I started my writing journey back in school days but i never thought that i would get published some day in some book. Thanks to some of the new online friends i met during my final year of college, i got some ideas about how to get published easily. Getting published is easy in paid anthologies who do not consider any criterion and publish everything that they get in exchange of money. 2 out of those 6 anthologies i have listed below are paid ones with which i got started. 

Getting published in free and unpaid anthologies is real deal. For paid ones, you can never get satisfaction because you are paying money to get published while the free ones have their own set of criteria and only after fulfilling those you can get publish without shedding a buck.

Girls' Paradise By Arusha Publishers

This is the first book where my dream of getting published got realized. It was a paid one. The quality of the book is not that great in terms of design, thickness and content except mine of course.

LifeName By Serene Publishers

This is an unpaid anthology. This is the book where my poem was selected as the best poem in the book. I wrote the poem  in school days and back then i knew that the poem is worth something. The poem is inspired by the famous poem "The Listeners" By Walter De La Mare. 

First Love By Cypher Publishers

This is my last paid anthology. This is the most disappointing one. The publisher did not promote the book, only printed a few copies for the writers. They just took the money and digested it effortlessly. This is why i never went for paid anthologies anymore as they are a waste of money and effort.

Crush 2 By Authors' Ink 

This is the best publisher for anthologies. Their working style is superb. The book is simply awesome. Promotion was at its peak. The writers were very active. This is the anthology where I wrote my first short story.

Shades Of Life By Shades Publishers

The book took a long time to get published but the wait was worthwhile. One of the best books with awesome cover and quality contents.

Purple Hues 2 By Sanmati Publishers

The quality of the content is great. They conducted interviews, promotion was great but i am disappointed with the quality of photos printed in the book especially mine. They could have shown the quality beforehand but the theme of the book is a noble one and thoroughly enjoyable.

Promises Of Lokenath Baba - The Almighty 

Baba Lokenath lived from 1730-1890. Yes, nearly 150 years.

Though difficult to grasp by the western minds, but a truth is always true.

“You may not know me. You may not realize who I am. Just pray to me with a little touch of your heart, and I shall free you from gripping sorrows and miseries.”

“Whenever you are in danger, whether in war, forest, ocean or land, remember me. I shall save you.”

“I willingly reveal myself to you. Therefore, you are in a position to reach me, or else, it is impossible.”

“No power on heaven or earth can damage the devotees who take shelter under me. For there is none greater than me to punish you.”

“I can do whatever I like. It is only your lack of trust, your non-belief, that keeps your desires unfulfilled.”

“For those who with love and devotion surrender to me, if they are in trouble, my heart melts. This is my compassion. And with my compassion, my power flows out to them, freeing them from miseries and unhappiness.”

“For more than a hundred years, I have traveled through the hills and mountains and have amassed enough spiritual treasures. You shall sit at home and enjoy the fruits of my austerities.”

“My child, never miss the opportunity to meet the realized saints, for their blessings and presence will inspire deeper devotion and love for the divine and Guru . Being in the company of the holy ones, who live the truth is the greatest blessing of the Lord.”

“I have everything in me. What you need in life, you have only to take.”

“I am Eternal. I am Deathless. I AM.”

-BABA LOKENATH

BE AN ARDENT FOLLOWER OF BABA LOKENATH AND EXPERIENCE THE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.

Recalling the past events is something I don't usually prefer to do. While some may consider it to be a great habit but the fact is I have not achieved anything remarkable yet to look back and appreciate.

My literary journey started back in school days mostly because of the great English teachers I had both in school and tuition.

They are the ones who inspired me by explaining short stories, poems and even dramas with innermost meanings and taking a literary work to a whole different level.

So Special Thanks To

1. Mrs .N.Majumdar Mam - From My School Who Always Believed In My Abilities. I Always Wanted To Improve My English Writing Skills To Keep Up With Her Endless Believe In Me. That Made Me Stronger.

2. Mrs. Swathi Banerjee Mam - My English Tutor In Class IX & X Who Is Actually Responsible For Growing My Interest In English Literature And Helping Me Developing A Passion For It. Her Interpretation Of Any Literary Piece Was Multi-Dimensional.

3. Mr. Rajib Chakravorty Sir - My English Tutor In Class XI & XII Who Gave Me The Confidence To Travel Further Miles.

So Class XI and XII and the first year of my college are some of the years when I wrote most of the poems which are getting published even now. Around that period I wrote around 20 poems, some of which were crappy and I eliminated them by the end of college life. A handful of 6-7 poems out of them were worth publishing and are selected for different anthologies.

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From the second year to final year of my college was the time when I thought of quitting my passion for writing. I did not even thought of writing and wrote nothing. It is the time that I regret the most now. This is the sole reason I am a late starter now.

1.      Akshita Parekh, a classmate in my college, read a post of mine on Facebook and on her first message, recommended me to try my writing skills and planted the idea of publishing them.

2.      Debasmita Purkait who encouraged me to write and visit a psychologist on a regular basis.

3.      Special mention goes to my friends Surya Kanta Dey and Santu Kandu who backed me a lot.

4.      My school friends Satyaki Sanyal and Sayak Deyashi are the best support system I have since school days.

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Finally, after my college got over, I had some fruitful interactions with several people on Twitter who by then had published their works in Anthologies and even Novels.

Special Thanks To

1. Apurva Joshi - who gave me the idea about publishing in anthologies' contest.

2. Shilpa Suraj - who recommended me to join the Facebook group FWBA which is a very active group where all your doubts will be clarified by several authors in there.

3. Jyoti Arora - She helped me a lot to understand the publishing industry and about writings.

4. Biswadeep Ghosh Hazra - Who was very kind and helpful and it was him who told me about the ongoing writing contests and where to find them.

Since then it has really been a smooth journey so far.

I have got 2 rejection among 8 anthology writing contests that I took part so far which is a dream start for me.

 One of which awarded me the best English poem in the book among 100 English poems.

Yeah, this is my first post, I mean, may not be the most conventional post to begin with, but I have always had a taste of being unconventional. So this is kind of perfect from my perfective. The purpose of my blog is not to reach out to a hell lot of people but it is more for a sweet reminder to me that my past had been constructive. Something that I had done that still sounds cool enough. Here are the little changes I am suggesting myself and you can try these as well while you find them convincing enough. No strings attached. You can suggest me as well though I am not expecting any comments as I am not really going to heavily promote my posts, unlike my other websites.

Actually, this occurred to me when I heard Sadhguru Jaggi say that in our life we are mostly unconscious of what we are doing and we are not exactly in control of our own life. Out of 24 hours and out of 30 days in a month, we really did not have even 10% of the total time being completely happy or blissful. So, naturally, as he suggested that something is wrong somewhere. You, like me, can blame the society and ultimately I am also a part of it and blindly following its unseen rules just to make a few people go soft on you. You don’t really do the things you want to do to make you happy, you might not get time or opportunity but you don’t even try as well. Difficult to make sense of all the above said unless you realize it yourself. Hence, the changes.

Make Peace Or Put A Full Stop.

1.       My past keeps troubling me a lot. I should not have done that, I should have done that and so on. It occupies 20% of total thinking time. This is where the concept of being positive comes into play. You have to be conscious and you can’t afford to give in to those thoughts. Whenever they appear, just stop them directly. Habit is a great thing that can heal it.

Strengths And Limitations.

2.      I did not actually know what I wanted to do because I was never aware of it until recently when I realize what my strengths are. How? Well, you have to try and fail to understand what are your weaknesses and strengths. Convert your weaknesses into strength is a good line but for me, it does not work. I am happy with my strengths and working on them to sharpen them further. So take your time out to find what you are good at and then do that thing only.

Compete With Best-Self.

3.       All my school life, I was comparing myself with everyone who was better than me. It yielded me great results but I never had the mental peace. Back in college, I adopted a new policy of competing with my best self and the results were not what I expected, but still good enough. At least I had complete mental peace throughout my college life and at the end of the day, our blissful sessions matter the most.

Watch It All.

4.       I realized quite late that if I have control over what I am thinking, it can be so much productive and positive. Similarly, I used to take unconscious actions and speak whatever that comes in the moment. Well, some say it is the best practice, but if you can control what you speak and do, why not apply it in real life. I became quite matured and peaceful, I had more time as I stopped bitching about other people and became completely non-offensive which made me unsmart but who cares dude! I am the architect of my life.

Just Be Yourself.

5.       Many times, I gave in to advice of people and ultimately I had to face the consequences which were not pleasant all the time. So I have decided to do my own things at least I will only blame myself if things go wrong! This is what they probably call as be yourself.

Time Heals.

6.       I am a believer in the saying that “Time heals everything”. When I go through a bad patch, I keep reminding myself of this and keep saying to me that “We will win”. I do the latter part every day in front of the mirror.

Be Conscious, Be Alive.

7.       With the passage of time and especially after becoming aware of my action, words and thought process, I am eventually becoming more conscious or somewhat alive. I have started analyzing rather than blaming so that I can do better next time. It gives mental peace than anxiety and depression.

Back Yourself.

8.       As I said I have stopped blaming people or myself and instead backing myself up as I know what my strengths are and self-estimation is the driving force that will carry you through when your mind and people around you would stop believing in you.

Meditate. Dive Within.

9.       The best thing that can happen to anyone’s life is meditation. There is no such peace as you will find in it. If you have control over your thought process, mind or actions, you will definitely love it more than any other activity in your life. It absorbs your daily stress, makes you joyous and revitalizes your body cells. This is a game changer.

Live And Explore

10.   Lastly, and this is my favorite, take your time out to explore the beauty of the world. You must do this once a year at least. This is going to break your mundane life and reenergize your body and mind. Keep your phones switched off and let no professional life’s thought block you from enjoying the vacation with your family. Spend a lot and eat your heart out. This is what you earn money for. Live your life.