By Thabo Motlhabi
“In my view, a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any promise, you keep writing anyway.”
Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, recently organized 2 two-day Annual Expert Authors Summit in partnership with stakeholders from TW Publishers, Nalosi Premium Venture Associate, Tickethost, and Takealot. The campaign was hosted at Sandton Library and Sandton Art Gallery on 26 Thursday, September 2024.
The Sandton Library Authotirium was fully packed with wordsmiths who were well recognized in the creative- industry to inspire emerging authors and those who want to make a living through writing.
Writing and publishing is tricky and misunderstood for those entering the creative industry. You need to undewrstand:
· how to sell your products to your target market,
· who are your target market comprises
· which channel to use.
The challenge is that there are so many ways of writing, traditional via a publisher or self-publishing. Many emerging authors lack the information and education on these matters. These days, many aspirant writers choose to self-publish to sell their books.
This 2 days’ Annual Campaign was meant to re-address these issues, helping aspirant writers understand the process of publishing and secondly, see how to better brand themselves and sell their craft.
As a Deputy Director of Library Services Mrs. Fulufhelo Munyai said, “Well, one must not fish for a man but teach a man to fish. This is our objective, sharing the necessary tools and skills to make sure our people can be better equipped on the issues of self-sufficiency and use their craft as a livelihood.”
The atmosphere was good and the attendees were focused on the information shared and the insightfulness of the recognized local authors. They needed to learn as much as possible and be able to put that knowledge into practice. They enjoyed the content and new insights and seeing live examples of authors who make a living through their craft.
As an Entrepreneur, Mrs. Nalosi Dintshe Moagi said,” Love what you do, but always remember the business end of things and use the knowledge gained accordingly to thrive.”
The way forward is to see more emerging authors writing and publishing their craft through the information and education they received from this event.
At the end of the campaign, it was time to engage with different stakeholders and exchange contacts for future reference.