After
working for as an accountant for a couple of years, Nigerian writer, Tolulope
Popoola quits her 9 to 5 job to follow her passion as a writer. When she
finished her first novel, “Nothing Comes This Close”, she decided to become a
publisher in order to publish her own novel.
Today,
she has risen from being a regular sharing her fictional stories to an
accomplished writer and publisher. Her book “Nothing Comes Close” has achieved
tremendous success both at home and abroad and her readers can’t help but ask
for more.
I
had a chat with Tolulope and she shared her entrepreneurship journey, her leap
of faith in leaving her comfort zone of being an accountant to harness her
life-long hobby and dream of being a writer.
Excerpt
What was growing up
like?
I
grew up in Lagos, Nigeria in a household where I was surrounded by books from
an early age. I’m the first of three children. As a child, I was a real
bookworm; the introvert who preferred staying at home reading to going out and
partying. My parents made sure they paid attention to us academically; we were
always encouraged to achieve great results at school.
You are a writer,
publisher and a mother; how do you juggle these together?
Since
I work from home it means I can be quite flexible. I can choose my own working
hours, fit tasks around my family and other commitments. My day usually
consists of juggling work around an active toddler, so that’s when I do the
simple administrative tasks like sending emails, social networking and catching
up on industry news. I do my serious writing and editing during the night and
early hours of the morning when my household is asleep, and everywhere is
quiet.
What was it like
changing career from being an accountant to becoming a full time writer? What
influenced that decision and what was the transitory process like?
Writing
was always something that interested me since I was six years old. I grew up
around books and I enjoyed reading a lot. I remember writing my own versions of
the stories I’d read, sometimes with my own alternative endings. When I became
a teenager, I wrote pages and pages in my diaries regularly. However, it was
never something I had considered as a career at the time, and I didn’t know any
full-time writers. When I graduated from university, I was mainly focused on getting
a ‘professional’ job – you know the one where you have to wear a suit, work in
a 9 to 5 office job, and get paid every month. However, it soon became clear to
me that Accounting was not the right career path for me. I was bored,
frustrated and unhappy with my job even though it paid well and the company was
a great place to work.
In
2006, I came across a few Nigerian blogs when I was searching for some
information online. I was immediately attracted to the idea of writing an
online journal, so I started my own blog. I enjoyed writing, commenting,
meeting people and joining a wonderful community of supportive bloggers. Before
long, I started looking forward to coming home after a long day at work and
unwinding by writing on my blog.
One
day, I wrote a short story and published it on my blog and it attracted
positive comments from readers. I was surprised and pleased that people thought
I could write fiction and they enjoyed my stories. So, I started writing some
more. The more I wrote, the more I realised I enjoyed it and I wanted to
continue doing it. So I signed up for a few writing classes, and started
writing short stories. With time, I knew that I should give up accounting to
become a writer.
Apart from writing,
you are also a publisher; what are the challenges you encountered as a
self-published writer?
As
a writer, I was tired of getting rejections from mainstream publishers, not
because my writing was bad, but because they felt that there was no market for
it. I had met a few publishers who found my work interesting, but they always
said that it wasn’t commercially viable because it was regarded as ‘ethnic
fiction’. But, I believe that I have to tell my stories and there are readers
who want to read about people like them in books. So, I did a lot of research
and decided to take the chance and become a publisher myself. The main
challenge I’ve faced as an independent author is the fact that I don’t have a
huge marketing department and budget to promote my work to a large audience. I
have to do all the work to write, publish and promote my work myself. But I see
it as a trade-off, because this way I have total control over my career.
How do you get an
objective view in critically analysing your own work before going to press?
Before
I published my novel, “Nothing Comes Close”, I went through several drafts and
re-writes before I was confident I could let other people
see it. Then I sent it to a group of beta readers that read and critiqued
several drafts of the novel. Their feedback was really helpful for me because I
got to see weaknesses in the story and I could improve it. Finally, I have an
external editor who reads and edits my work, and I have two proof-readers as
well.
How many books have
you been able to publish under “Accomplish Press”?
I’ve
published two books; a novel and a collection of flash fiction.
Do you publish only
your own work? If yes, do you plan to publish other writers’ work in the
nearest future?
At
the moment I’ve only published my own work, but I have two other projects in
the pipeline that were written by other people. So I have plans to publish
other writers in the near future.
You are an African
writer based in the diaspora with your own publishing firm; how do you get to
market your book at the home front and then get tremendous acceptance at the
home base?
I’ve
been very fortunate that most people who have read the book, both in Nigeria
and abroad have enjoyed it. That’s the most important thing for me as a writer.
If readers like the book, they will help you spread the word about it. I’ve
mostly used social media and some published interview and reviews to get the
attention of my target audience.
You sometimes write
short stories/flash stories; how long, approximately, does it take you to
complete a story/book? For example, how long did it take you to achieve the
final draft for your book: “Nothing Come this Close”?
I
find it easier to write short fiction. I can write a flash fiction story in an
hour or two. A short story can take me two days to a week. It took me about ten
months to finish writing “Nothing Comes Close” and that’s not including the
time spent on the original series. Writing the novel was a huge learning curve
and a lesson in endurance.
What is writing to
you and then describe your style of writing?
Writing
for me is the ability to create something that didn’t exist before, and make it
come alive in another person’s mind. My writing style is quite varied, but I
like having some kind of outline in my mind for the characters and the plot of
a story before I begin. I sometimes brainstorm for days and weeks before I
actually sit down to put an idea down in written form. I find that having a
structure helps me so that I don’t get stuck or run out of steam halfway into a
story. Having said that, sometimes I ignore the structure and I let the story
flow freestyle, which can also yield surprising results.
How has your online
presence helped your writing career?
An
online presence has been very important. Being a full-time writer can be quite
isolating but, thanks to the internet, I have made many friends who are also
writers, and we help each other. I first started as a blogger, and I belonged
to a great community of fellow bloggers. When I started writing fiction, I went
online to look for forums and groups of other writers that I could join and
learn from. I’ve since met many people – editors, bloggers, journalists,
aspiring authors, published authors and so on – that have been a tremendous
supportive network. I’ve collaborated with people on different writing
projects, received free books, been interviewed, had my stories published in
magazines, received feedback and so on, all from people that I’ve met online. My
blogs and social media pages have also been an excellent way of connecting with
readers, getting their feedback, and promoting my work.
What motivated you to
create your first prose writing online: “In My Dreams, It Was Simpler”?
It
all started when I came across a wedding album on Facebook one day and I
thought the groom looked like a cousin of mine who was already married to
someone else. The potential drama of that situation gave me an idea and a few
days later, I wrote a short story titled My
Dilemma. I put it on one of my blogs and as a note on Facebook. I got good
feedback from people who read it, and lots of people asked for a Part 2 to the
story. I didn’t think much about it until someone left a comment saying that
the story could be turned into a series. That caught my attention and it
sounded like a neat idea, so I decided to expand the plot and the characters.
Then I invited some bloggers and asked if they were interested in writing a
group story. Thankfully I got positive responses and a few weeks later, the
series was born.
Any chance of
co-writing with any of the co-writers of “In My Dreams, It was Simpler”?
I
don’t have any plans to work on another collaboration at the moment, but
anything is possible. If a great idea comes up, I might be interested.
Have you written or
published any other work aside your first book “Nothing Comes Close”?
Yes,
I have published a flash fiction collection. It’s available as an ebook.
Your book “Nothing
Comes Close” has achieved remarkable success; is there any other book up your
sleeve that is due to be released soon?
I’m
working on an idea for my next book, but I won’t say it’s due to be released
soon.
Any scoop on the book you are about
to publish: is it a sequel/relative to your first novel 'Nothing Comes Close'?
I'm planning to do a story on two of the secondary characters
from "Nothing Comes Close". So, it won't be a sequel as such, but it
will feature some familiar people.
So you are now into
writing, any chance of going back to accounting or doing something with your
degree?
I’m
always going to be a writer, but my degree is useful when I’m dealing with the
business side of publishing.
What are the best
three books you have read in recent times/ the ones that have made a lasting
impression on you over time?
Let
me name three books that have made a big impression on me recently:
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
The Time Traveller’s
Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Rice Mother
by Rani Manicka
What’s your favourite
quote?
“Don’t
you think it’s better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose
it, than to be just okay for your whole life?”―
Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife
Which book club do
you belong to?
I’m
in one book club for working mums and another for Nigerian writers.
Can you tell us the names of these
book clubs?
Yes, one of them is called "Super Working Mum Book
Club" and the other is "Nigerian Readers and Writers". The SWM
book club is on Facebook.
Where do you see your career at the end of
this decade?
Hopefully,
I would have written and published several other books, and Accomplish Press
would be a world-recognised publisher that promotes African literature.
Where do you see
African romance fiction in the near future?
I
see more writers coming into the genre and not being afraid to explore and
experiment with it. There are so many things we can do to make the genre more
interesting and less predictable.
What would you say
are the most important factor young writers must hold on to keep them going?
Keep
improving, learn from criticism and never give up.
What advise will you
give potential writers?
If
you feel like you’re drawn to write, believe in yourself and don’t let fear
hold you back. Don’t be afraid to make some mistakes; nobody writes a
masterpiece on their first attempt. Read, read and then read some more. Read
the sort of things you want to write, and read things that are totally
different from what you normally read. Then start writing! You can only improve
if you’re dedicated to your craft and you work on it consistently.
