Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I receive emails from my readers occasionally. They share with me how much my work has affected them, and this gives me immense joy. Also, my readers communicate with me through their written reviews, expressing their personal thoughts and opinions about my published works.
Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not?
I have written book reviews using different pseudonyms, ghost written some books too. However, to preserve my literary identity and legacy, it’s in my best interest to continue using my name and not write under any pseudonyms.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
I start thinking of the next dusty manuscript and how soon I can progress that into a finished work of literature. I would love to die empty as much as its practicable to do so and that means, to a large extent, publish most of my work in progress and incomplete projects.
How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?
I check the negative reviews to see if it’s objective in nature and not just a reviewer who woke up on the wrong side of the bed throwing tantrums. If the review is objective and the highlighted points could be useful in improving my craft, I’ll take on the lessons and work towards improving that aspect in my next book.
How important was professional editing to your book’s development?
Professional editing has helped my books, and its importance cannot be overstated. Getting a book edited is the best gift you can give yourself as an author and your intended audience. Professional editing helps to weed out any form of clutter and bring out the book in its best version. An error ridden book makes for a bad reading experience and the optics do not look good for the author too.
How long does it take you to write a book?
I have no specific timeframe to complete a book, it could be anything from days, to months, and years, depending on the genre and the inspiration and the creative drive at the time of writing.
How long have you been writing or when did you start?
As a young child, I was first a reader before I started writing. As a teenager, I wrote a couple of screenplays. I used to journal a lot and document historical activities across the world, then I progressed into writing essays and the rest, as they say is history.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I have written twenty-one books. And my favourite book amongst the lot is Black ≠ Inferior as it is a collection of thematically linked poems exploring the issues that affect Black people.
What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
I love tranquillity when writing as it helps me process my thoughts better. I have written some of my books in the night’s dead, while some other books were written during my daily running routine as nature inspires and fuels my creativity.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The ideas for some of my books have come from random conversations, ideas in some of my other books that needed to be expatiated on through a book of its own. I am a writer who feeds off the entire human experience and my writing covers all aspects of the issues affecting humans across the World.
Your social media links (Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, etc…)
Author Website: https://tolutoludo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToluAAkinyemi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/toluakinyemi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tolutoludo/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Toludo2
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tolu-A-Akinyemi/e/B07C1CGLVC/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1