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Interview with Mohd Faizan Fahim from Bookaapi Book Blog

Welcome back for another Book Blogger Interview! This week my guest is Mohd Faizan Fahim from Bookaapi Book Blog

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Interview with Mohd Faizan Fahim from Bookaapi Book Blog

Introduce yourself. Who are you? Where are you from? Where do you blog?

Hello everyone, my name is Faizan Fahim. I am a student, currently doing MBA in Marketing. I am from New Delhi, Capital of India. I am living here for my whole life.

I do blogging on my book blog, hosted on WordPress. Other than the blog, I post the review on GoodReads, I do have a Facebook page, and Instagram Account.

I make graphics for my blog and Instagram on Ms Publisher and PowerPoint.

Why and how do you blog? What made you start?

What made me start is the reason when I read a thread on Goodreads that they are deleting the negative reviews. There was a very big discussion on that GoodReads post, how GoodReads being unfair to the reviewers, so I thought, I should make a blog. And I did.

I used both now, GoodReads and Book blog.

At least I own my content and reviews now, GoodReads can have a part of it, but it is mine.

So, wanting to own my content make me start my own blog.

How long have you been blogging?

I am blogging for past 2 years, one year on wordpress.com, and then I brought the self-hosted plan of WordPress. It was so difficult in starting, with all theme and customizing, but we are readers, we can read and solve problems so that I did.

What advice do you wish you'd had when you started?

When starting, I filled up my blog with different widgets. There was a Twitter widget, and Facebook Page widget, Instagram Widget and also a Goodreads widget.

One day I thought about why I am making my blog so messy. So I started cleaning. Now there are not many widgets. My latest posts, and some ads.

That I wished to know earlier.

This is the advice I give to new book bloggers, keep your blog clean.

How much time do you devote to blogging each day/week/month?

I try to write at least one post every week. And if you see me some latest post, you will realise how much work I do in writing a single post. From creating good-looking graphics to writing a detailed article that would be helpful to the reader.

So yeah, it takes time to write a post.

Sometime even three days, because I don’t sit consistently.

I make time to do this between other works.

But I am thinking to give more time and post at least two posts a week.

How often do you post on your blog?

Already answered in Question 5 I think.

What motivates you to keep blogging about books?

Facebook Groups.

Let’s see.

I read the post on one of my Facebook Group that what WordPress Plugins a beginner book bloggers should use?

So I wrote the “Best WordPress Plugins for Book Bloggers” about this topic.

My Facebook book Blogging groups motivate me to blog, because they offer me the problem, that I solve.

And there are NetGalley ARCs that I like to review on my blog.

One more major motivation is the sense of creating something. It feels good when I see my published post.

Is there something you wish authors knew about your blog or blogging?

I don’t know what to say here…

I don’t have relations with authors or publication houses much.

They send me books and I review them.

What's your most popular blog post?

I am not a popular blogger, so there is no popular post.

But “Book Blog Post Ideas”, this post has more views than other posts.

I wrote a long post about what to write when you are out of ideas. 30+ Ideas, with an explanation.

Helpful for book bloggers.

Do you write reviews for every book you read?

No, that is not possible for me.

I write a review of only those books that I said I will review.

Like NetGalley book, and review Copies.

Other books I read, I write about them, not reviews, but Quote Post or Analysis of a Character or Situation.

I am trying to widen my book blog topics.

How many book reviews do you normally do a week?

One post, but that is not always a review.

But I am trying to write at least one review every week.

What genres are your favourites?

My favourite genre, this is my favourite question.

I like reading Y/A Fiction, teenage Stories, Coming of Age Novel.

I also like slow books. Slow books is not a genre, but I like books with prose.

Like Kate Atkinson, Carol Rifka Brunt. Fast books like Gone Girl, and The Girl on the Train, well, I want to protect myself from those type of books.

I also like reading short stories. Short stories say a lot of things in a few words.

Good writing is what I want from a book. Good writing with the Good story.

I don’t need lessons, motivations or jaw-dropping sequence. Give me a good metaphor, with prose, and sound story. That’s all.

What are you currently reading and why did you choose to read it?

I am reading Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I am reading it because a friend of mine said that I read crap and I should read some good fiction.

So my friend, who thinks reading y/a is idiotic, gave me this book.

But I am also reading a Me and Me by Alice Kuipers.

Do you have any plans for your blog in the future?

Yes, I am thinking of writing more, and make a helpful guide for beginner book blogger.

I am thinking of adding any of my friends to help with sharing on social media.

TBH I am not a planner, I do things randomly.

I also have to figure out that mail thing. I am a noob at that.

But it is a matter of time that I will solve that riddle too…