Frequently Asked Questions about NRI:Now, Returned to India
What is NRI:Now, Returned to India All About?
I had mentioned in an earlier post that one also needs to think about some basic questions about one’s book: What is my book all about? For me to answer the question needed some introspection. It’s like applying to grad school, or even a job. These are the questions make you think about the ‘why/who/how/what/where’ aspects of the book.
Here are a few of those q’s and my initial thoughts that I had penned down several months ago as I started writing Now Returned to India:
- Why did I decide to write a book?
The main reason was to share my story with a wider audience. My online diary on the R2iclub forum, which forms the base material for the book, had received a good response, and the feedback was positive. So writing a book seemed like the logical extension of my work.
2. What would be the category or segment of the book?
Based on what I have read, discussed and learnt so far, my book would fall under the fiction/ humor category.
3. Why did I choose this segment?
There was no specific reason for choosing fiction/ humour. My book covers a two year period of my life, so its not quite an autobiography. Moreover, I thought fiction would make it more readable.
4. Fiction is okay, but why a satire?
First and foremost, I thought of humor/satire as a category because my book is based on incidents that are now life’s lessons. Many of them seemed to cause a lot of pain and emotional suffering at that point in time, but these are also incidents that I can sit back and laugh about. And laughter can be contagious. There have been several authors who are masters of tragedy, and I have a great amount of respect for them. But for me, humor would work best.
5. Who is my target reader?
I initially thought that the 30 to 40 year old readers, typically those who have spent a few years outside of India, would be my target readers. They continue to be the main segment I am focusing on. But as I am talking to more and more people, I am discovering new groups of people who might be interested too. For example, parents of NRIs are such a segment.
(The above FAQ was originally published in August 2013, and updated in August 2013 and most recently in Feb ’23).