Woodpie wonders what it is with B-school grads and fiction writing. Oh! Oh! I know, I know, that they are taught to create convincing fiction, when it comes to presenting their business plans. They can paint rosy pictures of their ideas to investors. What’s really bothering me is their relationship with fiction writing in its true sense, as in writing novels.
The most successful books in India (as in terms of book sales) are created by management grads. First we had just Chetan Bhagat with an IIM tag, raking the moolah. He has soon been joined by an equally successful Amish Tripathi of ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ fame. Like Chetan, Amish too flaunts a degree from IIM. These are followed by the likes of Ravinder Chaudhury, author of ‘I too had a love story.’ This young writer is still a student at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
At first, the critics dismissed them as chick-lit, but their commercial successes made every one stand up and take a serious notice. We soon had people saying, “Whatever it is, they made an entire nation read.” This statement is true, without the slightest doubt. Most of the Indian populace grew up reading Amar Chitra Katha or Enid Blyton. Some advanced to Mills and Boon or Sydney Sheldon. A very few stuck with John Grisham or Jeffrey Archer, but the majority had bid farewell to fiction books after high school and replaced them with volumes that spoke of either medicine, engineering or management. But this new breed of chick-lit authors made them all pick up reading for leisure, once again.
Even traditional publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins wished a share in this pie. Though Harper Collins gave up after some experimentation with Karan Bajaj’s ‘Keep off the grass,’ Penguin is going strong with what it calls ‘Metro Reads.’
Woodpie thanks these new authors and says, “Way to go!”
The little bird has a doubt that’s troubling her little mind. She wonders what drives their book sales.
- Is it the simplicity of the language?
- Is the plot such that the readers can relate to it?
- Is it the pricing and marketing of the book?
Little bird woodpie would appreciate if you help her by sharing your opinion on the matter and comment.
I guess it might not fair to include Amish in that list with Chetan Bhagat. The former’s writing style is more refined and critically acclaimed (although he’s only 2 books old). His books are of international standards and caters to a mainstream audience. Amish, simply put, is in a different league altogether.
The commercial success of Chetan’s books can be attributed to the 3 points mentioned (those movies surely helped too!). His books do bring in a completely new audience. For instance, I could never persuade my college going cousin to pick a copy of Immortals of Meluha. It just isn’t ‘my taste’, he says. But, he’s a big fan of Chetan’s books.
Yes. They both happened to have a management degree from IIM. But then, I couldn’t help wonder if it’s nothing more than a case of coincidence? I mean, Hemingway, Capote & Stephen King all battled alcohol addiction. We could then say there’s a connect between alcoholics who are writers and award-winning novels!
“Whatever it is, they made an entire nation read”.
That is very true. And I hope it makes people move to other, more ‘classical’ books as well. After all, as stated in The Hindu’s latest repartee to TOI’s campaign, people do want to ‘Stay ahead of the Times’ and I hope Woodpie brings in that culture!
Good luck and eagerly awaiting your launch!
Could not agree more on the success of the new breed of writers and their creations which brings a refreshing new take on casual reading. It’s simple and it’s fun. In my opinion the answers to the little bird’s questions lies within. It’s the combination of the factors raised which pleases various sections of readers resulting in a populous choice.