WITH GLOBAL ASPIRATIONS AAKANKSHA EXCELS AS A BLOGGER
BRIEF PROFILE OF THE BLOGGER/AUTHOR:
Mrs. Aakanksha Jain is a Book blogger, Content creator, You
Tuber, Podcaster and Author of a non-fiction book, “How to Become an Amazon
Influencer”. She is blogging from 2017 onwards and working towards making her
blog “Books Charming,” a global brand. She started blogging to enhance her
talents, but she continued it professionally, discovering this industry's
scope. For her, the best part of her work is reading life-changing narratives.
She was recently awarded a “Best Book Blogger of the Year award” and also interviewed
by Sharing Stories magazine. She has been interviewed by other bloggers and
authors as well. When not reading or writing, she spends her time,
binge-watching. Born and brought up in Indore, India, she has recently moved to
Pune.
Social Media Links:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bookscharm
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bookscharming/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aakanksha-jain-980b766a/
Pinterest - https://in.pinterest.com/bookscharming/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/aakankshajain22
Website - https://www.bookscharming.com/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGW5_vJvVTIiqoU2xgIRLBg
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Q Are you a professional writer?
Yes, I am a professional writer. Most of
my income comes from the book-reviews, promotions and other connected
activities.
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Q How many of your books have been
published and blogs posted so far?
I have only one book published so far
viz. “How to Become an Amazon Influencer”. It was published on Amazon in the
year 2020. My blog “Books Charming,” is running from 2017 onwards, with
numerous reviews, guest posts, interviews of authors and bloggers etc.
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Q What are the specific reasons for
choosing this particular field of blogging?
In the year 2017, I started blogging
with a view to improve my language and writing skills, but with passage of time,
I started enjoying it and also came across Goodreads. After some research, I
thought that this might be a promising career for me.
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Q How did you zero in on the name "Books
Charming.com"?
For a very long time, name of my blog was
“Simple Living High Thinking”, but it didn't define that on this blog someone can
posts book-reviews etc. also. Therefore, I started brainstorming. I looked up to the names, some I liked, but
they were already taken by somebody. I needed the term that defined my work,
available on social media and most importantly, no one should be using the
domain with that particular name. “Books Charming” ticked all the boxes for
me.
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Q What has been the general
assessment of the reviewers and readers for your blogging
activity/contribution? What is your own assessment?
It's an exciting question. Well, I
love my readers, and who doesn't? I think they appreciate my work and honest
reviews are seen in my blog stats. My own assessment, hmmm, let me guess, I
always work for being best or giving my best to any task, but never in my
dreams I thought that I'll reach this position in blogging. Now I am
well-recognized with a genuine readers' base, so I started dreaming big and I
am working towards it. I have a long way to go.
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Q Did you receive
appreciation/recognition/awards for your blogging contribution?
Yes, in December 2020, I was
awarded as a “Best Book Blogger of the Year 2020”.
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Q Who are your role models?
My role-models are: Michelle
Obama, Barack Obama, Nick Vujicic and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
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Q Do you recommend writing books and/or
blogs jointly? In your opinion, what are the areas of benefits & problems
in such joint ventures?
Writing comes from inside; and one
can't force it. When I started blogging, I didn't think that I will write a
book, but I did, because I felt like that. A few bloggers are authors as well, while some
are happy with blogging only and have no intention of writing books. So, it
depends on the person. For me, the benefit of a joint venture is that I already
have an audience to showcase my books. Those authors who write books and do not
have adequate base of readers, suffer for reviews.
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Q When & how do you get the ideas
& do you record them immediately somewhere?
There is no specific time for the ideas
to come, but once they do, I note them in my diary immediately.
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Q Besides the quality of writing, in
your opinion, what are the other factors for the success of blogs?
In my opinion, after the quality of
writing, S.E.O. and layout of the blog are the next most important factors.
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Q Do you agree with the observation
that many writers are keeping writing as a secondary occupation? What is it
that draws them towards the field of "Writing"?
Yes, I agree with this observation. The
writers keep it as secondary occupation, because not every book can become an
instant bestseller. It is hard for a writer to totally depend on writing to
earn bread. But writing soothes and calms one's mind. That's why I write and I
guess others too, hopefully.
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Q Which aspects motivate you to write
"blogs" and "books"?
Behind blogging, my motive is to
showcase my writings. But regarding the book, I only had one goal viz. to help
others. I remember asking many bloggers as to how they got the blue tick on
their Amazon profile, and they simply lied by saying, oh, I didn't do anything.
It just happened, or Amazon did it by themselves. I trusted them until I did my
research and found that there is a process to follow. I don't want others to go
through what I faced; that's the reason why I wrote the book “How to Become an
Amazon Influencer”.
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Q Has Facebook helped you in any way, in
your writing career, or even otherwise? If yes, please elucidate.
A big yes. I got many projects because
of Facebook. The book readers group on Facebook is super helpful and it has helped
me to connect worldwide. After Google, the second largest number of views on my
blog, “Books Charming”, are received from Facebook.
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Q How are you able to divide the
available time between your job, management of the home, and your writing
career?
Well, now I'm a full-time book blogger,
so it eliminates the job part. I got married in December 2020, and recently
moved to Pune, which changed the equilibrium, but my work is my top-most
priority. Further, I'm very good at multi-tasking, so it won't be a problem.
Also, management of the home is not the responsibility of just the women. My
husband is a part of it too, so he has to help with the chores and supervision,
and he did.
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Q If you were not a writer, in
what other way would you have expressed your creativity?
Many people don't know that I
paint. I'm more into abstract ones; and I draw very well. So, if not writing,
then I will show my creativity via abstract paintings.
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Q Have your family members and friends
helped and/or contributed in any way to your writing career?
I am very grateful to two persons and will
always be, firstly my younger sister Aastha and secondly Prateek (my husband).
They are with me from day one, supporting, encouraging, guiding and sometimes
handling my work too.
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Q What is your opinion about e-books?
Due to this concept of e-books, is the survival of printed books in the future
in jeopardy?
Both have their advantages and
disadvantages, but I don't think that printed books are in any way in jeopardy.
Millions of readers love to hold the books in their hands, smell them, and feel
proud to have paperbacks on their bookshelf, including me. So, they will not
change, trust me, but yes, the main benefit of an e-book is that now readers
can also read those books that are out of print or very rare.
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Q What are your plans for writing blogs
and books in the near future?
For the blogs, I have the understanding
of a clear path of where I want to see “Books Charming” by the end of this
year, and I'm working day and night for that goal. Also, I want to publish a short story this year.
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Q What is your advice to the budding
authors?
A. My advice for budding authors is that
they should have trust in themselves and their writing. They should place their
works in public and not be afraid of criticism. They should do what their heart
says, connect and collaborate with like-minded persons and grow personally and
professionally.
----------vijaiksharma
1 comment:
Thank you for this opportunity.
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