. I would send them personal messages asking them tosupport me by buying my book and they would oblige me. There have been writersand friends who were either hospitalized or quarantined due to Covid, stillthey bought my book to show their love and support towards me. My friends fromMumbai English Educators’ Team and Asian Literary Society also came forward tosupport me despite their personal struggles. My colleagues who had never everread a story or poem of mine before, also came forward to support mewholeheartedly. I am so very grateful to each one of them.

Is it right that you discouraged the readers to buy the bookfrom different online platforms and encouraged them to buy directly from thepublishing house? Don’t you think it would have added to your book coming up inranking of bestsellers?

Yes,I did. I am not only an author but the CEO of The Impish Lass Publishing Housetoo. Why should I encourage the people to buy from online platforms?  I don’t believe in this bestseller rankingand all. For me, It reached my readers and they could resonate with thestories, nothing else is more important than that.

Which is your favourite story in this book?

‘HowI Spent My First Earning ‘is my personal favourite as it portrays my lovetowards my mother.

Who inspires you to write?

Ihave been living in an imaginary world with my secret muse. It’s my world wherethere is love, fancy, imagination, drama and much more. Whenever I am happy,sad, mad, upset, I share my feelings with him. He is a patient listener andalways gives me right suggestions. Whenever I write something, first I seek hisopinion on it and then proceed further. The last chapter of this book, ‘ALetter to My Muse,’ is dedicated to him.

What would be your next step after this? I mean any other bookin line.

Iwould like to rework upon my novel ‘Within the Cocoon of Love,’ co-authored byVishwas Vaidya, a poet cum scientist from Pune.

What is your message for the budding writers?

Don’tconsider your first draft as your final draft. Work and re-work upon it. Get itedited, re-edited and proofread before your work goes for final printing. Bepatient. There’s no short-cut to success. You never know whether your book wouldget buyers or not. Have faith on your skills and keep on honing them.

You have done so many anthologies. Which is your favouriteanthology and why ?

TheBitter Almonds conceptualised and edited by Najeeb S A is my favouriteanthology due to many reasons. First of all, the theme’ magical realism,’ wastoo difficult to understand. The editor was patient enough to give so manyexamples so that we could understand what to write. Secondly, the editor hadnot only done an honorary job but ensured that almost 50-60 copies were boughtby him and his friends. As a publisher this was the first anthology with zeroinvestment and lots of profits in terms of reaching out to the elite readersand sales as well.

Dear readers, this sounds bit unusual as per the definition found in the books we read. Until last few days, my views were also not much different. While watching few entrepreneurship videos, some thoughts tuned by mind which I decided to share with all of you. Please read the following similarities which are uppermost in my mind.

During college days, a professional learns various skills, techniques, collects information with the resources available. This creates a platform for a professional to launch into the market. In the similar way, an entrepreneur before coming into the business, develops own product with the resources available.Once the product is developed, the next phase is marketing. Professionals need a well written resume to present before the employers. Similarly, entrepreneurs find attractive ways to sell their product.Working professionals need to upgrade themselves with current developments, new technologies and recent advancements all the time. Similarly, entrepreneur is constantly looking for development of their products, improving effectiveness of the service, etc.Hard work, dedication, determination, devotion are the few factors which are essential for both the individual for a guaranteed success.No matter how talented a person is, performance matters the most. Similar, in business no matter how big the brand is, customers will always look for best quality product.It is not always true that both the individuals always succeed in all their efforts. Whenever they embrace failure the steps to overcome any situation are always the same.Rewards and recognition are the fuel for the success of both the individuals. They play an important role in building and shaping the career. Recognition is not always related to financial benefits. At times, a pat on the shoulder or a phrase of encouragement from a colleague/partner can do wonders to all professionals and entrepreneurs.

At each and every point of time, life is full of miracles, excitements, opportunities and happiness. One needs to just find out what their dreams are and keep on chasing the same. No clouds are darker; no mountains are higher that a positive man cannot reach or climb.

Let me sign off wishing all the readers a prosperous career ahead.