A Daveyton born 24 year old who finds an escape in writing, co- author of Apocalypse of the stars shares his journey as a writer and how the book came to be. His name is Sibusiso Gumede and it was an honor to be able to conduct this interview.
WHY HE WRITES
Sibusiso uses writing as a way to escape reality and ease his pain.His past was filled with a lot of pain and writing serves as a coping mechanism.
Of all the stories he wrote, his favourite is ‘Birth of a queen‘. This is because this story talks about “the woman who helped me through my pain and made me the man I am today. For that, i’ll forever be grateful,”said Sibusiso.
STUDYING FINANCE AND BEING A WRITER
The final year student in Financial Services Operation explained that writing is his passion yet we all need something to fall back on.
He also believes in financing his own dreams. “Everything around us needs capital to work. This is why i want to work as an Accountant to have the means to finance my writing.”
Sibusiso intends to study a degree towards being a professional writer, but for now the focus is his current degree.
HOW HE BALANCED THE STRESS OF PUBLISHING AND ACADEMICS
Sibusiso is what others may call ‘the night owl’, which is what reduced the pressure of working on the book and academics for him.
As he studies at night, he spent most of his time during the day working on the book. “I can honestly say it wasn’t hard for me as I manage my time well,” said Sibusiso. He commits himself to everything he does, hence “everything gets done when it has to be.”
COLLABORATING WITH PRINCESS KEKANA
Collaborating with Princess on Apocalypse of the stars was a great opportunity for him because ” she is an incredible writer.” He believes that working with her will open doors for them.
The collaboration did not pose any challenges to the two writers. Once they decided they were collaborating, “everything else happened naturally,”exclaimed Sibusiso. He continued to admire Princess’s work.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOUNG WRITERS GROW THEIR ART
His answer to this question was simple. “By getting support from our government.” He believes that the South African school syllabuses should have a large portion of books “we write” taught in schools.
He also mentioned that focus should be on the stories that our youth can relate to. “” It’s not a bad thing to read books from overseas, we just have to prioritise our own stories.”
ADVICE TO ASPIRING AUTHORS
To finish the interview, Sibusiso mentioned that fellow writers who don’t have the means to get published should “use social media to their own advantage.” This the best way for people to engage with written work.
He further mentioned that marketing your own work is important. He advised that once a book is published, it should find its way into a bookstore. “That is the best way to market the book.”
In My Opinion by Gloria Motsoere 