Each Saturday, we ask our founder, Namrata, one thoughtful question, on books, writing, cinema, or publishing. One question. One insight. Every week.
Question of the Week: What was the primary objective behind setting up Keemiya Creatives? In what ways do you work with authors towards helping them publish and market their books? Any authors, working with whom was particularly memorable? Any books which Keemiya counts as some of its biggest successes?
Namrata: I started Keemiya Creatives in 2018 because I realized that there is a huge gap between authors and publishing in India. A gap where sometimes misunderstanding creeps in and leaves you with a bad taste.
When an author wants to publish a book, it is common for them to not know where to start. Publishing in India is not exactly as transparent as it should be. And it is easy to feel lost while looking to get published. My aim with Keemiya Creatives is to make the whole process accessible, transparent, and easy to go through.
I have been working with authors and publishing houses since 2014 in various capacities ranging from editing, book marketing, beta-reading and social media marketing. With Keemiya I took a step forward and also added author branding and publishing to this. If there is anything a writer needs, that I might not have on my list of services, I always ensure they have a few references of people who offer these services. Being in this industry also means knowing people who offer different services. Highlighting them and their services is my way of telling that the writer can rely on them.
I usually sign NDAs with all my clients hence I cannot take names but can definitely share some wins that I feel were memorable in this 7-year journey so far.
The first has to be of an author who was a retired gentleman trying to publish his collection of stories for almost six years with no luck. We designed his pitch (including a cover letter and synopsis) after which he got a traditional publishing offer from a reputed publishing house. He has gone on to publish 4 titles so far, all traditional and all bestsellers.
The second has to be of an author who was getting published in English after having been a bestselling writer in Hindi for more than a decade. We managed the whole branding across social media platforms which resulted in the book being a bestseller for close to 12 weeks. The book is currently in its third print run.
The third has to be a book that went from being obscure, zero social media from the author to being featured in national dailies sheerly due to the sales numbers.
There are too many of them to mention it all here, but yes, we love what we do and I guess… it shows.
I also need to add here, we are not limited to India. We also work with authors from across the globe and in varied genres. So far we have worked on children’s books, poetry collections, historical fiction, anthologies, contemporary fiction, romance, horror, memoirs, and motivational books with authors from 8 countries and 4 continents.
About Namrata, Founder- Keemiya Creatives
Namrata is the founder of Keemiya Creatives, a literary consultancy based in Mumbai, and Bookbots India, an initiative bringing transparency to publishing and book marketing. She also hosts The Bookbot Theory, a podcast that makes book marketing accessible for authors and creators worldwide.
She is the editor of Kitaab, a Singapore-based South Asian literary magazine, and a published author with a focus on travel, relationships, and gender. Her travelogue-cum-memoir, A Lost Wanderer: A Book of Memories, reflects her deep connection with storytelling. A UEA alumna, she has also studied travel writing at the University of Sydney.
As an independent editor and book reviewer, her work has appeared in Asian Review of Books, Scroll, Contemporary South Asia Journal (King’s College London), The Friday Times, Feminism in India, and more. Her short stories have been featured in various anthologies, and she has published two short story collections of her own. She is currently working on her debut novel.
Leave a Reply