(6 Steps to Becoming an Author-preneur—Turning Your Knowledge, Ideas, Hobbies, Skills and Expertise into a Money-
Making Venture)

The article you’re about to read is such a long one—about 3,055 words long! But if you read it to the end, I bet you’ll offer to buy me some bottles of beer. Yeah, ‘cos you’re gonna like it, especially if the headline already appeals to you!

And if you don’t have the luxury of time to complete it now, I advice you don’t start it at all! Save it for a later read so that you can profit from it maximally.

(You can also request for a PDF copy of this write-up via email. Reading a long piece as this on a computer is more visually convenient in PDF. Plus, you’ll keep a copy for reference purposes. See my email address down below).

Now, let’s go. Shall we?

Ok.

As the title suggests, I want to introduce you to the business of writing. I want to show you in a 6-step guide how you too can profit from becoming an author-preneur.

First thing first...

Who is an Author-preneur?

An Author-preneur is someone who writes about his knowledge, experience and expertise as a way of proffering solution to others’ problems, and receives financial reward in return.

Are you a student?

An undergraduate?

A graduate or serving corps member?

A job seeker?

A worker or an entrepreneur?

Do you know you can create a full time job or just another stream of income that augments your meagre salary writing part-time? Just talking about what you already know, have experience in or are good at.

You don’t know how valuable the knowledge, skills or expertise you cur
rently have might be to someone else out there. But the truth is that: there are folks out there who are not just willing but are ready to pay you handsomely well to have that information you don’t even regard.

If you’ve been seeing writing as a past time activity, it’s high time you began to take it as real business.

Good news is...

There’s a Huge Market for Nigerian Author-Preneurs

Believe me...with a population of over 160 million people; imagine serving only 0.5% of this population. I won’t bother you with the calculation. But that translates into a huge profit potentials.

Now, in case you’ve bought into the idea that Nigerians don’t read, think about this: Don’t Nigerians (including you) still have problems they direly want to get solutions to any longer?

So if you can uncover a problem or need area, research it or harvest your existing knowledge on it, come up with a packaged solution, market it massively; friend, you’ve struck gold—Nigerians will patronize you. Period!

Take a look at some Nigerians who’re already exploiting this avenue to wealth. The likes of:

>>Praise George
>>Olumide Emmanuel
>>Isaac Giwa
>>Austine Augustus
>>Bisi Adewale

...To mention but these few ones. But really there’re just a few Nigerian Author-preneurs serving the huge population yet.

And come to think of it, one individual (like me) who needs information about a particular subject of interest can afford to buy up to 10 books at a time. So don’t get pissed off by the impression that Nigerians don’t read.

Check out some of those guys I mentioned, they’re all millionaires. How did I know? Very simple, their books sell across the nation—because they are mostly packaged solutions. Secondly, they’ve written a number of such and similar books...some 20, 30, 40, and some above 50 books. Seriously, they won’t be writing if they’re not scooping up some dough!

My Experience as an Author-Preneur

Recently, precisely, in August 2014, I got my first book published. The title is: The Wonders of books subtitled 21 Ways Reading Makes You a More Valuable Person. The book promises that if you embrace the reading culture, you’ll become a better person, and it details how.

They said Nigerians don’t read? Isn’t it? But Nigerians are scrambling for that book. I get calls from far and near. Some...to tell me how much they liked it, and have been challenged to be better by it. Others...to ask me about where to get the book.

And when I walk around the State capital where I live, sometimes I get people point at me. I could see the smiles on their faces as they beckon on their friends to catch a glimpse of me. Such scenarios can generate a good feeling in you, you know! It can be wonderful to know that the public appreciates your work.

I won’t say I’m a millionaire or that I’m rich yet! But I’m excited to have joined this industry of good prospects. And from time to time, I get trickles of income from my book sales that go a long way in supporting my meagre salary.

So by this article, I warmly invite you to join this untapped industry. If your work is good, you’ll undoubtedly excel.

“Excellence is not discriminated against in the marketplace” (Praise George)

In a 6 step process, I will walk you through the process of joining this industry...at no cost.
Yes, free of charge!

It pains me when I see young, talented Nigerians walk the street hopelessly, looking for non-existent jobs, get messed up by employers...when they can actually be doing something profitable on their own.


“True success comes only when one generation continues to develop the next generation” (John Maxwell)

Here are the Said 6 Steps to Becoming an Author-preneur


Step 1: Learn the Art of Creative Writing.

Does the mere mention of writing make you heart leap? Let alone creative writing? Don’t worry, you don’t have to write like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and the rest of them wordsmith...to profit from the business of writing.

No, you don’t have to...

All you do need is a decent level of ability to write simple and clear sentences so that your words flow when you try to describe a process.

However, I will strongly advice that you dedicate yourself to learning about how good writing works.

Read up everything you can find on writing. Read books, articles, blogs, journals, etc.
Good enough, there’s already an abundant amount of good information about writing on the internet...most for free. So you don’t necessarily have to buy a writing book or enrol for a writing class. Nope!

I will recommend you check out the following online resources:

• www.goinswriter.com
• www.writersdigest.com
• www.menwithpens.ca
• www.thecreativepenn.com
• www.dailywritingtips.com

I picked interest in writing in 2004. Back then, I could hardly punctuate a sentence properly neither was I articulate enough to pour out my heart on paper. But today, the story’s different; courtesy of some of these resources. You gonna learn a lot from them.

Remember those Nigerian author-preneurs I mentioned earlier on? Go check out their books, and you’ll find that their writings ROCK. Yours has to rock too...to excel in this game. Seriously!

(SIDE NOTE: I have acquired some very good writing resources over the years on virtually every aspect of writing, but there’s one of these writing resources that stand out.

And I’ll like to share it with you free of charge. I call it a writing manual because to me, it is more than just a mere book.)

How to Get this Writing Manual

If you’re interested in getting these manuals, send me an email with....

a. Subject as: “Writing manual”
b. To: okaforchijioke007@gmail.com
c. In the body, include: your name + email + phone number

I’ve already attached the book to my email. So I’ll forward it to you as soon as I got your request.
Note: Should you don’t find the manual in your inbox, please check spam.

Moving on...

Step 2: Determine Your Niche Area and Target Audience

As you work on upping your writing craft, think about the area of life you have a fair knowledge, idea, information, skill or expertise in. That is your niche area, and that’s the area your work will shine through, that is the area you are bound to excel. Don’t say you know nothing, there’s something you do know.

Knowledge Inventory Exercise

What follows is an exercise to help you harvest the knowledge, and key strength in YOU...you don’t even know you possess.

If you’re set, let’s proceed.

Take a sheet of paper and list the following:
1. Your interests
2. Your passion
3. Your experience
4. Your hobbies
5. Your skills/expertise

Without thinking so hard, write down anything and everything that comes to your mind against each point. Push yourself to come up with at least 3 points for each. By the time you conscientious do this, you’ll discover you’ve actually got something YOUnique to share.

My Knowledge Inventory List

When I carried out this same exercise on myself, below is the list I ended up with:

1. My interests

• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Personal growth,
• Web development
• Graphics design
• Publishing
• English

2. My passion

• Reading
• Computer and internet
• Motivating and inspiring others

3. My experience

• Teaching
• Counselling
• Gone from a high school dropout to a graduate
• Gone from a street, ghetto boy to a coordinated fellow

4. My hobbies
• Reading
• Browsing the internet

5. My skills/expertise
• Teaching
• Editing and proofreading
• Research

The further I dig, the more the list grows.

(Note that a particular area of interest can feature in all the broad heading listed above. And if that happens, it’s a good thing— it’s an indication that such subject matters most to your life.)

If you’ve done this exercise, from the list, select that area that matters most to you and that at the same time represent a problem or need area that folks are looking for information or solutions to.

A Practical Example

Basically, I love reading and teaching. So when I was brainstorming on the subject areas to write on, because of my strong interest and passion for books and reading, I chose to write on reading.

Next, I knew that young people don’t like to read. And that’s already a problem on its own. So I began to think about an angle to approach the subject from.

Having benefitted so much from books and the act of reading myself, I ended up with the title below:

The Wonders of Books: 21 Ways Reading Makes You a More Valuable Person

Indeed, in the content of the book, I did justify the title.

I just hope I’ve done justice to niche selection.
Anyways, do forward me your question if you have any.

The Other Half of the Equation Is Your Target Audience.

Who do you want to write for?

• Young people?
• Teenagers?
• Students?
• Ladies?
• Men?
• Entrepreneurs?
• Teachers?
• Workers?
• Income seekers?
• Etc.

Each of these categories of audience can further be broken down. But I don’t think I have the luxury of space to begin to do that.

But I hope you get the drift?

Now, let’s assume you’ve honed your writing skills to a decent level, and you’re harvested your knowledge base, the next thing is to....

Step 3: Write...Write...Write...and Write Some More!

“When you begin writing, you don’t know how to write...and the best thing to do when you begin is to pick some poet whose poems you like, and imitate some. And then find other poets and other poets and imitate them” (TED Berrigan @ poetspath.com)

The above piece of advice is one of the practices that have helped me up my writing a great deal. Yes, TED is a poet and seems to be talking to aspiring poets but his suggest has general relevance to all writers.

It’s like apprenticeship, you know. And this is how it works: you identify a writer whose work you like, study his works, see how he creates, and over time, his style will rub off on him. It works like magic!

But that entails that you must be a voracious reader to even find an author whose style you fancy.

That said, it’s easy to get stuck on learning rather than doing. I made this mistake for years on end. Once you’ve identified an area of interest, start writing. When you’re done with one, start another!

Before I published my first book—The Wonders of books, I had already completed about five other books with many others in draft copies.

Note: An important lesson I’ve learnt is that: as you go from writing one book to the other, your writing confidence is being built, you begin to find your voice, develop your own style and writing rhythm, and with time, the process of starting and completing a book becomes almost automated.

You don’t fuse or stress over it any longer! It soon becomes more or less like breathing in and out for you!

Write. WRITERS WRITE!

Very importantly, don’t get your mind fixed on writing big books; you’ll be setting yourself up for discouragement. Write short books. The money is not in writing the big books—it is in writing SEVERAL USEFUL BOOKS that your readers will thank you for writing by paying for them.

Again, check out those Nigerian author-preneurs i mentioned earlier, they don’t necessarily write voluminous books. They write SOLUTION-DRIVEN PIECE!

Going forward...

Step 4: Get Published

No matter how wonderful your written work is, it won’t put money in your pocket until you transition it from manuscript to a published book in the hands of enthusiastic readers.

More so, you can never tell how well your work will do in the marketplace until you get published and begin to receive feedback from the market. You’ll always get a feedback back—positively or negatively. When negative, don’t take it personal; just look at what you’ve done wrongly, improvise and give it another shot. And when positive, rejoice, rinse and repeat the process.

But before you go scouting for a publisher, ensure you get the following right:

a) Edit and Proofread Your Work Properly.

Get friends who themselves are writers to go over your work. Maybe you don’t have one of such friends, that’s where networking comes in. However, I will advice that you pay a professional proof reader (like me) to work on your book.
I am really good at proofreading and editing write-ups. It comes natural to me. And I do it really good.

Take this article, for example, well proofread. Isn’t it? You don’t say! You may hire me for almost FREE via my contact given at the end of this long shit called an article—I think it’s a mini book!

All right, back to where I drifted off from...

Nothing puts a reader off like reading through a book full of errors—be it grammatical or typographical. It engenders negative association with the writer of a book. I hope you don’t want that?

b) Pay Close Attention to Your Book Cover.

Remember the saying: “You don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s not correct here. We do really judge books by their covers. An aesthetic book cover design has the emotional appeal and power to entice readers. You know, readers see the cover of your book first before they go through the content.

A poorly designed book cover on the other hand can be a real turn off. And of course, that’s not what you want!

Step 5: Market Your Book Massively

Use every conceivable medium to market your book. No one else can market your book the way you will. I must confess that this is where the destiny of your book and writing craft is hinged on.

In short, NO SALES...NO PROFIT!

If you’ve done a good job of identifying your niche area, and segregating your target audience, knowing the ROUTE to take in marketing your book wouldn’t be a herculean task.

However, there’s no one best method for marketing your books. There are actually a thousand and one ways to do it, depending on your operation.

If you are writing full time, you’ll definitely have more time to yourself and the flexibility of choosing what medium to employ.
Personally, I am presently in a paid employment. So I don’t have the luxury of time to get fully involved—which sincerely is limiting my sales potentials.

Notwithstanding, I employ the following media to market my book: bookshops, distributors, hawkers, schools, tutorial centres, and sometimes I get involved. Yes, sometimes I do direct marketing.

Finally, with more good books published, you’ll do less of marketing. Not that you’ll or should stop marketing your books, not at all. Your enthusiastic readers will do it for you. That’s why you should take improving your writing craft seriously. Write good books. And publish more. Your loyal readers will sing your praise so loudly that others’ attention will be directed to your works.

Step 6: Rinse and Repeat Steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Don’t stop honing your writing skills. Spend time to learn how to use words to communicate ideas clearly. Learn to write good sentences and effective paragraphs.

Always write to proffer solution to problem or need areas. There will never be an end to problems.
Don’t stop writing. Keep moving your pen.

Publish more and more books. The market is eagerly waiting. Publish or perish.

Marketing is the life wire of author-preneurship. Learn to sell and market books.

In Conclusion

This sounds like a tall order, isn’t it?

Maybe, but I bet the benefit is well worth the effort.

If you’ve ever wished you could lay your hands on a step-by-step guide to get into the business of writing—for whatever reason: money? Fame? Or both? This is it!

I admit I must have left out some salient areas. So for every bugging question you have about the business of writing I’ve not address in this article, I invite you to shoot me a mail so that I can address it subsequently in: The Business of Writing, part 2.

Thanks for your time.

P.s. Please do me a favour: generously share this information with friends and family. That’s the only payment I desire for the time I’ve put into the writing of this article.

To Our Success,

Okafor Chijioke
Okaforchijioke007@gmail.com
Facebook.com/okaforchukwujiokem
070312191991

You've done a great job. Why don't you consider taking your books to Amazon or Amazon Kindle, you can make it big there.

ugotex85:
You've done a great job. Why don't you consider taking your books to Amazon or Amazon Kindle, you can make it big there.

Yeah, thanks for the suggestion. Please do you have an idea on how to achieve that. Share with us all. You will surely get the credit.

yes thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. The truth is: writing requires passion and technique. You have to discover yourself,your style and improve on yourself.
I wrote for a site for a month and 2 weeks without pay. I don't regret it cause it helped me become a better writer and now not every site can pay for my services. You just have to write to learn how to write.

radiokilla:
yes thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. The truth is: writing requires passion and technique. You have to discover yourself,your style and improve on yourself.
I wrote for a site for a month and 2 weeks without pay. I don't regret it cause it helped me become a better writer and now not every site can pay for my services. You just have to write to learn how to write.

Sooooooooooooooo...true!

My major challenges.
How to edit and proof read . Maybe i need another expert to do this and i dont have resources to pay an expert

How to publish at reasonable cost. Printing and publishing

How to market effectively i already have a target market( young entrepreneurs, graduates and youths who love business)

mrsage:
My major challenges.
How to edit and proof read . Maybe i need another expert to do this and i dont have resources to pay an expert

How to publish at reasonable cost. Printing and publishing

How to market effectively i already have a target market( young entrepreneurs, graduates and youths who love business)

that shouldn't be a problem, it just requires your patience. I proofread my articles 3 times. The 1st time would do but it's better to receive thumps up from your readers than berating comments.
Interesting it takes less than a minute to proofread a 500 worded piece and if it's a book, an hour would do.

radiokilla:
that shouldn't be a problem, it just requires your patience. I proofread my articles 3 times. The 1st time would do but it's better to receive thumps up from your readers than berating comments.
Interesting it takes less than a minute to proofread a 500 worded piece and if it's a book, an hour would do.

From a personal experience, you can never do a better job proofreading your work, especially when it's a long one as a book. Even though i pride myself over being a pro-proofreader, i still fumble proofreading my own work. Besides, it doesn't take much to engage the services of a professional.

cj4someone:
(6 Steps to Becoming an Author-preneur—Turning Your Knowledge, Ideas, Hobbies, Skills and Expertise into a Money-
Making Venture)

The article you’re about to read is such a long one—about 3,055 words long! But if you read it to the end, I bet you’ll offer to buy me some bottles of beer. Yeah, ‘cos you’re gonna like it, especially if the headline already appeals to you!

And if you don’t have the luxury of time to complete it now, I advice you don’t start it at all! Save it for a later read so that you can profit from it maximally.

(You can also request for a PDF copy of this write-up via email. Reading a long piece as this on a computer is more visually convenient in PDF. Plus, you’ll keep a copy for reference purposes. See my email address down below).

Now, let’s go. Shall we?

Ok.

As the title suggests, I want to introduce you to the business of writing. I want to show you in a 6-step guide how you too can profit from becoming an author-preneur.

First thing first...

Who is an Author-preneur?

An Author-preneur is someone who writes about his knowledge, experience and expertise as a way of proffering solution to others’ problems, and receives financial reward in return.

Are you a student?

An undergraduate?

A graduate or serving corps member?

A job seeker?

A worker or an entrepreneur?

Do you know you can create a full time job or just another stream of income that augments your meagre salary writing part-time? Just talking about what you already know, have experience in or are good at.

You don’t know how valuable the knowledge, skills or expertise you cur
rently have might be to someone else out there. But the truth is that: there are folks out there who are not just willing but are ready to pay you handsomely well to have that information you don’t even regard.

If you’ve been seeing writing as a past time activity, it’s high time you began to take it as real business.

Good news is...

There’s a Huge Market for Nigerian Author-Preneurs

Believe me...with a population of over 160 million people; imagine serving only 0.5% of this population. I won’t bother you with the calculation. But that translates into a huge profit potentials.

Now, in case you’ve bought into the idea that Nigerians don’t read, think about this: Don’t Nigerians (including you) still have problems they direly want to get solutions to any longer?

So if you can uncover a problem or need area, research it or harvest your existing knowledge on it, come up with a packaged solution, market it massively; friend, you’ve struck gold—Nigerians will patronize you. Period!

Take a look at some Nigerians who’re already exploiting this avenue to wealth. The likes of:

>>Praise George
>>Olumide Emmanuel
>>Isaac Giwa
>>Austine Augustus
>>Bisi Adewale

...To mention but these few ones. But really there’re just a few Nigerian Author-preneurs serving the huge population yet.

And come to think of it, one individual (like me) who needs information about a particular subject of interest can afford to buy up to 10 books at a time. So don’t get pissed off by the impression that Nigerians don’t read.

Check out some of those guys I mentioned, they’re all millionaires. How did I know? Very simple, their books sell across the nation—because they are mostly packaged solutions. Secondly, they’ve written a number of such and similar books...some 20, 30, 40, and some above 50 books. Seriously, they won’t be writing if they’re not scooping up some dough!

My Experience as an Author-Preneur

Recently, precisely, in August 2014, I got my first book published. The title is: The Wonders of books subtitled 21 Ways Reading Makes You a More Valuable Person. The book promises that if you embrace the reading culture, you’ll become a better person, and it details how.

They said Nigerians don’t read? Isn’t it? But Nigerians are scrambling for that book. I get calls from far and near. Some...to tell me how much they liked it, and have been challenged to be better by it. Others...to ask me about where to get the book.

And when I walk around the State capital where I live, sometimes I get people point at me. I could see the smiles on their faces as they beckon on their friends to catch a glimpse of me. Such scenarios can generate a good feeling in you, you know! It can be wonderful to know that the public appreciates your work.

I won’t say I’m a millionaire or that I’m rich yet! But I’m excited to have joined this industry of good prospects. And from time to time, I get trickles of income from my book sales that go a long way in supporting my meagre salary.

So by this article, I warmly invite you to join this untapped industry. If your work is good, you’ll undoubtedly excel.

“Excellence is not discriminated against in the marketplace” (Praise George)

In a 6 step process, I will walk you through the process of joining this industry...at no cost.
Yes, free of charge!

It pains me when I see young, talented Nigerians walk the street hopelessly, looking for non-existent jobs, get messed up by employers...when they can actually be doing something profitable on their own.


“True success comes only when one generation continues to develop the next generation” (John Maxwell)

Here are the Said 6 Steps to Becoming an Author-preneur


Step 1: Learn the Art of Creative Writing.

Does the mere mention of writing make you heart leap? Let alone creative writing? Don’t worry, you don’t have to write like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and the rest of them wordsmith...to profit from the business of writing.

No, you don’t have to...

All you do need is a decent level of ability to write simple and clear sentences so that your words flow when you try to describe a process.

However, I will strongly advice that you dedicate yourself to learning about how good writing works.

Read up everything you can find on writing. Read books, articles, blogs, journals, etc.
Good enough, there’s already an abundant amount of good information about writing on the internet...most for free. So you don’t necessarily have to buy a writing book or enrol for a writing class. Nope!

I will recommend you check out the following online resources:

• www.goinswriter.com
• www.writersdigest.com
• www.menwithpens.ca
• www.thecreativepenn.com
• www.dailywritingtips.com

I picked interest in writing in 2004. Back then, I could hardly punctuate a sentence properly neither was I articulate enough to pour out my heart on paper. But today, the story’s different; courtesy of some of these resources. You gonna learn a lot from them.

Remember those Nigerian author-preneurs I mentioned earlier on? Go check out their books, and you’ll find that their writings ROCK. Yours has to rock too...to excel in this game. Seriously!

(SIDE NOTE: I have acquired some very good writing resources over the years on virtually every aspect of writing, but there’s one of these writing resources that stand out.

And I’ll like to share it with you free of charge. I call it a writing manual because to me, it is more than just a mere book.)

How to Get this Writing Manual

If you’re interested in getting these manuals, send me an email with....

a. Subject as: “Writing manual”
b. To: okaforchijioke007@gmail.com
c. In the body, include: your name + email + phone number

I’ve already attached the book to my email. So I’ll forward it to you as soon as I got your request.
Note: Should you don’t find the manual in your inbox, please check spam.

Moving on...

Step 2: Determine Your Niche Area and Target Audience

As you work on upping your writing craft, think about the area of life you have a fair knowledge, idea, information, skill or expertise in. That is your niche area, and that’s the area your work will shine through, that is the area you are bound to excel. Don’t say you know nothing, there’s something you do know.

Knowledge Inventory Exercise

What follows is an exercise to help you harvest the knowledge, and key strength in YOU...you don’t even know you possess.

If you’re set, let’s proceed.

Take a sheet of paper and list the following:
1. Your interests
2. Your passion
3. Your experience
4. Your hobbies
5. Your skills/expertise

Without thinking so hard, write down anything and everything that comes to your mind against each point. Push yourself to come up with at least 3 points for each. By the time you conscientious do this, you’ll discover you’ve actually got something YOUnique to share.

My Knowledge Inventory List

When I carried out this same exercise on myself, below is the list I ended up with:

1. My interests

• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Personal growth,
• Web development
• Graphics design
• Publishing
• English

2. My passion

• Reading
• Computer and internet
• Motivating and inspiring others

3. My experience

• Teaching
• Counselling
• Gone from a high school dropout to a graduate
• Gone from a street, ghetto boy to a coordinated fellow

4. My hobbies
• Reading
• Browsing the internet

5. My skills/expertise
• Teaching
• Editing and proofreading
• Research

The further I dig, the more the list grows.

(Note that a particular area of interest can feature in all the broad heading listed above. And if that happens, it’s a good thing— it’s an indication that such subject matters most to your life.)

If you’ve done this exercise, from the list, select that area that matters most to you and that at the same time represent a problem or need area that folks are looking for information or solutions to.

A Practical Example

Basically, I love reading and teaching. So when I was brainstorming on the subject areas to write on, because of my strong interest and passion for books and reading, I chose to write on reading.

Next, I knew that young people don’t like to read. And that’s already a problem on its own. So I began to think about an angle to approach the subject from.

Having benefitted so much from books and the act of reading myself, I ended up with the title below:

The Wonders of Books: 21 Ways Reading Makes You a More Valuable Person

Indeed, in the content of the book, I did justify the title.

I just hope I’ve done justice to niche selection.
Anyways, do forward me your question if you have any.

The Other Half of the Equation Is Your Target Audience.

Who do you want to write for?

• Young people?
• Teenagers?
• Students?
• Ladies?
• Men?
• Entrepreneurs?
• Teachers?
• Workers?
• Income seekers?
• Etc.

Each of these categories of audience can further be broken down. But I don’t think I have the luxury of space to begin to do that.

But I hope you get the drift?

Now, let’s assume you’ve honed your writing skills to a decent level, and you’re harvested your knowledge base, the next thing is to....

Step 3: Write...Write...Write...and Write Some More!

“When you begin writing, you don’t know how to write...and the best thing to do when you begin is to pick some poet whose poems you like, and imitate some. And then find other poets and other poets and imitate them” (TED Berrigan @ poetspath.com)

The above piece of advice is one of the practices that have helped me up my writing a great deal. Yes, TED is a poet and seems to be talking to aspiring poets but his suggest has general relevance to all writers.

It’s like apprenticeship, you know. And this is how it works: you identify a writer whose work you like, study his works, see how he creates, and over time, his style will rub off on him. It works like magic!

But that entails that you must be a voracious reader to even find an author whose style you fancy.

That said, it’s easy to get stuck on learning rather than doing. I made this mistake for years on end. Once you’ve identified an area of interest, start writing. When you’re done with one, start another!

Before I published my first book—The Wonders of books, I had already completed about five other books with many others in draft copies.

Note: An important lesson I’ve learnt is that: as you go from writing one book to the other, your writing confidence is being built, you begin to find your voice, develop your own style and writing rhythm, and with time, the process of starting and completing a book becomes almost automated.

You don’t fuse or stress over it any longer! It soon becomes more or less like breathing in and out for you!

Write. WRITERS WRITE!

Very importantly, don’t get your mind fixed on writing big books; you’ll be setting yourself up for discouragement. Write short books. The money is not in writing the big books—it is in writing SEVERAL USEFUL BOOKS that your readers will thank you for writing by paying for them.

Again, check out those Nigerian author-preneurs i mentioned earlier, they don’t necessarily write voluminous books. They write SOLUTION-DRIVEN PIECE!

Going forward...

Step 4: Get Published

No matter how wonderful your written work is, it won’t put money in your pocket until you transition it from manuscript to a published book in the hands of enthusiastic readers.

More so, you can never tell how well your work will do in the marketplace until you get published and begin to receive feedback from the market. You’ll always get a feedback back—positively or negatively. When negative, don’t take it personal; just look at what you’ve done wrongly, improvise and give it another shot. And when positive, rejoice, rinse and repeat the process.

But before you go scouting for a publisher, ensure you get the following right:

a) Edit and Proofread Your Work Properly.

Get friends who themselves are writers to go over your work. Maybe you don’t have one of such friends, that’s where networking comes in. However, I will advice that you pay a professional proof reader (like me) to work on your book.
I am really good at proofreading and editing write-ups. It comes natural to me. And I do it really good.

Take this article, for example, well proofread. Isn’t it? You don’t say! You may hire me for almost FREE via my contact given at the end of this long shit called an article—I think it’s a mini book!

All right, back to where I drifted off from...

Nothing puts a reader off like reading through a book full of errors—be it grammatical or typographical. It engenders negative association with the writer of a book. I hope you don’t want that?

b) Pay Close Attention to Your Book Cover.

Remember the saying: “You don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s not correct here. We do really judge books by their covers. An aesthetic book cover design has the emotional appeal and power to entice readers. You know, readers see the cover of your book first before they go through the content.

A poorly designed book cover on the other hand can be a real turn off. And of course, that’s not what you want!

Step 5: Market Your Book Massively

Use every conceivable medium to market your book. No one else can market your book the way you will. I must confess that this is where the destiny of your book and writing craft is hinged on.

In short, NO SALES...NO PROFIT!

If you’ve done a good job of identifying your niche area, and segregating your target audience, knowing the ROUTE to take in marketing your book wouldn’t be a herculean task.

However, there’s no one best method for marketing your books. There are actually a thousand and one ways to do it, depending on your operation.

If you are writing full time, you’ll definitely have more time to yourself and the flexibility of choosing what medium to employ.
Personally, I am presently in a paid employment. So I don’t have the luxury of time to get fully involved—which sincerely is limiting my sales potentials.

Notwithstanding, I employ the following media to market my book: bookshops, distributors, hawkers, schools, tutorial centres, and sometimes I get involved. Yes, sometimes I do direct marketing.

Finally, with more good books published, you’ll do less of marketing. Not that you’ll or should stop marketing your books, not at all. Your enthusiastic readers will do it for you. That’s why you should take improving your writing craft seriously. Write good books. And publish more. Your loyal readers will sing your praise so loudly that others’ attention will be directed to your works.

Step 6: Rinse and Repeat Steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Don’t stop honing your writing skills. Spend time to learn how to use words to communicate ideas clearly. Learn to write good sentences and effective paragraphs.

Always write to proffer solution to problem or need areas. There will never be an end to problems.
Don’t stop writing. Keep moving your pen.

Publish more and more books. The market is eagerly waiting. Publish or perish.

Marketing is the life wire of author-preneurship. Learn to sell and market books.

In Conclusion

This sounds like a tall order, isn’t it?

Maybe, but I bet the benefit is well worth the effort.

If you’ve ever wished you could lay your hands on a step-by-step guide to get into the business of writing—for whatever reason: money? Fame? Or both? This is it!

I admit I must have left out some salient areas. So for every bugging question you have about the business of writing I’ve not address in this article, I invite you to shoot me a mail so that I can address it subsequently in: The Business of Writing, part 2.

Thanks for your time.

P.s. Please do me a favour: generously share this information with friends and family. That’s the only payment I desire for the time I’ve put into the writing of this article.

To Our Success,

Okafor Chijioke
Okaforchijioke007@gmail.com
Facebook.com/okaforchukwujiokem
070312191991

. Thanks for this great piece.

^^^ na waoh... must you quote the whole piece just to show your appreciation

Hi okafor your gmail add" not working..gsm no:not correct
pls send writing manual to :aobusyhands1@gmail.com

godsamist:
Hi okafor your gmail add" not working..gsm no:not correct
pls send writing manual to :aobusyhands1@gmail.com

@godsamist, my email working perfectly; my phone no., you cannot always reach me during work hours.

I still keep a paid job and only run writing business part time.

Anyways, sorry about the inconveniences, kindly check your email for the writing manual,

I understand that not everybody is cut out for writing. To rephrase that not everyone has got the capacity, the interest or passion for writing.

For example, i have observed that i wouldn't like to do music. Reason being: that music doesn't occupy the centre stage of my heart.

Basically, i have discovered that i am drawn more to learning, teaching and education in general than to entertainment.

While i may dance (or rather nod because i'm not a good dancer) to the rhythm of beautifully sung songs, it does not qualify me to want to do music.

Now, let me make a point here: you can do anything you have set your heart and mind squarely on. But there are things that you already have the natural make-up or some deep-rooted inclination for. And those are the things you should go for.

Most folks in the "spirit of hustling," dabble into any and everything that promises good fortunes. While they may enjoy some strokes of luck along the line, they usually don't last doing such things.

I guess that explains why we see some Nigerian artists who have come up with wonderful songs, and when you start asking for more from them, they disappear into thin air while the die-hards who are hanging on continue to dish out nonsensical songs to the public.

Sorry! I digressed and took you on a long walk but to make a vital point. I hope you are familiar with that picture i just created?

So all in all, i have two questions for you. One is, are you cut out for writing? If you are not, please consider telling us why. Someone might just pick out something from your story.

Two, if yes, what's stopping you? Say your mind here and let's respond to it collectively.

Waiting...

So far i have receive an overwhelming thank-you from folks who requested for the writing manual entitled: Profit from the Author Inside of You...

I remain eternally grateful to Nichole, a penpal from the U.S who sent me this manual in 2007.

Please, if you have got this manual share your learnings with us here.

What aspect of writing do you find most tasking?

a. Coming up with topics to write on?
b. Researching your ideas?
c. Articulating or pouring your heart on paper?
d. Grammar or constructing meaningful or engaging sentences?
e. Editing or proofreading your work?
f. Publishing or marketing your work?

Share what your greatest challenge about partaking in the writing business is...i really want to help as many youths as i can.

Writing for profit is a serious and good business that may not make you so much money in the beginning. But that is bound to make you stupendous income at the long run.

If this article were to be a post on make $1000 online while asleep, so many folks would have jumped at it. Stop chasing shinny money-making opportunities. 98% of them are scam.

If you can write simple and clear English sentences, then you can write a SMALL but USEFUL BOOK that may turn your financial situation round.