Well, why do I write at this age of seventy-five years? It all started as a young physician when I started out on my medical career. From my experience I wanted to contribute something to society beyond just treating patients day in and day out.
I knew writing was one of the ways I could contribute. In my first ten years I published two articles in a church magazine. One was about forgiving a person who tried to steal something from my backyard. The other was my understanding of how small pox was eradicated from India.
But in the last 25 years of my professional career, I got into a project involved in plenty of health-based research as well as valuable experiences in overcoming poverty and improving the health of the people, especially the poor.
So, plenty of scientific articles flowed out of my pen. I did not write them alone. I was almost always part of a team of authors who did the work together. In a way, my desire to contribute got fulfilled. God gave me the privilege of writing over 75 scientific articles.
My first book came out just three years before I retired. I had taken a sabbatical of three years, when I completed my PhD as well as the book. Unfortunately, I did not publish it through regular publishers. I had enough official money to print the book. I just printed and distributed it freely as it was an official book.
Only when I retired, did I find out the value of formally publishing through publishing companies. Again, God has enabled me to publish 4 books over the past five years, through online publishing.
So, why am I publishing. The basic purpose is the original one of contributing. In principle it means sharing my experiences of a life time serving the poor in their health and economic needs. What a rich experience God gave me!
An author is supposed to make plenty of money. When sharing experience and knowledge was my goal, money took a back seat. Oh yes, I could do with more money. That was not my goal. So, I make my book freely available especially the eBooks for readers to download it free.
More people have downloaded free than purchased my book. I wish even more had downloaded free. I will continue to make them free whenever Amazon gives me the privilege.
What I have learnt from experienced authors is that an author should never ask people to buy his book. So, always my request is that those who read the announcement of my books, forward to someone whom they think would benefit from that book. Some may buy, others may not.
Therefore, I am sharing information about the books that are in the online market place. I intend to share information about my books online in every blog I write.
My web site
Businessmen for the poor
Global Paperback http://tiny.cc/q901tz
Global eBook http://tiny.cc/f801tz
Indian eBook http://tiny.cc/k901tz
Paperback Indian http://tiny.cc/6f71tz
COVID-19
Global eBook http://tiny.cc/gb01tz
Indian eBook http://tiny.cc/bb01tz
Dr John Scudder
Global eBook http://tiny.cc/ob01tz
Indian eBook http://tiny.cc/wb01tz
In one of my subsequent blogs, I’ll write about the rich and varied experience that God gave me in my life time of service. Besides writing, God has given me the privilege of teaching students in two different institutions.
The first and major one is teaching MBA students of a leading university on introduction to health and environment. The other one is to teach community health management to development practitioners.
However, I look forward to an ongoing dialogue on different topics where it was possible to bring about changes in the community, especially in the development of the poor. I would value critical comments and pointed questions challenging some of the thoughts I present.
I look forward to your kind criticisms and feedback.
Rajaratnam Abel
Rajaratnam Abel 