In a conversation with Chirag Malik(Anātman)
Hey booklovers, today we have on board Chirag Malik, the author of "Conversations with a vegan", popularly known as Anātman, a Sanskrit word means 'non-self' if you wish to know about it in detail, please visit www.anatman.in- www.anatman.in where he writes about Travel, books, Veganism and something he calls 'The book of alternatives'. So without further ado let's get started!
1. One fictional character that resembles you the most?First question and I am already finding it hard to answer :D It might sound like a cliche but we all are so unique and ever-changing, aren’t we? It’s hard to pick that one fictional character when I sometimes don’t remember how I was a few years ago. Even in the book, everyone has some or the other element of ‘ME’ in it but no one is even close to how I am.Just to pick any, my favorite movie is ‘The Last Samurai’. So, I’ll choose Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) from it.2. What is your writing motivation? The author’s note in the book says everything. Writing a book just happened to me, I just wanted to let my thoughts and experience out and while doing so I felt so much peaceful. It felt as if I was meditating, so I kept on writing and eventually, it became a book.3. Who's your favourite author?I’ll take a few names who have inspired me in life. Wayne W. Dyer (Change your thoughts, change your life - Living the wisdom of Tao) , Neale Donald Walsh (Conversations with God- My book title is inspired by this series), Timber Hawkeye (Author of Buddhist Book Camp, he inspired me to write and live the life that I am trying to live today), Karan Bajaj (His blogs on writing helped me a lot while I was writing. Besides, I love his book ‘Johnny gone down and Seeker’) and Anita Moorjani (Author of ‘Dying to be me’ - A near death experience).I couldn’t not include the most beloved author Ruskin Bond. Whenever I read him, I feel blissful.4. Few quickies :Money or fame? Money - much more useful than fame.Commercial fiction or literary fiction? Commercial fiction - it encourages more people to read at least. Not to forget the books directly compete with Netflix nowadays.Blogging or vlogging?Blogging - Everyone can write but not everyone can make proper videos.Interviews or book reviews? Book reviews- if the book reviews are good and numerous, interviews would happen eventuallyAudiobooks or ebooks?Both have their own benefits.Paperbacks or hardbacks?Paperbacks - inexpensive, same content5. How long did it take to write the first draft? I wrote articles initially on different topics and my experiences. Few of them were on Veganism. For a month or so, I worked on the outline and incorporated those articles in between the conversation among the characters. The first draft took around 3 months. 6. How was your experience? Did it differ from your expectations? The experience of writing a book was inspiring, enjoyable and creative. The main task comes when you are done with the book and now you want people to read it. It is a completely unexpected experience. You can only imagine how things should or could turn out but all you can do is be patient and let the experience unfold itself in front of you. Whatever you get, you have to accept it. Meanwhile, I learnt quite a bit about the market, publishing industry and audience.Easy or difficult, good or bad, smooth or struggling. Whatever you experience, it is better than not publishing a book at all due to getting scared of not being successful.7. What do you think is the most exciting thing about being a 1st time author?You can brag about it in front of your friendsIt is a warm feeling. The best part for me is that I could share my experiences and make people aware about Veganism through my writing.8. What do you think is the biggest challenge?Not just for me, I think for every single author, marketing it and selling the book is the biggest challenge. For me, writing the book was soothing and exciting. Unfortunately, now the content is secondary and marketing is primary in the industry. But same in case of all other businesses too.9. Who's your favourite debut author so far?We all love Amish Tripathi and his Shiva trilogy don't we? 10. Could you kindly introduce us to your book in brief?The title itself is apt. It's a conversation among few friends and an old man that revolves around Veganism. No scientific stuff, just pure, raw human experience of practicing Veganism. It's a blend of non-fiction content with the fiction story.11. A lesson that you've learnt throughout the process of publishing your first book baby? For the publisher, it's just another product, only a business whereas author has invested emotions in the book. It's much more than the words or few papers for the author. We have to respect both the parties perspective towards the book. And let both of them do whatever possibly they could for the betterment of the book without expecting too much from one another.12. Your advice to aspiring authors?If someone wants to make a career, I am not the right person for the advice. But if something means a lot to you, don't hold it inside, let it out. Just be in the process and enjoy it. Success is the consequence, it's not in your hand. Writing something that means a lot to you, is in your hand. Just do it.About the author:"His pen name is Anātman, a Sanskrit word means 'non-self' if you wish to know about it in detail, please visit www.anatman.in/about.His real name is Chirag Malik. Many think that to maintain anonymity he chose this name but it's his way of showing his gratitude towards all the sources through which he learnt, experienced and grew spiritually, and also to be able to share the same with the world through his writing.Chirag Malik is a Spanish teacher and translator by profession. He enjoys backpacking. He is a selective reader, not an ardent. He writes whenever he feels like. He has a blog - www.anatman.in where he writes about Travel, books, Veganism and something he calls 'The book of alternatives'. "
1. One fictional character that resembles you the most?First question and I am already finding it hard to answer :D It might sound like a cliche but we all are so unique and ever-changing, aren’t we? It’s hard to pick that one fictional character when I sometimes don’t remember how I was a few years ago. Even in the book, everyone has some or the other element of ‘ME’ in it but no one is even close to how I am.Just to pick any, my favorite movie is ‘The Last Samurai’. So, I’ll choose Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) from it.2. What is your writing motivation? The author’s note in the book says everything. Writing a book just happened to me, I just wanted to let my thoughts and experience out and while doing so I felt so much peaceful. It felt as if I was meditating, so I kept on writing and eventually, it became a book.3. Who's your favourite author?I’ll take a few names who have inspired me in life. Wayne W. Dyer (Change your thoughts, change your life - Living the wisdom of Tao) , Neale Donald Walsh (Conversations with God- My book title is inspired by this series), Timber Hawkeye (Author of Buddhist Book Camp, he inspired me to write and live the life that I am trying to live today), Karan Bajaj (His blogs on writing helped me a lot while I was writing. Besides, I love his book ‘Johnny gone down and Seeker’) and Anita Moorjani (Author of ‘Dying to be me’ - A near death experience).I couldn’t not include the most beloved author Ruskin Bond. Whenever I read him, I feel blissful.4. Few quickies :Money or fame? Money - much more useful than fame.Commercial fiction or literary fiction? Commercial fiction - it encourages more people to read at least. Not to forget the books directly compete with Netflix nowadays.Blogging or vlogging?Blogging - Everyone can write but not everyone can make proper videos.Interviews or book reviews? Book reviews- if the book reviews are good and numerous, interviews would happen eventuallyAudiobooks or ebooks?Both have their own benefits.Paperbacks or hardbacks?Paperbacks - inexpensive, same content5. How long did it take to write the first draft? I wrote articles initially on different topics and my experiences. Few of them were on Veganism. For a month or so, I worked on the outline and incorporated those articles in between the conversation among the characters. The first draft took around 3 months. 6. How was your experience? Did it differ from your expectations? The experience of writing a book was inspiring, enjoyable and creative. The main task comes when you are done with the book and now you want people to read it. It is a completely unexpected experience. You can only imagine how things should or could turn out but all you can do is be patient and let the experience unfold itself in front of you. Whatever you get, you have to accept it. Meanwhile, I learnt quite a bit about the market, publishing industry and audience.Easy or difficult, good or bad, smooth or struggling. Whatever you experience, it is better than not publishing a book at all due to getting scared of not being successful.7. What do you think is the most exciting thing about being a 1st time author?You can brag about it in front of your friendsIt is a warm feeling. The best part for me is that I could share my experiences and make people aware about Veganism through my writing.8. What do you think is the biggest challenge?Not just for me, I think for every single author, marketing it and selling the book is the biggest challenge. For me, writing the book was soothing and exciting. Unfortunately, now the content is secondary and marketing is primary in the industry. But same in case of all other businesses too.9. Who's your favourite debut author so far?We all love Amish Tripathi and his Shiva trilogy don't we? 10. Could you kindly introduce us to your book in brief?The title itself is apt. It's a conversation among few friends and an old man that revolves around Veganism. No scientific stuff, just pure, raw human experience of practicing Veganism. It's a blend of non-fiction content with the fiction story.11. A lesson that you've learnt throughout the process of publishing your first book baby? For the publisher, it's just another product, only a business whereas author has invested emotions in the book. It's much more than the words or few papers for the author. We have to respect both the parties perspective towards the book. And let both of them do whatever possibly they could for the betterment of the book without expecting too much from one another.12. Your advice to aspiring authors?If someone wants to make a career, I am not the right person for the advice. But if something means a lot to you, don't hold it inside, let it out. Just be in the process and enjoy it. Success is the consequence, it's not in your hand. Writing something that means a lot to you, is in your hand. Just do it.About the author:"His pen name is Anātman, a Sanskrit word means 'non-self' if you wish to know about it in detail, please visit www.anatman.in/about.His real name is Chirag Malik. Many think that to maintain anonymity he chose this name but it's his way of showing his gratitude towards all the sources through which he learnt, experienced and grew spiritually, and also to be able to share the same with the world through his writing.Chirag Malik is a Spanish teacher and translator by profession. He enjoys backpacking. He is a selective reader, not an ardent. He writes whenever he feels like. He has a blog - www.anatman.in where he writes about Travel, books, Veganism and something he calls 'The book of alternatives'. "
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