A Professor of Law, Professor Adamu Kyuka has admonished upcoming writers to know that writing is not a money-spinning venture which may take a long time before one starts reaping the benefits.
Professor Kyuka who is also the Chairman Board of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) further stated that writing is a business that requires only those who have the gift to write to venture into.
Addressing some selected journalists in Abuja, the Don who has written over 40 books said he started writing in his 20s while undergoing his compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Benin.
He said a good book compels the reader to pick an interest, and no amount of hyping can make a reader be interested in a bad book.
“It should take the head to write a good book, it should take only the heart to read it, every sentence must carry a magnet that holds the attention of the reader. You can force anybody to read your book, the book has to force the reader, no amount of talk can make anybody read your book.
“No amount of hyping will make a good out of a bad book, and if the book is actually good, if it is not noticed today, it will be noticed tomorrow, that is just how the business goes.
“Writing is not a joke, but people will think it is a joke, everybody is a writer, there are two fundamental things about writing, theme selection and the way you handle the theme.
“They should take writing seriously because it is a serious business. Writing is about one of the most serious businesses because you are writing and you want somebody to read and gain something from reading you.
“My advice to upcoming writers is to take the business seriously and if you don’t have the talent, don’t venture into it because I believe writing is a gift and it is not everyone that has it.
“I have told you, 30 years of my life, I have been writing, what money have I made from it? Many people would have just fizzled out. So most of those who want to write must have the resilience that some of us have shown.
“If your dream is to be a writer, you must be ready to embrace poverty, particularly at the beginning, because this is not a money-spinning thing, but eventually it may turn in your favour and you make the money, but if as you start, you want money to start pouring, you are joking”, he said.
“I have been in this business for quite some time. I wrote my first book in my 20s when I was doing my NYSC in Benin. In the business of writing, particularly fiction, you are your first critic, if it is not interesting to you, it will not be interesting to anybody, and as you are writing, when you find it very boring, you leave it, when the inspiration comes, you pick it up.
He said he started writing as a sideshow, while his real profession is law, because he was brought up as a lawyer, and his books are on Amazon for readers to pick.
Professor Kyuka whose pen name is Kyuka Lilymjok said in one of his books, Hope in Anarchy which he wrote in his 20s reflects the current situation of Nigeria currently.
“Writing starts as a passion, if not for the passion and love I have for writing, I will not write, as a lawyer, I would have been in court making the money, but this writing is a passion, particularly the fictional ones.
“With the regards of the law textbooks I wrote, I wrote them with the intention to add to the body of knowledge in those areas of law, in some cases, extending the frontier of knowledge in those areas”, he added.
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