India is an exciting market for indie authors and today, Rasana Atreya gives an overview of the publishing landscape and outlines tips for self-publishing in India.

In the introduction, I talk about the death of Prince and the need to reflect on our mortality and what will make up our creative body of work. I mention the Tim Ferriss podcast with BJ Miller on learning how to live when faced with inevitable death, and also the interview with Austin Kleon on Unemployable podcast.

Plus my launch of Destroyer of Worlds, an ARKANE thriller, set in India; and the Smashwords indie author survey results, with a lot of great actionable tips for authors; and returning to direct sales with Selz.com. You can now buy my ebooks direct from me, the author :) I'll blog more about selling direct in coming weeks.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

Rasana Atreya is the bestselling author of Tell A Thousand Lies, which was also shortlisted for the 2012 Tibor Jones South Asia award. Her other works include The Temple Is Not My Father and 28 Years A Bachelor. She is also the Alliance of Independent Authors' India correspondent.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

Why English is the unifying language in India, and the size of the English-speaking population in India.

On the types of books that sell in India and the focus on print rather than ebooks.

Cover design for the Indian market.

Ecommerce in India and the importance of mobile.

The expense of print on demand in India.

The vanity presses that are springing up in India.

The age of the market, and the popularity of WhatsApp and Facebook.

How book marketing is done in India, and the stigma against indie authors that still exists.

How indie authors can try selling the Indian rights to their books.

Rasana's predictions on the future of digital publishing in India.

You can find Rasana at www.RasanaAtreya.com and on Twitter @rasana_atreya

Transcript of Interview with Rasana Atreya
Joanna: Hi everyone I'm Joanna Penn, from thecreativepenn.com. Today I'm here with Rasana Atreya. Hi, Rasana.

Rasana: Hi, how are you?

Joanna: I'm good. Just a little introduction, Rasana is the bestselling author of "Tell A Thousand Lies," which was also shortlisted for the 2012 Tibor Jones South Asia Award. Her other works include, "The Temple Is Not My Father" and "28 Years a Bachelor." She is also the Alliance of Independent Authors' India correspondent, which is what we are talking about today.
Tell us a little bit more about you and how you got into writing.
Rasana: I am used to working in IT back when I lived in the U.S. And when I moved back to India, I had two little children. I just couldn't get to work at 3 in the morning if the network went down. I was forced to look at something else, and I have always loved writing. I decided to give it a try. And once I started writing fiction, I was hooked.

Joanna: That's fantastic, and how long ago was that now?

Rasana: About 10 years now.
Joanna: When did you get into being an indie author?
Rasana: My story is a little different and that I did have a trade publishing contract. But I've been watching how things were being done in the U.S. and watching Joe Konrath and Amanda Hocking, and I really wanted to give it a try. People told me I was crazy to give up a traditional contract. But I was like so if I fall flat on my face, I can write another book and look for another publisher. I wanted to do that. I have no regrets at all.

Joanna: I think that's a really good point because I was in Australia when I first discovered Joe Konrath and Amanda Hocking,...