Welcome, dear readers, to Issue #50 of More Letters, Less News!
First things first: Is this going to be a self-congratulatory exercise, with a generous helping of flashbacks, a prideful bit of look-how-far-we-have-come, and a smidge of what’s in store for the future? Damn right it is!
I published the first issue of this newsletter almost exactly one year ago (on October 12, 2021). It was an unremarkable post about the remarkable book At Night All Blood is Black. I called it a ‘book review’ but it really wasn’t. More to the point, it was the first time in a long time that I had written something not related to my work. It was also the first time I had put pen to paper fingers to keyboard, since quitting my job.
If you know me or have been reading this newsletter, you would know I quit my law firm job last year1, to start a new (if somewhat unplanned) adventure with a nebulous agenda: to write, and hopefully make a living off of it2. This newsletter was meant to be my writing gymnasium. It was meant to compel me to write every week, on any topic I could spin a few hundred words around. I am grateful to all of you who have indulged my erratic, eclectic posts, which were often rambling and almost always random3.
In December, three months into the experiment, I had written about it with cautious optimism.
Nine months on, I suppose the outlook is mostly positive. Writing this newsletter has made me more aware of things happening around me. I am constantly on the lookout for new material, any incident I can fashion into a post. It has also taught me to engage more deeply with my own feelings and memories. The ‘Memories of Mangoes’ issue, for instance, is a personal favourite of mine because in writing it, I unearthed memories I did not know I possessed.
Also, I am happy I was able to stick to my weekly writing resolution except for the time I went on a trek in Uttarakhand. (You can read Part 1 of the thrilling three-part account of the trek below. The pictures are truly stunning).
Insofar as the outside world is concerned, I have been fortunate to have my writing appear in the Indian Express, Scroll, Wire, Livewire, Economic Times and Mint. (You can read my pieces for these publications here).
I love writing this newsletter (of course!) but I am pretty chuffed every time I get a piece published for a news/media outlet. For someone who has parachuted into the world of writing, it is immensely satisfying to have others validate what you’ve diffidently believed for years: maybe people will like reading what I write.
On the fiction front, though, the picture is less rosy and more rejection-y. I suppose my fiction writing still needs to spend some time in the gymnasium. Which brings me to a question and an announcement for you, dear readers.
First, the question:
Answer wisely. Your feedback shall determine the future course of this newsletter!4
Second, the announcement: More Letters, Less News is going to turn into a fortnightly newsletter.
I know, I know. This comes as a crushing blow to many of you who can no longer imagine a Saturday morning sans this newsletter. But given my other work and writing commitments, I feel this is a necessary move. The frequency may reduce but I hope you find these missives just as, if not more, enjoyable.
I am writing this as I sit in an aesthetic art cafe in Mcleodganj (The Other Space - well worth a visit) and the clouds are rolling in, so I suppose I should wind up. Before we part, let me say this: You are probably unaware of the power your messages, comments and likes, possess. They have fuelled this newsletter for a year and I am thankful. Whatever direction my writing takes - and this is a puzzle I am yet to solve myself - this newsletter and your support of it, would’ve been critical in shaping it.
I shall return to your inboxes (or newly launched Substack apps!) in a couple of weeks, when Year 2 of our adventure begins!
I tend to bring this up quite frequently. I’ll try to stop, I promise.
Readers will be delighted to learn that I have earned next to nothing from writing, this past year.
A few infidels did unsubscribe along the way but let’s not bother ourselves with those philistines on this joyous occasion.
Who are we kidding! You and I both know this newsletter will continue to be a hodgepodge of this, that and the other.
Congrats Rohan! Definitely, definitely want more fiction!
Congratulations! Although I’ll reserve the heartier congratulations for when you write your love letter to me!