This intense 5 and a half days surgery is dedicated to making your book work. You will work with highly acclaimed writing tutors to examine the local and global appeal of your book.  This will include looking at the structure, the book map, and the stylistic devices of the book.  You will learn how to navigate plot, character, structure and theme so that your narrative works as a coherent whole.
Students will also learn how to put together a book proposal during this retreat to assist them learn how better to query mainstream publishers.

Students meet in a plenary and later in smaller groups and have one-on-one hour sessions with the faculty.
Students are required to send 50 double spaced pages of their manuscript and a 500- word synopsis.

This editing surgery is limited to 14 students.

What You'll Learn:

•    Identifying the primary objective and themes in your book
•    Writing the right content and how to self- edit
•    Re-developing a book map and why it matters to your writing
•    Putting together a book proposal
•    Developing a marketing plan for your book

Who Should Attend:

•    You have written your book and want an expert opinion
•    You want to learn how to edit your book
•    You want to prepare your book for submission to publishers
•    You want to learn how to market your book

Are you an author? Are you thinking of writing a book? Do you want to say the magical words, “I am an author”?

Branding yourself in today’s environment is one of the most difficult things to do. Branding is a creative art, which you have to make happen. How many times have you given away a business card and nothing happened? Imagine giving away an autographed book. It is never thrown away. A book is the best business card you can have.

When in competition with someone else for the same services, you will stand out if you give a book to your clientele: a gift that is sure to be appreciated.

Writing and publishing   a book will dramatically change your life and we at The Silent Author Services would like to take that journey with you. Our staff will work with you from book conceptualization and planning, research and interviews, write the book, edit, proof read and copy-edit the manuscript, book cover design and format for both digital and print mediums.

When you author a book, the following immediately happens. You:

• Establish yourself as the authority
• Leave a legacy
• You differentiate yourself from the competition
• Build brand awareness
• Mark up your authenticity
• Create brand preference and credibility
• Make more money
• Sell more of your products and services
• Generate additional sources of income
• Get yourself on radio, television, print media and online
• Increase your visibility
• Make prospects call you

 You have no time to write your book? You do not have the skills to make it happen?  Try The Silent Author Services.

Imagine having a book with your name emblazoned on its front. Yes! We can get it done in   6 months. A book you can get into bookstores , and put it in a library as a legacy for family and friends.

We offer three types of editing services, depending on the client’s needs and requirements.

•    Copy editing- we fact check and catch grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors.We check for consistency, redundancy, flow, transition, and the proper use of words.
•    Proofreading- we ensure that the copy editing changes have been properly made and no new errors are created in the process.
•    Developmental editing- we look at the entire development and organisation of the book, the characters, the story line, and the pace in which it is told. We will suggest the order in which the chapters are to be presented, as well as the overall content, flow, and arrangement of text.

How to Plan, Write and Publish Your Book:

Are you an author? Are you thinking of writing a book? Are these your plans?  Do you want to say the words, “I am an author”?

Branding yourself in today’s environment is one of the most difficult things to do. Branding is a creative art, which you have to make happen. How many times have you given away a business card and nothing happened? Imagine giving away an autographed book. It is never thrown away. A book is the best business card you can have.

When in competition with someone else for the same services, you will stand out if you give a book to your clientele: a gift that is sure to be appreciated.
Having a book will dramatically change your life and we at SuccessSpark Brand would like to take that journey with you.

When You Author a Book, the Following Immediately Happens. You:

•    Establish yourself as the authority
•    Leave a legacy
•    You differentiate yourself from the competition
•    Build brand awareness
•    Mark up your authenticity
•    Create brand preference and credibility
•    Make more money
•    Sell more of your products and services
•    Generate additional sources of income
•    Get yourself on radio, television, print media and online
•    Increase your visibility
•    Make prospects call you

What You'll Learn:

•    Identifying the primary objective of your book
•    Writing the right content
•    Developing a book map
•    Why a book map matters to your writing
•    Breaking down writing assignments into manageable segments

Who Should Attend:

•    You have always wanted to write. Make this the year to make good on that dream
•    You finally want to stop thinking about your book and actually write it
•    You have always wanted to write a book but feel like writing belongs to only literary geniuses
•    You have a message you want to share with the world – about your business, professional or life journey
•    You have already written and are interested in improving your writing techniques
•    You are struggling with organizing your content
•    You want the ideas in your book to be supported by your book map

We held our first One Day Book Writing Masterclass of 2017 on Saturday 25th February. Six students joined us for a day of understanding the how’s of getting your novel going. This class delved a good deal into non-fiction, exploring how to make our real life stories produce the impact we want them to. We were so happy to have a full class and whenever we have a gentleman in the class, it’s an extra.

We held our second Successspark Brand Writing Retreat 1-4 July 2016. Of course it was filled with several moments of helpless laughter, good company, fine dining, dancing to the setting sun, and fun, fun, fun! Our students shared some of their memorable moments from the retreat. See David Wawuyo’s take on his time at the retreat here - http://www.davidwaweru.com/adventures-in-travel-and-writing/

Our third SuccessSpark Brand Writing Retreat took place  20-23rd October, 2016. We set the agenda on day 1: it was work, fun, good company, fine dining and getting to know each other. Hesitant in our interactions on the first day, we would leave the Island four days later as friends.
The essence of our retreats is best captured in Christopher Walken's life lessons: "None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else."

See how one of our students, AganzaKisaka experienced the retreats - https://sanyukisaka.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/part-2-jump-higher-ugblogweek/

Sign up for one of SuccessSpark Brand's Writing Retreats in Tanzania or in Uganda to embark on your writing journey.See details in flier below.For more details on how to register, email us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +256-776-703445.3445.

We held the first Successspark Brand Writing Retreat 9-12 October 2015 at Bulago Island. It was a small intimate group of writers committed to learning the writing craft.

 If you had travelled with us on the morning of 9th October, you would have had your heart first drop when we first sat in the boat that would whisk us away from The Beach House at Ggaba Beach to our destination- Bulago Island, one hour and twenty minutes away. You would have grabbed the boat sides for support, as Godfrey, our navigator started the engine.

You would have listened to the anxiety in the chuckles as we prayed that the boat would start. And when it did start, you would have joined us in the laughter as we waved goodbye to Ggaba and cracked jokes about the dirty green water, which one writer, would later describe as the color of vomit in

1. SuccessSpark Brand supported Writivism Festival/ CACE book donation to Good Grace Primary School in Kabale.
2. SuccessSpark Brand supported BNPA’s poetry reading tour to African Rural University in western Uganda.rd...” Read more: http://www.bnpoetryaward.co.ug/bnpa2014-african-rural-university-kagadi-kibaale-western-uganda/
3.  SuccessSpark Brand donated copies of Africa39 books to The Story Club Malawi after the writing workshop held in Lilongwe.

We have partnered with several organisations to provide pro-bono leadership and business tips to communities and groups that would be unable to access our services.



10% of our earnings are given to a charity or cause of our choice at our own discretion.

SuccessSpark Brand is the official sponsor of a Children’s Writing Prize within the Writivism Festival to be held in June 2014 at the National Theatre in Kampala.

Senior Managing Partner

Jackee Budesta Batanda is a short story writer, journalist and entrepreneur. She runs SuccessSpark Brand Limited, an educational company that runs writing classes and also provides ghostwriting services.  In 2019, she named among top 40 under 40 inspirational Ugandans and was the 2018/2019 continental winner- training and education category at the Women in Business and Government. She is a contributor in the New Daughters of Africa anthology, a seminal body of work that captures voices of 200 women of African descent.

The Africa Regional winner of the 2003 Commonwealth short story Competition, her stories have been performed on the BBC World service, BBC3 and radio stations throughout the Commonwealth as well as appearing in various international anthologies. She has written for publications including the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Guardian (UK), The Mail & Guardian, The Sunday Times and Sunday Independent (SA) and Al-Jazeera Magazine. She was the recipient of a 2010 Uganda Young Achievers Award, shortlisted for the 2012 Trust Women Journalist Award and named by the Times (London) in 2012 as one of twenty women shaping the future of Africa. She was named among 39 writers under 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa likely to shape the future of African literature. She has run writing workshops in the US, UK, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi. You can visit her website at www.jackeebatanda.com

Content Development and Client Relations Manager

Rachel is the client relations and events coordinator with SuccessSpark Brand where she brings a wealth of over seven years experience as a dedicated and knowledgeable client relations manager and lecturer in the banking and educational sector. She has worked with a myriad of clients both local and international. She boasts of impeccable communications, events planning, and customer liaison skills. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Makerere University Business School. She is a lover of the literary arts and loves to read in her pastime.