Ravi Subramanian

I've always wanted to write, but coming from a small-town background - I was born and brought up in Ludhiana - you think you're not the kind of literary person who will write books that will sell. There was always a kind of defensiveness in me.

My understanding is that a book becomes a best seller only when it is pirated, sold on footpaths and at traffic lights.

I look at every book as a new learning opportunity.

While a lot of management development books try to teach you a lesson or give you a scenario of what corporate culture and work practices are about, they're theoretical and written in a sermonizing way. Most people don't get past the first chapter, and they just look nice on the bookshelf.

Corporate career is like my wife, and writing is my girlfriend. My priority is the first but enjoy doing the second, as I have taken to writing as a stress-beater.

I enjoy writing and promoting my books. I enjoy the feedback. But all this is because I don't depend on it commercially. I don't need that money. I have a career.

I have a day job where I make money and satisfy my self-esteem. Writing is for fun, and I want to keep it that way.

A profession which is seen as intellectually glamorous is often the most misunderstood when it comes to the commerce involved.

I feel as long as people enjoy what they read and learn something more, I have done my job as a writer.

For me, writing is fun. The day I quit my job and take up writing full time, writing will become just another job. A commercial necessity.

Saying 'I am not interested in politics' is no guarantee that people will leave you alone. The politically-inclined will single you out as a soft target and go after you.

The opportunity to create wealth in foreign banks exists only in the investment banking space. Working in a local company teaches you to think long term.