Sankalpita Singh

Founder : Bookgeeks

What is the story behind the formation of bookGeeks? When was it founded? Who are the key members and how did all of this come together? What inspired you to start this?

It all started way back in 2013 when 3 MBA friends were talking about their favourite topic – books. The idea to start a blog was born out of necessity. As avid readers, the three friends – Sankalpita, Ravi, and KC were always looking for book recommendations. But back then, there wasn’t any book blog devoted to Indian books. Then came the epiphany – why don’t we start one? and thus, bookGeeks was born.

The weeks would be dedicated to our 9 to 6 jobs and late-night reading, and the weekend would be meant for writing articles, reviews, and anything bookish. Subsequently, KC left the initiative due to growing responsibilities at work. Today, he’s quite a name in the media world, having worked with organizations such as Sports Keeda, and currently working with Reuters.

Ravi was again bitten by the start-up bug and has ventured into entrepreneurship in the building and construction space. 

For me, as responsibilities at work grew, and I became a mother, I decided to quit my job in 2017 and pursue bookGeeks as a full-time career. Ever since then, it has been a wonderful journey.

Today, we are India’s most widely read book blog with over 3000+ visits every day. We’ve worked with the best brands in the publishing, publicity, PR, and audiobook space, and have catered to the needs of 1000+ authors. Over the years, we’ve also been consistently ranked as India’s No 1 book blog by Feedspot rankings.

Being a female entrepreneur, how difficult was it to build a firm like bookGeeks? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

Not much, I would say. As a woman though, the only challenge that I continue to face today is trying to manage my time between home and work. There’s a statement that perfectly defines this constant struggle – “We expect women to work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work.” Being a boss babe and working from a home office isn’t as glamorous and effortless as they make it sound.

What are some of the common mistakes done by authors during Book Publishing and Promotions?

Over the years, I have observed some similar mistakes that many authors continue to make. This especially holds in the case of self-published authors.

– Not getting their book properly edited. This drastically reduces the quality of their work.

– Not paying attention to the book cover, title, and blurb. All three should be catchy and immediately hold a potential reader’s interest.

– Not being active on social media.

– Not having a concrete marketing plan and a dedicated budget.

According to you what are the top 5 Book Promotion Ideas relevant today that provide maximum ROI and why?

Having a well-promoted campaign helps. Book promotion agencies like bookGeeks, with their experience and expertise, assist a great deal in such cases. However, in case of budget constraints, authors should not miss out on the power of the below platforms.

–       Goodreads. You can engage widely with readers and organize contests for free.

–       Instagram live sessions. Talk to your readers, hold QnA sessions. Don’t worry if you have a small following. Everyone starts with humble beginnings.

–       Find cross-promotion groups. Find out other authors and organize joint sessions, harness the power of cross-promoting. This can be done on both Facebook or Instagram.

–       Engage with Bloggers, BookTubers, and Bookstagrammars. Don’t forget, their following is your target readership. Here focus on quality and not quantity.

–       Promote your book in the ebook and audiobook space. Utilize concept sales like book grab Wednesdays or eBook Wednesdays to make your book available to a wide variety of readers. Also, explore audiobooks as a viable option.

What are the key elements of a perfect book review and how should one go about writing a book review?

There can never be a perfect book, and the same goes for a review too. But worry not, these pointers enable a reviewer to strive towards writing a good review.

– Have a rating system in place. If possible, have different ratings for different parameters like entertainment, climax, characters, etc.

– Tell the reader what to expect and who can read the book.

– Talk about the story in a nutshell, without doling out spoilers.

– Analyze aspects of writing like characters, climax, plot, language, etc.

– Talk about what worked best, what could have been better, and where the book lacked.

What are your favorite books by Indian authors? And your favourite authors too?

You know it’s blasphemy to ask such questions to a voracious reader? For someone like me, who reads over a hundred books every year, each year brings new favourites. But, let me humour you and list a couple of books that immediately come to my mind.

1. Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murty
2. The Black Hill by Mamang Dai
3. Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto
4. Chaurasi by Satya Vyas
5. The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
6. Jasmine Days by Benyamin
7. The Goat Thief by Perumal Murugan
8. When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy
9. A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena
10. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Some Indian authors whose works I have always enjoyed include Ashwin Sanghi, Sudha Murty, Ruskin Bond, Amish Tripathi, Perumal Murugan, R.K Narayan, Khushwant Singh, Mainak Dhar, and the recent works of Durjoy Datta.

What are the top 3 differences between traditionally published books and self-published books?

In my experience, the biggest and most important differences between the two are –

–       Marketing and Distribution – traditional publishers have well-established channels and platforms that aren’t available to those going for self-publishing.

–       Waiting period – authors wanting to go for the traditional publishing route often have to wait for months if not years before their book is noticed and picked by a publisher. The waiting period can be anywhere between 6 months to 2 years.

–       Royalties – When one goes for self-publishing the royalty payouts are much higher (50 to70%) than the traditional route (10 to 15%).

As a book Influencer, what changes (trends) have you seen in the Indian Publishing and Book Promotion Industry over the years?

The recent years have completely transformed the industry. Some major trends that I’ve observed are

– The rise of Kindle books, eBooks, and audiobooks.

– The generous amount of bookish content on the internet – blogs, Instagram accounts, and YouTube channels, all of them solely dedicated to books.

– Authors now have a better understanding of the need to promote and market their book.

– More people are trying reading as a leisure activity and a hobby to pursue. They now better understand the many benefits of reading.

In this journey of yours, whom would you like to thank?

My biggest backbones are my husband, my lovely daughter, and my mother. When I work crazy hours and sometimes crazy nights too, my husband gets it. When I am stuck with a problem or need a technical solution, Ravi is always there by my side comforting me, motivating me, helping me find solutions. The idea for my YouTube channel bookGeeks India had actually come from Ravi.

My daughter Ahaana, because she adds many colors to my life. She feels immense pride in what I do and keeps pushing me to become a ‘celebrity like Sudha Murty’. (Chuckles with delight!) By the way, did you know that I actually got a video call from Mrs. Murty, all thanks to my daughter!

And last but not least, my mother because she is my biggest cheerer and my most loyal fan. She never fails to applaud the smallest of my efforts. And always comments on and shares all my posts, articles, reviews, and videos. 😊

Then there is my close family – my Masis (Kavita, Gita, Rita), Mausajis (Bobby and Kumud), my Nani and Dadisa, and my siblings and cousins – Sarthak, Seemant, Chitrali, Nishtha, Akash, Disha, and Akshay, all of whom make me feel special. A huge thank you to my in-laws (Mummy and Papa) for giving me the space to carve and hone my craft. I owe each one of them the biggest hug!

At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Kids’. Please suggest some books which you think every child should read before the age of 15 (mostly the character-defining age) which will teach them life lessons. Things like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.

Now, I am wondering why haven’t I thought of such a wonderful idea? Needless to state, you have my respect. It’s a great initiative. 

Okay, so here are my picks!

–       The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. It’s an absolute must! A rite of passage, if you will.

–        Books by Ruskin Bond. With their Indian characters and idyllic small-town life, they will inspire children to appreciate and respect nature. Try The Blue Umbrella, The Night Train at Deoli and Other Stories, Time Stops at Shamli and Other Stories, Angry River, Tales of Fosterganj, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, and Other Stories.

–       The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. A deeply emotional fiction set during the holocaust.

–       Children’s books by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. My Life: An Illustrated Autobiography, Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future (co-authored by Srijan Pal Singh), My India: Ideas for the Future.

–       Amar Chitra Kathas. No childhood is complete without them.

–       Malgudi Days by RK Narayan

–       Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma

–       Sanjeev Sanyal’s books for children – The Incredible History of the Indian Ocean, and The Incredible History of India’s Geography

–       Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls Part 1 and 2 by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

–       Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different Part 1 and 2 by Ben Brooks

Rapid Fire Round

1.Favorite Place, Actor & Actress, Person, Food, beverage….

Egypt and Cambodia, not much of a movie watcher but I like Robert Pattinson, Henry Golding and Sai Pallavi, Sudha Murty, Pizza, and Rajma Chawal, Coffee

2.Your other Talents apart from singing and acting….

I am good at painting and other creative crafts. Heck! during the lockdown, I even painted my sofa. An empty wall in the house is going to be my next canvas.

3.Your First Love….

My family, books, coffee, and travel, loads of it.

4.Favorite Quote…..

Hold your horses, for I am going to give you three.

1. The famous last line of one of my favourite books, The Great Gatsby, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
2. Markus Zusak’s “I am haunted by humans.” from The Book Thief, another one of my all-time favorites.
3. And Steve Job’s “The Journey is the Reward”.

5.Favorite Character from a book…

As cliché as it sounds Edward from the Twilight series. You see, we were both young when I first met him. Ever since then, he’s been a constant crush.

Asya Kazanchi from the Bastard of Istanbul, for the rebel that she is.

Griet from Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. For me, she is the painting and the painting is her. There’s no in-between.

What if Round 

1. What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?

Family, Books, and Coffee.

2. What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?

I’ll make everyone a reader.

3. What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?

Just read and travel

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