In 2001, as Mumbai-based Sundari Venkatraman sat typing away at her keyboard late into the nights, it was hard for her to not feel dejected. She would write and rewrite the chapters of her second novel, while receiving a lot of rejection from publishers. She felt undermined when she compared herself with accomplished authors, especially those who were way younger than her.
Sundari had just turned 40 at the time, and was burnt out after dabbling in different jobs. Questions about whether it was too late to be an author gave her sleepless nights. She weighed the pros and cons of switching careers for weeks on end.
But eventually, she turned a blind eye to the age-appropriate behaviour standards and took inspiration from bestselling authors like Mark Twain who had debuted in their 50s. Greying hair was no matter to her for the next 13 years. At 53, she self-published her first novel ‘The Malhotra Bride’ on Kindle Direct Publishing platform.
Today, she holds the…