Interview with Aruna Dev Rroy, The author of Marketing Management a Prologue

Aruna Dev Rroy, is an educationist sharing her knowledge for the last 10 years and counting. At present, she is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce of Royal Global University, Guwahati. She has to her credit a good number of papers written and published on multiple topics of immense relevance in the current day world.

She is also an eminent speaker and delivered presentations on areas related to marketing management and human resource management. She is associated with many national-level organizations working for the development of commerce education both at the national and state levels. Her interest areas are researching in subjects like marketing management, understanding consumer behavior in relation to buying and consumption, micro finance, green marketing, etc. She is also a social activist working for the all-round development of underprivileged children and old people.

Ravi: What’s your favorite short story?

Aruna: Ignited Minds by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Ravi: The Best piece of writing advice?

Aruna: Writing comes from within, it is an urge to express one’s ideas in written words. Penning down right feeling with the right words is an art. And art attains clarity and mastery with gradual practice.

Ravi: Where do you write?

Aruna: I write in journals, magazines of special editions issued during occasions and e-magazines.

Ravi: Where do you get your ideas?

Aruna: I examine my every day dealings with the world, with my reference group, shop keeper, house keeping staff, everybody I come across. Talk to them and try to know their views on various issues, accumulate those events and store it. After analyzing strings of activities I transform my thoughts into words.

Ravi: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Aruna: Me being from marketing background would like to name a product to answer the question. My answer is Glucon- D. Writing is my Glucon D, an instant energizer.

Ravi: How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Aruna: Writing a book is a matter of a month or so. But the background work which has to be done is the most cumbersome one. It is so because so many ideas and thoughts pile up every moment, which one is the best, what is the most essential thing for the society, serving which item will benefit the readers the most has to be chosen very diligently. Further more working on the conceptualization part, segregating it in a book form, identifying chapters, etc these works are time consuming. It took around 3 months for me to think and zero down on a concept. Then came the writing work.

Ravi: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Aruna: I think I did better work on my grammar, read the dictionary, increase my word bank, read every bit of grammar acts like synonyms, antonyms, etc.

Ravi: What is your favorite childhood book?

Aruna: Panchatantra- literary series used to be my favorite, gradually after I grew up I saw my father subscribing to Readers Digest so that used to come at home monthly apart from newspapers. So I started taking interest in reading Readers Digest later on.

Ravi: What are your favorite literary journals?

Aruna: Brittle Star, Ricochet Magazine

Ravi: What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Aruna: Every kind of writing is not the same. Writing a text book requires precise writing to the point. It is bounded by the syllabus of a particular University. It is more of constricted or controlled writing. But writing a story book or a fiction demands descriptive writing. So, depending on the content a writer should modulate the style. So I would take care of the above two aspects and accordingly give up what is not essential.

Ravi: What was your hardest scene to write?

Aruna: Deciding the contents of the book was the toughest part. As it is said customer is the king so is the reader. So, a writer has to step in the shoes of the targeted reader group and decide the contents of the book. Else everybody gets ideas and thoughts to pen down a diary.

Ravi: Do you Google yourself?

Aruna: Yes I did do a couple of times in my college days. Since then did not try it. Its been a long time will try doing it at the earliest.

Ravi: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Aruna: Every chapter of the book holds a secret message. Reading minutely will help the readers identify the idea and the message. More clarity can be received when the case studies will be read and discussed by readers.

Ravi: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Aruna: I would love to read the reviews and feedback. Feedback helps a writer to know where does he/she stands in the reader's mind. The good ones will become a permanent feature in my upcoming writings and the bad ones will be rectified and customized.

Ravi: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Aruna: Nothing as such. But fiction is all fun until it becomes a reality.

Ravi: What did you edit out of this book?

Aruna: I had put more content on some emerging areas of marketing but gradually dropped the idea of loading a single basket with all the eggs.

Ravi: How many hours a day do you write?

Aruna: Normally its whenever I get time I pen down thoughts. Writing a diary is a regular thing that I do. But once I decided I will write a book I increased by writing hours to three to four hours daily.

Ravi: How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?

Aruna: I had been writing since childhood. It’s been quite a long time over two decades approximately speaking.

Ravi: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Aruna: Well researching is unlimited. This book which I have written bears my learning, understanding and knowledge of the whole of my study period (UG and PG level college days) and then whole 10 years of my teaching career. So it's quite a long time.

Ravi: What’s the best way to market your books?

Aruna: In this pandemic situation its Online modes will work wonders. Else youngsters prefer social media, online sites. In the case of college text books also it's social media apps that will work in promoting the book.

Ravi: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Aruna: I have two books in the pipeline.

Ravi: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Aruna: My first book taught me many things that I can do to add value to my upcoming write-ups. Firstly, reader-centric writing, secondly conceptual writing in a simplified way and thirdly being more empathetic while writing.

Ravi: If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be?

Aruna: Be more creative and focused.

Ravi: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Aruna: I do read and provide valuable feedback to authors on the content analysis and reach of the content. I am in touch with authors like Dr. SS Khanka, Dr. SS Sarkar, Prof. BB Dam, Dr. Vineet Gera, Dr. NN Sarma, Dr. M. Barua and many more.

Ravi: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Aruna: I try to deliver original matter in a reader-centric approach.

Ravi: What advice do you have for writers?

Aruna: Be innovative, reader-centric and, search and research.

Ravi: What are the most important magazines for writers to subscribe to?

Aruna: Poets & Writers, Writer's Digest

Ravi: Tell me about your recent book to our Ravi Reads Blog Readers?

Aruna: Marketing is the need of the hour. It is an important part of our personal and professional life. This book intends to make available the primary stakes of marketing management for aspirant managers. It contains the elementary basics to make available the pillars of marketing education in a lucid way.

If a person is preparing for an interview and he/she is from a different discipline. Then this book can be a complete guide to him/her. The trending topics of marketing management are explained eloquently with a practical idea about the current scenario. The basic meaning of marketing, its significance, functions, how the marketers need to use it, these basic things are smoothly arranged. Other trending topics include meta marketing, online marketing, social media marketing, and green marketing. Multiple case studies have been included for better understanding. All the cases are directed to give practical insight into the real world. The concepts of different chapters are explained with relevant examples at every step to make it vivid.

To Know more about Aruna's Marketing Management: A Prologue check out this link

Thanks to Aruna for agreeing to this interview! If you know of an author who’d like to be featured in an interview (or you are an author who would like to be featured), feel free to email me at the address on my contact page.