Today we have an august visitor who traveled across town to see us. She came with her three kids in tow. Interestingly, we have not seen or heard from her for close to seven years. You can guess, she didn’t alert us she was coming. It got me thinking. Supposing she came and there was no one at home? Is this how she lives her life? Sadly this is our signature behaviour all over Africa. It’s to do with our extended family system. For now, only anthropologists can confirm my suspicion.

This is my candid advice. Don’t jump into any business, or even writing your book for that matter blindly. If you want to succeed in any endeavour, set clear project goals. I didn’t practice what I am telling you when I wrote my first six books, and guess what, I paid a steep price for my stupidity. I don’t want you to repeat my mistakes.

These are some of the things I did wrong. I handed 1,000 copies of my very first book, Credit Procedure Handbook (now out of print) to a conman who sweet-talked me to believe him and he vanished into thin air. Who would not have believed such a man? I’d been buying books from him for over 5 years so I trusted him. Big mistake! Trust no one. Have an agreement. Donald Trump insists even in a marriage, you must have a pre-nuptial. Be warned!

For my second book, I traveled all over Nigeria to place the book in bookshops: Jos, Kaduna, Zaria, Ibadan, Calabar, Abuja, all over Lagos, Uyo, you name it. Before I woke up from my stupidity, it was too late. I couldn’t go back to those places to find out how the book was doing. Don’t give your book out for free, demand for cash.

I can go on and on what I did wrong but your time is precious. One word, don’t repeat my mistakes. These are some sub-goals John Locke taught me to set.

• Determine your target market
• Complete your manuscript
• Write a book that will sell
• Get your book into print
• Create a website
• Create a blog site
• Do a blog interview
• Get great reviews
• Build a mailing list
• Get quality Twitter followers

Your project goal is the tip of a huge iceberg. Don’t do it alone: it’s penny wise and pounds foolish. Join our Book Writing Clinic (BWC) 100-strong and growing Community and shame your detractors. Our next scheduled BWC is 23rd March and the fee is less than one bag of rice. You can pay with one bag of Birnin-Kebbi rice. Even if you don’t have money, come and pay at your convenience (plus a small interest). Last point: it’s first come, first served, as we can accept just 10 candidates at a time.

Let’s make friends ahead of our meeting face-to-face. Like me on Facebook, link up on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram. If you’re the adventurous type, jump to my website www.pauluduk.com and download free eBooks and read tons of blog posts.  Join any of our platforms, like Book Writing Clinic (BWC), and get automatic 20% discount.