Interview with the national bestselling author of the novel, The Other Side of the Bed

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself ,your blog,and your aspirations and your hobbies!!

I’m a national bestselling author of the novel, The Other Side of the Bed, a contributing author at Kaleidoscope, and a computer science research scholar. I have been blogging for the past 7 years and my blog, Walking Barefoot on Broken Glass (http://bhavyakaushik.com) is a two year old blog at Tumblr where I ramble (a lot) about almost everything. I like to write, read and travel a lot!

2. How you first got involved in with blogging, are you an imaginative person?

I first got involved with blogging via writerscafe, almost seven years ago and then there was no looking back. Am I an imaginative person? Uhm, I don’t know exactly. I think my readers can answer this question in a better way :)

3. What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?

Frankly speaking, I do not find it challenging at all. According to me, if someone is finding it hard (or challenging) to blog about their passion, then they should give up with their blog altogether.

4. Tell me about some of the people you have met while working on your blog?

I have met some of the most amazing people during my blogging experience – some of the most amazing writers who have now become my friends. I was able to write my debut novel because of their encouragement. I won’t pinpoint and name a few people, because I know I will forget a couple of them in the process. Nevertheless, I know that I have an extended family of writers out there!

5. How would (someone) describe your blogging style?

I think my blogging, not only blogging – but writing style in general, is very personal and intriguing. I always try to add some or other person touch in my posts which makes it easier for my readers to relate to me.

6. What do you do when you are not working on your blog?

I’m a research scholar, so I study and write codes during weekdays. I’m also working on my next novel, which keeps me busy all the time!

7 .Where do you see yourself blogging wise in the next 6 months, and 5 years down the road?

I don’t have any goals or agendas related to my blog. I’m blogging just for myself (yes, I’m selfish with this one). I already have a domain and ample amount of followers (Thank God!). So, wherever life will take me and my blog in the next five or ten years, I would be happy with it!

8. What networking do you do that you feel helps your blogging business?

I follow and comment on the blogs I like to read, a lot! Also, browsing through various blogs listed at Tumblr and Indiblogger is my favorite pastime. I think it helped me a lot to develop a faithful reader-base.

9. How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog? Many people struggle with coming up with different articles/posts and they only have one blog.

I maintain three active blogs and I agree, sometimes even I struggle to post fresh material on all of them. But I always try to pour my heart out with my writings, especially when I post them on my primary blog. I think the quality of our posts should matter. A good single post is worth of some ten average posts.

10. Whats your strategy with your blog in general?

I experiment a lot with my posts and always try to come up with new stuff. I never restrict my blog to just poetry or photography or write-ups about a specified topic. I just write what I feel about!

11. Any specific tips you have for newbie bloggers who want to make it in the blogosphere?

I see a lot of bloggers, especially the new ones who want to gain readers overnight, or would like to post only for contests. The way I see it, is that if you are blogging to gain followers or to win a contest or two, then you are doing it the wrong way. Just be a good writer first, and then think about all these secondary things.

12. What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?

Honestly, I never think so much before posting something. But among all these points, I prioritize my content the most.

13. Whats the best thing a blogger can give to his readers?

Hope. The best thing any writer can give to his/her readers is hope – hope to live, hope to strive for a dream. I maintain another blog which is based on anti-depression and bullying. Every time, I receive even an anonymous message from someone thanking me, and saying that because of me they didn’t give me, makes it all worth it!

14. A lot of people are interested in blogging for the money earning potential. What are some tips for people interesting in making money from blogging? What are some realistic expectations in regards to what can be made?

I do not write or blog for instance to get anything in return. So, I do not think that I’m the right person to answer this question. But according to me, if you are writing for anything except your passion – then you should not write at all!

15. What motivates you most in life?

Every day, after waking up – I go to my balcony and I see the sunrise. That feeling of being alive, of being together and most importantly of being together in one piece makes me content. It is a very strange emotion which cannot be elucidated in words. But it inspires me, not only to write, but also to be a better person.

16. What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your blog?

I share my stuff at various online portals and promote it a lot to gain visibility.

17 What was the most challenging moment in your blog content development process and why?

I haven’t faced any challenging moment as of yet! If I will face something like that in prospect, I will surely let you know!

18. Everyone has a favorite/least favorite post. Name yours and why?

Ah! There are a lot actually. To name one, I would say one of my poems – Forever Gone, Forever You, will remain my favorite which I wrote for my grandpa.

(http://bhavyakaushik.com/post/68869476320/forever-gone-forever-you)

My least favorite would be a post which I wrote for a contest. I deleted it afterwards though!

19. Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why?

I look up to a couple of bloggers actually. To name a few, I would say - Pankti, Ekta, Karthik, Aayesha, Karan, Bushra and Sammya. They always come up with something new and creative, and I always look forward to read their work.

20. What is the story behind the name of the blog?

Walking Barefoot on Broken Glass was the name of my Wordpress blog which I started almost seven years ago. Instead of migrating it to Tumblr, I deleted the entire blog and started fresh on Tumblr with it. But for the sake of my readers, I stuck up with the original name.

When I started my blog, I used to write about my experiences and my self-struggle with which I was going through at that time, and thus the name – Walking barefoot on broken glass.

21. Your connection with any Blogger Network like Indi blogger or Writeupcafe or any other and the experience?

 I’m very active at Indiblogger and I just love it there. I get inspired a lot by my fellow bloggers. It is a very supportive place!

22. Which genre do you feel gets the raw deal?

I think Personal blogs always get that raw information on a piece of paper (or computer screen)

23. Which one plug-in would you suggest all bloggers to have?

Social media (sharing) plug-in is a must, according to me!

24. Five adjectives that describe you.

Passionate, emotional, dreamer, stargazer, focused.

25. What book would you say has made the biggest impact good or bad on you?

White Oleander by Janet Fitch, no second thought on this one!

26. Do you get easily provoked by positive/negative comments??

Not at all! I take everything very constructively.

27. Do you plan to write a book, as every bloggers dream it is?

My debut novel was published in January 2013 and I’m almost done with my second novel (I’m super excited about it!)

28. Are you a judgmental person, do you prefer to take sides instead of standing neutral?

I don’t judge people, on the basis of anything. I don’t believe that this world is divided into black and white. I always prefer to see that grey area, which often a lot of people fail to even recognize.

29. Your collaboration with other bloggers, are you much into social networking, tell us everything about it?

I used to collaborate a lot when I started blogging, but now I’m very… VERY selective about it. I just find it hard to match up with the sense of sensitivity of a lot of people actually, to be frank! I think I need to evolve myself a lot for that.

30. What genre attracts you the most and which genre you avoid?

I like to read contemporary fiction a lot, and biographies.

I avoid fantasy.

31. Your Views on Contests and increasing plagiarism?

Contests are good, if you write for a couple of them. But then I see some bloggers who blogs only for contests and that just seems like the most irrelevant thing to me sometimes. I participate in contests too, but I never allow my blog to lose its originality because of any contest. If I find that any contest is not relevant to my blog, then I just don’t participate in it. For me the blog comes first. Always.

32. Words for me and my blogs Desire v/s Destiny and Blogger Interviews.

I absolutely love reading your blog and the interviews which you are doing at The Blogger Interviews. It is really a commendable job which you are doing in order to promote fellow bloggers.

Desire v/s Destiny is one of the most thoughtful and versatile blogs that I have come across in a very long time. I absolutely love your tag line! (And the photo posts!)

33. On winning the Award/s, Are they Really necessary.

They are not necessary. But it always feels nice to be appreciated for your work. It acts like a driving force.