SERVICES

Editorial services, guidance, workshops, online workshops, individual sessions, translation and ghost writing services to writers who wish to improve their writing skills.

Authorz Coracle started as a resource for writers in 2011. It offered editorial services to writers of fiction and non-fiction; regular creative writing workshops as well as individual help sessions. In some cases, AC managed to find good publishers for some of its authors (Pan Macmillan, Oxford University Press, etc), acting as an agent informally. There was no fee/commission charged.  

Authorz Coracle continues with its substantive and copy-editing services as well as creative writing workshops and individual sessions.


AC accepts fiction, general non-fiction and children’s books for representation as well as editorial services. It does not deal with poetry or academic books. 

You only need to send us your complete manuscript, along with a one-page clear synopsis and a short 100-word author bio. Please mail them to authorzc@gmail.com. AC will get in touch with you if it is interested in your manuscript. Please do not send a manuscript if it  has already been to publishers through another agent and been rejected. 

What you need to send:

1. A synopsis of the book (not more than one side of an A4 sheet). 
2. The complete script -- with the word count, name, postal address, email ID, and phone no. mentioned clearly on the first page.
3. If it is a novel, each chapter must be sent as a separate word document typed in Arial 10 pt, double spaced, left aligned, with single space after full stops. If it’s a collection of short stories, each story must be sent as a separate word document.

4. A short author bio (about 100-150 words).

5. You can make submissions by email. 
6. Please submit a manuscript only if it is complete.
7. Please use a sans serif font (10 pt).
8. The text should be double spaced.
9. Please use only single space after full stops.
10. Please let the MS remain left aligned. Do not justify the text.

Editorial services:

My focus is mainly on instruction (help with writing skills), and on substantive editing (content) as well as copy- or line editing. I help you in all areas of writing such as plot development, characterization, dialogue, language/vocabulary, organisation, pace, rewriting, fleshing out scenes/episodes that require fleshing out, or reducing/eliminating verbose page/paragraph and irrelevant material.

I provide detailed feedback (honest but constructive), and offer suggestions that will help in making the script workable. I make my best effort that the feedback covers all aspects that will help the author with his/her future works as well, regardless of their length. 

Substantive Editing + copy editing

An overall analysis of the book and offering feedback on what works and what doesn't, identifying the problem areas and helping you to fix them.

First edit: This involves editing the original script for content, language and the overall feel. My aim is to help you streamline your story and make it work. This happens chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, line by line, and word by word. The intention is to help you write professionally and tighten the script. I help you weed out fluff, unnecessary words, inconsistencies and irrelevancies and all the factors that mar a good script and insert the necessary elements.

The problem areas are highlighted on the script. The detailed comments or suggestions accompany those lines/paragraphs in the comments box in the margin. 

I then send the edited script back to you and you take your time to work on those comments and suggestions. After incorporating the changes, you send me the revised script.

Final edit: After reviewing the revised version, the final edit is carried out. 

(In case there is an extra round of editing required after the first round, requested by the author, the same rates apply for the extra round.)

Payment

The charges are Rs 150 per page (300 words) or US $ 7.5 a page -- if you are outside India. It includes a first edit (substantive and line editing on the original script), and a final edit (after the changes have been carried out by the author).

Sample edit

For the satisfaction of the client, I can send a sample edit on 500 words upon request.

The payment is made in stages (i.e., a clutch of chapters at a time after the first edit). 

If it is a novel, each chapter must be sent as a separate word document typed in Arial 10 pt, double spaced, left aligned, with single space after full stops. If it’s a collection of short stories, each story must be sent as a separate word document.

I tell you:

• How to organize your material
• How to streamline/tighten your script
• Why something will/will not work
• How to write simple, clear English
• How you can use language better
• How to play on your strengths and address the weaker areas

In short, the aim is to help you make a manuscript that would be readable / enjoyable / publishable.


Copy editing 

If it is a clean script and only requires copy editing, the rates are Rs 50 per page (i.e, per 300 words).

What you need to send:

1. A synopsis of the book (not more than one side of an A4 sheet). 
2. The complete script -- with the word count, name, postal address, email ID, and phone no. mentioned clearly on the first page.
3. If it is a novel, each chapter must be sent as a separate word document typed in Arial 10 pt, double spaced, left aligned, with single space after full stops. If it’s a collection of short stories, each story must be sent as a separate word document.

4. A short author bio (about 100-150 words).

5. You can make submissions by email. 
6. Please submit a manuscript only if it is complete.
7. Please use a sans serif font (10 pt).
8. The text should be double spaced.
9. Please use only single space after full stops.
10. Please let the MS remain left aligned. Do not justify the text.


Please mail me at authorzc@gmail.com for details/queries. There are no reading charges. You can also make email submissions on the same email ID. I usually take about two weeks to get back to you.

Lectures/workshops

For workshops on publishing/creative writing, please write with your queries at authorzc@gmail.com. Anybody who is interested in creative writing can get in touch. It doesn't matter whether you've written before or not, whether you've ever been published before or not. If you wish to do it, and have the skills, I can certainly help you. You're welcome to get in touch. If the writing bug has got you, welcome aboard!  

Online workshops/sessions

Alternatively, you could opt for an online workshop. It includes a detailed feedback on two short stories (1500-3000 words each) plus guidelines, examples, resource material, exercises, feedback and suggested reading. And it will cost you Rs 5000. And we'll move at a pace you are comfortable with.

Ghost writing services

Ghost writing services are also available at Re 1 per word. The rest depends on the kind of project it is.

Translation projects

Hindi to English translation services are available at Rs 2 per word. 

You can also join AC's Facebook page for regular updates: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Authorz-Coracle/145676205538767?ref=hl

AUTHORS

Greenstone Lobo




Greenstone Lobo is a celebrity astrologer and Human Resource professional. He has the distinction of being the only astrologer on the planet to have discovered the relevance and influence of planetoids X (NASA: 2007 RH283), Y (NASA: 1999 JV127) and Z (NASA: 2008 FC76) upon human destiny. He is the author of the book, What is Your True Zodiac Sign? (Celestial Books), Howzzat? 50 Predictions on Indian Cricket You Won’t Believe (Readomania), with a few others in the pipeline. He has been writing a regular column on sports astrology, Octozone, in the popular Indian daily, DNA, since 2008. He has also been a columnist for Anandabazar Patrika and Sportskeeda.com. His opinions, advisory columns, predictions and articles have been published in Times of India, Mumbai Mirror, The Telegraph, Life Positive and Sangbad Pratidin. Besides this he has appeared on RadioCity, Radio One, Radio Mirchi and KCOR (USA).





Jayant Kripalani

Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor and director. He is best known for his performances in television series such as Khandaan, Mr Ya Mrs and Ji Mantriji. He graduated from Jadavpur University, Kolkata with a degree in English Literature and has worked in the advertising industry before moving to film and television. He is actively involved with theatre and continues to act on stage as well as on screen.








Aparna Jha

Aparna Jha is a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court of India. She studied at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. She worked briefly as a legal editor in a dotcom company. She is also associated actively with social work. Jha is the author of the short story collection Black, White and Polka Dot and the novel Memsahib.










Ramesh Menon

Ramesh Menon is an author, award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and corporate trainer. He has 41 years of varied media experience with newspapers, television channels, and the new media. He started as a columnist with Poona Herald in 1977. He was a reporter with The Times of India, associate editor, India Today, executive producer, Business India Television, TV Today, roving editor of rediff.com an advisor at The Energy and Resources Institute, and managing editor, India Legal. 







Mariam Karim Ahlawat


Mariam is a teacher of French language and literature (JNU, Kashmir University, Alliance Francaise), translator, instruction designer, freelance editor and published writer. She holds three postgraduate degrees in literature and pedagogy from India and France and has been the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships and the Edige Artist’s Residency in Paris. Her first novel, My Little Boat, published by Penguin India, was nominated for the international IMPAC Award, and the sequel was long listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2009. She has also published stories in several anthologies including the South Asian Review (USA) and Our Voice (the PEN International Women Writers’ anthology in English, Spanish and French).




Jimmy Mathew


Jimmy Mathew was brought up in Thrissur, Kerala. Jimmy was a voracious reader throughout childhood. He completed basic medical training from Medical College, Trichur, and was trained in surgery (MS) from JIPMER, Puducherry. After completing Plastic Surgery training (MCh) in Calicut, he worked in many hospitals including St Johns, Bangalore. Now he works as Associate Professor and Consultant Reconstructive Micro Surgeon at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences at Kochi. He has more than fifteen academic publications. His Poems and stories have been published in various journals. The Stethoscope and the Scalpel- a collection of short stories was published by Paras in 2011.






Preethi Mohan


Preethi is a software engineer by profession. Her childhood hobby of storytelling finally led her to write this very interesting novel.  












Kusum Ansal

Kusum Ansal has written several short stories, poems, novels and travelogues. Her work has been translated into English, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Greek, Russian and French. She has an MA in Psychology from Aligarh Muslim University and a PhD in Hindi Literature from Punjab University. She is the director of Chiranjeev Bharti School.










Gauri Jayaram

Gauri is the founder of Active Holiday Company. She is an athlete, writer and traveller. 

Vibha Batra

Vibha Batra is a copywriter by profession and fiction writer by passion. Her literary pursuits took off when she translated her grandfather Late Shri Vishnu Kant Shastris book on the Ishaavaasya Upanishad (Rupa & Co., 2007). Her published books include Tongue in Cheek, a collection of poetry, and A Twist of Lime, a collection of short stories.

Vinita Dhondiyal Bhatnagar

                                     

Vinita studied at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages. She has taught English at the University of Delhi. 

BOOKS

Howzzat: 50 Predictions on Indian Cricket You Won't Believe: Greenstone Lobo (Readomania)

Can India win the 2019 World Cup?

Can Kohli beat Tendulkar’s records?

Can Ganguly become the president of the BCCI?

Can the results of sports events be predicted? Can we know beforehand the winners of the cricket or football World Cups, the tennis Grand Slams or the next IPL? Can we try to better our chances in the future tournaments on the basis of astrology? Can we identify and prime future sports stars for action?

  

Greenstone Lobo, a modern-day astrologer with a scientific approach to astrology, claims that we can. On the basis of 25 years of experience and extensive research on the subject, Greenstone has developed a 12-planet methodology to draw people’s horoscopes with astounding accuracy.

Based on the study of thousands of birth charts of celebrities and major sports events in the past, Greenstone answers some of the burning questions on Indian cricket today, from cricket fans all over.     

Are you ready to face the complex and interesting future of Indian cricket?

New Market Tales: Jayant Kripalani (Pan Macmillan India)

‘These protagonists are mainly the residents of Calcutta's New Market area – including the “marketeyr bachcha” or the shop-owners’ children – in the 1960s and 1970s, and the first six stories, which take up close to half the book, are the ones I liked best. These are pen-portraits of a variety of colourful characters – people with quirks, dreams, and their own special ways of dealing with the world.’ – Jabberwock

‘In New Market Tales, television actor-director Jayant Kripalani introduces readers to his memories of the historic market, weaving in nostalgia about the place into short stories about its inhabitants. If the measure of a place can be judged by the people who inhabit it, then Kripalani’s New Market is as colourful as the market’s rich red facade. There’s never a dull moment and it is, of course, just a bit eccentric.’ -- DNA

Demons and Demigods: Death Penalty in India: Aparna Jha (Oxford University Press)

‘Aparna Jha, a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court, ha

s drawn upon her experience as a lawyer for four young death row convicts, telling their story, and the story of the research carried out by her during the case, to come out with an eminently readable book. 

The author, who has written an anthology of short stories as well as a novel, has used her skills as a storyteller to take us through some of the leading cases on the death penalty, describing the actual crimes and associated violence in an almost poetic manner.’

--Asian Age

‘One that makes an impassioned plea against capital punishment.’

-- Hindustan Times

The Street of Mists: Mariam Karim Ahlawat (Vitasta)

Young Mehjabeen’s stay in Montmartre, Paris, is an exploration of different worlds, without and within. The Paris that she discovers is not a utopia of Love and Art alone. It’s also a city simmering with ethnic conflict. Mehjabeen is in search of her roots, and unknowingly she embarks upon a journey of self?discovery as she attempts to understand art, love, the notion of freedom, and more.

On the one hand there’s the world of soirées, champagne and luxury and on the other is the world of Agnès Desmoulins, her mentally challenged son Dodi and the Guatemalan refugee Marina. Mehjabeen straddles these two very different worlds, and her myriad experiences find their way into her canvas.

The Journey of OP Vaish: Celebrating Life with Gratitude: Ramesh Menon (edits)

Celebrating Life With Gratitude tells the evocative story of lawyer and social activist, OP Vaish, who battled difficult circumstances in his childhood to study and dream big despite humble beginnings. The book details his journey as an officer in the prestigious Indian Revenue Service, his forays into the private sector when few would have given up a government job with its clout, and later by diving into the world of tax law. He excelled at every stage as he reinvented himself and looked at work as worship.

Dharani: Preethi Mohan (edits)

Five-year-old Dharani was popular in and around Mahadevpur for a rare skill she learned from none other than Lord Shiva. It was a skill she could use in all her lives and in each life, destiny would bring her to Mahadevpur. Years went by and one fateful evening, Dharani stumbled into the village with a deadly arrow stuck in her heart. The truth behind her death remained unknown and the people awaited her return to the village in a new life. Fifty years later, the people of Mahadevpur are excited to see National Award winner, Bhavaani’s picture in the newspaper. Is she really Dharani? Will she be able to solve the mystery of her death?

The Bench: Kusum Ansal (translation)

In the novel The Bench the author endeavours to look at the complexities of life through the prism of human emotions. The protagonist, Natasha, embarks on a journey of self-actualisation. Waiting endlessly, without hope, she sits on the hospital bench living through the trauma and tribulations of her life as her husband fights for his life after a terrible accident. 

Blood, Sweat and Cheers: Jimmy Mathew (Vitasta)

Blood, Sweat And ... Cheers! is a story about students in a medical college. Contrary to popular belief, medical schools are not one dimensional. The book describes the several shades of doom and gloom, along with love, friendship, hope and joy.

Wise Enough to be Foolish: Gauri Jayaram (edits)



Based on a true story, Wise Enough to Be Foolish is a fictionalized memoir that traces the journey of an Indian girl's life. This roller-coaster ride of adventure, laughter and heartache, as she balances her love life with her struggle for independence, will keep you guessing - What rules will she break next? How far will she go to find herself?

Keeping It Real: Vibha Batra (edits)




Suvarna Khandelwal is participating in Indian Icon, a popular reality show. 

This is the story of how she struggles to cope in shark-infested waters (or is that Mumbai nagariya?). Does she make peace with her uber-conservative family? Does she give those sharks a good run for their sur, taal and maal? Does she swim ashore to safety? Read on to find out. One thing is for sure, you will find yourself rooting (and voting) for this unlikely heroine.

Faraway Renz Writing Retreat

Authorz Coracle conducted a two-day creative writing workshop at Faraway Renz, Uttarakhand, in association with Readomania in June 2016. Faraway Renz is a beautiful spot in the hills, more of a home stay, really, about 30 km from Ranikhet.

The creative writing workshop  included:

Day 1:

DD with the workshop participants

1. Introductions of the participants and instructors
.

Storytelling session

2. Introduction to creative writing.

3. Some writing exercises.

4. A post-session gathering outdoors over a round table, for sandwiches and spinning-a-yarn exercises.




Day 2:

1. Another PowerPoint presentation regarding the nittygritty of creative writing.

2. Individual sessions with each participant, discussing their cre
ative writing pieces and exercises done the day before, providing a detailed feedback.

3. An evening outdoors again, enjoying the quiet greenery of the resort, delicious snacks and music with the participants.




Day 3

1. An on the spot creating writing session on a given topic for the participants -- a thrilling exercise testing their observation skills, imagination and writing skills.

2. Answering queries/questions and clearing doubts.

3. Tying loose threads.