The African writer and the ebook

Having recently embarked on an ebooks publishing journey, I believe I am now in a position to share a number of observations with my fellow African writers. The first is that the African writer who is thinking about writing an ebook starts out with the odds staked against him. The first hurdle stems from the fact that Africa is still technologically challenged, when compared to other countries.

While internet penetration has significantly increased over the past few years, the amount of technological sophistication that one finds on the content still leaves a lot to be desired. If one looks at Zimbabwe, the country's banking sector is only just joining the internet revolution. The majority of people in Zimbabwe do not have Visa and MasterCard enabled debit cards. Credit cards are also something that many in the country have never heard about. Zimbabweans can also not make online payments using PayPal because, believe it or not, the sanctions that were imposed on the country are not that "targeted," after all.

The issue of availability of payment methods is of particular importance to the African writer who sets out to write an ebook. The ebook writer in the UK or in the United States is assured, even before he or she starts writing, of an audience that is composed of his immediate friends, family and acquaintances. The initial sales and reviews that these people bring are crucial to the success or failure of an ebook. That is because sites, such as amazon, afford more visibility to those books that have the largest number of sales and reviews.

Let me now use myself as an example. I recently published my ebook, "She froze her balls and other stories," which is available on amazon. While most of the people I know are interested in sampling my book, which is selling at US$2.99 in the US and $4.99 elsewhere, they do not have the means to make the crucial initial purchase, possessing as they do no Visa or MasterCard linked banking accounts.

Even those who do have these cards are, I have discovered, held back by fear that putting their banking details on the internet will expose them to fraud. So, whether my book is a masterpiece or not, the only satisfaction it can afford me is that of fulfilling my authorial vanity. (Every writer craves the sight of his name on a publication.)

That is all for today, vatsigiri vangu. Till next thoughts.

She Froze her balls and other stories

Hello to all my supporters.

Most of you will, by now, have become aware of the fact that I recently published an ebook titled "She froze her balls and other stories," on amazon. The book is a collection of short stories, which I wrote over the past few years. 

The subject? Well... She froze her balls and other stories deals with the day to day lives of ordinary people in Africa. In this case the heroes are not some Hollywood movies stars, but people who, like you and me, prevail over the many odds that are, daily, staked in their paths. The book is thus about hope, for what is life without a bit of hope? 

Whats important is that at the end of the day people prevail. Yes they sell tomatoes and vegetables for a living, but that in no way should be taken as a measure of their happiness. Yes, there are thieves who prowl for the weak, but which continent does not have these? What matters at the end of the day is the vibrancy of Africa and the richness of its culture and people. 

Despite all the odds, people can afford to laugh at their woes. She froze her balls and other stories is thus intended as a (somewhat) satirical portrayal of life in the African neighbourhood. The characters represent any African and, on a global scale, any ordinary person in the world. That is because despite what many may think and believe, it is these ordinary people who keep the world rolling.