Surender Mohan Pathak is one of the most prolific Indian authors. He specializes in writing crime fiction and suspense thrillers in Hindi. He has written an impressive 270 novels over the course of 45 years, most of which were highly popular. Having sold over 25 million copies, he is definitely one of the best-selling Indian authors, and his achievement is even more laudable considering that regional language books don’t reach the kind of mainstream audience that English language books do.
Aspiring authors can learn a lot from this humble, hard working and terrific writer who continues to pen popular novels even after his retirement. Some messages which are evident from Surender Pathak’s illustrious writing career:
There Are No Barriers for a Good Writer
Language, genre, and other elements are sometimes used as excuses, but they are really not as important as great plots, powerful characters, and gripping scenes. Mr. Pathak wrote action-packed crime thrillers in Hindi, which some termed as ‘pulp fiction for the masses’. Regardless of what was said, readers enjoyed and followed his thrillers passionately, and ultimately that is what a writer wants to achieve. Good writers will always shine through in their work, and should not let labels bog them down.
Strong Work Ethic is Essential
Surender Pathak exemplifies the principles of discipline, hard work and great work ethic. As a busy family man with a full time job, he still managed to spend some time every day writing his book, or planning his book. He wrote at an amazing rate of 4 novels per year, and has not yet slowed down after more than 45 years of writing!
Get Your Feet Wet Before You Jump In
Every writer has a story within him or her that is just waiting to be put to paper. But, when you actually sit down to write the book, you find that it’s a lot harder than you thought, and you give up. So, start building your writing habit by trying out something else, before you jump into writing a 400-page saga. You can write short stories, or articles, or translate some books from a different language, which is how Mr. Pathak entered the field of writing.
Read, Read, and Then Read Some More
Good writers are usually also voracious readers. Not because they are trying to get plots and story ideas from other books, but in order to learn different writing styles, to build up a great vocabulary, develop great storytelling techniques, and to keep up with the current literary scene. Mr. Pathak says that there was never a time when he was not reading. During one of his interviews with a journalist, he apparently said, “I read so much, the overflow became writing.”
Don’t Quit Your Day Job (Yet)
Despite all the hard work, writers don’t always make it big right away. Some great writers don’t get noticed for years. However, there is no need to despair; just keep at it and eventually the hard work will pay off. In the meantime, keep the safety net of your paying job. And this brings me to the next lesson that Mr. Pathak’s career illustrates.
Persistence Pays
After years of being neglected by mainstream media and large publishers due to language bias (but always loved by his readers), he is finally getting the recognition he deserves. The message here is: you need to write because you love to write, and just let the rest of the world notice your talent when it does. Hard work, persistence, and great storytelling skills, are bound to make your writing a success in the long run.
Image credit: Daquella manera on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CS_Rajan.jpg [/author_image] [author_info]CS Rajan is a freelance writer who loves to write on various topics, and is currently working on her first novel. [/author_info] [/author]