E-books are
convenient, but do not give the true experience of reading
It is a huge
challenge for a writer to remain motivated in spite of repeated rejections from
book publishers
Christopher C. Doyle imitates the writing
style of his favourite authors.
Gurugram-based
52-year-old Christopher C. Doyle is a CEO coach who runs The Growth Catalysts,
a consultancy working with business leaders.
Doyle started writing really early in life and he wrote about
schoolmates, friends and teachers. His parents encouraged him to read a
lot—they ensured he always had a supply of books to read—and to write. The
trigger to write his first book came when he started making up bed-time stories
for his two-year-old daughter. However, he never managed to get it published.
Eventually, he began to write another story for his daughter, which brought
together elements of mythology, history, and science. That book, grew into The
Mahabharata Secret, eventually published in 2013 by Om Books.
Day job vs
writing
In the last
five years, he has written five books including The Mahabharata Quest series
published by Westland in 2014. In April 2018, Westland released the first book
of his new series, The Son of Bhrigu (The Pataala Prophecy book 1), a fantasy
thriller series set in modern times.
Though Doyle
is a prolific writer, he does think writing can’t be a full time occupation. “I
really enjoy running my company and the work that I am engaged in. It is
immensely satisfying. Giving it up totally is very difficult,” he says. The
second reason is that—at least for now—he would not want writing to be his
bread and butter. Writing is a passion and he wants it to stay that way.
“Somehow, I cannot see that working for me. Maybe someday I will write full
time, but not now,” he says. Writing rituals
“Quite
honestly, I don’t have any rituals,” he says.
Kindle vs
paper Paper, any day, wins hands down for Doyle. According to him there’s
something about a physical book that an e-book just cannot replicate, even
though e-books are very convenient. “I read three to four books at the same
time, and e-books would be extremely convenient while travelling. E-books are
also easier to book-mark, highlight and add notes when I am researching.
Yet, the
feel of paper, the smell of the book, the ability to physically turn the pages
cannot be matched by e-books,” he says. Incidentally, even his notes while
researching are handwritten in notebooks, not on his laptop. “And, of course,
you can’t build a library with e-books! I love being surrounded by books. My
study, where I write, is lined with bookcases stuffed with physical books. I
really cannot imagine being in my study with bare walls, and all my books on my
Mac or my Kindle,” he adds. A writer’s challenge
Getting
published was the biggest challenge. Publishing The Mahabharata Secret took
five years, after multiple rejections. “It was a huge challenge to remain
motivated and be persistent in pursuing my dream in spite of rejections,” he
says. Secondly, becoming an author is a challenge as it involves not just
writing but also editing, marketing, travelling for promotion of the book, and
being active on social media. He also has a club on his website—The Quest
Club—which now has over 10,000 members and he interacts with them and uploads
all kinds of interesting content exclusively for them. That takes time, as does
research. “Finding time for all of this, while running my business is a big
challenge,” he says. Reading right now
“Since I am
researching for a book right now, I am reading stuff related to that,” he says.
Most favoured authors
In fiction,
he admires Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, H G Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, J R R
Tolkien, Arthur Conan Doyle, Greg Bear, Robert Jordan, William Shakespeare,
Charles Dickens, Walter Scott, Thomas Hardy. In non-fiction, Graham Hancock,
Brian Greene, Andrew Collins, Yuval Noah Harari, Christopher Lomas, Robert
Knight, Robert Schoch, Michio Kaku, Graham Phillips, Gerald Durrell make it to
his list. Doyle tries his best to follow the example of his favourite fiction
writers in his writing and tries to emulate the meticulousness and thoroughness
of his favourite non-fiction writers in his work.
Author at Work is a series that follows the lives of part time
writers who hold a corporate day job.
Source |
Mint | 10th January 2019
Regards
Mr. Pralhad Jadhav
Research
Scholar (IGNOU)
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Mobile @
9665911593
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