WhatsApp novelists sell books in Zimbabwe

Sitting on a plastic chair, Kingston Dhewa stares intently at his smartphone, his thumbs jabbing furiously at the screen.

He stops briefly and looks up to attend to a customer at his outdoor fruit and vegetable stall in Budiriro 5, a busy, low-income suburb south of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

When the customer leaves, he grabs his phone and resumes typing in a Google Doc.

Dhewa has been writing for hours now and has to proofread before sending the latest chapter of his new novel to awaiting readers.

After carefully poring over the text for 20 or so minutes, he stops, highlights everything, and copies and pastes it to the WhatsApp messaging app where he sends it to his more than 1 000 followers.

Dhewa is one of the new crop of authors in Zimbabwe selling novels on WhatsApp to customers.

His first novel was well received and he earned enough money to pay rent and buy food for his family. He charged each reader US$2 for the whole book.

Since then, Dhewa has written and published 43 novels via WhatsApp groups, he says – stories that range from 35 to 45 chapters long.

“I spend three to four hours writing a chapter on average. And I could be writing more if I had a laptop,” he says. For now, he is unable to afford a computer.

Authors like Dhewa begin by writing a story and releasing it on the app in serialised form, typically one chapter at a time. Readers interested in the author or genre typically join.

“I now have four groups that follow my writing on WhatsApp,” he says, as the app has a limit of 1 024 members per group and he has to create new groups to reach his readers as his popularity grows.

The first few chapters of a book are often shared for free to attract readers and build interest. Authors then promote their work on social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook, encouraging readers to join their groups and channels.



e-Books market

With the rise of digital platforms and devices, more people around the world, including Zimbabweans, have access to e-books and digital reading options, such as e-readers.

But the economic crisis in the Southern African country means the majority of Zimbabweans do not have disposable incomes for such services and internet access.

“Of course, we can turn to Amazon, but how many Zimbabweans can buy stuff on Amazon?” Philip Chidavaenzi, a Zimbabwean author and publisher, tells Al Jazeera via a messaging service.

“Publishing is generally an elitist business, and relies on a market with limited disposable incomes that compete with bread and butter ... Buying books is the last option after every other commitment has been funded from the available financial resources,” Chidavaenzi says.



‘I could be writing more’

While some people write in English, Dhewa chose the local Shona language after he was inspired by other Shona authors. His books have a traditional, pre-colonial setting, and generally explore life and themes related to African rural life.

The 52-year-old first tried his hand at writing in high school and almost got published in 1992. But he could not afford the fees needed to publish traditionally.

When Covid-19 hit and authorities in the southern African country imposed a national lockdown to stem the spread of the virus in March 2020, Dhewa found himself stuck at home. To pass the time, he read some stories that were being shared on WhatsApp – a trend that had started some years before, but really took off during the pandemic.

One group he had joined, called Read and Write, was a common group for budding writers and readers to share their work and recommendations.

“I felt that I could do a much better job [than the authors I read on that group], and wrote a story and submitted it into the group and people encouraged me to keep writing,” he tells Al Jazeera.



Local stories

Many of the most talented and established Zimbabwean writers are being published by international companies, primarily due to the considerable advantages they receive – such as higher advances, better royalties, and superior book promotion. International exposure also helps them build a global reputation.

But this is a far-fetched dream for most.

For Dhewa, the serialised self-publishing on WhatsApp has made him a more efficient writer, he says.

It has also allowed him to share local stories that are dear to him with a wider audience. “I want the rest of the world and its people to know [and] love our culture as Africans and how we live as Black people in the rural areas,” he says.

As for his literary career, he hopes WhatsApp can take him places.

“I want to achieve literary success and recognition like that achieved by [popular Shona novelist] Patrick Chakaipa,” Dhewa says.



- AL JAZEERA