BLOG POST

I remember being told, reading and writing are two different things and while I hate to say this, this is totally true.

I am an avid reader. My idea of fun is reading. I can read anything from short stories and dark romance novels to revolutionary African literature.

It was always so easy to criticise authors, sometimes pointing out certain mistakes, from wrong spelling to grammatical errors. I would sit with friends and talk about how silly a particular book is and what better ways the author could have made the story more worth my time.

When I first heard of a job opportunity which basically consists of writing a novel for an app, I thought it would be a walk in the park. Admittedly, the story was to be 140,000 words long but I still felt it would be relatively easy. I mean, I had been reading since I was twelve, so how hard could it be?

I decided to follow this part, so I contacted an editor and submitted my outline and first five chapters. Shockingly, I was rejected on the spot. I had to rewrite my chapters and even then I was only given a non-exclusive contract.

I eventually signed a non-exclusive contract with them but with a totally different novel idea from the first. I kept updating daily only to realise that over the span of more than two months, I had only garnered 450 readers who were not even committed to reading my book. It took months before I could make barely a dollar.

I received my first criticisms and I almost cried my eyes out. They were not constructive by any means, they were downright mean and degrading.

Since then, whenever I read a book and I thought the author didn't do a good enough job, I always referred back to my own experience and I would have a little more respect for the author.

Now, while reviews and criticisms are important, we must do it in a way that will not hurt the author.

And mostimes it isn't even the author's fault that you didn't enjoy the book!

A lot of factors contribute to how much we enjoy a book.

Sometimes your mood can affect how much you enjoy a book and also the influence of another book.

We might sometimes read an extremely good book or a traumatising one which sticks with us for a very long time, affecting how well we might enjoy other books.

Unconsciously, we might set these extremely good books as a standard for other books and when they fail to surpass this good book, we end up hating them.

While writing has always been my passion, reviewing the works of other authors has become a second close.

Although it depends largely on my mood, I might review books ranging from dark romance novels, fantasy novels to African literature.

Please do well to follow me so as not to miss my interesting new reads. Due to school and other factors, I might read any number of books per month, from 5 to 7 or even 10, depending on the length.

Thank you for coming this far with me.