Shipra is a well-known blogger. She has penned one of the most unique books, this season of Blogchatter Ebook Carnival. The many spices, that make Indian cuisine unique, makes her book Spicy trail a spicy read! She had a dream and today on this blog to book journey, you will get to know how she made it a reality.

Welcoming Shipra Trivedi of Vibhuandme.com on this #AuthoJourney feature.

Tell me a little about your background, your story.

I come from a small place, Raebareli, in UP, India. I am the first person in my family who came so far here in Delhi to pursue higher studies and eventually settled here. I am a software professional by the line of work. Starting from being a junior developer, I am now a project manager. I am very attached to my roots and my family. I frequently visit them as they are in my hometown. Despite I have been living in Delhi since last more than 10 years, I still prefer the easy lifestyle of my hometown.

I am married to my childhood friend. My husband is also a senior software professional. He is my mentor for all sorts of problems. I am also the mother of a 3.5 years old son. He is the biggest inspiration behind my enthusiasm. His creativity encourages me to go beyond the limits.

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When did you start blogging?

In my childhood, I used to take part in various writing competitions. My father always encouraged me to take part in them and he only wrote all my write-ups. I used to just practice them.  Somehow I always secured a prize; either first, second or third, and this made get inspired by Papa’s writing which is actually very good. Then, as I reached in higher classes, I stopped writing. There was so much to do other than this. However, after I started working, I used to have time and I jumped into writing technical blogs. There was no regularity though.

My pregnancy was the time when I read so many parenting posts. They gave me the much-needed motivation and when my son was only 8 months, I wrote my first personal experience post on a parenting website. It was a success there. Since then, I am trying to write as much as I can. Initially, I wrote mostly parenting posts, but soon I also tried my hands in writing about social issues, womanhood, relationships, health and of course food. For first three years as a blogger, I wrote on different parenting platforms. Last year I got my own blog setup, Vibhu & Me (www.vibhuandme.com). In short, I am a parenting and lifestyle blogger, who can also write about Indian culture, technology, and food.

Did you have a plan of writing a book?

I never thought to write a book, frankly. A writer holds a great responsibility as he/she influence readers with his/her idea and theory. That’s why I feel every book carries an accountability towards readers. I like the idea of ebook though. A quick read, that readers can enjoy being anywhere anytime through their smart devices. One such book I also launched recently after taking part in Blogchatter ebook carnival. For novels and science fictions, I feel, paper books are better.

Tell me a little about your writing habit.

Being a working mother, honestly, there is no fixed schedule for my writing. I write when I get time. Often sitting in the office during my breaks, and back home when my son is out for his play. Basically, I am a blogger of wee hours when my boy sleeps, that is the only peaceful span I get at home. At times, it gets difficult to balance my work, domestic chore, and my writing. But I try my best to give time to my writing commitments with giving most of my time to office and family.

I write both in Hindi and English. I also have two separate blogs for Hindi (https://hamaritumhari.wordpress.com) and English writing (www.vibhuandme.com). My husband is always the first person who reads my blogs (my first known reader). He gives feedback and I incorporate them immediately. I take his help in generating ideas. I also rely on my younger sister, who is also into writing, for unique thoughts as a reader and writer. My sister is a freelance writer and has been writing white papers and market studies for last many years.

Why did you want to write a book?

I am still in the path of learning and improving my writing. And I always felt that for writing a book, the writer should be very mature and expert in skills. But, with taking part in Blogchatter A to Z challenge this year, I understood “A writer is a writer”. There is no course that can give a certificate of being a published author. One can launch his/her book anytime with following a few requisites. I got to learn so much about book publishing during Blogchatter A to Z challenge.

Getting a book out is the ultimate dream of every writer. And with understanding self-publishing and the concept of the ebook, I felt why not try ebook and this way my first ebook came into the picture.

What is this book about?

When Blogchatter ebook carnival happened, many of my friends convinced me to try my hands in ebook publishing. I went ahead and managed to put my ebook “Spicy Trail” in Blogchatter ebook collection of this year. This is a short 33 pages read about spices. I fundamentally compiled my 26 Blogchatter A to Z posts in the form of an ebook. Every chapter of the ebook “Spicy Trail” explains a spice, its origin, history, and benefits. I have crafted each chapter with a personal touch out of my knowledge about specific spice.

What about Blog chatter ebook carnival? What is your favorite part?

Initially, I was apprehensive about this carnival. I thought I don’t belong to the set of writers who have the capability of getting their books published. However, as I followed the sessions and tweet chats of ebook carnival, I realized this year could be my leaning span of book publishing. I really liked the tweets chats and facebook sessions about book publishing arranged by Blogchatter platform.

Who helped you write the book?

I feel blessed that I got support from my family and friends. The month of April this year went in so much of reading and writing for Blogchatter A to Z challenge. And thanks to my husband who helped me through this. I had not drafted any post prior so it was literally daily writing for the whole month of April. After making the post live, I used to ask my husband to immediately read the post on that specific day. So, he was my in-house proofreader for the book “Spicy Trail”. A few days when I was busy with my office, my sister did study the spice of that day, and with her help I managed to post my blog of A to Z challenge.

When the time came close to preparing the ebook out of posts of Blogchatter A to Z, I was very confused. I was thinking if my book of spice can do any good. But I got a lot of help and positivity from Dr. Amrita. I was following her on twitter and I also took part in Super Blogger Challenge 2018 hosted by her with Dr. Bushra. This way, I was in touch with her and her friendly nature gave me the confidence to ask my silliest query to her. She even arranged special calls to take questions of ebook publishing. Amrita’s fair reasoning convinced me to go ahead and get my ebook ready for Blogchatter platform.

Did you have a launch plan?

My ebook is already there in Blogchatter platform. I am happy that many people have downloaded it and willing to review it. However, this year, I don’t have any plan to launch my ebook on other platforms like Amazon, Goodread or Kindle. To be honest, this book happened in hurry.  I was both confused and busy so I couldn’t spend much time in shaping the book for specific platforms. I also couldn’t get my book proofread by any third person. That is why I am not launching my book on any other platform. Hopefully next year, I would plan better for Blogchatter A to Z and ebook carnival both. And then I would come with bang targeting different reader platforms.

How happy are you with this milestone?

I am really very happy. I never thought that people would be interested in reading about spices. Even my friends who only prefer fiction have downloaded the book. This is a big achievement for me.

Tell me about your future plans and goals?

For my writing, I would continue giving my best. Any opportunity that comes in front of me, I would not fail to grab it. I have listed down a few of my favorite subjects over which I want to write, and one by one I will write on them. I also have a dream to start my cooking YouTube channel about Pickles and Chutneys. This is still in my mind and I want to involve my mother-in-law and mother in it. I hope very soon I would start making process towards this. That’s why I am moving to a city close to my hometown.

One wish you have for your journey as a writer?

I want to be a known name in the blogging world. I know there are many talent writes and bloggers. But I wish to make my own name among all of them. And If I succeed, I would think about taking writing as my full-time career. I have left that on time to decide. As of now, I am enjoying every bit of my writing journey. And I would continue doing what gives me happiness rather than trying to re-invent the wheel.

Ebook: Spicy Trail 

About the author: Shipra Trivedi is a working mother and has a great interest in reading & writing. As a new age woman, she plays multiple roles in a single day. A family-manager at home, a team lead in the office & a writer of wee hours. She blogs at http://www.vibhuandme.com.

Book Blurb: The intent of this book is to give a brief of 26 different spices in 26 chapters. Each chapter has one spice, its attributes, history, and ayurvedic benefits. Get set go on a spicy trail!