This Author has Cracked the Bestseller Code The competition is not just with celebrated authors, as authors are vying for a share of audiences' wallet
By Vanita D'souza •
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Often when crime-thriller author Ashwin Sanghi discusses his work with his editor, he generally has one question to ask — "Did you turn the page, or the page itself turned?" The question speaks of a constant dilemma of an author's fevered mind — will his story sell?
According to Sanghi, often good writings fail to hold a reader's attention, and again books written in plain language sometimes become a hit.
Writers also face the problem of getting overshadowed after their works get published as the market is crowded with too many authors urging "read me'.
More importantly, the competition is not just with authors like Amish Tripathi, Ravi Subramanium or Chetan Bhagat. "My problem is the next movie of Salman Khan. It is also the cup of coffee at Barista or Café Coffee Day and it is the outing which will cost a taxi fare as even authors are vying for a share of audiences' wallet," he pointed out.
In a candid conversation with Entrepreneur India, acclaimed author Sanghi shared three important tips to decode the secret of, "how do you become a bestseller?"
#The First Paragraph
Sanghi, an entrepreneur-turned-author, said the first cardinal rule is that the introductory paragraph should be like a Mumbai pothole. Confused? He explained his logic, "If you fall into a pothole, you can't get up easily. That's how your first paragraph should be."
If you fail here, there is hardly any chance the reader will continue with the book, even if it has the best of meat inside it, he added.
#End Of A Chapter
His next tip is related to his discussion with his editor – did the page turn itself?
Every last paragraph of a chapter is like a fishing hook, said the author. "The last paragraph hooks the person and propels him to the next chapter," added Sanghi, who is often called the Dan Brown of India for his bestselling books "The Rozabal Line', "Chanakya's Chant' and "The Krishna Key'.
# The Satisfaction
Sanghi, who has also co-authored "Private India' and "Private Delhi' with James Patterson for the latter "Private' series, advised while completing the last chapter of the book leave your reader content. "This will, more importantly, make the reader wait for your next book," he added.
