Episode 12
Alka Joshi Discusses The Henna Artist
and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur - Part II
Author Alka Joshi
Thanks for listening to Part II of my two-part episode featuring my conversation with New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi.
In this episode, Alka continues her discussion about her path to publishing her debut novel The Henna Artist. It’s a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.
Reese Witherspoon said, “Captivated me from the first chapter to the final page.”
Alka talks about hiring two developmental editors for her manuscript after she had been working with her agent for several years on changing her novel. Initially she resisted the feedback, but she realized the comments were nuances and brushstrokes that could help elevate her novel to bestseller status. Now she encourages everyone to find a developmental editor, but particularly ones that are interested in the genre they’re writing.
Alka discusses the reasons she cut almost 150 pages from her novel, and it wasn’t because of the reason I imagined. We discuss the publication of The Henna Artist and the novel’s meteoric rise to bestseller although it looked like the 2020 launch might not succeed after the pandemic caused everything to shut down in March.
We talk about the Netflix series in the works for The Henna Artist and book two in the trilogy The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and we discuss the third novel that Alka will publish in 2023.
Alka shares the ways readers can find her online and she encourages writers to visit her YouTube channel to see the videos she made about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. She talks about how to get an agent and how to deal with self-doubt. She encourages every woman to write her story.
Make sure to listen to Part I of the conversation with New York Times best-selling author Alka Joshi.
Now a Netflix Project
New York Times Bestseller
Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick
LA Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Toronto Star Bestseller
Globe & Mail Bestseller
Indie Bookstores Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Longlisted: First Novel, Center for Fiction
Amazon Summer 2020 Readers Pick
Goodreads Finalist Choice Awards 2020: Best Debut Novel & Best Historical Fiction
Indigo 10 Best Books of 2020
HCC Spring 2020 Fan Choice Winner
Follow Alka on: Instagram Facebook Twitter Bookbub YouTube
Order on: Amazon Barnes&Noble Goodreads Indiebound Target BooksAMillion Walmart & your favorite indie bookstore.
You can listen to the podcast on your favorite podcast players or by pressing the play button below. You can also find the video version of the podcast on my YouTube channel.