5 Year Journey to Becoming a Published Author

The other day, I saw a quote that read, ‘Patience is waiting without complaining.” Anyone who knows me personally, knows that patience and I are not friends. My problem is that I know I need it, but I just don’t exercise it often. Anyway, I’m now going through gym-therapy; hopefully in a couple of months, I’ll be doing so much better.

I’m convinced that my journey to becoming a published author was one of God’s biggest tests of my patience. The last five years have been a true rollercoaster filled with thrill, excitement, fear and disappointment. At the end of the day, “Ala balansa” (paraphrased: ‘Everything works out for the good of those who trust in the Lord’). Allow me to take you on a ride as I unpack my route to publishing Routes: 

2016: GENESIS. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved three things: talking, drawing, and most of all: writing/storytelling. It’s a wonder that I only pictured myself being a published author after being encouraged by a young author who I interviewed while working at The Post [newspaper]. 

Picking a topic wasn’t difficult. I’ve always been passionate about anti-tribalism in Zambia; so that is the route I took. I wrote the first draft in about six weeks while in my second year of university. 

2018: SAVING. My parents have supported me throughout my journey to becoming a published author. Initially, they offered to pay for publication; but after I finished writing the first draft, they suggested that I save money to publish it on my own. They thought I’d “appreciate the process more if I paid for publication.” So, from 2016 to 2018, I spent less pocket money and saved my earnings from work and freelancing.

2019: REWRITING. After I had saved up enough money to self-publish, I decided to edit some parts of my book (my mum had already started editing – bless her soul). At this point, I had graduated from university and having majored in Literature and Journalism (and specialising in writing and editing), I knew I was a stronger writer than I was when I wrote my first draft. It took me about six months to edit the book because most of my time was taken by my full-time job.

2020: BEING SWINDLED. Having saved up for years, I paid for: the editing, typesetting, book cover designing, and publishing of hundreds of books. I was finally on the road to becoming a published author – a journey that had taken way longer than I anticipated. You’d think my journey would be a bit smoother at this point, but nope! The publisher who I had been communicating with since 2016 failed to deliver. After countless excuses, unanswered phone calls, reports to the police, and summons, I knew my journey to being published would take a little longer…

2021: BACK ON TRACK. I contracted another publisher and my books were ready in a week. With the help of my talented colleague Mutumba Litebele, we shot the promotional video and pictures; things had started to come into place. They say “all good things take time”; I’m just glad that after five years, my good thing is finally here!I hope my book will contribute to the fight against tribalism in Zambia. I trust that my message is relevant and I hope my book will be received well. I’m truly grateful to God, my parents, family, friends, and all my English and Literature Teachers and Lecturers for their support during my route to Routes.

#Let’sFightForABetterZambia