A Debut Author with A Story: Ifeoma Igwe
Ifeoma Igwe
I will be a published author soon but embarking on this self-publishing journey has been thorny.
Even though I am investing time and money to release a quality book, part of me still succumbs to the voices within that say I’m not a real author because I couldn’t get a traditional book deal all those years I tried to.
Apart from the rejections I faced from agents with my book, I also experienced a difficult start to my career. This was shocking because my parents and teachers always emphasized the importance of good grades in the real world. Yet even after graduating with a first-class, I really struggled to find my career footing, which is something my novel’s protagonist also faces.
Within one year of leaving school, I suffered a layoff and a rescinded offer from two different tech jobs. I started my career in the tech industry like I wanted, but after experiencing that, I became lost because nothing was working the way I planned and my life felt out of control. It wasn’t until I started pursuing my author dream that it started to feel like my life was my own again. I still don't know what I'm doing career-wise, but I'm hopeful things will fall in place as I keep striving and doing.
When I moved to London for my second degree, I launched my first business, a fashion e-commerce marketplace in Nigeria. My first stint at entrepreneurship lasted two years without yielding much; however it taught me how to budget, create content and seek relevant partnerships that can aid growth. And now, I’m using all of that knowledge to tackle the publishing industry which so far has been terrifying, exciting, painful and full of surprises.
I’m inspired by women like Fisayo Longe, whose journey is similar to mine. She pursued her dream to launch a fashion label by herself with the resources available to her, and even though it wasn’t much to begin with, KAI has ballooned into a huge success over the years. Then, I am inspired by Funke Akindele, a successful movie star and producer who is still heavily involved with marketing her movies. I love that she doesn’t feel too big to aggressively promote her work on her social media through dance or skits.
It upsets me that a lot of Nigerian literary talents are overlooked. I hope to be in the position, one day to champion as many of these underdogs as possible. It's why I'm grateful for initiatives like The Happy Noisemaker Prize for Storytelling that just launched. We deserve more opportunities for African writers and they need to come from us.
Finally, I’m grateful for my parents, who believe I'm capable of achieving anything and have financially supported my upcoming book. So when I’m tempted to quit because marketing myself gets too embarrassing as an introvert or my impostor syndrome gets too loud, I remember them. I also remember that the reason I decided to go ahead and self-publish despite multiple rejections over the years was because I believed the story was good and relevant for young women and new adults. And for me, delivering this piece of inspiration to these groups was simply more important.
Ifeoma Igwe is a tech and innovation enthusiast. She is also a lover and supporter of African literature. Her play was a finalist in the fourth annual Beeta Arts Playwriting Competition and her essay was also shortlisted for the second annual Vogue Business Talent Competition. She enjoys writing contemporary fiction and Away in Bliss is her debut novel which will be published in January 2024.
You can follow Ifeoma on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. You can also read Ifeoma’s Agbowo short story here.
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