Moushumi Chakrabarty is a short story writer who is working hard to build a web presence.  Read about her use of free book promotions and why she feels it’s the best marketing method she’s used.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me one of your books in five to ten sentences.

You love stories, right?  It’s great that we met.  Try my e-book, Threshold.  It’s a collection of six stories about people and how they navigate through life.  Meet some of the protagonists – a child aged 12, a woman whose daughter is missing, a man trapped in a marriage thinking of the unthinkable, a childless woman, another embarking on a journey of self discovery.  Echoes of their predicaments resound in your life, too.  Try it!

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I have been writing for a long time, but found it increasingly time-consuming to convince a publisher to take me on for a new project.  I decided to try going indie since I see it is the way of the future.  What I basically want is feedback, and the idea that my stories are actually being read instead of languishing in a file on my computer provided a strong impetus.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

Yes, I have been traditionally published.  My two books are non fiction – my subject is the women’s movement in Canada and its main players.  They are called, Fighting for women’s rights – The extraordinary adventures of Anna Leonowens and Champions of women’s rights – Leading Canadian women and their struggles for social justice.  Personally I feel fiction has a greater chance of success in the indie publishing world.  But it’s early yet, so we’ll see.

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