I hail from Maharashtra and Marathi is my mother tongue. Still, I enjoy writing ghazals in Hindi / Urdu.I wanted a publication house from the Hindi belt to reassure me that my work deserved publication.
I learnt about Zorba through internet searches. I saw their website and decided to contact them.
The website is very nicely designed and the literature published earlier by Zorba is of a very high standard. The presence of Zorba Jaipur literature festival and other such events also inspired me.
When I interacted with a Zorba Team Member, his approach was very encouraging and positive. I sent a few of my ghazals for him to read, and he almost instantly told me that Zorba would like to go ahead with the project.
Since I am not a professional writer, he gave me a few suggestions and tips which were very helpful. After this small interaction , my freedom as a writer was always respected.
The website also had clear guidelines about choice of a package. It was easy for me to select an option.
Our communication was simple, clear and explicit. There was never any ambiguity.
I was only made to pay a small token to reaffirm my commitment and the work on my book Bhalai: Deewan-e-Bhala started.
My personal project manager came across as a very helpful person.
Once I submitted my script by email in the specified format, the work started immediately.
I had written ghazals in Devanagari and Urdu scripts. My Urdu writing skills are quite poor. Zorba people did a very professional job in correcting my spelling errors . I know, this must have been a daunting task ! They also suggested a few changes to the prose part of the script – Bhalai: Deewan-e-Bhala ( the author’s page) to make it more presentable.
I was made to pay any significant amount of money only after the proofreading was completed and the book was almost ready for printing.
My conversations with Zorba Books Team Members were always very helpful and reassuring.
In spite of all the difficulties, I must say that the work done by the Zorba team was very professional, yet personalised. Every single interaction was very polite and pleasant . The deadlines were usually abided by.
The plethora of platforms available for marketing and availability of the book – Bhalai: Deewan-e-Bhala is exemplary !
One thing I must mention is that the amount of money that one requires to spend for all this is hardly any ! The services offered and the professionalism is actually priceless.
If I write any more books I will surely come back to Zorba. It feels like home.
I will definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to publish one’s own book.