I Have started making audiobooks out of my ebooks and I started first with I also slept with Rashmi Verma. It took me seven hours to record seven chapters and the studio cost was Rs 1000 per hour. The recording went well and I was happy with it, there were a few fumbles on the way but the sound engineer will have them removed. I have given him the theme song to use as the intro and outro of the talking book. We will then use music beds to enhance the recording and get all the hiss out of the audio.

The next day I tried my hands on a shorter book the madness of the monk and completed the recording in one shot. I enjoyed the recording and things went well.

I raise a toast for another revenue stream through my blog www.tikkustravelthon.in Enjoy some of the photographs of the recording session.

Reached Allahabad a few days back took a train from Banaras about 2 hrs journey covering 100 km, both cities situated on the banks of rivers one the Triveni and the other Ganga itself. I parked myself in the Civil Lines area near the Eat On Biryani Wala. I noticed how distinct the tow cities are Banaras and Allahabad. Banaras is fully vegetarian and Non-veg is really available and is not of any good standard, but non-veg in Allahabad is amazing, the Biriyani’s Chicken tikka and kaleji, grilled chicken and paratha. This is because of the Muslim and Mughal touch the city has. Allahabad was ruled by the Mughals and the cuisine is greatly influenced by the Mughal and Islamic touch, delicious roasts and even tastes Kabab’s all severe through small shops and outlets across the city, some are sold by mobile vendors also. Banaras being predominately Hindu and the flag bearer of the RSS and Hindu brigade is all vegetarian, very little non-veg is available there.

The other distinct difference between the two cities is Allahabad is more open in the city wider. It is planned thus that their look to be a lot of spaces in the city and its many parks is a testimony to that, Allahabad is full of parks. The entire region is a buzz as the verdict on the Ram Janam Bhoomi came through, the Temple will be made. The establishment was anticipating violence and the entire city was shut down the entire day.

I managed to keep my walks and walked in the evening at the Chander Shekhar park which is a vantage point for me and Tiwari to do our brainstorming.

The next day I visited Nafee’s owner of Eat On and he treated me to a Biriyani, as usual, he was thrilled that I had taken out a book on, my Kumbh Mela experiences.

I like being at the slow pace of this city not to mention the Non-Veg Chicken Biriyani I had for lunch yesterday.” Modi Ji has done it again the verdict is to build the Ram Lala temple, we have been vindicated how can you remove Ram Lala for his birthplace itself. “ Mr. Arora who sells cold drinks and snacks near Eat On said to me as I enjoyed the Biriyani which was served to me. The entire market knows me as we did the EK KA DUM event here months back.

It is indeed happy days for me as a float on the streets of Allahabad visiting it’s Caffe and Non-Veg Outlets.

My daily walks have increased as I use my time leisurely walking though the famous Chander Shekhar Azad Park in Allahabad. It’s an easy ride, I take an electric rickshaw to Eat On Biryani for lunch and then ride to the park across the roads straight to gate number three of the park. After buying the ticket I enter the huge park, in central Allahabad. The first thing that one sees is the towering statue of the great man himself in dhoti, with a bare torso twirling his splendid mooch, a sacred thread running across his upper body. This is a monument at the entrance of the park, which is circular in design, with tar road to do brisk walking. There are benches and trees all across, as one can see young college students engrossed in their study books, preparing lessons for exams. Old couples in their gym shoes take rounds of the park as the young stroll by eating popcorns and ice creams. There is a huge structure inside the park itself with huge patches of green grass for people to sit and enjoy the sun. You do get people taking their dogs out for a stroll, and families can be seen to be enjoying a picnic as the sun sets in. There are public toilets and drinking water facilities inside the park, which is blessed with trees and a lot of greenery. The good thing is the neatness and cleanness of the park, which is spic and span at all times. There are ice cream vendors and popcorn makers hovering around the various gates of the park, an average family can enjoy these treats as they stroll around the park, surely trying to get fresh air and try to remain fit.

The electric rickshaws have made it very easy for a tourist like me to navigate through the city, they are convenient, quick and very affordable Rs 50 and you can move from one corner to the other inside the city. The park has to Use Me and dustbins all around, so there is hardly any litter problem. It also has it’s on the music system and speaker system, each tied to a light pole blaring old songs as people stroll around the tarmac tracks of the park. In the night as the sun sets in the lights come on and there is good visibility os people can walk and enjoy the greenery of the park after dark also.

Civil Lines and the park area’s are the elite areas of the city, with homes of IAS officers, ministers, and lecturers, most influential people of the city stay in and around this area. The city has one of the best Non-Veg street food money can buy, with a couple of huge and Morden cinema halls keeping the city dwellers entertained with a heavy dose of the latest Bollywood films. Fast food joints like Pizza Hut and Domino’s have also arrived in the city are doing good business. The city has a steady stream of ATM machines and also has modern malls and branded show room’s.In cities like Allahabad, one realizes how India runs on two-wheelers as most people use scooters and motorbikes to drive around followed by bicycles for slightly less well off.

There is hope somewhere in the world that is what keeps us all going. I hope we all are running on the Adeline of hope. Without hope, there is no way forward. I got some the other day when an email from Rashmi Sharma Productions, said that things look positive for my web-series project. An email popped into my mailbox from the prospective producer from the production company, saying they need 10 days but things look good. Who knows I might hit the jackpot here. But I am not keeping static I am making audiobooks out of the e-book all with the theme song and everything, a full masala audiobook. I have also started with the translations of the book in Hindi and Malayalam.

“ No no Rajan not to worry Raj Shandiliya will direct your film, you both co-produce it and I will get all the shooting permissions done in BHU, we can do the shoot in 15 days flat .” Those were Tiwari’s words of hope .” He is my old friend and I have done so much of writing free for him. He will do the websites .” Tiwari was adamant that I should go with the young director, I am yet to meet him though. But hope again, The Watchoo channel talks came to nothing and my secret play writer has lost hope, he doesn’t think the channel will be interested .” Margins are very low at Rs 5 lakhs per episode the scope Rio earn for all is very little. I think the production house is not interested, as it is they want to fuck up the story by getting Rashmi Verma fucked in every episode. I think they will screw up the concept .” Krishan said looking a bit disappointed that his efforts have not payed dividends.

“ Content is king sir, you have punches and jokes and masala in your story it will sell, just wait for the right buyers .” A director friend of mine said .” You should at least ask for 5 lakhs for the story nothing less than that, they can pay for the acting extra, no need to put your money in the project anymore .” I was told by my friend to be cautious about how much I spend on the project.

“ Yaar I just visualized the Mama Molester scenic in the web series of mine, I think it should be shot in black and white, with only Rashmi Verma in color like in Schindler’s list, you had that little girl in the red coat, use it as  symbolic to lost innocence .” I did some more brainstorming with my director friend .” On top of that, the mama molester theme song should have the tune for Rosemary’s Baby that 60’s film by Roman Polanski .” I had started to visualize the scenes and songs in my mind .” Richard Attenborough was right, he took 20 years visualizing and planning GANDHI, but when he shot it, it was perfect. I think a film grows in you like an idea and then like a fine wine you have to let it mature and age to the giver that percent look and flavor. This is the same for my book and websites, it grows within me day in day out .” I tried to explain the creative process to my learned friend.

“ It’s how much groundwork and detailed planning one has done before the film goes to the floor, that’s what matters the most in the success of a film and web-series project like this. My casting is also 50% complete and it looks like so is the location BHU has a vintage and retro feel ” I was perhaps trying to explain to my friend that I had put enough hard work in pre-production of my project .” You have to be consumed by it and keep developing the story .” He knew that I was talking from experience.

“ Well you have limited options, it is adult content Alt Bala Ji is your best bet, along with Voot and Vishesh Films, they do this kind of content .” My director friend had the feel of the market .” No news from Sunil Shetty yet, it seems he is finding work for himself. Nor has Ramu responded .” I said a bit inflated .” Keep going brother and throwing the Jaal, after all, it’s all about webbing the web-series web “ my friend egged me on my journey.

The noise in the streets had become deafening, I had spent quite two days in my room, enjoying there moist winter air that entered my room. The sound of bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles mingled with the sounds of temple bells and Arti Pooja’s taking place at the various temples in the city. People rise early in Banaras, some before the sun, and there is a culture of doing Yoga, exercise or just practicing music in this city and the Ghats are full of people doing this kind of morning activity. Worshippers throng to the temples to do the morning Pooja and the city roads become flooded with morning commuter traffic. Banaras is a badly planned city and the roads are narrow and limited, there are flyovers and bridges, but the traffic is unsystematic.

I managed to reach the Kashi Vishwanath Temple by noon and prayed to Lord Shiva, the temple was a. It unkept may be due to all the Pooja rush of Diwali, there were piles and piles of rotting flowers that littered the corners of the temple. I saw an English lady pour buckets of milk on the central shiva stone, which was flat and jagged, unlike the Shiva Linga which is cylindrical in shape.

Our scooter came in handy here as we had to go through the back lanes of Banaras which are difficult to navigate as they are next to the ghats and of ancient architecture. The amazing thing about Kashi Vishwanath temple is that you can see the entire Ganges from its back door and there are steps leading down from the temple into the river. One can either just sit there or take the many boats into the river.

The market place is chock a black no doubt the post-Diwali Season has started and the shopkeepers have their wares to sell. There is a lot of police presence in the city and the administration seems tight. That is one big improvement that the new Modi Government has bought with it. The orange and pink hue in the sky ushers in the winter in this city and the muddy ghat’s of Banaras rise to the chants and mantra’s that ring in the air, the creations ground burn and burn billowing black soot in the air. Yes, I can feel the vibrating city in my bones as I meander through its many market places, at times feasting on the Laddoos at the Kinner Baba’s Akhara. Yes, I went to the aghodi ashram only to find it locked, but I did enjoy the Prasad and payed my regards to the mighty saint.

I have been confined to my hotel for the past week or so, venturing out occasionally to visit the city and its religious places. Today was a tour of the famous BHU the university of Banaras where my mother had done her graduation from. I was using a scooter that is what the entire Banaras is full of Scotties, mean and especially women use it extensively for going around town. It is perfect for the city’s small, narrow dusty dirt-filled roads. It can also be zipped around in campy marker places and in peak traffic. It is a fuel-efficient and perfect small city vehicle. People war shit’s checked T-shirts and jeans, some older folks wear trousers and even dhoti’s. But malls are commonplace in the city and most modern urban wear is available to the people of the city. The city I predominantly vegetarian, in Banaras try to eat Panner, Dal tadka, Lassi, Ras -malai and of course milkshakes.

After driving through the main gate of the University which has the huge Statue of its first founder Madan Mohan Malviya, I ventured into the university compound, with Tiwari on his Scottie .” This is the oldest university in India and Chanakya helped build it too, but Malviya Ji was its first Chancellor. The university is very old and still carries the old text of Ramayan written by Ve Vyasa .” Tiwari would in between try and acquaint me with the heritage of the University and a bit about its past. We drove across its many roads which were large and big so it had no suffocating feeling the place, not like in the city. This was a lush green place with old fashioned hostel blocks and since buildings. I could not help but smile when I saw the name of the girl’s hostel it was Called,” Mother Teressa .”

“ Kya Baat hie Mother Teressa, we will have to make a few more rounds of this place .” I laughed and chided Tiwari.

We would often Gert lost in the campus as it is huge and built in a circular format, but finally, find our way. We stopped over near the Shiva Temple built by the Birla’s inside the campus. It is a university hot spot, with book shops, dosa and lassi shops all around. Today they did not have lassi and were serving milkshakes and cold coffee. I decided to dive into a glass and then ventured into the book shop which had a huge collection of Hindi and English books. We walked through near the temple gates were shops selling flowers, images of Ganpati and other Pooja samagri.

The temple was huge and a triangular cone-shaped dome, it was light up by colourful lighting all choreographed to give the ultimate light effect. I did some still photography and walked into the gardens around the Shiva temple. It is frequented by many students and is a place for worship and quiet contemplation.

Banaras has definitely made me a vegetarian and more spiritual it is the essence of the place and the area where I am staying has a lazy contented feel to it. Which suits my nature perfectly as of now. I ventured into a Chines restaurant in the city but was shocked to realize it only served vegetarian. So I ordered the soup and the spring roles both turned out to be disasters. The city still has to get the feel of urban foods and food joints. KFC, Domino’s and MacDonald are the most this city can do as of now. You can try Sagar Ratna they have a few outlets in the city, again that is for vegetarian cuisine. One should try and enjoy the food at the Mithai and Lassi shops which are all over the city. Market place pure vegetarian Dhaba’s can also be good if you need a quick k snack. Overall the city has been hot in the afternoon, and one would prefer to stay indoor’s. But as the winter approaches the evenings have become rather cold.

The city still carries its own mesmerizing charm, a taste of that is in the special Banarasi Paan, something you can only get in this city, the damn thing just melts in the mouth. I am seeing and enjoying many different facets of this ancient holy city.

It had been over a week in Kashi , now a city I am aquatinted with since I have been here many times before , it is a city dear to me as my grandparents were from this part of the world and my mother did her bachelors from The Banaras Hindu University , so these lands look familiar to me still . I feel like I have known this city. Tempel hopping and enjoying the vegetarian food of the city, there is nothing much else I have done but lazed around in my bed and write or just read. I spent the Diwali in solitude, got a flew at that kept me in my room for days. To beat the lethargy I would take walks around the hotel compound or just walk into the small bylines of the city to have some Kachori and Rabri. The lanes are narrow with shops all around, I would stop for a paan and the just lazily walk across the may temple of the city built around these lanes.

But today was not the usual day for me, it was the day I got laid in Kashi .” Try the girls, you are from Mumbai and you look for sex and fun I Kashi .” Yaar my contact to the heavens of Kashi walked into my hotel room and then gingerly took off his sunglasses he was as tall as me but wore a crisp and clean white shirt with grey charcoal trousers. His hair was perfectly combed and jet black I suspected he was dying his hair, they were black a right, Yaar had a lazy mannerism but he knew his business. He sat on my bed and sent me a few photographs of the beauties he had in store for me. Wow! I could choose who to get laid with now .” Yes! Darling, Sunita you na just keep the client happy, baby na cooperate na, I love you baby I give you a bottle of Jack Daniels when I meet you next .” Yaar would chat with his many women contacts on the phone, as we were having our side conversations .” I can also get shooting permission and a place to shoot on Banaras. But a man like you should enjoy in Mumbai .” He looked at me and smiled, he would keep playing with his gold plated watch as he would be negotiating the rate of the girls with me. I made my selection from the list of photographs I had .” Fifteen thousand for one day I need for two days if I enjoy I pay more .” I told the man. Yaar looked bit muffled and played the game to the hilt .” No, no sit these are models, they fly in to shoot, you also pay for the flight ticket to Banaras. I was in a mellow mood and wanted this distraction in Kashi. The deal was done in fifty grand for the entire night, and a better hotel was chosen for me to meet Moon Moon. Yes, that was met pick the babe I choose for the night of fun and frolic.

Kashi ka Moon it was a bong bombshell, lucky for me I had three tabs of viagra and a pack of condemns with me .” Madam has come she is resting, we meet at her hotel at night. Also, sir get some whiskey, she likes to drink .”  I had got the call from yaar and my Ola cab was ready to take meant the arms of my moon, yes my Kashi ka moon. Armed with my viagra tablets and rubbers, with a bottle of Black label and cigarettes, I was ready for my shag session, after all, I had payed for it and deserved the best. I walked into the room and was a bit surprised as the lady looked a bit different than in the pictures, but she was over the moon. She poured me a glass,” To friendship darling, I Moon Moon welcome to my friendship .” She poured me a glass of whiskey. The main man Yaar sat on the sofa, and he had ordered the spring roll. The room had. Flat Tv playing a Sunny Leone number .” She is my best girl, very cooperative, no problem all fun full nigh for you .” Yaar smiled and took a bite of his kabab .” Great you got the best whiskey.” I signaled to the man to leave me alone with my lady love, and he luckily got the hint.

Now we were alone,” I think I will have a bath and I took off my clothes, I was naked for her to see. I walked into the shower and popped my first viagra pill. Moon changed into her short silk nightie and slid on the end next to me .” I like sunny, she has made so much money, I want to make money like her .” Moon looked at me and started to play with my chest and dig her figures into my skin .” Yes, she is just like you moon a sex bomb, I am her big fan .” I joked aloud. The viagra had started taking effect as Moon had now started playing with my cock, she was tickling and teases my balls .” Come suck baby suck daddy’s big cock .”She did she took it all in, deeper than I could imagine. Now I know what Yaar meant when he said she is a very cooperative girl. She indeed was loving and pleasing, no fuss, she just sucked and sucked on my cock, jamming it with her cheeks and rubbing it with her gums. The bitch knew her business and with the money, she was costing me, she better. The viagra was making me hard and hard, as my blood circulation increased along with my hair beat. The more she sucked the harder I became.

Dirty talk man I talked dirty to moon all n night,” Suck on bitch, do what you do best, you a dirty nasty bitch. “ I humiliated her, but she enjoyed it she was into it all of my 6t inch cocks. I would walk into the bathroom every half an hour to pop another viagra. I must have had more than three sucking sessions.

“ I like sucking you, you stay hard for long I like that .” My honey would then smile and get back to her work.

Protection is a must at these times and makes sure you carry one in handy. Kashi or no Kashi’s best sex is safe, clean sex.

Girls love playing with their mobiles and she would chat up with her friends occasionally. Small talk is all that you can do at times like this, and I have had enough experience of that. As it is she spoke English and broken Bengali at the same time.

We slept very late watching Bollywood songs and muting chicken lollipop. See even in the city of Kashi ether is a little bit of sin and I was now discovering it on my own. My excursion did cost me money but I think it was worth the trip. With no hangover I walked out of her room at 11:00 am, with a pleasing smile on my face, still intoxicated by last night liquor, but happy and content anyways.

I believe there is a lot of sin wherever there is spirituality and I am out to discover it in Kashi. BHU seems to be a hot spot for young nymphal’s who hang about the campus area. It is a hot spot for scavengers like Yaar, my buddy. I will soon find out more ……………..

Firstly try and stretch your central idea into multiple formats, ebooks, audiobooks, paperback, short radio plays or just a regular podcast. You can look to sell your central idea across formats. Look at regional languages most platforms like amazon.com support at least five Indian regional languages. You can translate your work into these regional languages, that is also an avenue source, make sure you pay a competitive rate of around 0.35 paisa to 40 paise per word for translating and roughly the same for copy editing your work.

Doing Book review and making book videos is also a revenue source, you can also give your services as a video editor and a copy editor for writers and publishers.

Sell the audiobooks at a hirer price and try and make money there, keep the e-books price low, so that you can hook the initial readers. The translations will give you volumes to and you can increase your royalty fee.

Working with other online brands I am working with a hotel room renting portal that helps people book rooms around the world. I am helping them to build their brand and awareness through the power of my blog posts and the positive message I send out about the company. Being a travel portal there was immediate synergy between the two and now we are working with them on a fee-based structure where they will p[ay us for our content and publicity.

You can barter with restaurants fro free food or publicity for a post in your blog or for reviewing their food, I use this trick all the time.

Book sales and audiobook sales will help build the revenue stream and barter and free food can be a low ticket activity I can look at. It is the brand engagements I must increase to further increase the level and income from my blogging activity . bag2bag.com is the first all paid brand engagement we are doing. Big FM radio interview and the broadcast was a media barter deal not an all pay deal.

I got the posters of my book in some really hep Urban joints in Oshiwara, all for doing an article on them and talking about their menu.

I do pay a few friends to guest posts on my blog and some just do free postings with a few backlinks. But it’s selling the e-books that keep me busy now that money has started rolling in, I am more motivated in what I am doing.

Now that I have been selling 15 titles on amazon.com and iTunes.com I decided to go one step ahead and decided to make revenue through audiobooks. Since most of my stories are travelogues, erotic and crime thrillers they lend themselves to the audio format brilliantly. It is also here that three years of my radio experience is coming handy. Being an actor and a voice-over artist it is easy for me to narrate my books myself as I have done sound recordings and even given my voice radio commercials.

The best way was to open an account with acx.com and use their simple uploading formats to turn my narrations into an audiobook. The recording was done in a professional studio and a sound editor who will mix effects, underlays, and song if need be in the audiobook. Once you pay for the production of the audiobook, all you have to do is sign an exclusive or a nonexclusive deal on acx.com. This way you get 25% or 40% in exclusive when your audiobooks sell on platforms like audible.com and iTunes.com. This is a seven years deal in which each party can terminate by giving a few month’s notices. In the exclusive deal, you the original rights owner account sell the audiobook through any other thirds party except audible.com and acx.com. The chances of making money are more here since for every 2 to 3 hrs of audio one can charge up to $10 and even higher with longer duration audio’s.

You can participate in promotional programs, where you get a reward for $50 every time the buyer of your audiobook happens to be an amazon.com and audible.com member also. You will be given a code that you will tag all your promotional posts regards your new audiobook titles.

After you have decided which e-book to convert into an audiobook, you can add a thumbnail which is like the cover of the audiobook, make sure it is catchy and carries actor and narrator name along with the title and the publisher clearly. You need to record one chapter at a time and each bite should not be over 120 min. When you choose the title, you will have to also list the chapters in the index of the book and upload pieces of audio chapter wise brick by brick Make sure you adhere to their recording and sound guidelines. MP3 files are preferred and there is a certain resolution for the jeep field that makes up the jacket of the audiobook. Once upload and details and descriptions are added, you need to record a 5 min excerpt of your audiobook, like a teaser. I am adding an entire 4 min song in one of my audiobooks.

All you need to worry about is paying the sound editor for recording and editing and you can fix up a reasonable rate with him like Rs 500 per hour recording and editing. He can make Rs 4000 odd in each book. After that, the property is used to upload and sell on audible.com. Make sure you record the introduction and have an opener and a closing to your audio file. Best is to let your editor read all the specifications required to make and upload audio on acx.com there are also video’s on this to guide you.

Once you set the price, you can start promoting it through your blog and email lists with the promotional code of the audiobook which will be tased every time you post the title. Send out newsletters to your email list and make a video on this event, upload on the youtube channel and Facebook pages.

View and monitor sales dashboard monthly to check sales. Give free audiobooks away and get them reviewed my book bloggers if need be. Bundle free e-book with an audiobook.

Most important is the payment part of this exercise. Since acx.com does not pay to an Indian account directly and is not available for resident Indians. I amusing a friend ac in the UK, so the payment will be made directly to him, as I am not a US taxpayer they will not withhold all my tax and make payment above$50 into my friend’s UK bank account, who will remit it to my account. Once your tax details and address have been given scarified you are ready to go and get your royalty on time and as dictated by the agreement.

All that is left is the churn out hight quality audiobooks without glitches and hiccups. In a moderately advanced studio. Just make. sure your covers are attractive and descriptive. Go out now and start making money on audiobooks, use acx.com and audible now.

Once you have the initial story or the book that you need to build the screenplay on, you need to figure about the key characters around whom the story revolves, these are generally actors who have a line or two. Once you have the Primary, Secondary and support characters sorted out, you need to start visualizing the book as it was a scene. A lot of cues to the background location, dress and time of day will be in the book itself.

Opening 

The opening of the series should have punch and should hook people ideally keep a hook at the beginning and the end of each series. Hooks are great attention grabbers, you can start an initial scene with two couples making love as people peer at them in the act through their bedroom window. Or maybe a man in a room covered in blood with a knife, as he moves we see a dead body stabbed to death in front of him. These are drastic visuals that get the attention of the audience.

Scene Writing 

You need to write the scene first, witch has cues on which the director and cinematographer can work on. It should be a paragraph or so that explains the setting, reason, and situation of the scene. You need to see the characters covers under certain settings and under a certain mood. Also built-in it should be how the actors and characters are feeling and how the camera will move from one screen to another or for that matter form one actor to another. These are cues for the cinematographer.

Dialogues

Then you fill in the dialogues, again look for punches more descriptive words, use slags of local lingo depending where the scene or the story is set in. Use sharp words and experiment with street dialects also. Keep it humorous, jokes, wisecracks, oddball stories, daily masala there is a lot of inspiration out there. But keep the flavor local and relevant. Try and pick as much from the book itself, but you can add some of your jokes and punches also. The screenplay writer has that liberty and can come up with good suggestions and improvements in the initial story.

Length 

You need to keep the duration of the screenplay in mind 20 min to 30 min are the ideal lengths for web series screenplays.