Alexander Nderitu has written several literary works. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Free is actually a friend of the modern writer, especially if you’re prolific, says author Alexander Nderitu.
Alexander Nderitu’s writing flows effortlessly from genre to genre. At 34, he has written four books — a novel, a collection of short stories, a children’s book and a poetry book — having finished his first screenplay at age 19.
He has also penned six stage plays and two research papers on literary and theatre landscapes.
“I don’t really have a favourite. I love writing and I have always been good at it. When I was in high school, my English teacher, Mrs Ndung’u, once told other students: “I wish you could all write the way Alexander does”.
He says he’s always had something to say. “One of my earliest childhood memories is telling stories in a group because someone said, ‘Alex always has good stories’.”
But if he had to choose a favourite, he would choose novel-writing because it comes more naturally to him and one can say a lot in a full-length book.
“Writing prose is what comes the most naturally to me. You would be surprised by how many outlines and research material I have for future novels, mostly espionage fiction like Kiss, Commander, Promise story,” he says.
The Kiss, Commander, Promise short story, which is free to download from his website alexandernderitu.com, shows his writing style — fast-paced, contemporary, with an undercurrent of humour.
"With the e-books people always ask me if I fear piracy. It does not bother me at all. In fact I would encourage people to pirate my work as much as possible. Free is actually a friend of the modern writer, especially if you’re prolific. People read one book for free, or some poems, and become fans. They discover you. I once received a request by one of the top film directors to film Kiss, Commander, Promise after he discovered it being shared freely on Facebook. “Free” doesn’t cannibalise sales or hurt your career."
“I think it means many people would read of your work and buy you the next time,” he says.
Working as an IT consultant is how he was able to discover e-books early. His first self-published book, the novel When The Whirlwind Passes, was released in 2001 on the Internet.
It was initially available on eBookMall.com, before Amazon became popular.
The poetry collection The Moon is Made of Green Cheese is also self published and available for print-on-demand from lulu.com.
E-books are easier to market, he says. He keeps a database of people who have downloaded his work to alert them on new works.
He has found that email marketing is effective and international.
As a result, some of his work is available in English, Japanese and Arabic.
Mr Nderitu admits that he has so many ideas for stories that he decided to condense some to short stories and still spends most evenings writing.
“Through sacrifice, I found no other way. I sacrificed other things that I did not deem crucial to my existence. I have given up many good job opportunities and postponed many things because I have always had a dream to be an artist (particularly a successful writer) and I would rather try and fail than to be ‘ordinary’ and later regret that I never took chances,” he says.
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