Coimbatore: Aspiring writers, who approach book publishers with manuscript, are an apprehensive lot. Will it be accepted? Will I have to pay for getting it published? Will it be a success?ThinkInk, a city-based publishing startup , aims to help such people. It can help young and upcoming writers bring their books to life, says 21-year-old S Haresh , one of the three founders of the firm. “I know several aspiring writers, who were not able to publish their work because of financial constrains. When I wanted to publish my own work, I faced the same hurdle. So , a bunch of us got together and decided to start a publishing house exclusively for aspiring writers,” he says.As its first venture, the firm invited short stories from aspiring writers. “We decided it around Woman’s Day, so we went with the theme ‘The Story of Her’. We invited stories both in Tamil and English,” says 23-year-old SA Sriram Anax, another member of the startup. Haresh and Anax, both college students, started ThinkInk with the help of social entrepreneur AG Padmanabhan.They called for entries on social media platforms and were met with an overwhelming response. “We got around 200 stories not only from Coimbatore, but from Chennai, Cuddalore, Tirunelveli and also from NRIs in the US,” says Haresh.Fifty stories, both Tamil and English, were given to experts, who shortlisted 10 each from both the languages. “We collected the stories into two separate anthologies titled ‘Story of Her’ in English and ‘Avalin Kadhai’ in Tamil,” says Anax.ThinkInk will release the books at Prozone Mall on Monday to mark the World Book Day.Speaking of the stories, Anita Sherlin, a member of the editorial team, says many of the writers wanted to speak of their own life. “Many of the entries we got were from women. They wanted to speak of their own experiences. Others had written about their mothers and sisters,” says Sherlin, who edited the English stories. Sasi Ananth, another college student, edited the Tamil stories.The firm plans to display the anthologies in bookstalls, supermarkets and hotels across the city. “We also plan to launch an initiative called ‘Book Bike’. We will take books on a tricycle and place them in prominent places in the city. People can browse the books and buy them if they like,” adds Anax.

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