Creator Spotlight - What's Curation? by Nikhil Rajagopalan

A few words with the publisher of What's Curation?

Welcome to Creator Spotlight, a feature of How About This that features interviews with other writers, artists, creators and publishers. Nikhil Rajagopalan is the creator behind What’s Curation?, a wonderful Substack newsletter that introduces great music, cultural insights, and long-form essays to his subscribers two times per week. In his own words:

I grew up in India, studied in England and for a bit in the US Midwest, dropped out of grad school, worked in India as a medical writer for Big Pharma clients, moved to Canada in 2020, and worked at a couple of ad agencies in Toronto, quit those, worked on this newsletter during my sabbatical, now pivoting careers as a creative copywriter/content marketer and looking for work opportunities.

Here’s Nikhil!

What led you to leave your home country of India?

Primarily to experience new cultures, food, workplaces, and life perspectives. India is still close to my heart; I spent 30 years there, and I have many precious memories from Chennai and Bangalore.

Was moving to the UK a big transition from India? 

I got my master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Leeds. I grew up watching a lot of English and American television, so I knew a lot about the culture, nuances in language and work etiquette, but it was still awe-inspiring to experience it up front. So, it wasn’t a big transition.

Nikhil in the UK

However, I must admit that the first time I walked into a Morrisons department store, I stood there dumb founded because there was an entire aisle for just bread.

How about your time in the US?   

I met some wonderful colleagues at university, but most Americans seemed to have a barrier up. Life seemed to be segregated into work and personal circles: you’re put into one circle and never the other.

From Nikhil’s US experience

And because of the rigour of graduate school, I barely had any time to explore Cincinnati or other places. Add that to the cold weather and it’s no wonder I decided to leave grad school and come back to India to work as a medical writer.

And again, to Canada!  Any interesting discoveries?

Canada will be my North American redemption arc, 5 years after. Cold weather but friendly, interesting people in Toronto. I’m identifying with the ethos and I’m looking forward to the day when I can become a Canadian. I made a trip to Niagara recently and the falls were stunning! I’m not much of a drinker, but I found some delicious, crisp local cider there!

What is your preferred writing method:  pen and paper or the keyboard?

I bought a basic Dell KB212 keyboard off Kijiji Market for 5 dollars, and I love it to pieces.

But for all my offline correspondence, including letters and postcards, I’m a big fountain pen geek. I have a TWSBI Eco pen from Taiwan that I fill with a divine dark magenta ink from Noodler’s called Black Swan in Australian Roses.

What led you to start your newsletter?  Music seems like a big shift from your career.

Career wise, I’m transitioning from medical writing to non-medical creative copywriting, tone of voice, audience- and brand building. I needed to have some practical experience and data samples for my resume if I were to be taken seriously.

The newsletter allowed me an opportunity to do all that consistently while simultaneously sharing my diverse musical tastes with people all over the world. I like to think of it as a fun experiment in portfolio building while I look for my first 9-to-5 in the creative writing space.

Are you enjoying the experience of being a Substack creator?

Immensely. It’s allowed my words to be read and savoured by peoples on the far ends of the planet. I have subscribers in Australia, New Zealand, and I get visitors from Japan and Singapore who read my work while I’m fast asleep!

Substack has allowed me to combine my love for music with my copywriting skills and the resulting music recommendation posts and long-form essays are proving to be a huge hit with my readers.

What are your long-term goals for your newsletter?

The first long-term goal is to build the free subscriber base to at least 1000. I’m thankful for every free subscriber who’s joined me (and will join me) on this wild journey.

The second goal would be consistency and longevity, which I hope would inspire people to trust my brand and increase paid conversion. It’s always nice to see somebody tipping you or signing up for a recurring subscription because they love what you bring to the table.

India

Pretend you wake up one morning and the Internet has been destroyed.  What’s the first thing you do?

Oh no, that’s sounds terrible, haha! I’ll have a cup of peppermint tea, have a walk in the park, and then meet up a friend for lunch. Believe it or not, I’m a great cook!

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Thanks to Nikhil for agreeing to be interviewed! Check out What’s Curation?.