Interview with Author Anshuman Patro
Anshuman Patro, the first Indian Authorship Coach to set multiple records in the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records is a serial entrepreneur, a coach, and an author of 11 bestselling books.
Anshuman Patro, who has worked with hundreds of authors and helped them pursue their dream of becoming published, is on a mission to make this world more productive by helping organizations, technologists, managers, and young entrepreneurs to achieve their goals, by unleashing their true potentials.
Hailing from Mumbai, India, Anshuman calls himself an accidental author.
HELLO AUTHOR ANSHUMAN PATRO, WELCOME TO WORLDAUTHORS.ORG! HOW DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
Thank you for interviewing me. It is a great pleasure for me. Well, I never wanted to be an author. It just happened to me. I was working as the Head-Technology with one of the leading broking houses of India. That day I had some free time and thought of having a look at the codes on github. After I saw the code standard, I was awestruck. The code standard was horrible. With gritted teeth, I noted down 30 rules and asked everyone in my team to follow them. As they started following the rules, code quality started improving. The result? Less bugs and less complaints from our clients. Life was good. After a few weeks, I shared this story with my best friend over a drink and you know what? He gave me the scariest advice that I’ve ever got from anyone. I clearly remember his words. He said “If your guidelines are so good, it would be unfair if you don’t share it with the world. Make it a book and publish it.”. At first i thought he was just joking, but then I realized that he was serious. I listened to him and published my first book “Code Like a Pro”. But I had no expectations from it. After a few days, I got a call from him to know that the book is a bestseller now. It all began from there. Now I’ve published 11 books, and all of them are bestsellers. My last book titled ‘5 Day Author Challenge’ was a game changer and put me into the limelight
THE TITLE OF YOUR LAST BOOK IS SO INTRIGUING, WHAT’S THE BACKGROUND ON HOW YOU CAME UP WITH IT?
I am an avid reader. I read a lot. Not only books, but a lot of blogs and news articles as well. One day I came across an interesting research article which says out of a thousand people who start writing their book, only 30 of them complete it and out of those 30, only 6 of them publish their book. As someone who has already published 10 books, it was scary. I researched more and found that most people are doing it the wrong way. Then I did the same thing I had done during “Code like a Pro”. I compiled a step-by-step process that anyone can follow to publish their book in just 5 days.
THAT IS INTERESTING, BUT WHY DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO BECOME AN AUTHOR?
That is an interesting question. Do you remember what uncle Ben has said to Peter Parker? “With great power comes great responsibility”. And I completely agree with it. Look, we human beings have three superpowers that no other species has. One, we know how to write, two, we know how to speak, and three, we have technology. Now this is our responsibility to use these three superpowers to serve mankind. And what would be a better way to serve mankind by sharing our learnings using books? And obviously, there are other reasons as well. Like it is a source of passive income, it helps you stand out from the crowd as an industry expert, adds more value to your brand, helps you generate more leads… the list goes on and on.
BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK IT IS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE? THAT ALSO IN JUST 5 DAYS?
Absolutely, yes. If you follow the strategies that I’ve mentioned, and complete your assignments on time, then no one can stop you from publishing your book by the end of day 5. In fact, I run a program with the same title which comes with a 100% money back guarantee. That means if you follow my strategies, and are still unable to publish your book by day 5, I’ll refund all your money. No questions asked. And you know how many of them asked for a refund? Zero.
OH! YOU RUN A PROGRAM WITH THE SAME TITLE! WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BOOK AND THE PROGRAM?
Let me ask you a question. We have books. And still we have educational institutions. Why?
Because there are four types of students: 1. Visual, 2. Aural, 3. Kinesthetic and 4. Reading. A book is definitely the best mode of learning for the fourth category of learners. But for the other 3 categories of learners, they need someone to train them. And that is the reason we have so many schools, colleges, universities, private classes and online courses.
INTERESTING, BUT THESE DAYS WE SEE A LOT OF ONLINE COURSES ABOUT BOOK PUBLISHING. WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?
I’m sorry, but I don’t offer any online courses for book publishing. I’ve invested in a lot of such courses and trust me, most of them are crap. That is the reason why a lot of people are sceptical about online courses. What I offer is a live 5 days long workshop, where I personally work with all the potential authors. That makes it different. You can go to my facebook page and read the reviews to know what people feel about this workshop. And in case if you don’t know, I don’t have any control on what reviews people leave on my page. I can’t edit or remove them. The rights are with facebook only. By the way, here is a quick tip for everyone who wants to enrol for any online programs. Before you enrol, just go to their facebook page and see if you can find the review tab. If you can’t, then it is a red flag. That means they are hiding something from you. And if you can see the review section, see what people are saying about the program. And if you are 100% convinced, then only make the purchase. You can thank me later for this tip.
THAT MAKES SENSE. THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT. FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES COACHING AND AUTHORING, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES AUTHORS MAKE?
The biggest mistake I would say is, they never start. I mean, they want to write a book, but they dont start writing. They wait for the right moment. And you know what? The right moment never comes. The second mistake I can see is, they thrive for perfection. Let me tell you that procrastination and perfectionism are two of the most deadly productivity killers. The third biggest mistake is they don’t use the SMART goal. If it is not time bound, it is not a goal, it is just a dream. Apart from these there are a lot of other mistakes people make while they are writing. Like, not having a strategy and all, but these three are the most deadly mistakes they make.
THANKS A LOT FOR SHARING ALL THESE PRICELESS INFORMATION, ANSHUMAN. ANY PARTING WORDS?
The pleasure is mine. I don’t believe in parting words, but let me share this before we conclude this interview. Information is everywhere. You can go to google or youtube and search for any damn thing, and you’ll get tons of results. That is not important. What is important is that you process this information and take action. If you don’t take action, you’ll reach nowhere. Both my book and my program are 100% action oriented. If you want to read it before going to bed or attend the event while having dinner, and don’t want to take action, they can’t help you. I suggest, you don’t read it, or enrol for the program. But if you are ready to get out of your comfort zone for five days and take massive action, these things can change your life. And even if you are not going to read my book or enrol in my program, once your book is published, you can message me on my facebook page. I will be more than happy to know that you are changing the world, and will do whatever I can in my capacity to help you reach the next level. And for you and the entire team of worldauthors.org, thanks for giving me this opportunity to share my learnings with the world.
To know more about Author Anshuman Patro visit: www.anshumanpatro.com and don’t forget to follow him on Facebook @theanshumanpatro, Instagram @_anshumanpatro and LinkedIn @anshumanpatro