Interview with Romila! (Founder of Novemberschild)

Hello Friends,

Welcome Back!!

I am here again with an interview. Please welcome Romila( Founder of Novemberschild).

She is an author, a blogger and now she writes articles for publications and websites.

So without any delay.

Let’s get started!

1. Me–A short introduction about you and your blog?

Romila– I blog-write and tweet as Novemberschild. I am have been around since 2004.

I turned a blogger in 2004 out of curiosity to see how this whole thing works and never dreamt it would go so long – 15 years. In 2008, I turned a full-time writer. I quit full time blogging in November 2018.

I am writing books and articles for websites and publications. I am a voracious reader, devoted coffee-drinker, avid thinker and a fashion lover.

Conversations with me are endless & joyful – the perfect combination! Just like my hilarious tweets, I am a very witty person in real.

I happily accept bouquets and brickbats in my writings. I don’t have a blog currently. I like to travel, talk, express and spread happiness. When I am not writing, you can find me reading books and sipping coffee or chatting with friends.
Writing makes me contented. I love listening to music under a calm starry night. Reading literature soothes my soul.

I am a fun person and very friendly. I have been featured in Paycheck India –IIM (Ahmedabad) Project, Baggout, Buzz Magazine, Speaking Tree (Times of India), Blogchatter, Mumbai Matters to name a few.

2. Me-How did you get into blogging? What inspired you to start a blog?

Romila– I never planned to be a blogger, and it just happened out of curiosity when blogs were just getting famous.

3. How do you motivate yourselves, your source of motivation?

Romila– Life! Every second of my existence motivates me towards better work and better writing. I am my own motivation.

4. Me-Do you want to mention about few challenges which you faced in your blogging journey?

Romila– I will not call them challenges but they have been part of my blogging journey.

Defining where to start is always a challenge, especially if you are new to blogging. A lot of your time is spent finding that topic that really calls to you. As I realised I am better without a niche, blogging became easy for me. There are millions of bloggers in the world.

How in the world am I supposed to stand out? Instead of trying to blend in, I differentiated myself and my content to make a noise in this blogging world and it worked in my favour.

Creating connections in the blogging circle is very crucial for the blog’s survival and keeping these relationships on and offline is a struggle.

I took the social media way and made bloggers my friends and met them in real, discussed ideas over coffee and made sure we are connected to each other timely.

5. Me-What suggestions do you want to give newbie bloggers?

Romila– Blogging changes. It is completely different today than it was when I started in 2004. Blogs have a shelf life always be learning and changing.

Think of new content you could offer your readers. Keep your senses open for things your reader needs. Write a lot. The posts should either be informative and educational, or entertaining. Spell check many times. And give each piece a proper edit. Articles with tons of grammar and spelling mistakes are not acceptable to readers.

Keep a list of ideas at one place. When writer’s block hits, you’ll always have specific topics to draft. Be active on social media. Make your presence known- the actual engagement from you- no bots, automation or gaming. Have a media kit, press page, and work page.

Keep editing it all the time and it’s a great way to keep track of your accomplishments! Use WordPress from the very beginning. Read articles and magazines of your niche. It will improve your writing style a lot.

6. Me- Do you want to give some tips or ideas for those who are interested in making money from a blog?

Romila– Blogger, please don’t expect to start making money right away (and don’t get discouraged if you don’t make some money after a year).

There’s no “get rich quick” scheme in blogging but you can go with Affiliate Marketing but only after one year of blogging.

Be careful there a lot of spam emails, they offer money but they damage DA of your blog and relationship with Google.

Making money as a blogger is possible and straightforward, but all these tips of earning income are not going to work for you or for everyone.

Don’t be afraid to tweak your methods to see what works best for you and your readers. Making money through blogging takes a lot of persistence, but it can pay off in the long-run if you’re starting out from below.

Just remember that you don’t have to use all of these money-making avenues at once in a marathon speed. Have patience. Give time to learn what works for you and what doesn’t.

7. Me-What is the most frustrating aspect of blogging? If any? Please mention?

Romila- Believe it or not, I’ve done this whole blogging thing for 15 years now. It’s pretty much the longest I’ve ever had to explore a curiosity.

There are some of the things that really frustrate me in this blogging world such as – When Jetpack makes your blog down, When another blogger writes basically the same blog post as yours, When you spend hours pouring your heart out in a blog post and no-one reads it, When you get more than 10 new subscribers in a week and then you realise they’re all fake accounts.

When a brand is really happy for your post but then doesn’t pay your invoice for really long, When you find out a blogger with the same stats gets paid twice as much for the same work and getting a promising email about a sponsored post, only to find out its spam.

8. Any common mistakes which bloggers do with their blog? And they should keep an eye on this.

Romila– Most of the bloggers don’t identify their audience. Many get the topic and have the facts, but don’t connect with anybody. Blogging without a niche doesn’t work for everyone.

Having a tightly defined and clear mission- read it as niche, makes you much more likely to gain a strong and passionate following that’s incredibly valuable to your blog.

Inconsistency is one of the greatest factors of an unsuccessful blog. Creating great content doesn’t take 5 minutes, which is a problem for those who are accustomed to instant gratification. Not committing to blogging is another big mistake. A lot of people get into blogging, and think it will have an instant impact but get a rude awakening instead.

Readers/audience doesn’t care about your blog unless you’re a celebrity. Write blog posts that are entertaining, topical, and/or useful. Stop writing poor posts.

Always proofread before posting. Use spell-check and review your work, Take time to research the concepts, facts, and ideas. One of the most limiting mistakes bloggers do is they think they can do everything alone.

There are a lot of dedicated blogging groups in every niche. This would help in the growth of blog with extra promoters and give you a greater social circle to utilise for exposure of your brand/blog.

9. What do you love about blogging and your blog?

Romila– 15 years ago, blogs didn’t exist. Today, there are over 100 million of them and at least 10 new blogs get added every day. I have stopped blogging but I still love blogging and I encourage it a lot.

Even though ‘blogging’ has hit it big, most people don’t get what makes blogging so powerful, helpful, and beneficial. The only way to become a better writer is to write – pages and pages. The more you blog, the more you write – and the better writer you become.

Blogging isn’t just a good way to become a better writer, it is the fastest path to becoming a published writer. Bloggers get to read their readers’ comments the same day they click ‘publish’.This makes blogging a great way to get feedback on an idea that you want to develop further.

10.Your message to readers.

Thank you, readers, for your time who visited my blog regularly and all those who read my articles, tweets, microblogging pieces every day. One thing I desperately need is your feedback.

While the comments/feedback options allow readers to specifically address what I’ve written that day, what I’m looking for is a greater sense of what people want. What exactly do you want more of? What topics interest you the most? All suggestions are welcome.

Thank you, Deepika for giving me this chance to speak to readers through your blog about myself and my blogging experience.

This interview today got back my good old days of regular blogging. I wish to get featured in your blog again.

Deepika your blog is in the right direction, I love your poetries and the interview series. I wish you good luck and should you need any help in blogging or writing please do ping me, just a tweet/email away. Will be happy to help.

Note: Dear Readers, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you like to have me in your blog! I look forward to more conversations with everyone. You can directly contact me – mywritingworkshopblog@gmail.com

Here is amazon central author link – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B074TLHNY9

You can check it here her 6 ebooks based on poetry, prose, non-fiction genre.

GoodReads Link–

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8015855.Romila

Thank you so much Romila. It’s a lovely talking with you. You guided and gave suggestions by your personal experiences in the journey of blogging.

Best wishes for your future projects.Thank you so much for giving your time.

Regards and Gratitude,

Deepika