As the creator economy grows into billions, influencers share tricks of the trade and decode their growth in books that peddle relatability, positive reinforcement and hustle
Entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo says he caters to the rebellious young person, who has a lower attention span and hence, makes his books light and aspirational; (right) Masoom Minawala’s book She’ll Never Make It recounts her navigating trolls and criticism on social media
As we speak to her, Masoom Minawala Mehta is on her way to an event in Mumbai where she will be speaking to college students about her book She’ll Never Make It: My Journey From Doubt to Dominance. She is down from Dubai, where she lives with her husband and son, for a four-city book tour, with two events a day—one at an educational institution and one organised for women by FICCI.
Minawala, the influencer sweetheart for luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Jimmy Choo, is also a favourite among trolls to break and bring down. Her choices, fashion and personal, are attacked viciously every day. “I didn’t want to write it,” she says. “I thought, who will read it? Why is it important? Because I have been told [enough times] that nothing I say matters. It becomes your truth. People have looked at me as if I was crazy—they thought I would never make it. So that formed the foundation of the book—it’s more about my failures than my success. It’s the journey that made me realise I had to just keep doing what I do, and making my choices.”
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Varun Mayya and Miss Malini
The response to the book, Minawala says, “has been nuts. My community has supported me so much. The book has a lot of me—that’s what I wanted to show. An 18-year-old creator needs to know that it’s a long journey [ahead], and it will have ups and downs. There is a whole chapter on trolling, on how one needs to develop a thick skin. I listen to my community—when they tell me something is wrong, I course-correct. That’s the least I can do.”
Influencer-written books—that say you can and will make it—are work bibles for the generation that sees being a content creator as a legitimate profession. They tell you to believe in yourself, look past naysayers, and build a world for yourself by sharing real-life insights and tricks of the trade. As Minawala’s editor at Juggernaut Books, which has also published YouTuber Ankur Warikoo’s books, Parth Phiroze Mehrotra says, “The influencer book is having a moment but not because they are writing about being influencers, but about their own personal journeys. They also have their own marketing down pat. People have switched from traditional media to social media—and these are the people on top of everyone’s mind. They have a direct channel to their audience. They are like PM Modi, who doesn’t need the media to connect to voters. They have inspired other authors, who now realise that an Instagram following is necessary to sell a book.”
Ask him why Minawala, and he says, “Masoom still thinks she’s a work in progress; that’s what makes it intriguing. She speaks for all the women who have been told they won’t amount to anything. Also, she’s vulnerable about her flaws—that she used to think she is not likeable and wasn’t confident—that’s relatable.”
The key is the influencer must be the girl or boy next door—just as their feed projects—who did what they did with sheer will and consistency. That the goals they are hitting are not non-attainable for you either.
Ankur Warikoo’s online narrative is about his epic journey from a hand-to-mouth existence. He believes in writing books for the 20-year-old reader who has the attention span of a goldfish. “The book needs to be light, Instagramable, and appeal to their rebellious side, where they feel misunderstood,” says the 44-year-old. His books—Do Epic Shit, Get Epic Shit Done, Make Epic Money—have inspired many. “Creators know what this generation wants,” says the entrepreneur-turned-YouTuber-turned-author, “But books are not what they are reading—so these have to be light reads; break down complex concepts into simple words—they are autobiographical and aspirational. The creator’s life is looked upon as enviable and aspirational enough to recreate.”
Malini Agarwal, or Miss Malini, who recently released her second book, Under the Influence, says that the voices of GenZ’s personal heroes, aka new age digital role models, are amplified by books. “Especially if we want them to relate to those beyond the [academic] curriculum,” she says. “Books that effectively capture the essence of current digital trends and entrepreneurial spirit can certainly be influential. I believe in crafting content that resonates with creators, providing them insights on how to leverage digital platforms to grow both personally and professionally. Any book that can guide, inspire, and be part of a creator’s journey has the potential to be incredibly impactful. I loved Lilly Singh’s book, and also Kubbra Sait, Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Neena Gupta’s autobiographies—the lines between creator and celebrity are well and truly blurred! I poured my experience of 15 years in my second book. I have been as honest as I can be, and self-reflective—maybe I could have done things differently.”
That rising creators are finding inspiration in the books of their digital icons is but an organic offshoot of the influencer’s brand and the audience’s need to know more about them. Entrepreneur and creator Varun Mayya, who wrote Pyjama Profit: The Millennial’s Guide to a Sustainable Freelance Career in 2018, says many from his community found his tips useful. “I underestimated the scope of the creator economy,” he says. “Short form content has changed the game. I wanted to write a book to help young people find direction.”
However, book trends are also cyclical. As Antoine Lewis, Programming Director at Tata Literature Live, says, “There was a time when bloggers wrote books, then came food influencers. Publishers ride the wave for marketing reasons; these influencers have their own fans, and it takes the load off the publisher [about marketing the book]. It doesn’t really matter to them if the book is good.” Ask him what it will take for a creator book to be programmed into a literature festival, and he says, “It has to be engaging and useful. And in the end, well-written.”
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