About five years ago, I wrote a book that changed my life – Hope Is Not A Strategy. I didn’t even plan to write a book; the last book I wrote before that was almost ten years prior, when I was a sophomore in college. But I got stuck at home during a once-in-a-generation pandemic, and I doubled down on what I loved doing – journaling. I figured the content of my journal at that time was just too good to remain for my eyes only. Ever since I released the book, my emails and DMs have been flooded with requests about how I discovered I could write and how I learnt to put my thoughts together so powerfully. Some have even told me plainly that they were asked to understudy my creative works.
I have tried in fits and starts to share as much as I know. That is one of the motivations for my increased writing for public consumption since 2020, as I believed someone, somewhere, might learn something and apply it to their personal or professional life, so I always try to pay it forward. One of the goals I set for 2025 was a systemic rollout of resources that give people an insight into my thinking and thought process when creating content. It is one thing for people to know you can cook, but it’s another thing when you bring them into your kitchen to see how the recipe is transformed into the meal. That’s what I sought to achieve with It’s All Write.
Some of the interesting FAQs I get in my inbox include: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Is it true that blowing trees or doing pot gives writers more clarity? Most great writers have a traumatic or abusive childhood. What is yours? How do you deal with writer’s block? I’m scared to write publicly (sometimes scared of writing publicly), where do you get your confidence from? How do you respond to people who disagree or criticise your creative work? How do you communicate an idea you believe is right but isn’t politically correct? How do you blur the lines between facts and fiction with your signature subliminal messaging and double entendres?
I attempted to answer them in about 30,000 words.
One of the unfortunate signatures of our society, despite its seeming advancement, is that we’re quick to mystify or spiritualise things and events. For example, when we see someone churn out a brilliant think-piece within an hour, there is a temptation to summarily conclude that such a feat is only possible because the individual is a gifted writer. Instead of seeking to deconstruct the elements of that success story, we are quick to cede the possibility of being inspired to replicate something similar. A little curiosity might prove to us that what we call a gifted writer might really be a disciplined person because practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes improvement.
I believe you read to improve your writing, and you write to improve your thinking. It’s the same thing I tell the clients I ghostwrite for. More often than not, they are very educated people and are great at elocution and erudition, but where I come in is using the tools in my toolbox to turn big ideas into great books. Most people are shocked to find out that how I write for a phone-pressing demography on the internet is radically different from how I write for corporate clients; that’s because there is a form utility with copywriting, as with any other product. Every content must be shared with the appropriate messaging for target audiences to create a sense of relatability.
It’s All Write is about process; something that is desperately missing in our social psyche. It’s not a book about how to make millions from copywriting or a material filled with exaggerated stories of how copywriting funds my lifestyle. It’s simply an educational resource where I picked about 20 topics, such as storytelling, ghostwriting, content marketing, freelancing, remote work, reputation management and shared my thoughts on all of them and more. Unlike most authors, I didn’t just focus on the core skill of copywriting and content creation; I provided valuable insights on the ecosystem that enables the skill to flourish. I also made notes on important contemporary phenomena such as artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence, digital intelligence, cultural intelligence and why they are critical to your successful storytelling.
It’s All Write was written for a DIY demography. In the course of my career, I have met people who just needed a spark to get their creative juices flowing. They don’t want to hire a ghostwriter or pay for an expensive consulting session, they just want to resource that shows them the ropes and they can take it from there. Releasing this book in many ways is antithetical to my business model because most authors won’t give away the store in the manner I did, but I think it’s far more important to me that people are empowered to do more with what they have.
Regardless of your field of endeavour, what you should know is that you’re in the storytelling business. So, whether as an individual or an institution, you need to become better at putting out your brand story; people should be immersed in your essence before they consume your product. It shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg to train your team to communicate better; this book solves that challenge. Storytelling is one of the superpowers of the multipolar world. If you’re not winning in the marketplace of ideas, it will soon reflect negatively in your bottom line. Politicians know this perhaps more than any group of people: sometimes, the best candidate doesn’t win an election – it’s the candidate who tells the best story that wins over the electorate.
Beyond the didactics of It’s All Write, the book is a well-curated resource for those who are talented at what they do but aren’t so great at communicating their brand value. As you may have experienced yourself, I don’t necessarily write for people to agree with me, but in a way that forces people to think, because that’s how every great project starts. It’s an old-school approach to learning; straight to the point. I also believe that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Positioning yourself won’t happen just because you wish it; sometimes you just have to write it – only then can others take your word for it. As someone who has been writing professionally for over a decade, I would get the book for my library if I weren’t the author; it’s that good.
