We Are No More Creating Contents That Only Suit What Other Writers Or Editors Want -By Sa’ad Sa’id

‘’Writers publishing writers, writers marketing writers, writers giving award to writers, writers selling to writers. This is not a real market. It is a community turning in for itself, instead of venturing out into the deep.’’ -Dike Chukwumerije

This is a new decade, and we are no more going back, young and growing writers are tired of creating contents that appeals the taste of what other writers and editors want. For quite a while, writers especially in Africa have shifted from creating contents for the general public to creating contents that best suits what editors and other writers want. This was birthed from the case scenario that even after writing their heart out as a writer, an established writer or an editor is gently waiting by the door to tell them that ‘The subject of your story is talked about often’ or ‘Your story is good, but you haven’t told it the right way’. Or an academician is silently seated, waiting to tell you that ‘Your work is completely something else’ or even worst ‘The title of your book is completely nonsense’ just because you didn’t follow the rules, because your play wasn’t as written as Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, because your novel wasn’t well crafted as Marquez’s ‘Hundred Years of Solitude’ and your poetry collection wasn’t Shakespeare’s ‘The Complete Sonnets and Poems’.

This is not an attempt to advocate for bad writings, we all know that yes, it is OK for manuscripts to be rejected, it is OK to point out bad writings especially from young writers that have written their first draft’s thinking ‘Yeah, I nailed it’. And its very Ok to be innovative in writing. But what’s about putting pressure on writings that either ‘follow the rules’ or writings that ‘aren’t told’. For example, why would someone tell me that the story I wrote about Boko Haram is a subject that has been written extensively about and gladly welcomes Adaobi Tricia’s ‘Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree’ knowing the fact that I have more than 10years experience of Boko Haram and Adaobi has none? What is it about writing your heart out? Scenario’s like these have compelled writers to writing books that best suit what other writer’s and editors and publishers want. Writing books that are ONLY read by other fellow writers. Writing mighty texts that looks like scriptures. Writing heavy idiomatic books that best quench their Professor’s thirst for language.

We need to tell ourselves that to be successful in writing, we mustn’t need to write better than the best books that have been written. Tell ourselves that most times the most powerful, effective, long lasting and successful books are not necessarily the best written books. And also tell ourselves that the world is not interested in best written books, to understand human are special kind of creation, they are interested in works they find themselves in, works that touch their lives, works that will remain in them as long as they live.

Understanding this will pave our way to creating contents for the public and not books that were only read by our fellow writers and family members. Creating books werepeople that do not understand metaphor and simile will enjoy, books where a 70 years old retired man would seat in his compound at noon and smile to the stories that reminds him of his past, not heavy descriptions that would make him drop your book and sip his tea. Thrilling stories where a woman selling akara would listen to her 13years old daughter reads to her at bedtime. Books that won’t make the SS2 students fall asleep when their literature teacher reads them. Books that common people will read, not aspiring writers. Books that lives in the heart of common men and women. These are the books that the world wants. And our target audience is the world and not other author’s or publishers or editors.