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Source: Amazon

I feel I became an author by accident: Virender Kapoor

An author of bestselling books like ‘A Wonderful Boss’, ‘Winning Instinct’, ‘Passion Quotient- How it matters more than IQ’ and ‘Rise and Rise of Jugaad’, Virender Kapoor says writing was never in his itinerary. Having written on diverse topics like human competence, work life balance, leadership, emotional intelligence , innovation and relationships; Virender stands out as a very versatile author in the self-help space. He has created a new genre of thematic motivational biographies like ‘Leadership the Gandhi way’ and ‘Innovation the Einstein way’, which reach out to the reader’s sensibilities in a different way. His schoolbooks series ‘I can and I will’ is the first of its kind to bring Emotional Intelligence to the grass root level. His books have been translated in eight languages including Vietnamese. Management practitioner and thought guru, Virender is all set to release his next two books ‘A Wonderful Wife’ coming November and ‘Twelve Mega abilities of Extraordinary People’ early next year.

We asked the author to tell us more about his writing journey and how he got drawn into the world of words. Excerpts from an interview:

When did you first think of becoming a writer?
It will surprise many, but writing was never on my itinerary. I was a good student in school and hence academic pursuits not literary was the obvious path for me to take. I took the usual path, did my engineering, and chose to do my Post Graduation in Computer Science from IIT Bombay. I feel I became an author by accident. For fun, I started writing ‘Middles’ for TOI and Hindustan Times and I was surprised I got published! It not only encouraged me to write but it also revealed ‘that I could write!’Writing for prestigious papers also gives you kind of a kick and therefore, I became a regular contributor to the edit page. Looking at my education, the best fit seemed to be technology writing. Therefore, I wrote my first book, ‘Telecom Today’ a work spanning more than 800 pages and 550 complex diagrams. Soon after, I realized that this kind of writing is very insipid and hardly allows any elbow space for creativity. Moreover, the target audience is very small as compared to fiction or self-help.

How did self-help books happen? Why did you decide on this genre?
As I mentioned earlier, technical writing was not making any sense and I really did not enjoy it.I got into teaching and was heading a a management institute under the Symbiosis Umbrella. At some point, I realized that I had so much of experience in terms of handling and training people that I must share it with the world. And that is how self-help books happened. This genre gives you tremendous freedom to use your creativity and  you can leverage your experience to the fullest. This also gives you a different kind of satisfaction because you are influencing so many people positively.

I feel that a writer should think like an actor. Good actors try different roles and different subjects- they experiment. A seasoned actor can do romance and sing songs, do comedy and take on a negative role with equal ease. Look at Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan; they do it all the time. Then why can’t an author do the same? I don’t want to be ‘generised’!

How do you manage to write on so many different topics?
I feel that a writer should think like an actor. Good actors try different roles and different subjects- they experiment. A seasoned actor can do romance and sing songs, do comedy and take on a negative role with equal ease. Look at Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan; they do it all the time. Then why can’t an author do the same? I don’t want to be ‘generised’!
I look for ‘gaps’ on the shelf. I try to write on something that is being talked about but nothing exists about that topic. For instance, everyone talks about passion for work and loving your job but there was not a single book on this. That is how ‘Passion Quotient’ book happened. And so was ‘Jugaad’. These areas offer a challenge because there is nothing to go by; there is hardly any material on the subjects I choose. This is nothing but creating knowledge.  I feel this is the way an author needs to do value addition .
Most self-help books are written by the western authors and our masses are not able relate to the mantras that the foreign authors prescribe. There aren’t many Indian authors who write in this area and my books fill that void.

Most self-help books are written by the western authors and our masses are not able relate to the mantras that the foreign authors prescribe. There aren’t many Indian authors who write in this area and my books fill that void.

Does marketing play a role in the success of a book?
One cannot deny the role of marketing in the success of a book especially today when there are multiple options available for entertainment; books being just one of them. The rules of the game have changed in recent times because of massive online market place and social media. Authors and publishers have to resort to ‘smart marketing’ as compared to the conventional, multiple book release functions. Digital marketing is the new mantra, which gives you a phenomenal reach and allows an author to remain connected with his readers.

Indian writing is gaining acceptance day by day and becoming popular too. Your thoughts on the same .
Indian authors have made a mark in Indian mythology because no one knows it better than them. We have lots of stories to tell and each one can be better than the other. We are also making headway in fiction and thrillers. India is also one of the fastest growing markets for authors because more and more people are trying to become proficient in English. I feel we should create a space for ourselves by focusing on product differentiation. Look at Hindi cinema; it has come of age and we have great films being churned out every year. I am sure we as authors will and possibly are creating original and meaningful stuff.
Self-help books are gaining acceptance and I am sure in a few years we will have more of these, that suit the Indian personality. Personally, for me I just want to write something that is worthwhile and I want to leave behind something that people can benefit from.

Source: Amazon