<p>A 24-year-old from Bengaluru is selling his first novel – a self-published work – on the streets.</p>.<p>Every weekend, Moyeen V N may be spotted on Church Street in the evening hours, standing opposite an ice cream parlour with a cap and mask on, holding a poster of the cover of his book ‘Thousand Years of Pain’, accompanied with messages like “Buy my book!!” and “I am the author”. </p>.<p>He says he has sold 245 copies since January 1 when he first came to Church Street, a popular haunt for book shops and bibliophiles. He has sold only 25 copies online. </p>.<p>A college dropout, Moyeen wanted to write a book ever since he read Charles Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ in school. He says, “I am 24. I did not want to push my plans any further. Just getting approval from a publisher through traditional channels can take six months but I was in a hurry!”</p>.<p>In October last year, he quit his job at a startup, where he used to do employee background verification for US companies. “By November, I had written my story. I got the copies printed by December 31 so I could catch the New Year crowd on Church Street. I have covered my costs already. I had printed 500 copies for Rs 70 each and I am selling them for Rs 200.”</p>.<p>Selling on the streets has its perks. He explains, “The buyers get copies signed by me. They say ‘Just in case I get famous one day’. In me, they see dreams of pursuing things they were passionate about.”</p>.<p>A 125-pager, the book is a work of fantasy fiction set in the mythological kingdom of Kinshuk. Atharv, its young protagonist, has recurring dreams about a voice that invites him to visit a forest to find a way out of the looming defeat of his empire.</p>
<p>A 24-year-old from Bengaluru is selling his first novel – a self-published work – on the streets.</p>.<p>Every weekend, Moyeen V N may be spotted on Church Street in the evening hours, standing opposite an ice cream parlour with a cap and mask on, holding a poster of the cover of his book ‘Thousand Years of Pain’, accompanied with messages like “Buy my book!!” and “I am the author”. </p>.<p>He says he has sold 245 copies since January 1 when he first came to Church Street, a popular haunt for book shops and bibliophiles. He has sold only 25 copies online. </p>.<p>A college dropout, Moyeen wanted to write a book ever since he read Charles Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ in school. He says, “I am 24. I did not want to push my plans any further. Just getting approval from a publisher through traditional channels can take six months but I was in a hurry!”</p>.<p>In October last year, he quit his job at a startup, where he used to do employee background verification for US companies. “By November, I had written my story. I got the copies printed by December 31 so I could catch the New Year crowd on Church Street. I have covered my costs already. I had printed 500 copies for Rs 70 each and I am selling them for Rs 200.”</p>.<p>Selling on the streets has its perks. He explains, “The buyers get copies signed by me. They say ‘Just in case I get famous one day’. In me, they see dreams of pursuing things they were passionate about.”</p>.<p>A 125-pager, the book is a work of fantasy fiction set in the mythological kingdom of Kinshuk. Atharv, its young protagonist, has recurring dreams about a voice that invites him to visit a forest to find a way out of the looming defeat of his empire.</p>