"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."
Francis Bacon
They would tell you that you are good. They would ask you to write a book, so you rush and write the book, then you realize to your horror that it is only your family members and boyfriend or girlfriend that are willing to buy the book.
A friend of mine who is a terrific writer published his novel on Amazon. After I bought from him on a Nigerian forum, I asked him how many copies he had sold so far on Amazon. His reply shocked me,
“Not one, my brother, not even one”
Follow closely, I am going somewhere with this.
Davido’s concert last month was sponsored by Pepsi. Every ticket was sold out including the very costly VVIP tickets. Fans had to be turned away at the door because of lack of space..
There is so much money in the creative arts sector but only performing artists are the ones getting this money. Singers, actors, deejays, producers etc earn so much while other creatives, like writers, painters, photographers etc can’t even measure up.
Chimamanda Adichie who is probably the most celebrated Nigerian writer of this era has only 111k Instagram followers, Wizkid has over 5 million, Runtown has close to 2 million. Who do you think would be more influential on the platform?
Someone would get a groovy beat from a producer, voice some repetitive lyrics over the beat and booom! It becomes a hit track. The next thing you see the individual driving the latest cars, getting all the endorsements and throwing money around, while a writer would come up with an ingenious work but can't dream of attaining half the level of success that a “meaningless” song brings to a singer.
Last week while strategizing for 2018 with Gloria Edem we discussed this and I was of the opinion that the reason music artists and actors are very successful is that they have mass appeal. They have the crowd. They have the media working for them. They have the numbers.
Some writers are now beginning to understand the power of numbers.
You are not going to make money from sales of your book or product if you do not engage the pop culture.
The only writer on Facebook that I am convinced can write a book today and sell thousands of copies in three days is Wanja Kavengi. With 134,000 Facebook followers, the Kenyan lady is the most followed unpublished writer that I know of. She writes on topics that everyday people can relate with, including farting.
Yes, the reading culture in Nigeria is poor but people are reading every day on social media. They read what interests them. Is your content interesting enough?
I will not write a book today and start hawking it by the roadside. I will be making a mockery of my gifting by begging people to buy my book. With social media and other offline connections, I should be able to get 2000+ people to pre-order my book. With that, I can make my profit as soon as I publish the book.
