The Scion of Ikshvaku and The Secret of Author Amish
In an exclusive interview with India Today, after the release of The Scion of Ikshvaku, author Amish opens up about religion, his marketing strategies, rejections and more.
Amish Tripathi has tasted both staggering success and down-in-the-dumps rejection. The author couldn't find a publisher for his first book, The Immortals of Meluha, for a long time. After 20 rejections, so goes the author's version, he stopped counting and published it on his own, and then Westland (the publishers) picked it up. Once the book released, it was met with maddening response from the youth of the country. That mythology and religious talk could attract so many readers was a fact that modern writers in the country needed a considerable amount of time to come to terms with. After Meluha, Tripathi released two more books, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras, part of the Shiva Trilogy.
Amish's last book hit the shelves in 2013. Two years down the line, he begins his second series with The Scion of Ikshvaku, with Lord Ram at the centre of it. In an exclusive interview after the release of The Scion of Ikshvaku, the author opens up about religion, his marketing strategies, rejections and more. Excerpts:
Back in 2013, you'd told me that you were an atheist for 10-12 years before getting back to religion. How staunch is your stance now, vis-a-vis religion?
Ya, I turned into an atheist in the early 90s, and for 10-12 years after that, I was an atheist. Writing the first book (The Immortals of Meluha) pulled me back into faith. Today, I'm a very devout person. I'm a follower of Lord Shiva.
Did that happen because of the book, or is it the other way round?
It kind of happened together. While writing the book, I kind of slowly found myself falling back into faith. This was when I was still writing the first book.
Your last series was targeted at the youth since Shiva, you felt, was rebellious, a 'rock star god'. The common perception of Ram is somewhat the opposite: 'Maryada Purush', 'The Ideal Man', etc. Why choose Ram as your subject this time around? Doesn't evil have a somewhat more attraction than pure goodness?
Firstly, when I wrote the Shiva Trilogy, I hadn't thought of pitching it at any market segment so to say. I just wrote what came naturally to me. And it's the same with the Ramchandra series as well. I don't choose my stories... My stories choose me. I start thinking about marketing only after the writing is complete. You're right... It so happened that the majority of my readers happened to be the youth. We'll see what happens this time around, with the Ramchandra Series. Till now, from what I've found - at my launch event, even on Twitter - it's largely the youth who's reading this book.
Before The Scion of Ikshvaku was released, you'd given out a chapter from it at an event. Was it to gauge the general temperament of your audience vis-a-vis the subject, or was it another of your innovative marketing strategies?
Giving out the chapter was just another marketing idea that we had. It's kind of like giving a sampler to encourage more people to look at the main book. It was a marketing technique. We'd done it for my first book as well, The Immortals of Meluha. And since this is a new series, we thought we'll do it for this, too.
Speaking of marketing strategies, The Oath of the Vayuputras had seen Sonu Nigam voicing the songs for an album before the launch. You too just said that you focus entirely on marketing once you're done with writing. How much do you think that is important in today's judge-a-book-by-its-cover world?
I hate to sort of burst a bubble here, but a book is initially always judged by its cover. Even before the printing press, there were illustrated books. Initially, books were judged by the illustrations. But that is just the first step. A book sustains over many months and years based on word of mouth...so it sustains on its content. So, it's a mix of both marketing and content. I know there are some publishers and authors who think that marketing is not important, that a good book sells itself ... that's a little childish and immature. The real world doesn't work that way. You need to have a good book and you need to have good marketing, too. There is no choice. You have to do both.
It's a well-known fact that you were paid a million-dollar advance by your publisher even before you had a premise in mind for the series. This has never happened with an Indian author so far, so to say. Did that create any kind of pressure on you?
That was an announcement that had been made by my publisher. I never like to talk about money. But as far as writing the story is concerned, while writing I don't feel any pressure at all. I just write what comes to me. If my next book flops, I'll go back to banking ... I'm very clear on that! But I do feel a sense of pressure once I enter the marketing phase; once the book is complete. Because it's then that I start thinking that I need to make sure that the publisher recovers his money, will the readers like it, etc. While writing the book, I feel no pressure because frankly, I don't care about anyone's opinion at that point of time. Even in the marketing phase, I'm very clear on the point that the book cannot be touched. The book cannot be changed. That is sacred. We have to figure out how to sell it.
The Immortals of Meluha was rejected more than 20 times before it finally went to print. How different from that is this experience?
(Laughs) Sometimes I feel...I still feel like I'm living a dream. So, my request is don't wake me up!
You've been compared to Dan Brown, given the fact that both your writings have mythology at its core, Dan's, to an extent; yours, totally. How do you take it?
Well... He sells a gazillion more books than I do! (laughs) So, I'm not sure if that comparison is well-deserved. I'm a fan of his work. I like the research that he does. I read a lot, but I primarily read non-fiction. Only 10-15% of my reading would be fiction. So, among the fiction writers who I read, Dan Brown's certainly there. I certainly pick up Dan Brown.
How did you zero in on the name of the first book in this series - The Scion of Ikshvaku?
Lord Ikshvaku was the founder of the Surya Vansh, the dynasty of the Sun God. And as we all know, Lord Ram was a Suryavanshi king. He came many generations after Lord Ikshvaku. Lord Ram is a noble descendent of Lord Ikshvaku. Therefore, the book is called The Scion of Ikshvaku. That's the logic behind the name.
You have a film being made on The Immortals of Meluha now. Any talks yet on a film on The Scion of Ikshvaku?
The Karan Johar deal (Shuddhi) is now for the entire Shiva Trilogy, not just The Immortals of Meluha. As far as this book is concerned, there are people who have approached me. But these are early days yet. I haven't really applied my mind to it yet. We'll see how it goes. Right now, my entire focus is on the marketing of the book.
Say a deal falls through, which actor would you want to play the hero of your series, Ram?
That'll all be theoretical right now. Perhaps I should discuss that if and when I have a producer on board. No preference in mind right now! (laughs)