“I do not think I will ever write screenplays based on my books. I would not know what to cut out and what portions to keep. I like all the characters I have created. I cannot imagine chopping them off.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“The royalty any author gets is dependent on his track record and marketability and often on the price of his book, too. The higher you price a book, the more comfortable your publisher will be in paying you a higher royalty.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I would like to implore all the governments of the world to come together to form a protocol to regulate virtual currency.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I had, at a point in time, decided not to write on the corporate world. But if people expect me to set stories in a work environment, then why go away from it?”
― Ravi Subramanian
“There is some confusion in my mind whether to continue to write on banking or try newer pastures.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“When James Bond presses the watch and the car explodes, the writer doesn’t go into the science of it. One should leave it to the leap of faith. I have tried to explain as much as possible, and what I can’t, I have left it to people’s imagination.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I’ve always wanted to write, but coming from a small-town background – I was born and brought up in Ludhiana – you think you’re not the kind of literary person who will write books that will sell. There was always a kind of defensiveness in me.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“In Indian companies, people aren’t too worried about the pace of growth as long as you’re setting up a business which will survive for years.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“The opportunity to create wealth in foreign banks exists only in the investment banking space. Working in a local company teaches you to think long term.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If evil wins in a Bollywood film, it is bound to flop. A lot of people here want to change society, so they like to read about it being changed. And that means good usually triumphs.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“In India, we don’t read thrillers; we read authors.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I find writing to be a great stress-buster.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If I did not have a de-stresser such as writing novels, I would lose focus at work.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“One can become drab, dull, and boring doing the same thing every day. Writing helps break the monotony.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“To make time for writing, one has to take time out from somewhere. Obviously, a fair amount of time that you spend with the family gets compromised. But my family has been very understanding and supportive.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I’m probably one of the few authors in this country who could very comfortably live off my writing.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I enjoy writing and promoting my books. I enjoy the feedback. But all this is because I don’t depend on it commercially. I don’t need that money. I have a career.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“An author needs to be in the market. He or she needs to come out with a new book every year. That keeps you alive in the public mind and gives a push to your older books.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If you have sold the film rights to somebody, take your money and leave. If the producers need you, they will call you. But you have to be careful about who you are selling your book to, and ensure that it is not tampered with.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A self-confessed fan of Harlan Coben, I find it difficult to not read a new Harlan Coben novel the week it comes out.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I firmly believe that there is no better thriller writer than Harlan Coben.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A thriller needs to hold the interest of the reader from the very beginning. It needs to engage with them, hold them in rapt attention, and prevent them from putting down the book.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“When you write, you put your thoughts in the public space. You get both positive and negative feedback.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“In fiction, if people like one of your books, they tend to pick up your other books as well.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“My favourite authors are Jeffrey Archer, for his story telling skills; John Grisham, for the completely new genre he created; and James Patterson, for the way he created a new business model out of writing.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“My understanding is that a book becomes a best seller only when it is pirated, sold on footpaths and at traffic lights.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Bitcoin is complex: the entire private and public key issue, the transfers, the mining of bitcoins… but if you tell it as fiction, people would understand and remember.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If a reader likes a particular author, they keep reading all his books, and if the supply is not kept up, then the reader shifts his loyalties.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“It is almost impossible to win back a reader’s loyalty once it’s gone.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“At times, parents foist their own choices on kids and try to get them to read the classics. But kids have very high filters and don’t take to it. At other times, parents simply don’t know what books to select for their children and end up giving books that aren’t appropriate.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Kids who read are bright.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Books marketing has moved from the review culture to a preview culture.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“There is a certain amount of intrigue that gets created by revealing portions of the book and, in the process, generating a certain amount of interest. Often, authors do this by releasing a few chapters online or even releasing film-like trailers.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“With social media, one can target the audience and reach out to the segment in a very precise, cost-effective manner.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I always felt that one needs to be remembered long after one has gone.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“After my first book, I figured that since it was successful, I wanted to continue things better.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Given my extensive background in foreign banks, writing about them came quite naturally to me. Thankfully, God has been kind to me.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I believe Bitcoin is a very convenient way to shop and to transfer money to any account around the world. Governments should work around a framework for the currency instead of putting restrictions on it.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A writer must experiment with genres. Otherwise, it is a restriction on the craft.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“You need to be the CEO of your own book.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“You don’t have to be a criminal to write about fraud!”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If you are careful about the content and writing style, readers will not feel that you are in a hurry.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“When you write stories linking reality to a big storyline, people relate to it better.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I keep saying my books don’t have superheroes. They have ordinary people in extraordinary situations.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“It is important to send your work to as many publishers as possible. For every one publisher who may show interest in your work, there will be at least five who will reject you.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“One shouldn’t say yes in desperation to the first publisher who approaches. New authors especially should wait and weigh their deal and agree only when they are sure that they have landed themselves a good offer.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“While a lot of management development books try to teach you a lesson or give you a scenario of what corporate culture and work practices are about, they’re theoretical and written in a sermonizing way. Most people don’t get past the first chapter, and they just look nice on the bookshelf.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Generally, people who crib about corporate politics are, more often than not, those who’ve played the game but lost it.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I believe any fiction writer is inspired by real life.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A lot of things that I write about have happened to people around me, if not necessarily to me or in the organizations I’ve worked in. Having said that, it’s fiction and has a lot to do with my imagination and creativity.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Saying ‘I am not interested in politics’ is no guarantee that people will leave you alone. The politically-inclined will single you out as a soft target and go after you.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I cannot write in isolation. I write with people around me.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I feel as long as people enjoy what they read and learn something more, I have done my job as a writer.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Most writers write from their own experiences. That is where the honesty and intensity of emotions come from.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If somebody says that they want to write a book but do not know what to write about, they will never write a book.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Write something that you are comfortable with. Do not venture into something that you do not want to write about, because gradually, your discomfort with the subject will begin to show.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“For me, writing is fun. The day I quit my job and take up writing full time, writing will become just another job. A commercial necessity.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A misconception that exists in the eyes of the general reading population is that authors make truckloads of money.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A profession which is seen as intellectually glamorous is often the most misunderstood when it comes to the commerce involved.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“When ‘If God Was a Banker’ became a success, it changed my entire perspective. I wanted to write more and wanted to be lot more successful as a writer.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“There’s a market for fiction based on financial services. People wanted me to write stories based on this sector. There’s a gap in the market, and I’m trying to fill it.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Thousands of books are published every year in India, and it’s becoming more difficult to stand out and get people to buy the books. The only way to get people notice the book is to create a buzz much before it’s released.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“My favourite authors are John Grisham and Jeffrey Archer. Grisham rapidly established himself and now completely owns the legal space of fiction writing, something I want to do in financial space. I like Archer because he keeps his readers engaged: every chapter is a page turner, and he keeps his writing simple.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If you see in all my books, I have two key intentions. One is obviously to entertain and make sure that the reader has a good reading experience. I also try to write on subjects that nobody has dealt with before to make my works different from other page turners.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“If there is one currency that helped Wikileaks take on the might of the U.S. Government, it was Bitcoins.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“People take shortcuts to meet ends in MNCs.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Corporate career is like my wife, and writing is my girlfriend. My priority is the first but enjoy doing the second, as I have taken to writing as a stress-beater.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Any author gets inspired by the experiences and events that happen to him or his immediate circle. While that’s where the seed or the idea germinates, by the end of the story, it accounts for hardly anything in the book.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I write about banking because it is something I’m familiar with. Also, I don’t have to do much research on it.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“With thrillers, I tend to concentrate on the research and pace more than the characters.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“For ‘The Bestseller’… there was hardly any research, but I had to give each person a quirk and develop their stories so that it would relate to who they are.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“The problem with most of the want-to-be authors is that they are unable to focus. Either they have no idea of where to begin, or they have hundreds of ideas and don’t know which one to pick. Both scenarios leading to one result… they give up even before they start.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“As authors, we know that it is very difficult to unleash one’s creativity.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“There were many times in my initial days as a writer when I had felt the need to talk to someone, to leverage on someone’s experience, to learn from someone who had written and published a book.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I must say that books in India are not only underpriced but are also undervalued.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Writing in India will not dramatically change till we learn to value books.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“It’s not research if you’re really interested in what you’re reading.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“After my first book, many of my readers came back to tell me that the female characters I had created were not strong enough. I have consciously rectified that in my next four books. In any case, it’s true that women run the world, and men would do better to listen to them!”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I will do everything in my power to keep my readers.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“A bookstore has thousands of titles to sell. You need to be the guy the store attendant recommends to the reader.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I look at every book as a new learning opportunity.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“The distribution might which Penguin brought to the table and the stature they gave me as an author is unparalleled.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“As long as youngsters learn the right things, it really doesn’t matter where they learn it from.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Writing with a film in mind – writing like a screenplay – is a sureshot recipe for disaster.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I believe if you’ve written a book, you have to stand up and say, ‘Guys, buy the book.’”
― Ravi Subramanian
“People think writing is a very distinguished, cerebral thing, where all you do is write. It doesn’t work that way. People have to see online promotions, see piles of your book in stores, and you have to make sure the guy recommends it!”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Most MBA graduates are hungry for intellectual glamour.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I have a day job where I make money and satisfy my self-esteem. Writing is for fun, and I want to keep it that way.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I can write in my living room with my wife and kid around.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“To me, a good storyteller should be able to tell stories across genres.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“Books should be both enlightening and entertaining.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“My preferred genre of reading is crime thrillers – books by Harlan Coben, Jo Nesbo, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Ashwin Sanghi and a few others – and I write crime thrillers.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I read almost everything that comes my way.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I am not a great fan of serious, heavy writing. I prefer simple, short sentences, light on prose.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I am very adventurous with authors, but not very with genres.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I get to office early at about 8 A.M., and I’m back home by 6 to write.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I write largely plot-driven stories.”
― Ravi Subramanian
“I’m an executive director at a company which gives out retail loans.”
― Ravi Subramanian
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