Chadia Mathurin

You will never be good enough for the wrong person. Don't try to measure up, sweets. It's a battle already lost. You will put your life on the line and if you so happen to survive they'll question why you didn't die. 🤦🏾‍♀️

If you are looking for genuine ways to make money online, you should read this. To the end.

I stumbled into the business of storytelling quite by accident.

In 2011, after reading a blog post by Sarah Jakes Roberts [I loved it], I said to myself, “I can do that”. It was a blog post laden with transparency, targeted at aiming others, but also doing its part in healing the author. I was a university student then, but I still very much carried the scars from being bullied in secondary school, and it bothered me. Writing was to be my healing. And it did its job. I got to explore, deeply, so many of the things which shaped and drove me. It armed me with a potent understanding of myself, and it encouraged me to explore ways in which to strengthen my weak areas.

I would write only when I felt, exploring my thoughts on wide range of social issues, political issues and eventually, personal issues. Less than a year later, I would write a blog post called, “Being A Virgin Isn’t Enough”. The post would go viral. I mean over 50,000 views in 2 days viral. I mean over 10,000 comments viral. I mean killing my battery with notifications, viral. I mean Featured on WordPress' 100 Blogs of the Day more than once, viral. I probably wasn’t prepared for it. I really wasn’t. I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that something that I would write would go that far, and of course I was unprepared to guard and harness the opportunity. Nevertheless, 2 years later, I would come out with a book with the same title, and just like the blog post before it, it would go far and wide.

I wouldn’t publish another until 3 years later.

In July of 2016, a few social media friends and I were having very heated discourse on Facebook. Our discussions covered the topics of male privilege, feminism, marriage, relationships, the role of the church, politics, leadership, manhood and womanhood. We covered these topics in the context of our culture - the Caribbean and the disapora- and I think what made them popular is that we said it in only the way we, as people, could.

We were educated, “well-spoken”, young men and women who had a way with words (or so we’d been told); we were well spoken Caribbean men and women who couldn’t resist the unique flair of an “all-yuh”, “dat making sense?” “sugar-cake”, “sugar stick”, “gasa” and “since wen das your role?"

At the same time of our growing popularity on Facebook, I was looking to complete my second and third books; two compilations of letters, one to my brothers and one to my sisters. My vision was that this would not end with me. I had hoped to eventually start a small publishing house and have a long running series under the banner of “The Letters Project”. I hadn’t planned on starting it then, but I saw an opportunity and I snatched it.�

I invited my fellow Facebook friends - those of whom were causing riots with their statuses - to join me on a journey of unreliable investors, mishaps, missed opportunities, ups and downs, doubt, hope deferred and sick hearts. We started with 6 but only 4 endured to the end. But we are here!

Last night I told a friend, “I was just telling God that if I had to do it again knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn’t.” But I’m so glad that I didn’t know what I know now, because today we have “The Letters Project” and we have Wakonté Publishing.

In 2022, Wakonté Publishing is Wakonté Books. Within the next 12-24 weeks, I’m pleased to announce that we will release over 30 titles from authors hailing from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Saint Lucia. We are holding steadfast to our mission of creating platforms for African and Caribbean storytellers to take charge of shaping their narratives; to be the ones to profit from telling their stories. Through our newly launched affiliate system we’re also extending it to you. You can earn $0.25USD to $1USD simply by referring our books to others. What you earn is up to you. What we already have is fantastic. And our catalog is growing.

Here are some things you should know about Wakonté Books:

1. We operate as a traditional publishing house: This means that we endure all costs for book publushing from: cover design, book layout, audio recordings, illustrations, etc. We only publish authors that we hand pick be it through observation, referrals or selection of submissions.

2. We publish ONLY authors who can capture well the essence of Africa and the Caribbean. These authors are Caribbean and African and have lived what it is to be.�

3. We give our authors 60-70% of royalties: If you understand the publishing business then you understand that this is an unprecedented amount, and probably some of the highest in the space.

4. We write for social good: We give 25cents USD from every book sold toward art, literacy and literary projects across Africa and the Caribbean. Our affiliate system also answers the call to provide decent work by giving others the opportunity to earn anywhere from $0.25USD to $1.00USD per book sold through their referral links/codes.

Take a look at our new website here: https://wakontebooks.com/

Take a look at our catalog of books here: https://wakontebooks.com/downloads

If you’re not an author, but would like to join us on our mission of creating platforms for African and Caribbean storytellers to take charge of shaping our own narratives while securing the bag, please join our affiliate system here, and let our stories work for you:
https://wakontebooks.com/become-an-affiliate/

This is not a necessity, but if you’re interested in being one of the first to know how and when we are expanding our affiliate product suite, join our exclusive WhatsApp group, here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KcKkTXvkTfE7KYW9ntYF3N

A few things:

1. It's content, not "contents". Content serves as plural. Therefore, "I write fashion content for a living".

2. It's "stuff, not "stuffs". Stuff serves as plural. Therefore, "We buy lots of stuff".

3. It's "copy" not "copies". Copy serves as plural. Therefore, "I write mind-boggling copy".

When the above are misused, I hesitate to give you my money. It makes me think that you're not so sure of what you're doing.

Being liked is not important. Being liked by the right people is. 😉

Some of us are worried about being disliked by people who cannot add a breath or memorable moment to our lives, a cent to our pockets, or strength to our spirits. For what? 😂🤣😂