The Smart Kids

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As most of the people who read it, I found both of Chetan Bhagat's books (Five Point Someone & One Night@Call Center) very interesting. But then these books are not just any interesting books. These are trend setters. Chetan Bhagat started an interesting trend of similar books. Everyone who was someone(read IITian,IIMian and XYZian) wanted to become a bestselling author and some of them actually did(e.g. Harshdeep Jolly of 'Everything you Desire").Even if they didn't, at least the cover page of their books says so, and I being a firm believer of sanctity of printed words..Believe it.

Now consider some similarities between these budding 'authors'.

They all are bright people, they are market savvy and they all know what to write and for whom to write. They have turned writing into a business plan, and a sound one at that. After all, Kotler was taught for a reason :).

Here is the list of a sample questionnaire cum checklist they all ensure to complete while writing their book.(talk about being methodical :))

Q1.Will I get a publisher?

Ans: Hell yeah!!!, there are enough Rupa Publications in market waiting for another college memoir and did I told you my IIx degree works like a magic wand ?

Q2.Who will read my book?

Ans: Apart from thousands of desperate students hoping to get into these hallowed portals, some of my college mates and few odd alumni ...phew!!! That makes it quite a sizeable customer base :)

Q3: What will I write about ?

Ans: I just finished 'Five Point Someone', So I guess I HAVE to include all the juicy details about campus life. I need to ensure my protagonist is not the very intelligent types(who like 9 graders neways :)).Don't forget to include account of male desperation and female bitchiness(Irrespective of what gender I am and how much I know about it).

And...yes, pay heed to the mushy love story amidst all the chaos I'll create, the more details better it is.I mean there HAS to be a LOVE STORY, all the Eric Segals of the world step aside , lemme show ya !!

And just like that, I have a book and Yes, I am an AUTHOR now. Even a process oriented software company will have to try hard to beat the dead on execution of these plans.

And then there are usual questions of what to wear for the photo on the book cover but then "authors" don't bother about such trivialities.(and let a image consultant do it for them ;-))

Chetan Bhagat(and all the 'inspired authors') belongs to the market savvy new breed of Indian Authors who understands economics better than human emotions. Both of his books filled the void in the Indian Book Market where Mills & Boons and usual Chic-Lit (Opel Mehta type books) is still trying hard to find their grip. He actually started a trend and what we see now is a flurry of books where the author's educational qualification matters more than the quality of what he writes. I have read some really bad books recently owing to this trend. I am sure there are many other authors who deserved to be published and read but they are left in a lurch since they don’t have flashy tag behind them.

Here are some areas of concern with these books: (Great minds think bulletwise…so do I :))

• Most of characters are caricatures, with hardly any details and effort visible from the Author.
• Juvenile stunts (at times exaggerated) remains the highlights of the book.
• Love stories are there for the same reason a Bollywood movie has songs.
• No one sincerely tries to tell a story, it HAS to be a light-hearted banter all the time ….why? Because it sells. Period.

Now before you all jump at me and blame me for being too harsh, let me tell you that I completely understand the hard work involved in writing any book. It requires a certain talent to be able to do so and I do not deny it. All those who have finished a book and got it published are achievers in every sense of the world. But I find the shallowness with which a story is told, quite discomforting. The oversimplification of issues and characters is too evident to ignore. It is not difficult to understand why a Vikram Seth, Rohinton Mistry and Arundhati Roy will belong to a different league and why some “mortals”(If I may say so) will remain mortals. Talent cannot be an excuse for mediocrity. The great authors became great authors because they were passionate about what they wrote; so you will have a Vikram Seth rewriting the whole ”The Golden Gate” and Rohinton Mistry leaving his job to turn a full time writer. These were not great milestones of a sound business plan but then writing is no business either. Writing is their métier and the fact that they are able to write what they truly want is enough for them. Money is just a happy co-incidence and the sooner our young ‘Authors’ understand it the better it will be for us readers.

Smart kids as they all are, I am sure they will understand it soon. J

PS: Rupa Publication has been there in low cost publication for quite a while now and has millions of thankful readers across the nation for making reading affordable. Cheers !!!