IN CONVERSATION WITH SIMANT VERMA #INTERVIEWSERIES #INDIANBOOKBLOGGER @FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES📄📖

I was excited at a very different level for this interview😀 with Simant Verma, the Blogger behind Flipping Through the Pages, from India. Also, this is my first interview with an Indian Book Blogger and that makes it a little special.

So, all those who want to start their Book Blogs or are searching for some inspiration in Book Blogging can scan some of her words of sapience🦉🦉 This is a very moderate introduction I know but to add on to the flavour, She has just entered into her Motherhood and reading her views about Blogging plus Parenting would be fun and motivating too.

So let’s plunge into her words. 

 

 

1. Can you tell our readers about yourself and your blog?

My name is Simant Verma. I am from India. I am fairly a new reader, I started reading again a few years back. I used to read a little in childhood but I never went too far from the textbooks. That’s why if you’ll ask me if I have read a particular book, my answer would be No! 90% of the time 😀 Well, I started my blog, Flipping Through the Pages, in 2017 to change that. I started the blog to keep myself motivated, to read more. And would say it was a good decision 🙂 I try to post almost all the reviews on my blog, which includes a book from old titles to new releases. Along with reviews, I also try to post diverse content like discussions, book tags etc. I hope, if you think of visiting it, you will enjoy it 🙂

 

 

 

2. How did you land up into the Blogging world? What inspired you?

I was not a reader always. I used to read when I was much younger and left it when I was in college, but I always knew that I loved reading. One day I was scrolling through Instagram (when I first discovered it) and the first thing that came to my mind was to search for book accounts. And when I did, ahh, there was a huge crowd of #bookstagrammers. I was literally in shock with what I had seen, I’d never imagined the book community to be so large. Then I logged in to my Goodreads account (which I had made like years ago), updated a few books that I had read in my early days and realized I was nowhere near to be called a reader, though I loved reading! At that moment, I decided to start reading again. It was November 2016, I guess. In Jan 2017, I made my Instagram account for books, started posting my reviews here and on Goodreads. But I realized I couldn’t say as much as I wanted, on those platforms. Then the idea of being a blogger came to my mind. I asked a friend if it was a good idea, and he said, “Yes, definitely!” I started Googling famous book blogs and came up with the overall idea of what my blog would be like. I wanted to make my presence felt outside my personal life; I wanted to do something as a hobby apart from my 9-6 job. So finally, on 14th July 2017 (and that’s my birthday) I launched Flipping Through the Pages 🙂

3. What is the most difficult part about blogging for you?

The most difficult part is to manage to blog with my married life and a full-time job. And now there has been an addition. I have been blessed with a baby recently. So for the past few months, I am of course on blogging hiatus but hoping to come back soon once I settle into this new role 🙂 Managing blogging with all these other priorities is really difficult. But if you want to keep going, good planning is really important.

4. What is your work schedule like when you are blogging? What changes has motherhood brought into your blogging life? (Our readers would love to know)

Well, as I told earlier, I am married and have a full-time job. I used to post 4 times a week but soon I realised, blogging is taking too much of my time. So I switched to posting 3 times a week. It was going good till I became a mother 😀 Now, I am on blogging hiatus for a while but I really want to come back and deliver good content to my readers. But, I guess life has different priorities at different stages 🙂

 

5. How do you promote your blog and what tips would you give to new bloggers about blog promotions?

Truth to be told, I am not that good with blog promotions 😀 That’s why my blog following is still low considering the appreciation I get. What I do is, I just share my posts on relevant social media like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. But to promote your content fully, you need to do more. I have seen other bloggers doing that. Frankly, I tried doing it but I often lack time.

6. Do you monetize your blog? If, yes then what are your means for monetization that will help out other bloggers too?

Yes, I monetize my blog. I use Amazon and Book Depository. But I have NEVER earned a single penny through these sources. I don’t know how people earn through these. I guess I am not popular enough to convince people to use my links 😀 Well, whatever is the reason, I think these are the starting points for monetizing. You can also check Pinterest for that. I am still to research on this more.

7. What are some of your favourite Book Blogs that you would like to recommend the readers?

Ahh, there are so many wonderful blogs. I would like to include a few which I could remember at the moment: Drizzle & Hurricane Books | Fannatality |Paper Fury | Read By Tiffany |Unputdownable Books | Avalinah’s Books |Not Just Fiction | This is Lit | Shut Up, Shealea

8. How does it feel like being a Book Blogger in India? Do you think that the reading community in India is big and effective for Book Bloggers?

Being a book blogger in India is a little tough? I think the reading culture is not that prominent here as compared to other countries. My blog posts have the least views from my own country. I feel like, here, people don’t often care. We definitely have a big reading community but it is still quite small as compared to other countries. We have a long road ahead of us.

 

9. What are your sources for Books that you read and review on your blog? How can new bloggers reach them, in case they are other than self-purchases?

Well, most of my books are the ones which I purchase myself. A huge source for ARCs for me is NetGalley. But now I have stopped using it more because I am drowned in pending arcs 😀 I also get some books from Indian publishers. I have felt that most of the Indian publishers are active on Instagram and they make their lists based on your Instagram profile. So I would definitely recommend making the Instagram profile better. I still have quite a low following that’s why I don’t have access to all the publishers, but you can always improve your chances. You can also directly contact publishers through their contact pages on their websites.

10. What would be your Million dollar advice to the budding bloggers reading your thoughts?

I would suggest that don’t run behind free books and arcs. Soon they will overcome you and your reading would be pointed towards quantity rather than quality. Choose wisely which books you want to request and review. Make your time valuable. There would always be people giving books for free to review but consider carefully before accepting those requests. And yes, don’t go all mad on NetGalley 😦

Thank you, Simant!

 

What Simant Says about Books&Sstuff

 

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Hope you all enjoyed reading. Do share your thoughts with me in the comment section below. I would love to listen from you about the interview. Happy reading!

 If you’re a book blogger yourself, and you’d like to be interviewed, follow this link to contact.