Delight Chilegide Olumati

It just has to break us a little. The Nigerian in me will never feel worthy of the result if it didn’t come with at least a little sweat. It just has to be hard. So yes, I had challenges. From being a poet to being a published author. The journey wasn’t easy.

The first time I had to print copies of ‘A Date With Death’, it was just 20 copies, but I had to find the money. It was so hard to find, but it was even harder to believe that I had the market to sell these copies to. At the time, I had a blog. I had an audience, but I hadn’t converted them to a market. It was all a mixture of shared interest and matched social energy and truly, I loved what I had. But at some point I was going to have a market and what other place better than a space that already appreciated the little I had on the platforms I had them on. So I pushed and printed all 20, I sold about 15 and I don’t know what happened to the remaining 5.

I was so happy. I felt proud. I felt like I could in fact do more. I knew in my heart that my next time was going to be better, and yes, it was. It was definitely better.

I published Sweet Savour on the 14th of February 2021. The entire process of getting the book out taught me strength. It carried with it lessons. It also carried joy and brought satisfaction. Sweet Savour is so far my most read and most sold book. It is the book in the Rivers State Curriculum for JSS3.

At first, I wanted a publisher that understood the art. I felt like it was an edge that I needed. So when I was introduced to Pendullum Publishing Inc., I was excited. First because he is a poet and also because he was kind and patient. I mean, I had choices; some closer to me than him and others not so far. Regardless, I gave him a chance and I was so glad I did. He gave me a chance to be a part of the entire process. He gave me frequent updates and all of that and I was glad.

I remember getting the first 200 copies of the book on the day of the book launch (okay, that troubled me.) I was so stressed! I was down, I was confused, and I didn’t know how to move on from the fact that the books were taking so much time to come. Anyway, they did. And that was my first ever book launch and I am glad everything played out exactly how they did.

Shortly after, I had my first chance at co-authoring a poetry anthology with my friend, Gabriel Ochube. The book is titled ‘Human Condition’. This particular piece broke me in many ways possible. It made me feel, it made me see life with a different lens and I am glad, I am happy to be human amongst all things.

I have had my fair share of challenges; money, building my market, an audience, and connecting with those who know better. I have always been good with connecting with people, especially when I feel the need to.

Truly, we are people because of people. Meet that stranger, talk to them nicely, and say your name and what you do. You never know how that might turn out. A community and market starts with just one human.

With Love,
Chilegide.