Don’t quit your day job to become a Writer – Ameya

Agrawal | Author | Motivational Speaker | Entrepreneur

JULY 30, 2018

Insights
1. The key to becoming a writer is to observe and feel your surroundings. Write it on
paper. Your words may seem to lack feeling initially, but you will get better with
practice. One can develop writing with practice, research, and an open mind.
2. Don’t leave your day job for writing unless you have some serious and genuine
success under your belt.
3. To improve the quality of your content, read books and try reading people too.
4. There are no entry barriers. You can choose to write at any point in life and no
matter which background you come from. Success can knock at any point of time
and you can continue writing well after regular retirement age. viz. Gulzar, Ruskin
Bond, Stephen King.
5. Make good use of social media to market yourself, because marketing your writing is
as important as writing itself.

Personal Details
Name – Ameya Agrawal
Profession – Author | Motivational Speaker | Entrepreneur
Age – 24 years
Gender – Male
City – Pune
Industry – Writing, Life Coaching
LinkedIn – ​https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameyaagrawal/
Website – ​www.ameyaagrawal.com

Where have you been born and raised?

I was born in a very humble and loving Agrawal Family at Bhusawal, Maharashtra. I
completed my school from Biyani School and junior college from Nahata College from
Bhusawal.
I also have a very supporting elder brother; loving sister-in-law and a cute nephew. I belong
to a respectable middle-class family, which lays a high emphasis on education. My father is
a Director at Kaveri College, Pune. My mom is a retired Principal. Both my mom and dad
are Ph.D. holders and are always ready to help students and people.
My dad also provides Ph.D. guidance and mom often write articles for the radio and
newspapers.
I currently live with my mom and dad in Pune, Maharashtra. My brother and sister-in-law
both are CA and are practicing in Nashik, Maharashtra.

Who all had the most influence on you and how?

My parents and my environment had the most influence on me. Their support and belief in
me that I am destined for something big and significant lit up a spark in me. No journey is
easy and no destination is impossible but we all do tend to break down in the middle. During
such times, it was my family who believed in me when I refused to and do so till date.

Please give us a summary of your career.

I took admission in MIT College, Pune in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering in
the year 2013 and started writing my first book in the second year of engineering, 2014 and
completed it in my 3rd year.
I successfully published my first self-help book titled ‘​A Leap Within’​ in the year 2015 at the
6th Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad at the hands of the Hon’ble speaker of Chhattisgarh.
I received the National Award for the “Youngest Engineering Student to write a book on
self-motivation’ from Incredible Book of Records.
In the year 2015, I started working on my startup ​ZOVY STUDIOS​ – A corporate supply
company. I got a job offer from Accenture in 2015 and joined them in 2016.
Started the Lyrics of Success campaign with the participation of more than 3 thousand
people over Whatsapp and 36k+ on social media sites where I daily share one practical
experience from my life in the form of a quote or small article which people can directly
apply in their daily lives to get the best returns.
I joined the Rotaract Club of Aundh, Pune, Maharashtra as a director of leadership
development in 2017.
I also conduct motivational seminars and workshops for students and corporates under the
name ​“The Winning Way of Life”​ where I facilitate them to take whatever around them,
consume it with a different approach to unlock their hidden potential.
Currently, I am working on my next self-help book.
I have been blessed to get the following awards:
● Youth Leadership Development Award — Indo Global Chambers of Commerce,
Pune (2017)
● Leadership Award for Excellence — Confederation of Education Excellence, New
Delhi (2018)
● Young Motivational Speaker Award — MTC Global, Bengaluru. (2018)

Which institutes are best for the education/training of this

profession?
I never had formal education in writing. However, I recommend the British Council and
Liberal Arts School of Symbiosis to learn writing. Many universities also provide a minor
course in writing. JNU is also a good option for people considering their education in New
Delhi.
There are several private institutes around the states and veteran actors like Anupam Kher
who runs an academy to teach different forms of writing like script writing. Apart from that,
there are many online platforms nowadays that conduct workshops for creative writing and
its other forms that are popular among the youth. Terribly Tiny Tales is one of them.
Online teaching channels like Masterclass features the world’s best writers who share their
knowledge about writing and design courses with step by step information to follow.

What are the costs associated with the education/training of this

profession?
As is mentioned that I didn’t have a formal education in this field and I write completely
based on my experiences, I am honestly not aware of the costs involved.
But if you consider becoming an Author, then you can start work from home. A decent
laptop of about INR 35k, internet connection 500 INR a month is enough to get you started.
The publishing part is tricky. Nowadays even traditional publishing house demands money
anywhere between 50k to 1 Lakh Rupees + marketing cost (depends on how much you
want to spend).
If you opt for the online courses, then there are tons of online courses and the fees depends
on the provider and the course you are having. Internet companies also conduct workshops
and the fee is around 3k INR inclusive of food.
Lodging and boarding charges in the city like Pune can be considered around 15k INR per
month inclusive of rent, food, and other needs.
Courses like Liberal arts from reputed university cost around 8 Lakh Rupees a year.

How does one enter in this profession?

It is easy for good content to get discovered and even get lost nowadays due to the vast
spread of the internet. One must have patience and be active throughout the career
especially in the initial days.
Make sure you are giving your content the visibility it deserves. Make good use of social
media. Mark your presence offline as much as online. Meet people and make it easy for
them to discover you.
You can get micro degrees from online courses.
There are various kinds of writing professions out there. Few of them are:
● Content writers for the online e-commerce, where you write the product description,
blogs, compare products etc.
● Writing for content creation companies like Buzzfeed, Wittyfeed or ScoopWhoop
● Writing for short movies, plays, movies etc
● Ghost Writing
● Caption writing for celebrities (Must be a thing I assume)
● Creative writing for television and online streaming companies like Netflix
● Writing government rules and regulations, norms.
● Translation Services
● Script Writing
● Editor in Newspaper

What is the range of remuneration one can expect when starting

out in your line of career & industry?
The remuneration depends very much on the type of content one deals with. Writing
industry, though many may think as one entity, has a rainbow of requirements.
As part-time Content writers, starting out, for freelancers one can expect around 20PPW
(Paisa per word) for writing an article. Yet it also depends on the organization you are
dealing with.
A full-time Content writer can expect to start at INR 2L per annum, which can go up to 10
Lakhs with 20+ years of experience.
As Authors, this totally depends on the number of books you sell and the number of people
who read your blog.
Generally, this is a very hard road and the chances of success and becoming a famous
writer to sell a million copies are shrinking with the increase in competition and saturation in
the market. Royalty generally varies anywhere between 5% to 40% for each book sold.
Totally depends on your deal with the publisher.
As Technical Writers, you can expect to earn around 5 Lakhs per annum. Technical Writers
are people who write product manuals, guides, FAQs etc. An example of such a work is the
manual that you get with a new TV. 6 lakhs per year.

Please describe your work.

I work as a software engineer, so most of my day is spent in the office. Still, I make sure
that I note down whatever crosses my mind. I write while commuting to the office and
returning home. I always keep notepad open on my computer to make sure that I don’t miss
anything. I write daily. I make sure I do. Because you need to stay connected, practice to
create content every day.
I make sure that I share at least one motivational message with my community of Lyrics of
Success with 36k+ members There are odd hours when I had to get up from sleep to write
down things I was thinking and felt worth writing because otherwise, it becomes difficult to
recall them later.
Most of the times, I write down points whenever thoughts occur. Later, I elaborate and edit
those points.
It is a wonderful feeling when people share how they were benefited with your writing and
how it gives them strength to grow. I am grateful to be able to bring smile and hope in the
lives of so many people
It is not always possible to reply to all queries and messages so I try one day of the
weekend to make sure that I catch up with everyone via ​my Facebook​, ​Instagram profile​ or
other platforms.

What are some of the positives, which would encourage

someone to consider this career/job?
1. If you pursue writing as a social work, it does give immense satisfaction and peace
of mind.
2. It helps you to learn how to observe things around you better.
3. If you do well, it helps you get famous on social media/blogger/author and thus
leading to a good income.
4. Non-Fiction writers turn to public speaking which is highly rewarding if done well.
5. You are able to create your own identity and good writers are respected in the
society.

What are some of the challenges that you would want someone
to be aware of when considering writing as a career?
As glorious this career might look when one considers Gulzar, J.K Rowling, Chetan Bhagat,
Ruskin Bond; but not everyone gets to taste that kind of success.
It is tough to convince your family if you want to pursue this full time. People might think that
you earn very well but often the truth is far from that.
1. Justifying why you work from home can be tough and funny at the same time
2. Writer’s block creates a lot of problems and sometimes lasts for months where you
cannot write a single good sentence which increases the work pressure and makes it
tough to meet the deadlines
3. With the growing reach of the internet and content creation companies, you always
have to be on your toes to create new and likable content regularly.
4. Not always what you want is what you get to write. Sometimes you need to write
what sells and remaining times what the organization demands.
 5. Not all who write get famous or get to reach the front page. Many lyricists,
scriptwriters, dialogue writers, technical writers are unknown to common people
6. Time flexibility is a half-truth. You can work at 3 am in the morning because you have
no other option, the thing about creative thoughts is that if you don’t put them on
paper the instant you have them, chances are you will lose them. You cannot
overestimate your brain’s ability to preserve that thought until morning.
7. Books don’t always sell when published, sometimes they start selling as old wine
even after you are no longer alive. Assignments don’t always come since all age of
people can enter this career, there is a lot of supply and organizations are always
looking for fresh talent.
8. Getting a fixed income is tough.

What are the relevant trends/skills/technologies that are currently

commanding a premium in your job profile?
Observation and ability to turn thoughts into words will never go out of trend because as far
as I know machines don’t write good content, it always requires a human touch. Skills such
as Storytelling and spoken word poetry, snippet and micro tale writings, short stories,
Motivational Writing, etc. is gaining a lot of popularity.
Vernacular content creation – Due to the reach of the internet, more and more people are
getting aware and use the internet to consume content and not everyone understands
English.

What kind of person would be happy in writing?

This career adopts many different traits of personality and people from different
backgrounds.
Someone who loves to express their feelings can find solace in this profession. When you
start writing, you realize that you are penning down even those thoughts which were deep
inside you and you didn’t even know if they exist.
People who find their inspiration in inspiring others can become good self-help writers.
Those who are good observers and have a knack of describing even little things with great
depth can find a place in the writing profession.
People with a poetic heart who feel words and the moments can become great poets.
And overall a middle-class family background with not very high aspirations for money who
is good at giving words to thoughts and find peace in expressing self with the flexibility to
work can enter this stream.

Given another choice, what would you do differently as far as

your professional selections are concerned?
I think I would have liked to get an earlier start in writing itself if given the choice.

What would be your advice to students or professionals who are

just starting their journey on a path similar to yours?
Do not quit your day job for writing at the initial stages especially if you are in India. I repeat,
DO NOT! It takes a lot of time and patience to excel in writing as a profession. Even the
biggies today didn’t quit their job unless they achieved phenomenal success.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you write but it does matters how good you sell. You
don’t need to be the best writer; you must be the best-selling writer.
It is good to have dreams of pursuing writing fulltime after college, but don’t haste. Don’t
hurry to publish your first book. Doing it wrong can be demotivating and even bad for your
career image.
Take time to learn about the industry and understand the in and out first. Keep writing, you
will realize you are getting better unknowingly.
Do not get forced into writing a book because someone you know is doing it. Start with a
blog. Publish with the best publisher or self-publish. There is no in between.
Build your personal brand. If you are writing non-fiction do it threefold. Be on social media
social.
Liked this conversation? Check out​ our coverage of Mr. Ambar Verman
(Senior Script and Creative Writer at ​Wittyfeed​)

Content Disclaimer
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only. No legal liability or other
responsibility is accepted by or on behalf MentorClub.in for any errors, omissions, or statements
on this site, or any site to which these pages connect.
MentorClub.in accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a
result of reliance on such information.
MentorClub.in cannot control the content or take responsibility for pages maintained by external
providers. Where we provide links to sites, we do not by doing so endorse any information or
opinions appearing in them. We accept no liability whatsoever over the availability of linked
pages.