Self-Publishing – The Writer's Saviour by Bolaji Olatunde
I am of the considered opinion thatalternative methods of publishing are very worthy alternatives to traditionalpublishing. Like the advertisements from many self-publishing outfits state(it’s almost like they copy that from one other), it was done by authors whowent on to have glittering literary careers – names like Hemmingway, Grisham,get bandied about. So, one finds oneself in good company, in a manner ofspeaking. These guys were once “anybody” before they became “somebody”.
I often tell anyone who will listen –an ideal world is one in which everyone writes and we all read what the otherwrites. It would be a better world because the perspectives available forinspection would be so immense, and it would probably broaden understanding,although the hate shared on social media seems to cast doubts on thissupposition because it is one of the models for exploring such a possibility. However,we are made aware that such views exist, however unsavoury they are. Writingshould be as ubiquitous, powerful and as widespread as speech. In the past,traditional publishers were able to act the roles of “voice limiters” – theyheld the gate keys or passes to readership. If a literary work was too daring,risky or did not express a view or perspective with economic potential, it waspossible to stifle it. Those days are thankfully gone. The corpus of worldliterature is a list of works that were turned down several times bytraditional publishers before someone had an “a-ha moment” and decided topublish them – a case in point would be “The Day of The Jackal” by FrederickForsythe, one of my favourite books, a thriller classic. To characterise awriter’s work as that of “anyone who has come in through the back door” is tosomehow dehumanise or debase the importance of each one’s unique perspective ofthe human experience which is the essence of literature. In fact, I would go sofar as to identify it as arrogance and snobbery writ large. With standardediting and other tools available to traditional publishers, the works of mostauthors could shine and thankfully, those tools are rapidly becoming availableto savvy self-published authors at affordable prices that no longer cause financialbankruptcy.
The “creative control” option is alsoattractive for some writers. In my interaction with some established authors,they state that their publishers give them creative control. I am very doubtfulhowever that they are as lenient as self-publishing companies, some of whomnever read or edit the work, a dubious advantage. The editing of the work issolely at the discretion of the author, a burden that is often taken off theback of established writers by traditional publishers. Unsurprisingly,questionable editing often makes many self-published works seem like poisonchalices.
Speaking from my Nigerian experience,when the first draft of my novel was ready, between 2006 and 2008, I approacheda few Nigerian publishing outfits for a possible deal. With hardly two kobocoins to rub together, I was expectantly presented by those publishers with theestimated cost of publishing my work, costs that I would bear – I believe their“consultancy” fees were incorporated in those charges. This was more thandiscouraging. All they had to offer to the public was the hard copy edition ofthe work. They could not really be blamed entirely for their cost-dodgingpolicies. With a decimated middle-class and falling literacy levels in Nigeria,interest in indulgences such as fictional novels had dwindled to near zerolevels. I was told bluntly that they would only absorb all publishing costs ifI were to publish a textbook in the field of accounting, my day job.
At the same time, I explored thepossibility of having my work published outside Nigeria and made available toas wide as an audience as possible, which is probably the aspiration of many awriter. The foreign self-publishers had e-book options available. I decided totarry awhile hoping something would break and some traditional publisher wouldsee the potential in my work. Real life doesn’t always follow the author’splot.
Curiously, watchers and respectedvoices of the Nigerian literary scene are ever so quick to complain about theslow death of literature in the land, the dearth of literary work and are evenfaster – currently, it is almost like reflex action – to denounceself-published work in an environment where a losing battle is being fought tokeep the scene alive. No better illustration of confusion exists, I believe. Aclamour for improved standards all-round would be a better tactic to improvethe present state of affairs.
When I had put together sufficient personalsavings, I invested it in publishing with a UK-based self-publishing company in2011. It is a decision that I have never regretted. Just before I followed thatpath, a literary agent informed me that most publishers would consider my noveltoo expensive to produce – a rather considerate guy, because the others neverexplained why they turned my work down (new authors, beware – etiquette is astrange concept to many literary agents). It was an illusion-shattering moment,reading that email. I still believe no one can ever accept the possibility thatan African resident in Africa can ever write a story with one of the maincharacters modelled after Frank Sinatra, or about a coup in China, or accept topublish a work with a total word count of over 200,000 words – yes, the worldis so impatient now, 200,000 words is impossible for most to read in the daysof 149 character dominated cyberspace, which coincidentally – irony of ironies– is the best tool for a self-published author to thrust his or her work outthere in the public space.
The traditional publishing world hascome to see the fluidity of its hold on readers – its opponent is not onlyself-publishing, social media has become another worthy opponent becausefrankly, it is often more alluring and dramatic than whatever manyworld-renowned authors can put together. There are reports of famous authorsnow exploring the self-publishing route. The publisher of my first work, AuthourHouse,was acquired by Penguin in 2012. Kirkus Reviews now has a paid-for reviewservice strictly for self-published authors – which on its own opens a vista ofmoral grey areas about one of the oldest literary review journals “selling out”and pulling its punches in its reviews of such works. I explored the Kirkusoption – and it was very revealing and helpful in an endeavour that is soheavily reliant on independent feedback. I was a rookie writer at the time andsome of their observations were wake-up calls for me as regards my writing. Iwould advise any aspiring writer with means to explore similar options wherethey are available.
My self-publishing experience hasbeen a roller coaster ride and truth be told, not as economically rewarding assome may think. Yes, let’s face it folks, writers deserve moderate pecuniaryrewards for their mental exertions because for fiction writers, inducedschizophrenia, the headaches and migraines that follow extensive lying in100,000 plus words, in written text, is no mean feat – I speak from personalexperience. My second novel is almost done and I say this without mincing words– self-publishing is an option I shall be willing to explore once more. Neveragain will any manuscript of mine gather dust, electronic or physical, justbecause some agent or traditional publisher doesn’t think giving vent to myvoice could be worth the effort.
First published at http://authorsinafrica.com/self-publishing-the-writer%C2%B4s-saviour-by-bolaji-olatunde/ by the Authors In Africa Website in July 2014
