The Voices Within

A few months back, I wrote about my passion for entrepreneurship and about a venture I had in mind. Giving shape to an idea is never an easy task but luckily, everything went as planned. The time I spent online researching everything right from Search Engine Optimisation to Content Management Systems has not gone down the drain. My readers aren’t acquainted with the venture nor the idea so you probably don’t have a clue what I am talking about.For the sake of understanding things better, I have prepared a draft that will help you understand how I gave shape to the idea.

JANUARY 2009

I wanted to become an internet entrepreneur all right. But what do I do first? How do I begin? I started thinking. My cousin Narayanan and I were talking about the internet industry in general when he asked how I liked the idea of starting a magazine in print. He would help me with the marketing and all that. I thought why not but who had the time? I was a final year engineering student who had no resources nor the experience to start something big. Worse, I didn’t have an exposure to the outside world.  I was just another social media enthusiast who wanted to make it big in the internet world. I wasn’t sure if the idea would out for me. An earlier idea of a group blogging venture had not worked out so I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I was confused. I had big connections on the internet world, yes, but that alone wouldn’t suffice.

The day my cousin told me about the idea, I started thinking like crazy. To put it frankly, I was confused. I had to outweigh the positives and negatives. Coming to a conclusion isn’t an easy task when you are super overwhelmed. I knew I had a lot of contacts online, so why not make the most of it? Why not start a digital magazine instead of a magazine in print? After about thinking a LOT, I cut down my options to two. One, start a digital magazine for technology enthusiasts and two, a digital magazine for writers. The very same day, I mailed my social contacts and some of my folks asking them which would be a better idea. Their responses overwhelmed me. I had sent the mail to about 20-25 people and most of them responded. They made me ask a lot of questions and helped me find the inspiration within. Thanks a million, folks, for the support and encouragement you have showering me with! I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for your consistent feedback and wishes.Well, I had finally made a decision. I was going to start a digital magazine for aspiring writers.  Having made the decision, I started approaching bloggers and aspiring writers the same month asking them if they will be interested to write for the magazine. Goes without saying that I got an awesome response.

FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2009

Frankly speaking, I had none to support me. I am talking as regards real work. Soothing words from people did help me, yes, but I did all the work myself that at point I wanted to back away. This was getting too much. I had violent mood swings. Worse, my final year project was going on. I was not going to ignore my academics and start concentrating on this.  But I wouldn’t let the fire die down no matter what. I worked whenever I had the time.  I had to bring the dream to reality no matter what. I was going to win. There was no doubt about it. I wouldn’t let people talk behind my back.

APRIL 2009

By now, I was sure that the magazine would be released in May, after my exams got over. The pdf version of the magazine was also ready. But who would design it? I only knew to write and edit. Not design. That was not my cup of tea. Whom would I approach? Worse, who would do it for free?  I wasn’t sure if this work out at all. I don’t know when or how I approached Cheth but he immediately agreed to help me. I was floating on cloud nine. Why, I would have been the happiest Homo sapien alive if my happiness scale were tested with a meter.

A particular incident that happened the same month perturbed me to an extent but I kept Nietzsche’s saying, “That which does not destroy me makes me stronger“, in mind.

I booked the domain name and hosted it on my dreamhost account, in the third week of April.

MAY 2009

I had my university exams in the second week of May. Thankfully, my university exams got over by 9th! So, I started working from 10th. I had chosen Joomla as the CMS. But when I started working on it, I found it too difficult to customise. I couldn’t install the theme. Simultaneously Chethan was working on the design. I had given him an idea as to how the layout should look. I was not sure when the magazine would be launched. I nearly lost hope. I couldn’t customise the template I had chosen and experienced technical errors to the nth degree. By the third week, I was determined to launch the magazine on 22nd of the same month. I dabbled my time  trying to customise the template, googling the errors and eating and sleeping at odd hours. Things were exacerbated by the fact that my internet connection didn’t work for 2 days. Life was truly hellish. I was desperate.

Cheth attached the magazine in his mail and it was love at first sight.

I reverted to WordPress when Joomla wouldn’t let me experiment with it. My hunt for a theme that could function as a CMS came to an end when I set my eyes on Oulipo. If I were to say that I loved it, it would be an understatement. I customised the theme and decided to give Issuu a try to give my magazine a complete look. It worked perfectly.

I, Writer, India’s first literary digital magazine for aspiring writers was launched on May 22nd, 2009 at 07:30

What more can I ask for? I, for one, don’t value success in terms of materialistic pursuits. Self-satisfaction matters the most to me.I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who’s been with me all along. I would especially like to thank all my Twitter Peeps for their awe-inspiring support. Thanks a million for everything, Tweeps!

JUNE 2009

The next issue of I, the Writer is getting ready and we have had a fantabulous response so far. Check @ithewriter on Twitter for more updates and don’t forget to subscribe to the official blog.