About The Author
Mohan K is a technology executive with a Fortune 500 multinational company. Having lived and worked in a dozen countries across three continents, he has gained an international perspective on business, culture and society.
The Indian American author is also a certified life coach and frequently mentors executives and professionals.
His viewpoints and columns have been published in several international technical and nontechnical journals, including IEEE Computer, Computerworld, iExpress, Deccan Herald, The Times among others.
Mohan has also authored a bestselling book on globalization (Offshoring IT Services) published by McGraw Hill.
Check the review here – Diary Of A Successful Loser: Looking beyond that Humble Brag by Mohan K – Book Review
Interview
Q) Tell us about the idea behind the book?
As the title indicates, all of us are successful losers – Losers because of the setbacks. Successful because we have overcome setbacks, loss and failures. The intent of highlighting the stories in my book is to reflect these experiences, and to demonstrate how one can look beyond loss and failures. We all need to stay focused on accomplishments as we move forward in life.
I am a senior IT executive by day and have lived and worked in a dozen countries across three continents. I also moonlight as a certified life-coach and am active in several social media forums where young professionals frequently reach out to me for mentoring and advice.
There is a common theme of questions from my mentees that span work and life and finding the balance between the two. I have been reflecting on the pattern to these queries and decided to use my life experiences as a blueprint to write a motivational book.
This is a non-fictional work based on my experiences, and I decided to veer away from writing yet another self-help book with preachy quotes that many of us find off-putting.
In this stealth-help book I narrate notable failures and setbacks that have defined my life journey in ways that I didn’t anticipate. These stories hold a mirror to typical experiences that readers are likely to encounter in their lives.
Q) How much time did it take in the process of writing?
It took me a few months to collate my thoughts and write the first draft. I was able to refer to my journals and blogs while penning down my thoughts, which speeded up the process a bit.
Q) What did the process of writing this book teach you?
Having a book published teaches you a lot of things. Unlike writing an article or blog post which is like a short sprint, writing a book is like running a marathon. One has to be very self-disciplined while writing a book since it requires a continuum of thoughts weaved across chapters.
Writing the draft is just the first part of the process. Engaging a good editor and going though reviews, visualizing a title and the cover requires a lot of creative energy.
And then comes the hardest part – marketing one’s book. Authors underestimate the time, energy and resources required to creatively market one’s work. I continue to explore creative use of social media tools and platforms to reach out to readers.
Q) What inspired you to write this book?
Everyone has a story to tell. I began to reflect on my life story and realized there are lessons from my successes and failures that others could learn from.
Q) A book that had an impact on you, which helped you in writing this one?
As I began jotting down my thoughts, I reflected on Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller Eat, Pray, Love which is a prime example of the “Stealth help” genera.
I liked how Gilbert bared her soul, reflecting on her experiences in the book and I decided to follow a similar pattern while reflecting on a few of my stories. I have selected stories and anecdotes that will speak to those at different phases of their life and career and would love to get feedback from readers
Also Read: Interview with Bhavini K. Desai – Author of The City of Pillars: A Romance Novel
Q) Tell us about your plans?
Writing has been a hobby as long as I can remember. Jotting down my thoughts is cathartic and helps firm up my thoughts. Much of my writing is non-fiction and years ago, I wrote the book “Offshoring IT Services” that was published by McGraw Hill and was fairly well received with the initial print-run selling out in a year. The publisher went on to sell 20,000 copies.
I decided to publish “Diary of a Successful Loser” as a Kindle eBook to test the waters. Depending on the success of the book and reviews, I might extend it into a printed version. eBooks have an emerging niche audience, but I think printed books have a wider reach.
Q) What is a literary success for you?
One can’t measure literary success for niche genera like mine, but I would be really pleased if the book generates 100+ reviews in the first year. It would validate the reach of my message.
Q) A message for all the readers.
Books enrich our lives and a quote that has fascinated me is “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies” I hope this book goes on to enrich your life too.
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