Welcome to the Pay The Price Newsletter!!

Hello….

At last, I have found the guts, the discipline, and the gusto to start a newsletter based on stories, developments, and content I’ve experienced on my journey as an author!

The story has been nothing short of revolutionary.

It began with a massive epileptic fit at the top of the stairs in our home in Plymouth, England.

For years, I had toyed with the idea of being an author.

The content was ready; though scattered in numerous journals, which were in turn scattered across my home (much to the annoyance of my family, and in particular, my long-suffering wife).

I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but I lacked the self-confidence, self-discipline, and organisational skills to do it (or OS, as my daughter calls it).

But little did I know that other plans were at play.

Every morning at 5.30 am, during my time of meditation and solitude, with a cup of Nescafe Gold Coffee by my side, I would take my journals and add more material; or sometimes, just stare at them, my imagination floating into the distance.

I still, however, lacked the courage to start the book.

But the epileptic fit changed all that.

As I lay at the bottom of the stairs – I had an epiphany, whilst Dela, my lovely wife was screaming, and my kids were running helter-skelter.

Oddly, I saw myself holding a published book in my hands.

When I came round, I knew I had to cut the laziness, and begin to write.

Four months later, The book was done. Dusted. Finished.

Then came the hunt to find a publisher.

I got turned down over 20 times by different publishers.

The reasons?

I was unknown. The genre I decided to write in was overcrowded. I did not have an email list. I was not on Facebook. I had less than 60 followers on Twitter. I had no Instagram account. Or TikTok for that matter. My stories were not about Apple, Nokia, Virgin, Amazon, or Airbnb but were about unknown entrepreneurs across the continent and small businesses in the UK.

Very few Africans had ever written a mainstream business book that did not talk about race, diversity, or inclusion as the main topics. I did not fit the prototype.

But the dream refused to die.

I knew I had fresh content, content lived through the experience, training at one of the world's best business schools, nosy authentic curiosity, and realms of journals over years.

For once, I listened to my gut and refused to give in.

Finally, Paper Raven Books in the United States decided to take me on.

I had no idea writing a book was that tough.

But if I was going to be an author, I wanted to be a first-rate, best-selling, award-winning author, or not at all.

Go big or go home.

The investment in time, money, in effort was tremendous and gruelling, but exhilarating.

However, the first round with the editor was deflating.

He cut large chunks out, re-arranged stuff, asked for more information, and goaded and goaded and goaded till what looked like a finished product came out.

But still, it wasn’t done.

Then came the proofreading. The illustrations. The formatting.

Then the Beta readers. Friends and family who took out their precious time to read what I had written. Akofa Wallace. Jeremiah Amegashie. Bernice Atubra. Brian Martin. Paul Wright. Abhinav Srivastava. Michael Adjei. Nshira Adjei. and many others.

Then the cover illustrations. We had to painstakingly choose every detail, every colour, every picture.

But I still knew I lacked the credibility to compete with the big hitters. So, I rang up Hasan Kubba, a fellow BAME who had just won the 2021 Business Book Awards in the UK. He gave me some precious advice.

And then the celebrities, business leaders, academics, and best-selling authors who endorsed the book. Charlie Robertson, Christian Stadler, Claire Oatway, Les Funtleyder and Professor Sir Myles Wickstead, who wrote the foreword.

And the leaders who gave me a platform to launch. Dela, Geoff Lee, Paul Wright, Avni Patel, Nick Shuff, Christian Stadler, Abhinav Srivastava, and hundreds of folks just like me who believed.

On that day, 30 August 2022, the book was launched.

And what happened was nothing short of revolutionary.

The book zoomed to Number 1 in EIGHTEEN different categories on Amazon including categories we did not even enter the book in. Music Appreciation. European Poetry. Music Theory, Composition, and Performance. Philosophy. (The book does contain elements of all these, in case you’re wondering ☺)

My publishers could not believe it. I could not believe it.

Then came the marketing. Paper Raven signed me up for 7 podcasts, started me on an email list, and designed a website and a press kit for me.

3 months later, the book has now won the coveted Literary Titan Award, is physically stocked in Waterstones, the UK’s biggest bookstore has had a double 5-star rating on Readers Favourite and has been on over 15 top podcasts.

I was invited and am now a regular contributor for Brainz Magazine, I am due to pick up another award for my business this month, and the book is in line for 6 other awards throughout 2023 I have been invited to be a keynote speaker at prestigious conferences.

My life has been completely transformed.

And as I meander through the maze of my new life, I see the principles of the book being applied with all the entrepreneurs I meet.

So, this is the reason for this newsletter, this blog, this muttering, or whatever you choose to call it.

But I am determined to share actionable information every fortnight with every single person who has signed up on my website.

And for you to believe in that dream that’s being buried alive inside of you.

I’m sorry it's been so late in coming.

And I’d like to showcase entrepreneurs, prospective writers, bloggers, and anyone who has a new concept, or new, fresh, and useful to say around the concept of Paying the Price for success.

It’s a long, hard road to do and attempt something new, but it is possible if you have the right tools, the right mindset, a dose of good luck, hard work, and a helping hand along the way.

And I’d like to be that helping hand in my small way, just as all the people I have mentioned above have done for me.

So welcome to the Pay The Price newsletter.

Every fortnight.

Featuring insights from the book, poetry, actionable articles on entrepreneurship, and those who dare to believe they can make a difference.

And I’d love to know what you think and learn from you too.

And as time goes on, I’ll also be sharing exclusive insights on my two new books coming out Inshallah in 2023 and 2024.

In Search Of Permanence and Dying Empty.

For In Search of Permanence, the synopsis is ready, and I’ve begun to write. I hope you’ll help me, and I hope I can help you too.

Let’s do this!

Cheers,

Steven

Plymouth, England

3 December 2022.