Nikhil Mahajan is a physiotherapist turned author. Born in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, Nikhil Mahajan completed his graduation and post-graduation in physiotherapy from Jammu College of Physiotherapy in Jammu and MaharishiMarkandeshwar University in respectively.
Interviews
AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH NIKHIL MAHAJAN
JUL 26, 2017
Hello my lovely readers! Today I have with me Mr. Nikhil Mahajan, author of two national bestsellers; My Love Never Faked and As Long As I Love You. He is a physiotherapist by profession, writer by passion and also happens to be a fitness freak. He has written many books out of which ‘White Smoke’ is his current release. I’ll put down the link to his book below.
Welcome to my blog. It’s a pleasure having you here today with me and I am honoured that I got this opportunity to interview you. The weather happens to be so gloomy and humid these days. Phew, it’s hot in here! Before I go any further with the hotness let’s begin with the interview.
1) So, tell us something about yourself. Forget your jobs, your writing and everything. Tell us a little bit about who the real Nikhil Mahajan is and brief us on some of his attributes.
Ans. As a person, Nikhil Mahajan is a very simple, easy-going person who likes to live his life like a boy next door, who loves to be with nature. He loves to travel alone, not to metropolitans or bustling cities, but to village or some distinct place and meet new people. I usually love to figure out how different communities around survive doing simple work with so much passion. And that’s what I have been doing for the past few years.
2) We would love to know how you began your journey into this writing world. When did you first start writing?
Ans. I started writing at my college time, at the time of my break-up, to be honest. Though at that age, I used to spend very less time in writing, but now I have turned into a full-time writer and believe in writing for the society and for my readers.
My journey with writing started for my girlfriend with the book titled My Love Never Faked. But now, I write about everything which encircles my life. After being published successfully four times, now I try to experiment with different forms of writing.
3) You have been into this literary field for quite sometime now and you must have faced many hurdles and had to overcome many obstacles to get your book published. Can you tell us some unethical practices that are involved in the publishing industry?
Ans. Getting oneself published is as tough as writing a manuscript. Once you’re done with it, then your gates to a new world are opened. Sometimes publishers don’t really see eye to eye with a writer’s story and reject it; sometimes things settle in one go itself.
Something like that happened with me too. The first phase of my journey was not very smooth. I was rejected a lot of times, by five or six publishers. And few of them said it wasn’t a novel, but rather my autobiography. But then, Jayanta Kumar Bose from Srishti Publishers trusted my work and my first book went on to become a bestseller soon after its release. And I still receives a lot of emails from readers on that book.
4) My next question to you is do you try to be more original with your writing and not care if it would be a hit or do you try to follow a particular trend and deliver the readers what they want?
Ans. I always try to keep my book as close to reality as possible, and for that, I do a lot of research and development. I first see the possibilities whether the plot is unique and touches the new dimensions of writing or not. I do not follow any particular trend or rule, because if you read my other books, you will find that every book is written differently.
5) Do you go through your book reviews? How do you deal with the negative ones?
Ans. Criticism is always a scope for improvement. If no one will tell you where you lag behind, then how will you work upon your shortcomings and improve yourself! But at the same time, I never get disheartened by the negative reviews. The secret is that by the time reviews come out, I am already deeply engaged into another project, and that is what gives me energy and the motivation to carry on.
6) Suppose you come across a person, supposedly a reader who has read your book, say the ‘White Smoke’. You two are standing side by side and suddenly that person starts chattering about your book but he/she doesn’t recognise you as the author of the book. What would be your reaction?
Ans. I would calmly and secretly listen to what the person has to say about the book. This has happened with me more than once. I was at my university with my second book and I saw a reader holding my book and he was talking to his friend about it, how he liked the book and wants to meet me. And another time, when I was travelling in the Delhi Metro, I saw a girl reading my second book. I must have been staring at the book unknowingly, but she just noticed my eyed glued towards her, and gave me a very weird look. She must have been thinking why I was staring at her like that, when I was really looking at my book in her hands. This was really a very sweet experience.
7) If you hadn’t been an author what other profession would you have followed?
Ans. If I was not into writing, I would have been doing more in my field of physiotherapy. It’s not like I am not into full time physiotherapy now, but I have always been more passionate about writing.
8) How do you select the names of your characters? Do they just pop up in your head or are the names of the characters related to your life in some way?
Ans. Selecting names is not an easy job. You have to keep it in mind that the kind of name you’re putting should not contradict with the character of the book, and moreover, you have to keep in mind that these names should not rhyme as it may cause confusion to the reader.
I choose names of the characters very randomly and sometimes I pick up names from the people around me. There is no rule as such, I just try to keep it very simple.
9) You must have discovered yourself by now. As a writer, what do you think are your good and bad habits?
Ans. As we all know, writing is a very exhaustive thing. And a few years back, when I was writing my first book, I used to smoke for relaxation or concentration which I now think was an extremely wrong thing. That was the only bad habit I picked up when I was writing my first book. But now, I have turned to usual stimulants like coffee or tea.
10) Was your family supportive when they heard that you wanted to venture into the world of writing?
Ans. Truly speaking, not at all. The single most important thing about my formation as a writer is that I come from a non-reading family. But then, when I came up with my first book and people started recognizing me, my parents came to know that writing can also be another aspect of me.
11) After you have pitched an idea, how long does it take you to complete writing a book?
Ans. After I close upon an idea, I first divide the manuscript and make a blueprint of the same on my laptop. I like to work on my laptop on Google docs so that I can work on the go whenever I feel like. I do a lot of research and development regarding the concept – whether the society will absorb it and how it will affect my readers. After all, the initial element I particularly look at is characterization so that the personality of the characters comes out in an enhanced way.
12) We have many aspiring writers with us. What would be your advice to them?
Ans. Remain focused and believe in what you write. Do not get disheartened by negative remarks or rejections, because every bestselling writer was once rejected by many and every award winning manuscript was once a rejected manuscript. Let rejection empower you.
