Interview with Author Golam Maula
- Sheila
- Mar 16, 2022
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 17, 2022
Tell me a bit about yourself….
My name is Golam Maula. I was brought up in the U.K. and came from Bangladesh when I was 6 years old. I'm actually 43 years old. And I wrote two books. The first one was successful and people liked my writing and my story. That was called the Darkness turns to Dawn turns to daylight. That's what got me writing my second book. I was worried and frightened at what independent reviewers would say about my book. But fortunately, many criticisms came up positive. My second novel is called A Dangerous Mind. I love writing and sharing my knowledge, but I was never good at it because I have dyslexia, which makes it difficult to write, spell, and use grammar correctly on pen and paper. But writing was my passion, so I never abandoned it. I was married and had a responsibility, which led me to work in other fields and I could not continue with my passion. When I got divorced. I felt lonely, sad, and depressed. Which made me write again. I create a group named Share your thoughts with me on Facebook. I was not good at computing. Because technology was always evolving. But I used my poor writing skills to tell stories or write articles based on a variety of topics and I saw people liked my storytelling or articles. I like to write stories based on my experience or experience of life. Or write about a true story. You may say my mental health has led me to become a writer. My third book is inspired by a real story from my life. And it has been a traumatic experience I want to share with others. Based on mental illness. However, it is difficult to tell the truth when perpetrators may be prosecuted. Therefore, it will be based on fiction. I will share my mental health problems and divorce experience in a fictional novel.
What genre/s do you write in?
It has not yet been drawn up, but I wish to write a true story. Based upon real life. Too much fiction makes us or our generation think that what we write or experience is a fictitious life. But actually, I've written two romance novels. My story revolves around divorce, love, marriage, and belief.
How long have you been writing? I've been writing for 4 years since my first book was published. I spent two years writing my second novel. Now I'm doing my third novel. But I wrote for years prior to my publication. The only difference is that the computer was not sufficiently advanced, which would help me write or correct my grammar.
Do you have any published books or articles? Tell me a bit about these and what publishing route you took.
I wrote an article on Facebook; I share my experience and my thoughts with others. I have published a few articles on other websites. My first book or novel is called Darkness Turns To Dawn Turns To Daylight. My second novel is called A Dangerous Mind. All my books or manuscripts were accepted by my publishers without hesitation or a second attempt. My objective was to become a published author. While my first book sold well, it wasn't a topic I wanted to write about. But I know it would help me get involved in publishing. Because sex has a way of influencing our society. I used an unmarked publishing house. This was a small publishing company. Once I have enough books or novels, I can bring my books to a large marketplace. No one wants to meet a newcomer. And it is difficult to get your foot in the door without a well-known name. And the publishers are charging us more money. Writing a book or novel is enriching, especially when you hear the criticisms of other readers. It may help you to continue writing or encourage you to write another. But when you're a small fish, no one wants to meet you. And if you have a trademark or a name, you can access advertising, you can sell your books by the millions. I often have the experience that publishers have benefited from us or require a considerable amount of money when they can guarantee no sales or how many books they can sell. I was fortunate enough to be published because of mental health issues or dyslexia. I was able to use few ads because of the funding. Yet my book has reached numerous worldwide. Who reads and wrote a 5*rating comment. It was a good feeling and accomplishment and I realized writing a good story where the style of your writing is the key to success.
Did you use an editor? If so who?
I got an editor, and I need one. Because my English is poor, with misspellings and grammatical corrections. I choose to have a freelance editor who goes by my handwriting and spelling. Although our computer has become advanced, I currently use an app called Grammarly, which is a life-changing experience. For every word that I cannot spell or pronounce I use the voice of Google, which translates my voice into words.
Did you use a book formatter and cover designer?
I use editors to format my book and novel. My publisher makes my cover. But in my experience, I see that they don't really do the Justice or give you much choice to feel satisfied considering we pay a substantial amount of money to do a simple job or task. When it comes to becoming a writer, I realized that few of us do the research to become successful authors and it costs money. Even though we have our writing abilities, we don't have the money to make ourselves rich or famous. And we forget everything has a price. It's not enough to be talented. Based on my experience, I learned of this error. I thought if you had the talent, you would be discovered. And the publisher will assist you anyhow.
Did you self-publish or get traditionally published? How did this go for you?
Often, authors do not share their experience of the difficulty of entering the publishing world. Some days you feel useless because you don't have the money or the financing to publish your book. Even when you have money, publishing doesn't generate that much money. Which is disappointing, but they demand that you spend more to earn more. Writing a book or novel can be satisfying. But sometimes you feel it's not worth moving forward. If you look at YouTube videos, those people use less energy or financing to become famous. That may be slow progress, but they end up making lots of money. Writing is perhaps our passion, but it is also our life, and it should not be so hard to be recognized.
How do you market your work and promote your brand?(Include links)
Yes, I commercialized my book; I promoted my book; I used video trailers as well, and I even had a video interview with a podcast. I had several website interviews, which helped me promote my book. An independent critic went through my book. I also used Facebook, Instagram, and the groups promoting books websites to stimulate or reach the public and encourage others to review my book.
What social media and writing platforms would you recommend?
I generally have my own platform, but I use other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and other promotional sites that let me promote my book freely. My goal is to make my book accessible to reading and referring.
Do you use an agent?
Currently, I don't have an agent, I would like one, but I haven't found anyone who could help more. And this is my second novel. I started the third novel. If I have found the right agent who can bring the income, I am pleased to work with them.
Do you use paid advertising? If so what?
Only used paid advertisements. To market my book or my book trailer.
Do you have a blog or website?
I have an author page, which appeared this year. I have an Instagram quotation page, where I create inspirational quotations. That seeks to turn it into a business for the merchandise of my brand. I write articles and share what I know with others wherever I can find it.
What inspires you most to write?
My writing became inspiring after my ex went away. My marriage fell apart, and I went through a divorce, mental health, and depression. It was important for me to grow old with somebody, but I realized that our world is changing and our society is changing. And I wanted to integrate these experiences into our modern textbooks. As readers read my books, they will be able to experience the same movements or the same shallow experience. Now my marriage experience has grown inspiring. I think about how wonderful it was. I now live in the memory of my past. When I think of her, I get inspired by writing the character. Some of these are presented in my second book.
What do you do to help with writers block?
I usually rest, put my work aside and eat healthy, nutritious food. Although I put my work away, in the back of my mind, I always think of the intrigues and ideas which will suit my storyline. One of the things I do is read and reread my story and see it in a fresh way. Although, as a dyslexic person, reading is hard to do and stressful for your brain. I read slowly and word for word. It takes hours or an entire day just to read, comprehend, and add to the scene.
How do you plan your writing and start?
The story usually comes to me from a premonition dream. Then I have a story that I need to develop and build. My dream premonition gives me no details about the plot. I develop that on a character basis. It just tells me what kind of story I should write. It's strange, but I believe in myself. This is not something that anyone understands or accepts.
Is writing your full time job? If not what else do you do?
Yes, and no. Yes, because I write four days a week, writing is my passion and in the long term it will be my career. I actually work as a waiter and chef at an Indian restaurant. It helps to finance my book. I truly enjoy cooking and creating food. I prepare international and Indian dishes. It's the best thing after my writing. I also enjoy taking photos with my camera and creating quotations on Instagram. I have more than 1,000 quotations. To share wisdom and knowledge.
What are you working on at the moment?
Currently, my third novel is based on a true story, which will be based on fiction. I like to set it on a true basis, but there are many laws that prevent us writers from writing stories on a true basis. This is disappointing, considering most true stories are based on fiction, and once read, it is tossed aside. And also publishers don't want to take the risk in case they would be sued.
What is your target audience?
Everyone and of all ages is my focus. I want relatives, friends, and kids to read my book. My niece and nephew in particular. I have them in my mind when writing the content of my character. I want some inspiration from my book. Don't feel limited to life. After reading the true story in the fictional. People are going to be able to see an entirely new side of me. My book should inspire the next generations. And someone should remember me even after death.
How long does it take you to write a book?
My first book went on for eight months, which had 80,000 words. My second novel went on for two years, which has about 140,000 words. I'm not sure what my third will be, but what I can say is whether I could inspire someone to read my book. So that's worth writing and spending my money on. Because someone reading my book is better than nobody hearing my voice. I'm not here to make money, I'm here to share my insights. I want my voice alive for hundreds of years. Nowadays, it's unusual to have a disability and believe in something.
When did you first discover you enjoyed writing?
The writing was always in me. It was my passion, but it was a struggle because of dyslexia and, for years, nobody diagnosed my inability. I got a diagnosis of dyslexia in college. Having recognized my disability did not make it any easier. Applying for a job was a struggle. Gaining acceptance of people was a struggle. In our community, there is no place for weak, disabled, or slow people. They only see you as disabled and incompetent. You must be quick or efficient or they will fire you or throw you out. This is the reality of our society. For me, the technology was not advanced enough for me to write, especially when one struggles to spell each word. But my mind was advanced for centuries. However, I could not put it into words.
What is your writing schedule look like?
Always reading and rereading, finding new conspiracies to put words to. Trying to find inspirational words for readers to enjoy and develop a character.
What does your family think about you writing?
Not everybody in the family is a reader or a writer. They may know I have a gift for writing, but reading a book is not their cup of tea. But they take pride in my success or read my reviews and interviews or I tell them. That is why I try hard to write books or novels that will encourage them to see my thoughts.
What do you do when you are not writing?
Cooking, zooming in with friends, hanging out with people. And searching for knowledge which I can put on Facebook groups or write quotes. I'm a pretty boring person to everyone else.
Where do you get information and ideas for your writing?
I usually think about giving my experience. For example, the struggle, search, and observation of society, broken marriage, and divorce. Listen to other people's life experiences and try to turn the experience into a character so that people can better understand the kind of pain we live with every day. But I realized one thing: I'm able to write better when I'm in pain. I can sense the persona. When I am unable to feel the pain, I receive writer's block.
What do you think makes a good story?
Try to put your experience into one character. It will help you create the story better. Nobody knows you more than you know yourself. And if you write stories based upon your characters, it will feel personal and you will feel fulfilled. And remember that we are here to share our knowledge or wisdom.
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