THE JOURNEY TO SCRIBE HOUSE (ONLINE): Part 1
It started in 2015. In Scotland. We were at the end of our second semester, of our Master’s in Publishing Studies. This meant no more classes and assignments; we were going to spend the last months of the academic year sleeping in the library in the name of finishing up our dissertations (or travelling round the country seeing as there were no more classes).
So it was the end of the semester, and the lecturers asked how many of us ‘still’ wanted to pursue editing careers after our degree. About four hands went up. Out of the about twenty four students. To their amusement. It was amusing because they asked that question at the beginning and end of every academic year, to each new group of students, and they got almost the same response each time. When we were asked at the beginning, almost everyone in the class wanted to be editors. However, after months of rigorous research assignments, we’d been exposed to the flamboyance of careers in marketing books (which often includes attending fancy book parties and dining and wining at book launches). We’d dabbled in the intricacies of book design and layout (one of our course units required us to ‘design’ our own publications). We’d studied the history of publishing, learning how fonts and printing had evolved from the days of Gutenberg to the days of Adobe InDesign. We’d observed the ways in which the publishing industry has been disrupted worldwide by developments in technology, and we’d gotten angry at the hopelessness book piracy proffers. We’d spent sleepless nights in the library contributing to the general body of knowledge in publishing, through our theses. Needless to say, when I got back, I was ‘different’, as my friends and clients put it. I didn’t see how at first. I had been editing publications for about 6 years prior to the Masters, and by the end of the cour...
THE JOURNEY TO SCRIBE HOUSE (ONLINE): Part 2
In High School I was always singled out in our English classes, for having the best ‘summaries’ in the class. I had no idea at the time that this particular talent could be used, or indeed that it even had a name and full-blown profession behind it! I soon came to discover that this was just a harbinger of my constant exposure and connection to the literary world.
The first time I came across the possibility of working as an editor, is when a friend Bake Tumuhaise asked if I’d be interested in editing with his company. He later asked me to represent his company at an editorial workshop being held by AWT. For some reason, that didn’t come to pass, but I’m telling you God works in mysterious ways!!! I spent 7 years working as the finance and administration officer of an energy resource NGO, where I supervised accounts, staff payment and welfare, and organized project workshops and trainings. I was still able to flex my writing and editing skills through narrative and financial reports, and the research, compilation and editing of project proposals. After the birth of my first child, I left formal employment and edited freelance; mostly assisting Crystal with any overflow of work she received, while co-running family businesses and our home. I realized that I quite enjoyed being handed a loooooong pile of work, and covering it in red through structural and grammatical changes! I still get that tingly warm feeling every time I’m able to take three pages of work and say the exact same thing in one or two paragraphs!
About 4 years after first hearing of AWT, Crystal urged me to answer a call from them for a Conference Coordinator for their 2nd edition of UIWC. I absolutely JUMPED at the chance to work with Goretti Kyomuhendo, and in the literary world. After almost 5yrs as a stay-at-home mom, it was a scary but exhilarating step bac...
THE JOURNEY TO SCRIBE HOUSE (ONLINE): Part 3
One evening a few years ago, during a fellowship of young Christian friends, a lady’s turn came to introduce herself. Among the many things Crystal said was that she is an editor and a writer. She went ahead to mention some of the projects she had worked on. That was my most perplexing moment of the evening. I couldn't help wondering how one gets to be an editor with a not-so-humble list of published works with some of the major publishers of the land, at such a young age.
There I was so convinced that all the literary works I had kept in the dark were about to receive some light. However that was not going to be any time soon because she later shared of her intending travel to Scotland for her master’s degree in publishing. The works which were warming up for the ray of light would have to stay sandwiched in the dark covers of the stacks of notebooks in my shelves for another year or so.
I don't quite remember if we talked that night. But thanks to the internet that has fused time zones, I would often be working late and find her online. Much of my writing came to her attention with the short pieces I shared on different social media platforms, especially within the fellowship group. I told her of my other stacked up pieces. And when she got back from Scotland, she dug through almost every page of my scrapbooks, drafts, and journal pages. I was putting together a number of children's short poetic pieces, which I later used for educational word games that I began to create. Crystal and I agreed to work on a series of the pieces together. She said she had found a children's story writer and story concept developer, and I, had found guidance and exposure for the development of my products. And together, we are making Scribe House and TWOG games a delight for all the children in our reach.