I started writing when I was in college. I use to write blogs, articles and short stories. It was in the year 2013, when I randomly wrote a story, went to a market nearby, got it printed and made a book from a cyber café. Everyone appreciated this and that book sold 60-70 copies. I was highly motivated. I officially published my first story in an anthology in the year 2014.
The idea of pocket book came to me when I was traveling back to my hometown in the year 2015. I was reading a novel and there was a girl sitting next to me who was staring at the book. All of a sudden she said,” How do you read such fat books! These fat books are the reason why don’t like reading”. Being an author myself, I was a bit unhappy with the statement. I curiously asked her the reason for the same. She said that she is a college going student and she never had enough time for the course books, leave apart the novels or the story books.
I was totally convinced and that day the idea of pocket book came to me. I had the idea to write a short story of 5000-6000 words and make the size of the book smaller, as small as a pocket dairy. I wrote a story and started looking for a publisher. It was damn difficult for me as the concept was completely new. The publishing giants said it is a bad idea and it would never sell in the market. I was even rejected by self-publishing house saying that the concept was very risky. I was literally nowhere and couldn’t find a publisher. The ones who agreed demanded a lump some money. I somehow convinced one of the self-publishers to publish my first pocket book.
My first pocket book was published in the year 2015 and I named it The Pocket Love Story. The book did an average sale but the concept was an instant hit. Everyone liked the concept of the small size pocket book. I was approached by various national record organizations and I qualified for it as well. The Pocket Love Story became the smallest book ever published in India and I became a national record holder certified by Limca Book of Records.
In March, 2016, I had published my second pocket book named In Love With Shah Rukh Khan. This book is a mega hit and became one of the highest selling books of Authors’ Ink Publications. It has sold over 10,000 copies till date. In Love With Shah Rukh Khan was praised worldwide including big media house and celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan himself. Shah Rukh Khan had tweeted about the book on 9th of March, 2016. The book qualified for the world record this time and I was promoted to a world record holder.
After this I wrote another pocket book and named it “The Bestseller” in frustration. When I was writing this book, In Love With Shah Rukh Khan hadn’t become a national bestseller and thus I named my third pocket book - The Bestseller so that if ever I couldn’t become a bestselling author, I could have a book named the The Bestseller by Ajitabha Bose! But this time, something different happened. The Bestseller has sold over 1,00,000 copies till date and pocket books has become a trend in the country!
It is always difficult to write a small book. You have limited words to write but convey the same emotions at the same time. You have to be very specific in your content. The major difficulty which I face is while I am editing the story. The word count usually goes up to 10,000 which I have to cut short to 6000 (approx.). The editing consumes the maximum time. I prefer writing when I am traveling. Ideas flow in very easily. I choose to write simple words so that everyone can read my story. Be it a professor or a shopkeeper, everyone should understand my writing. It helps me to connect with every kind of people.
I want pocket books to trend not only in India but throughout the literary world. People have already started adopting this concept and there are over 300 pocket books in the market by different authors in India. In today’s fast running life no one has time for other things. This pocket book is for the people who don’t have time for reading or don’t like reading books. This book can easily be completed in 30 mins and can develop a habit of reading. The stories in the pocket books are small but will definitely leave an impression in the mind of the readers.
After The Bestseller became a massive hit, there were ‘n’ number of requests from readers to write a full-fledged novel. I wrote my first novel in the year 2018 and named it It’s My Love Story. I adapted and wrote my personal story of dreaming and becoming a filmmaker. It was received with much love and appreciation all over the nation and I knew that I was ready for this industry.
My next novel which is the latest one released last year in the month of October. It’s name is Until We Meet Again. For the first time, two celebrities were endorsed for a fictional book cover in the world! Until We Meet Again features popular actors, Ayush Mehra & Barkha Singh. This idea took the globe with awe. This book has a very interesting and a different storyline from my other stories. I always wanted to write this story but somehow wasn’t sure about its sellable quotient. When I gained that confidence that yes now I have a good reader base and now I can experiment with my stories, I opted for this one.
From being rejected from almost all the publishing houses in India(including self-publishing houses) to now selling over 2,00,000 books and becoming the most popular pocket book writer in India, my life has surpassed beyond dreams!
