THE PUBLISHING ACADEMY: CALL FOR APPLICATION

We are hereby calling for applications from young Nigerians interested in building a career in publishing [Book Editing, Book Design and Typesetting, Book Marketing and Distribution].

Interested applicants are to pay an application fee of One thousand naira only to the following account information;

Account Name: Emotion Press
Account Number:0005158185
Bank Name: Stanbic Ibtc Plc

After payment, please forward the transaction details to thepublishingacademy@gmail.com. You will be asked to follow an application link and finalize your registration.

NB. The publishing course will be held in Ibadan over four weekends and you will be mandated to pay a course fee of N10,000. Discounts for NYSC members. For further enquiries, Please call 07018073343.

Application closes on the midnight of the April 14, 2017.

Sharpening Your Writing Skills[1]

It is quite saddening, nowadays, that upcoming writers scare away from honing their writing skills. You cannot eat your cake and have it.

Publishers, the ones I know, prefer to publish refined writers rather than going through the horrors of developing the scripts of weak writers.

In this section, I will be sharing some tips that can help sharpen your writing skills irrespective of the genre you may be writing for. Meet you at the top!

 

– Go Back To The Basics : Some writers’ knowledge of the basics of the language is so poor that they don’t know the clear difference between comma and full stop.Refined writers still go back to study the basics of the langauge like Verb, Adjective, Sentence e.t.c, every now and then.

Writers are not super human beings. We forget things and we must keep practising and studying to be on the track.

There are books on the basics of the language that can help you in the nearest bookstore.

Some of them were recommended in your secondary school days. Find them and go back to the basics. If you really want to sharpen your writing skills, you need to find and fill the loopholes inherent in the foundation of your writing.

 

– Spread Your Laps Publicly And Write Everyday : Some of we  writers are so afraid of honest criticisms that we write our script and hide it from people’s eyes.

‘Are you a writer?’ you would ask him if he wants to read your script.

Does he have to be a writer? Not everybody will write, but you need that friend or enemy as your second eye.

Do not be afraid to spread your writing laps publicly; it helps. Be open to criticisms, but do not react to all.

Practise makes perfect. Refined writers frequent their cubicle.

If you want to sharpen your writing skills, you must dedicate yourself to the craft.

I once had a poet friend, who was very poor in writing when he started. But he dedicated himself to that craft and now he is bagging awards and recognitions both locally and internationally.

To sharpen your writing skills, you must be ready to do that thing which you  envision, again, again and again.

Day 3: Great Writers Find Frogs Delicious; lessons From Wole Soyinka.

Have you ever  found somebody eating a frog before? It is possible, though not in my culture.

Eating Frogs in Africa here, most especially in Nigeria, seems quite absurd and abominable. Notwithstanding, I  still struggle to eat as much Frogs as possible.Wole Soyinka, the author of Death and The King’s Horseman was detained many years ago by the then dictatorial government of Nigeria. He was an activist who derives irredeemable joy  from fighting for justice and equity.Most importantly, he expresses his activism through his creative writings.Then when he was imprisoned, they deprived him of books and pen. He hungered for his delicacy – cooked frogs! But he didn’t bulge, instead Wole attacked Procrastination by writing on the toilet roll given to him. He ate the Frog, anyway. He swallowed Procrastination!

If you really want to be a great writer, there are two basic things you must inculcate. Write every day and read all the while.It is a Law that says,that the more you do more of a thing, the more the activity turns into an habit for you. If only you can be disciplined like Wole Soyinka, and eat the Frog called Procrastination, your writings will improve.

Great writers don’t make writing a hobby, but habit. A hobby is something you do at your leisure period, while a habit is something you involve in every  moment to make your life meaningful. Great writers have one  habit, writing it is. Writing is a bitter delicacy, just like a frog eat it!

Day 2: Why You May Never Get Published.

I delved into publishing some moments ago and I do consider so many factors before considering any manuscript for publication.
One, I look at the sentence structure and choice of words of the author.
As a writer, you must learn how to adequately play with words.It is quite baffling sometimes when I READ A MANUSCRIPT of a  writer and realize the writer seldom make good sentence[s]. Learn the basics.
You may never be accepted by a publisher if your manuscript is not properly edited.First impression lasts longer. Try not to be one of those writers that will be rejected on the basis of  spelling error.
Beat other writers to the book. Do you even know the concept behind books?
See,  behind every book you would write is a major concept you are trying to sell. That is why you need to take the bull by the horns and approach the right quarters to get that book published before any other creator gets it. Remember this, every other writers are out there thirsty to get ideas. They get it and they are  published!

YOU CAN EASILY GET ACCEPTED AND PUBLISHED if you let people know you are writing. Blow the writing trumpet.It baffles me sometimes when I speak in a vicinity and at the end of the day realize I am in the midst of great writers.Let people know you are writing. Talk your way to a publisher today.

Day 1:Why Do You Write?

Refreshing in an eatery one of these days, then somebody approaches you with your new book in his hands.
The way he  approached you showed it all that he placed you in high esteem.
He is a writer. And he threw a big question that kept your mouth wide agape for seconds. ‘Why do you write?’
What will be your reply?
Often times, people do ask me this kind of question. My reply is simply to fulfill my own quota in this society of mine and to raise a voice for or against something.

But I know I am a big liar.
We write for many reasons, but two things comes, if our writings becomes successful. It is the basics of our success. Fame and Money!
You may write for reasons whatsoever, but you can’t run from the fact that you want these two.
You want to be famous like Wole Soyinka and rich like Brian Tracy, the writer of many bestselling books?
Let the thirst for fame and money ginger you to write, but don’t let it get into your muse. Don’t be distracted. It is dangerous to your writing career.