I published my first book, Because of You, and I’m over the moon about it.

In 2019, I wrote my first manuscript, and I titled it Day and Night. It was a collection of poems split into three categories (love, hurt, and hope). I was very excited and eager to get it published, so I did some research in 2020 and contacted some publishers to inquire about their packages and rates.

The publisher I was keen on using even sent my book to their editors, Oxford Editors. They wrote a fantastic editorial assessment of my book, confirmed that it needed no editing, and was ready for publishing. Here are some of the words from the assessment.

“We have used all general standards this quality of work is comparable with, and we are delighted to tell you that Mariam Shittu is an exceptional poet comparable to the likes of Rita Dove, Lucille Clifton and Margaret Walker. The work has no need of editing as the poet’s lexis and structure are well thought out, deliberate and are free of spelling errors.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t publish the book that year. I attempted publishing again in 2021 and 2022, but it didn’t work out.

So this year, I was determined to finally get my book published, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I reread Day and Night and felt that I had written a lot more since 2019, and I needed to make some edits. I decided to not only edit it but to change the book’s overall concept, and that was how Because of You was born.

Because of You is a collection of poems about love, love in all its phases; wonder, uncertainty and realization. It’s a combination of poems I wrote from 2017 to 2023 about love. Choosing the poems that’ll make the cut was difficult, but I think I did a good job without an editor.

You can find Because of You on;

• Amazon (Kindle & Paperback)

• Tebeba Books (epub)

• Okada Books (epub)

I’m currently working on printing paperback versions that will be available for sale in Nigeria.

Writing has been an incredible journey, and I’m still shocked when I read some of the things I wrote. I searched for my talent for so long, and I started blogging to discover myself. I never knew writing would be my thing but look at where we are.

I want to end this post by shouting out to everyone who has ever liked, commented, saved and shared my work. And also a special shoutout to those who have told me to consider writing a book. I was working on it.

I’m an Author now ☺️

Thank you.

Mariam Shittu