Khurshid Alam is an author and editor based in Pune, India. More than 100 poems, several stories and critical essays have been published in various journals and magazines in India and abroad. He has several books including Master RoboHelp in 1 Day, Learn Markdown, Key to Happiness, and Investigative Poetry & Other Poems to his credit until now. His books Master RoboHelp in 1 Day and Learn Markdown are the best sellers on Amazon while Learn Markdown has been rated among 7 Best Markdown Language eBooks of All Time in the world by Bookauthority. He runs a number of journal and publication including Contemporary Literary Review India, Leaf Press and Authors & Books.
Que: How did you start writing?
Ans: I studied literature for BA and MA. So I read lots of literature and gradually started writing. While I was still writing, my poems used to get published in different journals and magazines. This encouraged me to write more. Some twenty years ago, there were a good number of magazines and journals in literature.
Que: What type of writing do you generally write?
Ans: My poems are not basically fiction, they are on real and current topics. I don’t write on beauty, nature, flowers, romance, girls, love like things. I write on politics, corruption, contemporary issues, and human relations even in poems. That’s why most of my poems have appeared in general and political magazines, which are more popular for current affairs like Meantime Magazine (out of publication now) and Mainstream Weekly.
Que: What is your profession? Are an academician?
Ans: I am an IT professional, where my primary role is to create technical communication, which is writing on technologies and tools. In that sense, I am not an academician. However, I love literature and aim to contribute to literature.
Que: Nice. That’s why I think you started a literary journal. Some lights.
Ans: When I studied, I had access to a good number of valuable books in literature such as Case Book Series, Britanica and others. But I found that there were not similar kinds of books on Indian English literature. We struggled hard to read. This inspired me to create a body on literature in general and Indian English literature in particular. I dreamt to start books like Case Book Series on Indian English literature. So I started our journal Contemporary Literary Review India.
Que: What sets your journal apart from others that publish similar material?
Ans: We focus on giving a scope to new voices, creativity, and innovation. Till date, we have published hundreds of writers of all ages and from across the world.
Que: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: Well, there are many people who work on the submissions. We have editors in specialized fields and genre. We receive so many submissions, which go several stages of selection processes.
I need to work in collaboration with my section editors. Sometimes, it takes too much from me as most of the editors work for free, so I have to run after them.
Que: I think you run a press release also. What is that project?
Ans: Ok. In the last 25 or 30 years, self-publication has replaced traditional publication. And you may agree. In this scenario, authors have to work on all sides, writing, editing, formatting, designing book and cover page, publishing, promoting their books, and selling. In short everything. That’s why the term “entrepreneur” has become the new buzzword. Here I see a big issue. Most of the authors are not well versed in these areas, and they should not be. Therefore, I started a press release named as Authors & Books, which promotes authors and their books in various ways.
Que: How do you manage all these things? You have a job, literary endeavors, and you write also.
Ans: Good point. I work a lot. For daily and regular tasks, I have hired two assistants. I have to oversee their daily tasks, assign their jobs, and collaborate between people.
