JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Ivin Viljoen, author of Vision for a Generation
(Authopublisher)
My book is about a generation of young people God has called to bring a revival in the world. They are soldiers who will embrace youth culture and appropriate revival through it. We already see it happening: Twitter, Facebook etc.
Social media is the new pulpit.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Vision for a Generation?
Ivin Viljoen: I got inspired to write my book for a specific group of young people, putting together years of teaching and giving testimonies from my own life. I woke up in the middle of the night, which was when I started writing.
JP: What sets Vision for a Generation apart from other books in the same genre?
IV: It is more engaging and real. It’s deeper and speaks directly into the lives of young people. When you write books for young people, you need to relate to them. Generalizations will not suffice. If you pretend, they will see through it right away.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Vision for a Generation getting out to the public?
IV: The key to my success is pure hunger and hustle. I wanted to be published so much and felt I had a message a selected people would benefit from. So I got into self-publishing, starting the process and was elated the moment I had a copy in my hand.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Vision for a Generation?
IV: My writing process then was write and write until the book is done. Kind of like NaNoWriMo – not focusing so much on being perfect but letting the ideas flow. It’s more important for me to let whatever coming out flow instead of having every sentence be correct. I knew there was a time for a proper assessment and editing when I was done.
I started writing and three days later it was written. Done. From there I started with the editing process. Two weeks later it was published and printed in my hands.
It’s scary for people, but I got it done like that. This process is great for people who have time sensitive material. Here in SA, teachers were on strike right before prelims and someone took advantage of that and used this same method, publishing a matriculant support series of books and audios to help them prepare for year-end exams. I think it’s brilliant.
On the other hand, some writers like the process it takes for writing (taking a year or longer), because for them the process is therapeutic and research needs to be done. Nothing wrong with that, but with me, I had everything in my mind and heart – so it all flowed out.
JP: What’s next for Ivin Viljoen?
IV: I am on a mission to help others do the same, not necessarily as fast, but my motto is ‘Stop dreaming and make it happen’. I’ve been dreaming, sitting in the classroom, gazing through the window and only fulfilled my dream when I was 30.
There’s no need for anyone who has a dream to write and publish a book not to do it, no matter how old they are.
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If you are an aspirant author of any kind; novels, non-fiction or academic, and you’re dreaming of getting published but can’t break through the publishing industry’s gatekeepers, Authopublisher is for you. On my blog you can get my book ‘Self-Publishing, how to…’ for free and my newsletter will help you with marketing your book. We have videos to help you go deeper and a forum with a community dedicated to helping each other through the writing, working from home and self publishing process. See you there.
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