Firstly, I believe that everything is a learning curve, and there couldn’t have been a better teacher than this. Generally, people, when on a project, have a mental picture of it. The output and the mental picture need to be in the neighbourhood of each other for the best efficiency. I realised the importance of this, the hard way. So the first takeaway would be, “Maintain a balance between the mental picture and the project in making.”

Thoughts such as, “Bro, what if this doesn’t work out?”, do cross one’s mind when he emplanes on his dreams. It did, to me too. Having a positive mind and understanding that there’s nothing to lose, helped me sail over these thoughts. A person undertaking a journey is like a mountaineer craving to reach the summit. Failure is not him falling a couple of times, but him giving up without a fight. To sum it up, “It’s ok to fall, as long you are ready to rise again” will be another takeaway. A positive mind is like the oxygen tank pumping in unlimited amounts of oxygen.

Talking about the conquering of zenith, it is also important to know your limitations. The size of the steps we take or the route to the top taken must be practically viable. In my journey, the target audience played the limiting parameter. In the zest of writing the manuscript, what I failed to realise was the reader reach my book would get wasn’t wide as I thought it’d be. Yes, I was pumped up, but there was always this necessity of being practical. Mine was a read for the youth basically, but I ventured out too very much, wherein I faltered. The third learning can be, “Never overdo”.

There are always people who’d have had greater expectations and didn’t like my work. These are bound to happen. But even before the book got published, during the making of manuscript, I made my one of my cousins have a look at it. His feedback on it sent questions to my mind and I was asking myself if I had to continue writing. Fortunately, I did. This was after I changed the draft a bit, thus being able to provide a better read to the readers. What must be understood here is although there are certain words said by a person close to heart which may bring the morale down, a reality check often during the journey would benefit. The presence of a harsh critic is vital. All the feedbacks need to be received positively. Equate them to bricks thrown at you. Yes, they’d hurt, but they’d also help in building the mansion you intend to.

The immediate reaction of people around me who when hear about my book, is always that of amusement. I won’t lie, but I enjoyed that spotlight, be it in college or in the society. As an amateur, I always wanted to impress one and all, which wasn’t going to happen. I understood that there always lies a saturation point, which was reached in a few months and that was when I learnt the importance of staying rooted to the ground. There are lakhs of people out there who have done the same. Life always starts from the ground and ends there too.

Marketing plays a huge role in the outreach of books. In this age, it is truth that most people would prefer watching a movie rather than read a book. I had to mince my words in a way that’d make them read. I gave a couple of talks in college; sought help from a book house to keep my book in their stands; put up posters; coaxed friends to spread the word and buy it; all amidst, my cousin telling me certain strategies to market my book better which I didn’t use. I was more worried about me earning back royalties rather than the book reaching many more hands. Now, I look back on what he said, and realise that it would have been an efficient way to advertise it. The takeaway here definitely would be the look on marketing strategies that need to be applied. My book sold a number of copies; a number that I expected to be easily crossed, but it was just crawled past by. Would that mean the book was a debacle? Certainly not. Anything that is an effort with love, passion and a determined mind and something that has achieved to bring a smile on one’s face can’t be deemed a failure. It has given memories worth remembering. It has flushed me with eternal confidence. It has enabled me to hold my head high and at the same time taught me not to fly high. It has etched in my mind, that every dedicated effort is a success story in itself. Hence, the biggest takeaway would be, “Everything you indulge is a part of the never ending learning curve. Be it a fall or a soar high into the sky.”

I smile wide as I pen the last few words. Everything is part of the learning curve I said. This prose too was. The entire bunch of takeaways coaxes me to write the following line. I’ll definitely conclude with the words, “This is my success story”.