In my previous article, “Master of Best-seller Administration …“, I wrote about the interesting phenomenon that so many Indian novelists are graduates from famous universities. Why is this so? — I thought.
And I came to the following conclusions (listed in brief here. For the “Full Monty”, go read here):
- Hard work is a must…
- Self discipline is key…
- A stable career is a rock solid pillar to support one’s writing endeavors…
- Networking helps…
- Money is helpful too…
Well, after I wrote the article, I kept thinking: “What would the best-selling authors say if they read this article? Would they agree?”
So I thought I would try to to find exactly that out. So I tried to connect with the writers featured in my article through email, Twitter, or any (legal) means possible.
1. Aswhin Sanghi’s reply
First, I heard back from Ashwin Sanghi, best-selling author or “Chanakya’s Chant” and “The Rozabal Line”. Here’s what he had to say:
“Dear Kriti,Thanks for writing to me. I was also happy to see your article on your website.
My schedule is a taxing one because I continue to work Monday thru Friday for 40 hours per week. I write each morning between 6am and 10am. Saturdays are days that I devote to research and Sundays are devoted to reading. I rarely socialize and am usually in bed by 11pm most nights. To answer your question: there is no substitute for hard work.
Best wishes,
Warmly,
Ashwin”
Thanks Ashwin for your reply. And for confirming that hard work is so important.
2. Arnab Ray’s reply
Next, after a bit of prodding (Sorry for that Arnab Da), I heard back from Arnab Ray (blogger at greatbong.net, and author of “The Mine”). Here’s what he had to say:
Once again, the central theme — discipline.
3. Article by world-famous blogger Joe Bunting
Then I chanced upon a fantastic explanation of the importance of hard work and practise in the field of writing. This is from Joe Bunting, best-selling author and creator of “The Write Practice“, consistently voted one of the top blogs for writing in the world:
“(Geoffrey) Colvin (senior editor at-large at CNN) talked about an experiment done amongst 20-year-old violinists. “The best group,” he says, “averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000.”I was stung by it. “How much have I practiced writing in this way?” I thought. “Deliberate, measured practice, getting feedback from others?”
The article by Geoffrey Colvin has the header:
What it takes to be great. Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work.
And Joe Bunting’s blog “The Write Practice” goes one step further and helps the reader by designing methodologies for delberate, measured practise in the field of writing. Do check it out.
Final verdict about my article
The Masters agree — hard-work, discipline, and practice (i.e. all the boring stuff) are of paramount importance in the field of writing too!
[Photo Credit: streetwrk.com via Compfight cc]
One reply on “Straight From The Writer’s Mouth: Did the best-selling authors agree?”
[…] Reach out to leaders in your field: What if the person you wanted to ask a question to was a famous person? Surely, you could not ask that famous person your silly amateur-ish question, right? Wrong again. Once again, you will be surprised how easy it is to get a chance to discuss your thoughts with an otherwise famous celebrity. In his New York Times best-seller “The Four Hour Workweek“, Tim Ferris expands upon how to go about doing this. For my part, I have been able to reach out to internet millionaire Chandoo, and famous authors Ashwin Sanghi and Arnab Ray. […]