My Journey

#MyJourney | How I Became a Successful Writer

Like many of you, I'd never imagined myself writing novels & short stories. As a child, I loved reading stories, particularly stories about people and places I wasn't familiar with. It was, perhaps, my way of connecting with the larger world, the world that was outside my physical reach. Can I say, like that Redbull advertisement, that "reading gave me wings"? I think that would be pretty close to what reading did to me at that time. It took me away from my immediate surroundings which, I must add, were pretty dull those days. The TV was our time's newest escape even though it played only two channels. Radio was the next best thing. For me, basketball & table tennis were the only two options to spend my energy. It was quiet, it was boring, and if I compare with the entertainment options now, it was ancient. Do you get the picture? I'm sure you do.

As a young reader, having loved Tintin, Archie's, and Phantom comics, I graduated to reading full-fledged novels by the time I was in class eleven. The novels that I enjoyed were thrillers written by writers like Sidney Sheldon, James Hadley Chase, Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth, Ian Flemming, etc. These stories transported me to another world where life appeared to be more fun. Yes, more fun. The characters talked business in fancy bars, made love in exotic places, were motivated by money, fame, or power, and ended up taking a turn during the course of the story which I hadn't expected. The surprise element was something that always delighted me. My journey as a reader of thrilling books continued through my college and finally, when I became an officer in a white uniform with golden stripes on my shoulders, I began to read even more.

In 2006, something unusual happened. At Howrah railway station, stuck for over ten hours due to the late arrival of the train I was scheduled to take, I ended up writing several pages in a dairy I was carrying. It was as if some unknown power had taken over my senses. By the time my train arrived, I'd written close to 30K words. I don't want to sound spooky here but that's how it happened. After my trip, when I shared what I had written with my wife and she said it was good, it gave me the confidence to write more and I completed my first novel.

To my pleasant surprise, my very first attempt at writing was accepted by a small publisher in Mumbai. "The Bet" was a thriller, set in, not surprisingly, Howrah railway station and Rajdhani express. The publication of my first book was a turning point in my life. My interviews appeared in newspapers and wherever I went within my organization, people treated me like a star. Many officers confided in me that I had succeeded in doing something that they had secretly desired all their lives. At that time, I had no clue of the failures and setbacks that I would be facing on my journey.

Next year, I wrote my second novel and sent the manuscript to the top publishers. Since my first novel had done well, I was confident that it would be accepted. But, to my shock, these publishers rejected my book. Trying not to feel perturbed, I sent it to the publisher of "The Bet", the company from Mumbai who had given me a break. I had no idea then that there was a shock waiting for me. My original publisher rejected my book as well. This was such a rude shock that it punctured my confidence. Sometime in 2008, I started to write another novel. It took me close to one year to write but, believe it or not, even this one was rejected by everyone. When I was rejected the second time, I got frightened. I stopped speaking to people and spent many evenings just with myself. Was that depression I was suffering from? I had no idea--still, don't!--but it had to be close. Thankfully, I had a lovely family -- a loving wife and two cute daughters. With their love, I could tide over that uncertain period when I felt weak and directionless. That year my younger daughter had started to go to kindergarten and just seeing her grow, helped me heal. My elder daughter was in school & we were a tight-knit family that the world couldn't mess with. In short, the love of my family, helped me face the worst storm of my life.

After about a year, my brother gifted me a few books on writing and writing resources. By now I had got my confidence back and I started to read these books with a renewed hunger. One advice was common in almost all the articles I read by famous writers, agents, and publishers. Everyone was saying that writing short stories before writing novels is a better way to learn the craft of writing. I took that advice as gospel truth and started to write short stories. During the next two years, I wrote dozens of short stories. I also read a few books on creative writing and watched many videos of successful writers. Over a period of time, as I wrote more and more, I started to see a drastic change in my writing. In those two years, I wrote more than one hundred short stories.

After the publication of two spy thrillers titled "The girl who loved a spy" & "The girl who loved a pirate", my first title with a major publisher came in 2017. The book was called "Murder in Paharganj" and it was published by Bloomsbury, publisher of Harry Potter books. In 2018, for this book, I was declared as the best fiction writer at the Gurgaon literature festival.

The acceptance by a major global publisher and the award turned things around for me. After "Murder in Paharganj", following books written by me were published, all by top publishers.

Published by Penguin India, "Queens of Crime" is a collection of true stories of women criminals from India that I have written along with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh. Published by Rupa publications, "The Last Love Letter" is a romance novel. And published by Shristi books, "In Love With Simran" is a romantic thriller.

Things are getting better and better now. The film producers are interested, the publishers are willing to pay larger advances, and the readers now wait for the next book. I'm happy now.

What can we learn from my story? That no matter what, if you love something strong enough, you will achieve success. Just trust yourself, give it time, and fall back on your family and friends when the world rejects you.

Love and best wishes. May you always, always, shine bright.