“Print never dies; it’s the experience of having a paper on your hands…and the smell of the book,” opines Safa Shaqsy, who took her ingenuity to write bestselling books to another level by initiating a publishing company called Modern Publish, in July this year. “I know a lot of readers love to hoard physical books, I do that as well,” she adds.
The idea of founding a publishing company came to her while she browsed through different tweets on her social media about how difficult it is to get a publisher that delivers quality services to authors. “I saw how a lot of authors struggle with writing books that might never get published. A lot of them search for publishers or agents to represent them, but most of them fail. So I figured that I should help authors by fulfilling their dreams,” she explains.
Safa graduated from a business college, but her love for writing saw her getting involved in many writing activities, including writing her own stories and poems, expressing herself through words. Her love for novels started when she got a book as a gift – that’s when she discovered the magic of the fiction world. However, writing novels happened in 2015 after her father encouraged her to write her stories. “He saw how I loved to read novels… So, after the first book was written, I decided to continue on this path,” she maintains.
Her focus, from the beginning, was to be the best author in the world. “But I realised that it wasn’t cookies and milk after all…it requires a lot of work and dedication just to get some income from my books,” states Safa, who self-published her first book to make her mark in the industry. This, however, meant a lack of backup from experts, as traditional publishers are known to support their authors all the way.
Interestingly though, it strengthened her conviction to explore the publishing industry and initiate a helping hand for aspiring authors. Her main objective behind Modern Publish was to help other authors to develop their potential and achieve their dreams. First-time authors can expect a host of services that range from professional editors to cover designs. “We support our authors from a first draft to a finished book with professional formatting and cover. We do need our authors to work on marketing their books as well to garner attention from readers. This is a partnership that we all work together to achieve a successful publishing business,” explains Safa.
When asked who, rather what inspired her to take up publishing, especially in the present day when people are opting for digital media to fulfil their quest for reading, she says it was her belief in the print media that shaped her decision. It wasn’t, however, a spur of the moment decision. “I had this idea for a few months before I truly decided to take upon the challenge. A lot of people thought this was a huge risk, but now we have a few authors who have signed with us,” Safa points out, adding that many international authors have also approached them. A few have signed the contract and the books are in the process of getting published soon.
Safa’s advice for all wannabe authors? “Read, write, repeat. And never give up!”