ulta pulta
Writer’s block
Jaspal Bhatti

Sham Singh, a Punjabi journalist-cum-novelist was fighting with his publisher. "You have killed my book. You did absolutely no promotion for my book. Nobody in the market has the faintest idea about the book I have written". The publisher calmed him down.

"Sham Singhji, people nowadays are not into much of reading Punjabi literature. Besides your name on the front cover of the book was the main reason for the book not doing well!" Swallowing the insult, Sham Singh said, "Instead of blaming me, why don’t you learn something from the way the Harry Potter books are being marketed? The publishers have managed to create such hype by spreading a nerve-chilling pre-release rumour: "Will Harry Potter die in the last book?"

The publisher was taken up with the idea. "Sham Singhji, this is an excellent idea. We can also spread a similar rumour regarding our Punjabi book. Who will commit suicide after the release of our book—the publisher or the writer?"

HOME