I Wrote Two Books on Trading and AI — Here’s What No One Tells You About Writing a Book
DOYR | Not financial/legal/tax advice. For educational purposes only.
I wrote two books.
Right Brain Wins — about trading psychology, right-brain thinking, and why most traders fail.
Brain Markets — about AI-powered trading systems, XGBoost, and building trading bots on a ₹15,000 phone.
Neither is on Amazon. Neither is a bestseller. Neither made me money directly.
But both have done something more valuable: they built my brand as an AI trader and thinker.
This article is about the books, what they cover, why I wrote them, and what I learned about writing, publishing, and building authority in the age of AI.
Book 1: Right Brain Wins
The Problem
Most trading books are written by:
- Wall Street professionals with $100M+ funds
- Academics who never traded real money
- Motivational speakers who sell courses, not strategies
They tell you:
- "Follow this 10-step system"
- "Use this indicator, that pattern"
- "Discipline is everything"
But they never tell you:
- What to do when your brain betrays you
- How to handle a ₹50,000 loss in 2 weeks
- Why you keep repeating the same mistakes
- How to think differently when everyone else thinks the same
The Solution
Right Brain Wins is a book about thinking, not just trading.
Core thesis:
- Trading is 90% mental, 10% technical
- Your left brain (logic, analysis) gets you into trades
- Your right brain (intuition, creativity) gets you out of bad trades
- The winning formula: Right brain for ideas, left brain for execution
What's inside:
Part 1: The Left-Brain Trap
- Why analysis paralysis kills traders
- How indicators lie to you
- The myth of the "perfect system"
- Why backtesting is necessary but not sufficient
Part 2: The Right-Brain Advantage
- Intuition in trading: when to trust it
- Pattern recognition beyond charts
- Creativity in strategy design
- Case studies: traders who use right-brain thinking
Part 3: The Hybrid System
- "AI proposes, you dispose" philosophy
- When to follow AI, when to override
- My 62% accuracy system
- The 23% override rate that improved results
Part 4: Psychology Fixes
- 4 mental enemies: FOMO, revenge trading, overconfidence, paralysis
- How I blew ₹50,000 and fixed it
- Trading journal template
- 90-day transformation plan
Who Should Read It
Beginners:
- "I keep losing money despite knowing the basics"
- "I analyze too much and still make bad trades"
- "I need a mental framework for trading"
Intermediate:
- "I have a system, but I can't follow it"
- "I override my signals and lose money"
- "I want to combine intuition with data"
Advanced:
- "I want to build AI-assisted trading systems"
- "I want to understand the psychology of algorithmic trading"
- "I want to write my own book"
What Readers Say
"I thought I knew trading until I read Right Brain Wins. It changed how I think about analysis and intuition." — Rahul, Delhi
"The psychology section alone is worth the price. I stopped revenge trading after reading it." — Priya, Mumbai
"Shakti doesn't just teach trading. He teaches thinking. That's rare." — Arjun, Bangalore
Book 2: Brain Markets
The Problem
Everyone talks about AI trading. Few show you how to build it.
Most AI trading books are:
- Written by quants with PhDs
- Focused on HFT, high-frequency trading
- Require ₹10 lakh+ infrastructure
- Use Python libraries you've never heard of
They don't show you:
- How to build AI trading on a ₹15,000 phone
- How to use XGBoost for Nifty options
- How to run Telegram bots from Termux
- How to combine AI with human judgment
The Solution
Brain Markets is a practitioner's guide to AI trading — built for Indian retail traders.
Core thesis:
- You don't need expensive hardware or cloud APIs
- You can build production AI trading on a phone
- XGBoost beats GPT-4 for structured data
- "AI proposes, you dispose" is the winning formula
What's inside:
Part 1: The Stack
- Hardware: ₹15,000 phone, ₹32,000 laptop, MacBook M4
- Software: Python, XGBoost, Termux, Telegram
- Data: NSE APIs, option chain, FII/DII
- Model: 52 features, 62% accuracy, walk-forward validation
Part 2: The Data Pipeline
- Fetching option chain data
- Engineering features: PCR, OI, max pain, RSI, MACD
- Labeling trades, handling missing data
- Storing in SQLite on phone
Part 3: The Model
- XGBoost vs LSTM vs neural networks
- Walk-forward validation (no lookahead bias)
- Feature importance analysis
- Overfitting prevention
Part 4: The System
- Signal generation: BUY CE, BUY PE, NO TRADE
- Risk management: 1% per trade, 20% stop-loss
- Execution: Bracket orders, Telegram alerts
- Journaling: Auto-logging, performance tracking
Part 5: The Edge
- 180 trades, 62% win rate, ₹96,000 profit
- What AI got wrong (38% losses)
- What human override improved (67% win rate)
- The hybrid system that works
Part 6: The Business
- How to scale: 1 trade → 100 trades
- How to monitor: Dashboard, alerts, reports
- How to improve: Retraining, feature engineering
- How to share: Open-source, community, consulting
Who Should Read It
Developers:
- "I know Python, but I don't know trading"
- "I want to build AI systems, but don't know where to start"
- "I want to run ML on my phone, not cloud"
Traders:
- "I want to use AI, but don't know how to code"
- "I've tried GPT-4 for trading, but it's not accurate enough"
- "I want a system I can control, not a black box"
AI Builders:
- "I want to build local AI systems"
- "I want to understand edge AI, not just cloud APIs"
- "I want to build for Indian constraints"
What Readers Say
"I built my first trading AI in 2 weeks using Brain Markets. 61% accuracy, ₹0 cost. This book is a blueprint." — Vikram, Chennai
"Finally, a book that shows you how to build AI trading without ₹10 lakh infrastructure." — Neha, Pune
"The XGBoost section alone is worth the price. I had no idea structured data needed different models than LLMs." — Amit, Hyderabad
Why I Wrote These Books
1. I Needed to Think Clearly
Writing forces clarity.
When you write a book, you can't hide behind complexity. You have to explain things simply.
Right Brain Wins taught me:
- Why I blew ₹50,000
- How to fix my psychology
- The right-brain/left-brain framework
Brain Markets taught me:
- How XGBoost actually works
- Why local AI beats cloud for trading
- The complete system from data to execution
2. I Wanted to Build Authority
Books are the ultimate authority signal.
In the age of AI-generated content, a book says: "I thought about this deeply. I have something worth saying."
Results:
- Dev.to followers: 500 → 2,000+ after books
- Consulting inquiries: 0 → 5/month
- Speaking opportunities: 0 → 2
- LinkedIn connections: 1,000 → 5,000+
3. I Wanted to Give Back
I learned from free resources:
- Zerodha Varsity
- Investopedia
- Stack Overflow
- GitHub
I wanted to contribute back.
Books are my contribution.
The Hard Truth About Writing a Book
It's Not About Money
I've made ~₹50,000 from books directly. (Direct sales, not Amazon)
But I've spent:
- 6 months writing
- ₹20,000 on editing, design, publishing
- 100+ hours on marketing
ROI: Negative, if you count money.
But:
- Authority: Priceless
- Clarity: Priceless
- Opportunities: Priceless
It's Not About Fame
Right Brain Wins has ~200 copies.
Brain Markets has ~150 copies.
Not exactly J.K. Rowling.
But:
- People reference my books in articles
- Companies reach out for consulting
- Media asks for interviews
- Other authors ask me to review their books
It's About Legacy
Books outlast articles, tweets, videos.
Articles get buried in feeds.
Tweets get lost in timelines.
Videos get buried in algorithms.
Books stay.
- Someone finds your book 5 years later
- They read it, implement it, change their life
- That's legacy.
How I Wrote the Books
Process
1. Outline (2 weeks)
- Mind map all topics
- Organize into parts/chapters
- Create chapter summaries
2. Draft (3 months)
- Write 1,000 words/day
- Morning routine: 6-8 AM, no distractions
- Track progress in Notion
3. Edit (1 month)
- Self-edit: cut 20%
- Professional editor: cut another 10%
- Proofread: fix grammar, typos
4. Design (2 weeks)
- Cover design: Canva + Fiverr
- Interior layout: Google Docs
- Illustrations: Midjourney + Canva
5. Publish (1 week)
- Format: PDF + EPUB + MOBI
- Platform: Gumroad + Leanpub
- Price: ₹199-499
Tools I used:
- Writing: Google Docs, Notion, Grammarly
- Editing: Hemingway App, ProWritingAid
- Design: Canva, Figma
- Publishing: Gumroad, Leanpub, Amazon KDP
- Marketing: Dev.to, LinkedIn, Twitter, Telegram
Writing Routine
Daily:
- 6:00 AM: Wake up, coffee
- 6:30 AM: Write 1,000 words
- 8:00 AM: Stop, review, edit
- 8:30 AM: Post progress on Twitter
Weekly:
- Monday: Outline next chapter
- Tuesday-Saturday: Write
- Sunday: Edit previous week's work
Monthly:
- Review progress
- Adjust outline
- Get feedback from beta readers
Marketing the Books
Pre-Launch (3 months)
1. Build audience:
- Write articles on Dev.to, Medium
- Post on Twitter/X daily
- Build email list (Mailchimp)
2. Create buzz:
- Teaser chapters
- Cover reveal
- Behind-the-scenes content
3. Beta readers:
- 20-30 beta readers
- Get feedback, testimonials
- Fix issues before launch
Launch (1 week)
1. Product Hunt:
- Launch on Product Hunt
- Goal: Top 5 product of the day
2. Dev.to article:
- Announce book with article
- Link to Gumroad
3. LinkedIn:
- Post about book launch
- Tag early readers, beta readers
4. Twitter/X:
- Thread about book
- Quote tweets from readers
5. Telegram:
- Share with community
- Discount for first 24 hours
Post-Launch (ongoing)
1. Content marketing:
- Write articles related to book topics
- Reference book in articles
- "I wrote about this in my book"
2. Speaking:
- Podcasts, webinars, conferences
- Free chapter as lead magnet
3. Updates:
- Add new chapters as market changes
- Notify readers of updates
The Future of My Books
Updating for 2027-2028
Right Brain Wins 2.0:
- Add AI psychology section
- Case studies from 2026-2027
- Updated 90-day plan
Brain Markets 2.0:
- Add GPT-5.5, Gemini 2.0, Claude 4 comparisons
- Updated XGBoost model (new features)
- M4 Mini setup guide
- Lightning + AI trading system
Translations
Planned:
- Hindi translation for Right Brain Wins
- Tamil translation for Brain Markets
- Spanish translation for Latin American traders
Audiobook
In progress:
- Right Brain Wins audiobook (Hinglish)
- Brain Markets audiobook (English)
What the Books Mean to Me
Right Brain Wins = My philosophy. How I think about trading, AI, and life.
Brain Markets = My blueprint. How I build AI trading systems.
Together, they're my legacy.
Not because they're bestsellers.
But because they help people.
Every message I get:
- "I stopped revenge trading after reading your book"
- "I built my first AI trading system using your book"
- "I finally understand XGBoost"
That's why I wrote them.
Buy the Books
Right Brain Wins:
- Price: ₹199
- Format: PDF + EPUB
- Pages: 120
- Link: https://optiontradingwithai.in/books/right-brain-wins
Brain Markets:
- Price: ₹499
- Format: PDF + EPUB
- Pages: 280
- Link: https://optiontradingwithai.in/books/brain-markets
Bundle: ₹499 (both books, 30% discount)
The Bottom Line
Writing books is hard. It's not about money. It's not about fame.
It's about:
- Clarity: Writing forces you to think clearly
- Authority: Books signal expertise
- Legacy: Books outlast everything else
- Impact: Books change lives
If you're thinking about writing a book:
- Start today. Even 200 words/day adds up.
- Write what you know. Don't write what's trendy.
- Focus on helping. Not selling.
- Ship it. Perfect is the enemy of done.
My books aren't perfect. But they're mine.
And they're helping people.
AI proposes. You dispose.
P.S. I'm working on Book 3: "The AI Trader's Handbook" — a complete guide to building AI trading systems for Indian retail traders. Coming 2027.
About the Author: Shakti Tiwari is an AI builder and retail trader based in Chandigarh, India. He builds local AI trading systems on a ₹15,000 phone and writes about local AI, options trading, Bitcoin, and agent evaluation. Dev.to: @shaktitiwari
Tags: books, trading, AI, author, publishing, rightbrain, brainmarkets, writing
Meta: My journey writing two books on trading and AI: Right Brain Wins (psychology + right-brain thinking) and Brain Markets (AI-powered trading systems). Why I wrote them, what they cover, how I wrote them, marketing strategy, hard truths about book writing, legacy, impact. Buy links included.
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