My first novel, The Cinderella Jones Affair, finally got
published in USA and UK, at a listing price of $17 and £12 pounds respectively.
The book is now available at www.amazon.com as an e-book as well as paperback edition. The initial sales have been quite low, but it was heartening to know that a few
people in those foreign destinations were actually reading my book. While I am eagerly
waiting to get their reaction and feedback, the next challenge before me is how
to market my book in my home country, India. And therein, I started looking at
the strategies employed by the best-selling authors in India --- Chetan Bhagat,
Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi. Of
course, Durjoy Dutta, Ravinder Singh, Bhaavna Arora, Preeti Shenoy and Sudeep
Nagarkar are also making waves in the Indian literary field, but I would like
to confine my discussion to the first three amazing authors, just to keep the
article brief.
Chetan Bhagat is perhaps a
phenomenon who has equal number of admirers and criticizers. On one hand, his
die-hard fans swear by his easy-to-understand language, the very lovable
characters with their queer vulnerabilities, the hush-hush titillating sexual
innuendos, and of course, the unexpected twists and turns that makes the heart
beat faster. These mostly young readers, who come from small towns as well as
the big cities, might have heard about the award winning authors like Salman
Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh and Vikram Seth, but never dared to pick up those
voluminous tomes written in a high-end English dialect. In comparison, Chetan
Bhagat was the crisp fast food that you could gulp down without bothering much
about understanding the meanings of the words. It was food served on a platter
that was easily digestible. Most of the books are between 200-300 pages with
price tag between Rs 100 to Rs 200 that
is within the reach of the masses. The critics like to lambast him for the lack
of literary depth but it is actually Mr Bhagat who is laughing all the way to
the bank, with a 5,00,000 average print run of each of his books.
But Chetan Bhagat also had to go
through a struggling period. As many as nine publishers turned down his
manuscript before it was accepted by Rupa. But the best part was that he was
also ready with a marketing plan that would compel the masses to go for his
book. Being an IIT-IIM grad, Bhagat understands quite well how to leverage
social media to reach out to the masses. His Facebook page gets around 2.5
million likes while his Twitter account has 1.2 million followers. He has also
launched T-shirts that incorporates famous quips from his books. He writes
columns in English and Hindi dailies, hosts TV shows and delivers motivating
talks across the country. All these activities have culminated in making him a
cult figure and ensuring that he remains the best-selling author.
The second high profile author whom
I was studying closely was Amish Tripathi. Amish became famous with the Shiva
Trilogy --- The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of
the Vayuputras. Collectively, the three books sold 2.2 million in print and
grossed over Rs 60 Crore in sales. His next trilogy --- The Ramachandra Series
--- is slated to hit the stands on June 22 with the release of The Scion of
Ishvaku. A common thread between Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathy is that both
are IIM Alumnus and both worked in the financial services industry for a
considerable period before venturing into fiction writing.
The Shiva Trilogy, which tells
the tales of Gods in an interesting and riveting style, captured the
imagination of the readers who were always fascinated with the stories of gods
and goddesses and supernatural beings that they had been hearing since
childhood. The conflict between Suryavanshis (The Meluhans) and Chandravanshis
(The Nagas) and the good overpowering the evil with the help of larger than
life Lord Shiva did create the ambience for a fascinating story.
The other common factor between
Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi, being IIM Alumnus, both are terrific marketers.
Before the release of his first book, Amish Tripathi approached bookshops and
asked them to give a free sample copy of the first chapter of his book to
anyone who approached the cash counter. This was a form of buzz marketing to
create brand awareness. He also used social media effectively by making a
trailer film with a background score by Taufiq Qureshi and released the same on
YouTube. The interest in the book increased manifold and the book became a
bestseller. For his second book, he created a video trailer that was shown at
all major multiplexes. For the third book, he created a music album with
soundtracks by well-known singers like Sonu Nigam, Palash Sen and Vickram
Ghosh. These were very innovative strategies to market a book which ensured a
sure shot success for all three of his novels.
The third author who has made a
significant impact in pulp fiction has been Ashwin Sanghi. He has made a
significant impact in the literary circle with books like The Rozabal Line, The
Krishna Key, Chanakya’s Chant and Private India. He is called the Indian
version of Dan Brown for creating suspense by espousing conspiracy theories
built around ancient legends. He does extensive research before writing a book. For writing The Krishna Key, he read more than 50 books, hundreds of research articles and traveled extensively to gather the facts. He also has the rare distinction of co-authoring with
James Patterson, to write a book called Private India. For the uninitiated,
James Patterson is the author of the world famous Alex Cross suspense novels,
and holds the Guinness World Record for selling 1 million e-books.
But even Ashwin had his share of
struggles before he stablished himself as an author. He self-published his
first book , “The Rozabal Line”, and wrote to 40 bookstores to stock his book.
Only one bookstore replied positively. One day, on a visit to the store, he
found his book gathering dust in a corner of the store. He dusted the book and
put it back on the best-seller rack. Such persistent efforts finally paid off.
The book was subsequently published by Westland in 2008 and went on to become a
national bestseller. His second book
“The Chanakya’s Chant” won him the Crossword-Vodafone Popular Choice Award and
the third book “The Krishna Key” became the AC Nielsen No 1 bestseller within a
week of release.
The mantra he gives to the young
aspiring writers is “Write when you are drunk and market when you are sober.”
The writing has to come from a passion for the plot and the marketing has to be
done in a systematic and methodical way to achieve success.
The six authors that I have
profiled in the two-part blog emphatically show that with an interesting content
and innovative marketing styles, it is not that difficult to establish oneself
as a writer. But how effectively I can implement these learnings for a
successful Indian launch of my book The
Cinderella Jones Affair is the biggest challenge that is going to unfold in
the days to come. (Concluded)
