Welcome to 10 Best Tools for East African Writers. I do not assume you know what these tools are right now; neither do I know if you don’t. As an author, a self-published author, I always want to share knowledge with you, which is the main reason why I have a blog function for this website. The main purpose of John Shalom as a website is to share knowledge through posts, e-books, e-courses and e-services, such as live chat with WhatsApp.
- Your Mind: Your Soul
Your mind is the #1 best tool you can ever own in this world. But, your mind can be full of the world news: things you read see or hear. We become what we eat physically, right? If so, we also become what we eat spiritually/mentally. Despite all the news we hear, we still have to control what we allow into our systems.
These 10 Best Tools for East African Writers will not help, if you don’t already have a foundation, a mindset. You need a positive mindset in order to make use of any information you obtained. I believe in doing. Head knowledge is not power until it’s put to work.
I have four rules that I make sure I follow daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. You can read them here. You too can have system. Rules are what we hate naturally, but without them, freedom will turn out to bondage instead. Our personal rules help us stay focused.
- A Working Computer
The second tool you need to own apart from your mind is a functioning computer. This can be your very own, or the one you have access to, whenever you need to use it. Today, technology is everything, we have to be competent or else. But, no, it’s not that hard to learn how to use a computer. I know that there are people still skeptical about computers, even today.
As a writer, you need writing tools, and a computer is a multipurpose machine. I can remember when I had none, and I was required to write an exam, using a computer. It was tough for me, but I did my best to get one after a few months of struggle, asking friends to allow me use theirs.
- A Word-Processing Software
A computer is a machine that works with different kinds of programs, and a word-processor are just another program out there. The mostly used word processor in the world is Microsoft Word. There are many others as well, such as the OppenOffice. You can use tools like Google Docs to write and edit your work, mostly online!
I still use Word 2007; I have written a complete e-book on how to use its main features for writing better documents. There are later versions of Word, but very fake, unless you purchase one or hack one. I don’t recommend hacking though, since you get hacked before you actually hack others.
- Have An Effective Internet Connection
Because technology is part of our daily activities, having an active Internet connection is very important for you as an author or a writer. Why? This is because you will need to connect with your readers at least once a week or a day, if possible. I have a growing online community, which is why I have enabled WhatsApp chat on this website for quick help.
You may need an Internet connection, if you want to post something about what you do. You are a global business owner; don’t make any mistake about it. Your writings are surely needed by someone somewhere. Using technology can help you connect with those potential readers and even proofreaders! You can start with a free WordPress.com blog.
- Book Publishing Platforms
Well, this is the tool you surely need, if you plan to reach the global audience. I say this several times for a reason. Most of us here in East Africa do not embrace technology as we should. I am out of this group anyway, since I use it to the maximum. I do believe my words are needed everywhere on earth.
It doesn’t matter what you write, there is a reader somewhere, looking for just that. Don’t think local, think international. I never knew that my how-to guide, Internet Residual Income will be a winning book when I wrote it a few years back. In fact, most of my little how-to guides were written to guide me on the things I do, keeping me focused. In the same way, someone somewhere in Russia needs the same guidance!
When I write about book publishing platforms, I have Amazon’s KDP in mind, always. What about Smashwords by Mark Coker? I love these two platforms. I don’t speak anymore about CreateSpace because Amazon plans to emerge the two systems before the end of 2018. KDP will surely be the main platform by 2019. This is what I knew when I moved my books from CSP to KDP towards the end of 2016, when KDP released its beta version for paperbacks.
What about using John Shalom to sell your e-books? You can do this now by becoming a vendor. This means you will create a free account and upload your book. We will have to approve both your vendor application and the listings you have on your personal site.
- An Effective Online Payment System
PayPal was the best payment system, and it is still the only option available. This is because we don’t have another African alternative to PayPal. The only bank in Kenya that allows withdrawing of cash from PayPal is Equity Bank, my favorite. What if you don’t have an Equity account? You may use another service, PayPal to M-pesa, but your name must match exactly.
I can’t use the service at the time of this writing because my PayPal account name doesn’t match my M-pesa account name.
Walter Akolo has written a complete article about how to avoid PayPal issues here. He then wrote another shorter article, asking you and I to look for a better option; he suggested we use Skril instead of PayPal. Indeed, PayPal seems to be very unfair since 2015, when it comes to African writers and freelancers.
If you go to PayPal Facebook page, you will realize that so many Kenyan freelancers got their money stuck in their PayPal accounts, even when they have done nothing wrong. Account limitation is the main headache. My $93.69 is still in my PayPal account since 2016, and I can’t use it at the time of this writing.
Maybe we need to create our own KenyaPal?
- Join Writers Groups
Groups such as Writers Guild-Kenya and others are very good places to learn and share knowledge with others. You need these groups, if they can really help polish your stories. The challenge is that, most groups in our Africa don’t really focus on one thing. You find most of them speaking government politics, instead of things related to our careers.
We are writers, even though our work is wider than anything else. We better discuss things to do with writing, before we go to the positive effects our work brings to our societies. I personally have no time to argue about anything in this world; rather, I do what I can—write. These 10 Best Tools for East African Writers can help, if you put them to work, personally.
I recommend you join groups that will help you improve your writing. These can be both online and offline. Just make sure you also share what you know with others and then receive from them what they have in store for you.
- Have an Author Online Platform
As an author (or still a writer), you need your own blog/website, if you can keep it up to date with content. As I said earlier, you are a business owner already. A website or blog is your online shop, your own platform. You can use it the way you like, to connect with readers everywhere on earth.
This tool is needed, even though you may choose to ignore it, (especially, if you think negatively about yourself). If you know your value, you will not ignore reaching the whole world with your writings. I do believe what I have in me is so valuable for the whole world to have access to it; therefore I created this website, with all its tools and services. The 10 Best Tools for East African Writers can be used by any writers on earth.
- Google Search
Google is your best tool for many other important things. Google Search is what you find first when you visit the www.google.com, or www.google.ke. This is a tool for searching anything that is available online, all over the world. You can search for posts and articles, pictures, lectures, courses and much more.
This tool helps me learn so many things. You may have an idea right now, but you may not know how to put it into action. For example, in December, 2017, I thought of creating my very own e-commerce website, but I didn’t know how to do so. What I did was to ask Google and here we are.
- Online Free Courses
Apart from using the Google Search engine above, you can use free courses to refresh your knowledge. What many people still don’t know or ignore is that the online world is made up of real people. People think the online world is just something in the clouds. This post was written by me, a real human that you can chat with, using your phone.
There is so much to learn online today. You can even get very good free courses on websites such as www.alison.com and even earn certification. Information is actually free nowadays; you only need to learn where to find it.
You can connect with me now, using whatever means. We can chat on WhatsApp right on my website, if you are using your Smartphone. You can ask me questions on how to use this website and get real-life answers on time.
By the way, these are only a handful of tools you can make use of in East Africa.
Thanks for reading the 10 Best Tools for East African Writers.
