You Can Be Popular Too

“How many of you read books?” the professor asked.

25% of the students raised their hands.

“So which books have you read?” he enquired.

Everyone started shouting out names, from classics to contemporary.

“How many of you read Chetan Bhagat?” was his next question.

Most of the class raised their hand and I thought twice before raising mine. I quickly justified my action with “I have read almost all his books but I am not a fan”

I don’t know what made me want to justify it. I don’t consider myself very well read but accepting that I have religiously read his books is always followed with a justification.

What I think struck a chord between the Indian reads and Chetan Bhagat is how relatable all his books are.

The language is colloquial which makes it easier to connect. Although what angers me is when people start comparing it with other better books or worse, call it literature! It’s a light, fun read and that’s about it. What other authors need to do is write in a language which readers understand. To hell with trying to improve the standard, right?

Sex. There has to be frequent and unnecessary mention of sex throughout the book. It is very important to know that the status of the writer / main character’s sex life.

It shouldn’t deal with anything important. It should be a story of a man leading his life and documenting it. You can do it too! Just write down your daily diary and publish it at the end of the year.

But also keep in mind that it should have the potential to turn into a major Bollywood film. So much so that people trust you so much to sign a movie even before the book is released.

And it shouldn’t exceed 200 pages. People don’t have time for anything more than that, so respect their time!



This post is written for IndiSpire