by Madhumita Gupta, Illustrated by Tanisha Sur
Two years ago, the Science and I team interviewed Madhumita Gupta about her career in design and her views on mentoring. Since then, she has continued to advance in her roles, becoming a notable speaker in various design forums. Recently, she published a book- UX in a Nutshell, featuring a unique collaboration with her daughter, who illustrated the cover. The Science and I team went back to her to discuss the book-writing process, their joint experience in this creative project and backend story of how the book came into existence.
Can you briefly update us on your professional and design-related developments in your career since we last spoke?
Madhumita: I am currently a VP of Product and Design working for Reliance Retail. My curious mind was looking for newer challenges and a transition to product management appeared to be a rational move. To build a product that derives value for customers and business one needs to think about feasibility, viability and delight. I have always been customer centric. Product management expects me to look at business viability. Data has always intrigued me. Handling Business and financial data was scary to start with but overtime I am equipped now. I have also started investing my time on understanding more about AI and its impact in our professions. I am slowly and steadily embracing AI and trying to find a nourishing symbiotic relationship where AI helps me get better at design and evangelism. My next learning endeavour would be is to understand the underlying technology of machine language.
What inspired you to start writing a book and not anything on a digital platform ?
Madhumita: I have always wanted to write a book. I like the feeling of holding something tangible. Digital formats from today don’t give me the sensory pleasure of touching a book, turning pages, feeling the softness of the paper. Moreover growing up, I found pleasure in writing in diaries pouring my emotions, feelings, rationales. So my book had to be a physical reflection of my thoughts.
How did you come up with the theme of the book?
Madhumita: I got introduced to the field of design pretty late in my career. All my knowledge came from renowned authors from the West. I never read a book on design from Indian authors. So I wanted to write a book on design as an Indian. However I was unsure about the genre until a mother and her daughter from my apartment came to me asking about design as a field of study and career. That is when I figured out that I should write a book for the young adults who are on the verge of choosing their careers. I wanted to introduce them to this field and arouse their curiosity.
Did you prepare yourself by going to a writing retreats or had mentoring sessions with other published authors?
Madhumita: Actually I got mentored by my daughter who had completed a course on writing conducted by our dear friend Soumi Duttagupta. She conducted a creative writing program called “The Change Maker” focussing on creative writing skills. My daughter introduced me to concepts like drawing the plot line, character buildup, hooks and building the story arc. I also got lot of help from another dear friend Surbhi Chattkara who diligently went through my early drafts and helped me in building the characters overtime. I wrote the entire script five times.
When you were writing the book did you have any specific group of audience in mind ?
Madhumita: I was sure that I didn’t want to write a technical book. I wanted to tell a story and introduce technical concepts through it. When I was a child, my father had bought me a Bengali book called Children’s book of knowledge. It covered loads of technical concepts explained in a very easy manner. That book was my inspiration. Since my book was meant for teenagers, I definitely wanted to focus on the style of books that they were reading. I wanted the book to be easy to read, intriguing and thought-provoking.
What was your favourite part of being a writer? And when did you feel demotivated to continue with your writing ?
Madhumita: As I was building the story, it was hard for me to write a lot. My first draft was only 55 pages. But then I added more layers to my characters. As an author I felt powerful thinking that I could put them in difficult situations, pull them out, make them laugh and cry at my will. I could add colours to their character. I could make them sad or happy as I weaved my plots. However, I did find it hard to keep rewriting based on all the feedback I was getting. I was ready to make as many iterations as possible but it had to be a nice book to read. Still, executing it was painful and extremely time-consuming.
How did you get your book deal?
Madhumita: I had no idea how to find a publishing house. Thanks to Instagram and it’s nasty habit of tracking people, I got a surge of advertisements from publishing houses who help first-time authors publish their books. I connected with few of them. I booked the cheapest option but took a long time before signing the contract.
How did you negotiate your book deals? Did you have a multi-book deal?
Madhumita: I didn’t negotiate much. Being a first time author, my only motive was to get the book published. I thought I won’t be able to sell no more than 20 books. So I went with the lowest risk option. (Add a book review from Amazon)
After becoming an author have your reading habits changed are you now reading a book not only to gain knowledge or enjoy a good fiction but to learn more skills about writing ?
Madhumita: Not really. Overtime, I have reduced multitasking. I realised I don’t take pleasure in anything when I am doing many things together. So when I read, I just enjoy the narrative and storytelling. I used to think that to write a book, one must read lot of books. However when I started to write this book, I wanted to be unbiased. Hence, I relied only on my knowledge that I had gained over time. I don’t want to write something that is an amalgamation of other’s thoughts. I want to write something unique yet representative of my own self.
How easy or difficult it was to collaborate with Tanisha ( as she is your daughter too) for the book illustration?
Madhumita: Tanisha has been my biggest critique. She was ruthless when she reviewed my writing. But it helped me push myself to try harder. She also helped me rewrite many parts of the script but for that I had pay for expensive coffees at fancy cafes. Getting her focused time did cost me money. But since I insisted that this book was hers too and that her name would be on the cover, I think she realised the significance. Regarding her illustrations, she took time to find her style. It took time, but at that time, I was writing my third and fourth iterations. So it was fine. I am glad that we could complete it at the end.
And finally the question all our readers are having in their mind by now ! How do you find time to write?
Madhumita: It took me one year to write a book that is only 100 pages. I am not a professional author. I wrote the book five times. It took me couple of days to write the first draft since I had the base already in my mind. It took me eight months to finalise it and four more months to wait for my publisher to finish editing and finally publishing it. So, I think it’s not about the time. The key to writing a book is perseverance. You may not find time for weeks, but then when you have time, you use it to write. We all have 24 hours. It’s how we choose to spend them. I could use 1 hour to watch reels on my phone or write two paragraphs of the book. If I can do it so can everyone else. Of course, my husband asking for updates was also a big factor.
Science and I also reached out to Tanisha to know about her illustration experience.
How are you finding this experience of being an illustrator of a book while still in school?
Tanisha: As a student still in school, this experience of being an illustrator was demanding, but very rewarding. It was a completely new experience for me so it took a while for me to learn the ropes. Right from drawing up thumbnails to formatting and editing, I did everything on my own. Still, it’s an experience I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. More so, doing this with my mother made this more memorable than I ever hoped it could be. It was time-consuming, highly detailed and so much more but seeing my ideas and vision come to life stole my breath in a way I can never fully describe.
What was the collaboration like with your mother?
Tanisha: The dynamic I had with my mother while illustrating was completely different from our usual one. I was involved in every aspect of the book, starting from plotting to writing and editing, and I feel like this made me treat her more like a client. I constantly sought feedback and tweaked the drawings to her preferences. In my opinion, it was a delicate balance of cordiality, personal involvement and professionalism. I had to balance my own opinions, art style and more to fit the unique circumstances of this book. All in all, I think this newfound layer in our relationship as mother and daughter made me a better illustrator, daughter and worker.
Did you take any courses in book illustration or any art classes in general?
Tanisha: Ever since I was very young, I’ve attended art classes and honed my skills in not only illustration, but also fine art in general. That gave me a foundation to build off of and base my process during this book. But no, I did not undertake any formal or specialised courses in book illustration for this project. Frankly, it wasn’t needed.
Would you like to try illustration for any other book in the near future?
Tanisha: Yes, I would like to participate in more projects like this. Illustrating brought me a joy I haven’t really felt before and I want to keep that steam going. This book was just the beginning. So, I want to draw and design for other authors, especially in the science and nonfiction genres. Those kinds of authors and stories align my interests and skills in a much more cohesive way. It’s like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place.
Do you think you will also try your hand in writing like your mother in the coming years?
Tanisha: Yes, I think I will also dip my foot into the writing world in the near future. It’s always been a dream of mine and this book gave me a taste of what it’s really like. I want to write about my passions, musings and the knowledge I’m constantly gaining. Right now, I have a clear vision of the kind of books I want to write, yet I’m still not limiting myself. Now, after this experience, I know a little more about the backstage of this entire production and am, thus, a lot more realistic in my ambitions.