30 IS TRENDY!
As much as I strongly believe that there is no age bar in particular to tell a good tale. I feel it is safe to say, speaking from my personal experience , that with age you are in a better position to tackle plots — Novoneel Chakraborthy
Opining that 30s is the sweet age to write self help books; Dr Jagdish Chatuvedi, who’s first book Inventing
medical devices — a perspective from India sold over 10k copies, and ranked as No. 1 bestseller under the medical technologies category, says, “At 30, one has just about enough experience that’s worth sharing and can be meaningfully applicable almost immediately.
Therefore it’s important to write now, so that people can get a reference of what’s happening now, what are the learnings and how to improve themselves. I did not intend to be an author, but my mentor and guru Dr. Ravi Nayar advised me to write about failures and challenges I face while innovating. That made sense and Inventing medical
devices — a perspective from India came by, where I shared 10 case examples of mistakes that I made while inventing medical devices.”
That said, Durjoy also believes in the power of penning down your musings in the here and now. But he also asserts that there isn’t a tried and tested rule, which works for all. “There’s no mantra. Write the book that you would want to read. That’s the only thing I would say. I have tried to stick to formulas some time or the other and it hasn’t worked for me.” There is also no denying that writer’s block, one of the most widely recognised nightmares is best overcome with one’s command over their writings. So, does the fear and void lessen with one’s age? Speaking of which, Meghna Pant opines, “While one’s gender is out of question when it comes to facing an issue like a writer’s block, I would like to believe that women writers in India are a lot less privileged as compared to their male counterparts. The reasons are obvious — we have in- laws, children and a daily household to look after. So, I’m not sure if there are many out there who are fortunate enough to ponder over or while their time away in the name of ideating or getting over a writer’s b l o c k ! But, yes, in your thirties, you are occupied in your inner life, and are a lot more accepting of the complexities of human emotions. You learn to hustle and wade through. And, yet are more open towards embracing your flaws, looking at things from a retrospect and working towards bettering it. These attributes help one become better writers, as you need to be resilient with your copies.” Romantic thriller author Novoneel Chakraborty, who has 10 books to his credit, including best- seller The Strange Series, which is getting adapted to a web- series attributes the assumption to evolution. “As much as I strongly believe that there is no age bar in particular to tell a good tale, I feel it is safe to say, speaking from my personal experience, that with age, you are at a better position to tackle plots and characters with tremendous depth. Moreover, I became a lot comfortable in my skin in my 30s as compared to my early years. Maturity and clarity are key. Since you’re a lot more paced out in your 30s as compared to the hustle mode in your 20s, it makes more sense to dream and plan in your twenties and execute in your thirties. But that aside, let’s not forget that Ruskin Bond wrote books for children, so age doesn’t really have much to do with the content of your creation.” Speaking of the success mantra, Dr Jagdish believes the only way to strike a connect is to write with honesty. “I do use humour as a medium to drive the point further. People love to read about failures as no one talks about them frankly and they love quick reads that are straight to the point. I believe it’s important, and my responsibility to write stuff which is which can add value to the lives of people who invested their time and money on my books.”
Elucidating that it is also the age when most individuals are better equipped at handling the demands of the publishing business, Meghna elucidates, “I’ve been in a very fortunate position that in today’s world where authors act like businessmen instead of artists, I haven’t had to keep tabs on my sales number and still get published by India’s top publishers. My books have taken their own journey into critical and sometimes commercial acclaim only through word- of- mouth. Therefore, I believe that content matters not numbers. That said I do know that
One & A Half Wife is in its seventh reprint, which is phenomenal, given that I didn’t spend a rupee on its marketing.” To which. Durjoy concludes, “The numbers are hazy since for five years I was publishing with a small publishing house and never trusted their numbers but it’s more than 1.5 million and less than three!”
Durjoy believes in the power of penning down your musings in the here and now. But he also asserts that there isn’t a tried and tested rule I do use humour as a medium to drive the point further. People love to read about failures as no one talks about them frankly. I believe it’s important and my responsibility to write stuff which can add value to the lives of people — Dr Jagdish