Looking back to the year that has just passed by for me, I
humbly accept that I have conflicting emotions. Whether it’s just been a year?
Or whether it has actually been one full year! The thought of writing this blog
post struck sudden, just like every idea that went behind creating Hungover
Books. But I thought, that if something beautiful could come out of it, then
why miss that chance. Today, let me share my experiences, struggles and most
importantly lessons that came out of creating and running Hungover Books.
Thanks to you, reader, for taking the time out to be here. J
I still remember those chilly winter days of December 2017,
when I would have my iPad and my phone out with me, trying to create a decent
WordPress blog page. I struggled, having absolutely no experience of doing this
previously. But I tried. Tried applying whatever little understanding came out
of watching videos on multiple topics that ultimately left me clueless. One
thing was certain; quitting wasn’t an option. Eventually, on being recommended,
I tried using a simpler medium that was Blogger. And voila! Hungover Books was
up!
But mind you, this was only the simpler part. I then wanted
to have my first and special blog post dedicated only to inform my audience
what this entirely was and what they could expect from HB. Drafting my first
write-up was no cake walk, I admit. It was a 100 times harder that what it
actually feels like now because I hadn’t written anything professionally
before. After multiple drafts getting proof-read again and again by my much
cherished team members, I posted the ‘Why I do, what I do’.
Publishing this was the beginning of everything. Then, I had
to learn how to publicize and promote. So, my Instagram and Facebook pages were
created and developed. I did everything in my power to get this message out to
the audience. To the extent that I had to send out personalized links to every
person that I knew. To my very surprise, ‘why I do what I do’ is still my most
read blog post with a whopping number of 347 views. I was happy, and ready to
start. J
Time and again I would go back to reading my first post, to remind myself of my promises to my audiences. As rightly pointed out by Dale Carnegie, “only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind”, I had to review my own work. This certainly helped me a lot, in not only being grounded to what was promised, but also in learning on how to constantly improve my work, while leaving behind my originality.
When I moved on to reviewing books, for atleast the first 5
books, I had to read those books twice. Once, just to know what it was about,
and the second time would be from a reviewer’s perspective. That habit was
eventually ruled out as my reading skills enhanced and I could do a decent job
by reading the book once. I also remember hand-writing my first few reviews
because I did not have the laptop to myself back then. So about 3-4 sides of a
normal sized book would be ideal.
In the whole year that I have managed to run Hungover Books,
sometimes consistently and many a times, inconsistently, I have learnt lessons
that couldn’t have come from elsewhere. Books have made my mind sharper and
taught me habits that are much looked up to by people, who come up to me and
tell me that. While many people have motivated and encouraged my work by
reading, sharing and also teaching me, I have also had people who have tried to
talk me out of this. For various reasons of course, I understand why some would
do that, but honestly, having Hungover Books is one of the best things that
have happened to me and I cherish it.
My utmost respect and gratitude to my marveling team, for
putting up with my obsession for reading, for being my honest critics and
proof-readers, photographers, and most importantly my constant supporters for
being there every time help was needed.
And to every one of you out there, who has been here from day 1 till today, a very big thank you! You keep me strong and you keep me going! To many more years ahead…
Let books take us places!
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