9.16 What Makes a Bestseller? Naiyya Singh Decodes

Do you actually need a big personality online for your book to succeed? The answer might surprise you. In this episode, Tara sits down with Naiyya Singh, Assistant General Manager of Marketing at HarperCollins India, to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to get a book into the right hands. They get into what a book marketing campaign really looks like and why fiction and nonfiction get treated completely differently. Naiyya tells us how plans have to adapt to news cycles and trends, and why an intimate launch of 20 people can be as significant as a packed auditorium. Naiyya also breaks down the question of virality every author asks, as well as the other elements that go into marketing a book.From escape-room campaigns to intimate roundtable launches, they explore the creativity, unpredictability and occasional frustration of book marketing. They also dig into the resurgence of book clubs and why the best metric for a successful book has nothing to do with first-week sales. If you are an aspiring book marketer or an author nervous for their launch, you don’t want to skip this chapter! Press play to get the scoop on what really sells a book and why even the best ones take time. Books mentioned in this episode: The complex by Karan MahajanPolitics, Policy and Predictions: Views from the Front Row of Parliament by Derek O’BrienDream Count - Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieAssociation of Small Bombs by Karan MahajanThe Only City: Bombay in Eighteen Stories by Anindita GhoseLightning in a Shot Glass by Deepanjana PalDakini by K. Hari KumarThe Enclave by Rohit ManchandaAugust 17 by S. Hareesh, translated by Jayasree Kalathil The Complex by Karan MahajanGhost Eye by Amitav GhoshGone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellThe Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough Applications for The Bound Publishing Course 2026 are now open.The Bound Publishing Course is a 3-month intensive course on book, magazine, and digital publishing. Through live sessions, workshops, and industry-facing projects, participants gain practical publishing skills and exposure to careers across the industry.Cohort size: 50 seatsFirst round of acceptances: 15th June 2026Applications are reviewed on a rolling bas‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.