Tinaani Nick on The Verve

In October 2018, Tinaani Nick took the Zimbabwe literary world by storm when he published his debut book, 'Woman The Book'. Having sold over 3 000 copies of his book already, Tinaani has under his belt the titles of self made author, editor and publisher (just to name a few). At age 25, this University of Zimbabwe bio-chemistry student has built a name for himself through his poetic and heart capturing writing, not only in Zimbabwe but internationally too.

---

How did you start writing?

I started writing seriously when I won in a ‘Cover to Cover’ essay writing competition in 2010. From the moment I won that I knew my path in life was aligned with writing. In high school, I used to write horror stories and I would try to mask my writing by making it look dark and hiding my empathy to appear more masculine. Society considers it weak for men to be caring and loving but my teacher mentored me and encouraged me to write from the heart and I began to explore that side of me. Over time I started learning more about how to write, market, edit and grow my presence.

Tell us about how Woman The Book came to be.

The book was a birthday gift to my mother. I was raised by a single mom and I grew up with a lot of feminine energy around me. Because of this I learnt a lot about women, love, vulnerability and strength as I was growing up. This gave me the idea to write a book.

I published the book in October 2018 and it is available at Innov Bookshop. I was hesitant to put out a soft copy of the book and only recently did I decide it will be available on Amazon within the next two weeks. I want to build momentum for the digital audience first and not just have the book out there (online).

What has your experience been in publishing and promoting your book?

Apart from writing the book, I did self editing, formatting, publishing, marketing and managing copyrights. I felt hiring a publishing company would have slowed down the process and I wanted it out fast. Using a publishing company instead would have been good however, because they would have done all that work and I would have just focused on the writing. It was tough but I was fortunate because I had a lot of support. I was well connected and had help from some influential people in marketing the book. I’m also thankful for my social media following – Instagram and Twitter have been big platforms in boosting my marketing.

What kind of support did you have in your writing and did you face any negative feedback on your decisions?

I was lucky to have a lot of support from my family and friends who have been positive influences. My mother has always been very supportive, she supported me in all I did throughout and has always encouraged me. Both her and my late form 4 teacher were really influential. My teacher taught me grammar by marking newspapers. She taught me that if you can see an editor’s mistake that means you’re becoming a better writer.

What has the reception to your book been like?

I released the book during some serious economic instability last year and surprisingly, it got positive feedback with about 3 231 copies sold so far. Many of my readers are much older women and even married women come to me for advice on issues they face in their marriages.

Perceptions on Beauty

Women are getting false ideas of beauty and society is a broken mirror, giving a false sense of beauty in a box. Every generation has had its different definitions of beauty and it’s always been projected according to what society says. For example, light skinned women used to be idolised, now women are embracing darker skin more (we see it with hashtags like #melanin #sunkissed etc). If a woman lived for 300 years she’d have changed herself so many times over the years just to match society’s expectations.

Do you worry that your expertise might intimidate women who might like you?

On the contrary, I would want to be with someone who intimidates and challenges me. I think you attract who you are so it’s important to be with someone who compliments your energy.

Are you a spiritual person and do you think that has an impact on your writing?

I am a very spiritual person and I want people to love each other. I love family and love and I hate divorce and broken families and I believe I’ve gained wisdom in those areas. People have opened up to me about how some of what they read from me changed their lives. I feel God has a way to communicate with people through me.