Literature

Is self-publishing a viable option?

Self-publishing is unwholesome practice that could kill your literary ambition. That is the viewpoint of virtually every writer I?ve interviewed on this subject. They say it is a plague that should be avoided, unless you want to die as an unsung hero ? a literary laureate that never was.

According to Chukwuemeka Ike, one of Nigeria?s pioneer writers, vanity publishing is one of the effective means of committing literary suicide. He said he knew this from the very beginning of his writing career in the early 1960s when he wrote his first novel, Toads for Supper. That was why even though he completed the novel in 1962, it was not published till 1965. He did not rush to the then flourishing Onitsha Market Literature printers. For three years he waited quietly, enduring several rejection slips from big time publishers, till he eventually hit it with Harvill publishers in London. Today, Toads for Supper (which my friend prefers to call Bush Meat for the Boys) could be found in bookshops around the world, unlike Ogali A. Ogali?s Veronica My Daughter, published about the same time by the Onitsha market printers. This is a veritable proof that traditional publishing is the major highway to fame. ?You become internationally known straight away,? said Ike.

Indeed, self-publishing, in which the writer takes on the responsibilities of seeing to the printing and marketing of his book, is not the best because of its many disadvantages. Most of the works produced in this method do not pass through the competent hands of registered publishing companies. Hence, quality is compromised in many respects, from the cover design to the contents. There is usually no proper editing because printers do not have editors and the writer himself is ?too close? to his work that he cannot see all the mistakes. The ultimate consequence is a poor production that will end up damaging the writer?s image.

On the other hand, the traditional publishing process does not brook mediocrity as everything is well planned. Sharing his experience on how he got his Climate of Corruption published the traditional way in 1976, Labo Yari said ?All I did was to send my manuscripts to publishing houses. They invested their money in it and did the marketing.? In the words of another veteran writer, Gabriel Okara of the ?River Nun? fame, ?In real publishing you don?t pay publishers, they pay you in royalties. They sign agreement with you and you wait and get your royalties depending on the percentage agreed upon.? This means that from the moment the writer finishes writing, his headache is transferred to the publisher, who edits, publishes and markets the book.

Traditional publishing ensures quality printing, wider readership and validates the writer?s authorship instantly. Self-publishing, on the other hand, often reduces the author to a peddler, selling his poorly produced work from roadside book stalls to literary events like some newspaper vendor. The difference is clear and no writer could claim total ignorance of this.

Why then would a writer choose to become a peddler rather than the renowned author he originally set out to be?

Yari said it is often not the writer?s fault; the devil is in our book industry. ?The publishing climate was more favourable in our time. We had many multi-national publishing companies and few indigenous companies. But as the foreign companies gradually disengaged, the indigenous companies seemed to lose their ability to publish and market indigenous writers. So some writers are pushed into self-publishing as a result.?

In the light of this fact, one may not blame the young writers for taking the path not taken by the earlier writers. It is only natural that where all attempts at getting published fail, self-publishing becomes a necessary alternative. It could even become a viable option.

But it must be well managed. You must do your homework first. Don?t rush to the printer till you get the work thoroughly edited by good editors. The major bane of self-publishing is self-editing. You can?t edit yourself properly even if you were a professional editor. The choice of printers also matters. Before you submit your manuscript get proposals from a variety of printers and make your choice based on quality not cost ? the cheapest isn?t always the best. Don?t approach things with the mind of someone eager to see his book in print by all means, but with a business sense, else you may end up with something you can?t show even to your close friends. After the publication, ensure its wide circulation through reputable bookshops and other possible means. With good publicity and depending on the literary quality and value of the work, you might be on your way.

Yes, traditional publishing may be the major highway to literary success, it is certainly not the only way. Some bush paths do eventually lead to highways, and if one knows his bush path well enough he might in due course hit the highway to the ultimate destination. A typical example is Helon Habila. He became an international literary figure through a single short story from his self-published collection of short stories when it won the prestigious Caine Prize in 2001. Who says you can?t be the next winner?

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Literature