Quotes from 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.

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.

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.

I always felt that one needs to be remembered long after one has gone.

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.

I firmly believe that there is no better thriller writer than Harlan Coben.

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.

Most MBA graduates are hungry for intellectual glamour.

Most writers write from their own experiences. That is where the honesty and intensity of emotions come from.

If you are careful about the content and writing style, readers will not feel that you are in a hurry.

My understanding is that a book becomes a best seller only when it is pirated, sold on footpaths and at traffic lights.

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.

I cannot write in isolation. I write with people around me.

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.

The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.

As long as youngsters learn the right things, it really doesn't matter where they learn it from.

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.

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.

One can become drab, dull, and boring doing the same thing every day. Writing helps break the monotony.

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.

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.

I must say that books in India are not only underpriced but are also undervalued.

I believe if you've written a book, you have to stand up and say, 'Guys, buy the book.'

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.