Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar is a South Asian American who has lived in Qatar since 2005. Moving to the Arabian Desert was fortuitous in many ways since this is where she met her husband, had a baby, and made the transition from writing as a hobby to a full time passion. She has published five e-books including a mom-ior for first time mothers, Mommy But Still Me, a guide for aspiring writers, So You Want to Sell a Million Copies, a short story collection, Coloured and Other Stories, and a novel about women’s friendships, Saving Peace. Most recently, From Dunes to Dior, is a collection of essays related to her experiences as a female South Asian American living in the Arabian Gulf. Since she joined the e-book revolution, she dreams in plotlines.
Mohana has a PhD from the University of Florida with a focus on gender and postcolonial theory. Her dissertation project was published as Haram in the Harem (Peter Lang, 2009) a literary analysis of the works of three Muslim women authors in India, Algeria, and Pakistan. She is the creator and co-editor of five books in the Qatar Narratives series, as well as the Qatari Voices anthology which features essays by Qataris on modern life in Doha (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2010). Her research has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She was a winner of the She Writes We Love New Novelists competition. Catch up on her latest via her blog www.mohanalakshmi.com or follow her on Twitter @moha_doha.
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It's awesome to know there is a community out there of people writing the hard way.
Jo: if you review a lot of books, say 100 or more, then you've probably built up the kind of critical reading skills helpful from beta readers.
This is a great post – thank you. I work with my agent as editor – she gives invaluable advice, helps clarify loose ends and also puts things in perspective. But seeing as I'm writing for Middle Grade & Young Adult, beta readers are essential.
I like beta reading, but yeah, some things do require an established editor. This is good advice.
………dhole
I've always wanted to be a beta reader.
Good advice.
I hired the most amazing editor I have ever worked with and am so happy with the results. I can't agree more.
Beta readers and an editor are a must for me. They see the mistakes my eyes have gotten used to and give great suggestions to make the story better.
I rely heavily on my test readers and critique partners. Their suggestions are usually awesome.