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.
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.
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.
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.
