In case you succeed as a writer, just remember to tame your ego

Dear Aspiring Novelist,

Your future readers — save for your close friends and family — do not know you exist. They don’t know that your Class Five composition “How I Spent My December Holiday” was so good it was pinned on the school’s notice board. They don’t care that you’ve been writing since you were seven. They are not concerned that you have received rejection after rejection for what you thought was fairly good work if not downright epic.

Your future readers have other things going on in their lives. Pressing things. Tough things. More interesting things than the novel you are writing. So as you write, make it worth their while. Make it interesting enough for them to want to read the second sentence, the second paragraph and, if you are lucky, to flip to the next page.

If you are so fortunate as to be published, congratulations! Your story must be something special. You have joined a very lucky few who have cracked into this very difficult and competitive space.  You will not believe the number of frustrated authors, not just in Kenya but the world over, who would give anything to have the opportunity you have. Be grateful. Do not get cocky.

If you thought getting published was the hard part, try selling. You are probably going to make the most noise on social media. Don’t be overly dependent on your social media fans. Not everyone who likes or shares your posts will actually go into their pockets to buy your book.

Not everyone who buys your book will actually read it. They might tell you they have, to be polite. They might make general comments like, ‘wonderful’ or ‘wacha tu!’  but will quickly change the topic if you prod further on what specifically they liked.

Don’t take it personally and don’t be quick to judge them. It’s a busy world, this one. Reading your book is not their lives’ priority.

You are also guilty of purchasing other forms of art that you didn’t bother to look at afterwards. Remember the music DVD you bought from your friend’s concert? The autographed book you took home after that launch? Aren’t they lying somewhere in a drawer, untouched? How you respond to other people’s art might be a good — if not the most honest — indicator of how people will respond to yours.

Don’t expect everyone will be crazy about your book. Some people will rubbish it before they have seen the cover. Some people will dismiss it based on other people’s views. Some people will just not like it. Don’t be overly discouraged. It comes with the territory.

Not every criticism, however, is necessarily a demon straight from hell, sent specifically to torment you. Some of it could turn out to be very valuable. Learn to sift out that which is constructive. If you are lucky, you will receive a lot of this. You would rather have people critiquing your work than people not saying anything at all. At least they are reading! It will also dispel any illusions you might have otherwise harboured about your greatness. You might realise that you are human, after all, with blind spots, crutch words and a long way from ‘arriving’.

If you are so fortunate as to have your book reviewed in an important publication — rejoice! You know the adage; no press is bad press, unless it’s really bad press. Even if your book is not reviewed favourably, the payoff is that people will now know it exists. There could be nothing worse than a wonderfully written book, gathering dust on a random shelf that no one knows about.

CELEBRATION

If your book becomes a hit, wins an award and has everyone in town queuing outside bookstores to get it, do cartwheels, back flips, throw a bash, celebrate in the best way you know how — within reason of course! You are now officially ‘a big deal’. Your bragging rights are duly earned and validated. Nevertheless, remember to keep your ego in check. It is easy to grow a big head and imagine you are the single greatest thing that ever walked the face of the earth.

You have now joined the league of eminent authors that readers Google, add as friend on Facebook, and follow on Twitter and Instagram. Your social media update will now get about 2,000 likes, comments and retweets, even if all you said was “Good morning.” Your inbox will be jammed with manuscripts; everyone wanting you to read theirs to see if they are on to something. If you are unlucky, some of your admirers’ behaviour might border dangerously on stalking. You may even be afraid to pick calls from unknown numbers.

Readers who previously did not care that you existed will want to know mundane details of your life. What do you have for breakfast, for example? Your favourite colour? Did you really start writing at age seven? They will also want to know things like your writing ritual, who your favourite authors are, your source of inspiration. They will want you to weigh in on the Hillary/Trump campaigns; your overall views on our athlete’s performance in the Rio Olympics. They will want your two cents on the VAT imposed on books.

They will ask if you are available to mentor them. You might even get invited to speaking engagements and book events. Heck, we might even see you on TV!

Your readers will want to take selfies with you and post them on social media. Relish this. It is an awesome privilege. Remember not too long ago your work lay in a computer, unread. Remember the days you were a frustrated nobody.

Let the memory of those days of obscurity amplify the magnitude of just how fortunate you are to have made it this far.

Don’t be too disappointed, though, if you don’t become an overnight millionaire. Such things only happen in fairytales.

Enjoy the attention while it lasts. Hopefully it will last a long time. Don’t overly burden yourself with whether everyone is being sincere in their admiration or whether they are only milling around you for the possible benefits that might come with knowing you.

Don’t ditch your old friends, the ones who knew you when you were nobody. The ones who cheered you on as you wrote your first sentences. When you are no longer a big deal, your fans will move on to the next literary sensation; but your friends will be the soft landing you will need.

KEEP WRITING

Don’t blame your readers if you are no longer trending. People will want new things. Keep writing so that you are not a one-hit wonder. Keep writing so that those who truly loved your first work will have something to look forward to. Keep writing because it is possibly all you can do to remain sane. Keep writing, because, as with most writers — and as cliché as this may sound — you did not choose writing, writing chose you. So go ye forth and stay true to the call.