As the story goes

My first book was rejected by every publisher it was sent to. At that point of time, it didn’t seem like a positive thing, but looking back I think that was an extremely lucky event.

The publishing industry is not very professional in India and does not experiment with modern marketing techniques.  Hence, when they rejected my book, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise and I quasi-self published it. I tried many innovative marketing techniques which may have been rejected had I been accepted by a traditional publisher. For instance, I released a live action YouTube trailer of the book with music and distributed the first chapter free of cost. It got a good response. By then, my book was doing well and publishers were willing to listen to my ideas for my subsequent books.

How you see it

I heard this from my father who heard it from his father; hard work and luck are like two wheels on a cart. If one is bigger than the other, then, you keep going around in circles. The way I see it, you need both good luck and hard work to succeed.

Moreover, I do not believe that you make your own luck. It is up to God and your previous life’s karma. What is in your control is only hard work.

Quote on luck

“Call it luck, fortune or karma from a previous life, there is no doubt that it plays a role in your success. But it is beyond your control. Focus on what is in your control and work hard.” – Amish Tripathi.