For many emerging authors, one of the most challenging questions has been, how do I turn what I love into something that I can earn from? Writing is a passion and like all other passions, the successful monetization of this artform requires a specific kind of knowledge and tenacity. Kenya has a relatively low supply of locally published books with the exemption of those that are selected as set books in school course work. These numbers, while they might seem disheartening to an author looking to earn from his work, do not necessarily mean that there is no market for locally published books in the country. More and more Kenyans are picking up novels and the street bookshops that are found in almost every street in major towns. Given, therefore, that there is a well-established reading culture, then the next step becomes how does one get their books into the hands of these readers?
Many authors have stated bluntly however, that it is close to impossible to get rich or to make a lot of money while depending on book sales alone. Whichever way the author might choose to make his book available to the public, the returns are usually not significant enough to live on on. Most authors have therefore found it necessary to have other regular jobs and write during their free time. The best advice that an emerging author can receive is not to publish a book with the expectation of making a lot of money off it. Only a selected few (about 0.01%) manage to break it big in the publishing industry but this is not to say that it is a fruitless endeavor.
There are basically two choices available to an author who wants to publish his/her book and these are; either to approach established publishers and sell their manuscript or to decide and publish the book on their own.
Traditional Publishing
Traditional forms of publishing although less popular in the current age, still provide the option for writers to earn from their craft. Established publishers such as Longhorn, McMillian and others usually accept manuscripts from authors and publish them. The author is paid in royalties and may also be given a monetary sum for the manuscript itself depending on the conditions of the publishers. Most established publishers however require certain specifics and accept manuscripts that fit certain stipulated conditions. An author has to deliver top quality work to be published. The advantage of using established publishers is that they cover the publishing costs for the author and also help to market and distribute the novel. Most Kenyan publishing houses are however considered to have a preference for materials that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Traditional publishing is considered by many experienced and established authors as having relatively low returns as compared to the other options. This is because most publishing companies rarely pay more than 10% of the total sales as royalties to the author. This is on top of a small figure as an advance. Only celebrities are usually guaranteed exorbitant figures for the advance as the publishing company will anticipate that their book will sell more because it is markable. For the normal writer however, the advance pay is usually not more than Ksh. 400,000 ($4,000) and that is the highest case.
Many publishing companies offer a small figure in advance for the normal, first time author because they do not anticipate that the book will sell so much that they will be able to return their investment and even make a profit. On top of this, the marketing costs usually fall on the shoulders of the author as well except in special circumstances such a when publishing a second book after a first successful one.
The following is a comparison between the pros and cons of choosing the traditional way of publishing.
Pros
- Editing, proofreading, and cover design services are provided by the publisher. Most notable publishers will have top editors and proofreaders and this will make the book finer and more presentable to the market
- Distribution costs are also catered for by the publisher. The book will be printed in bulk and transported to various bookshops in the country
- Time saving as the most work will be done by the publishers, giving the author more time to work on other projects.
- Most literature prizes and awards are given to traditionally published books as compared to the ones that are self-published
Cons
- Lack of creative control. When a publisher accepts a manuscript, they basically own all the rights to it as per the contract. The author cannot make changes without consulting and even things such as cover design as so on are taken away from him/her.
- Less profitable. As discussed above, the royalties paid by publishing companies are barely enough to last an author throughout the year. This money will also be paid over a long period of time after the initial advance. Most publishers either pay yearly or after every six months which means that a waiting period of about 7 to 13 months is very much the reality
- Traditional publishers also do not help the author market his/her book except in the rare situation where the book is expected to have a lot of sales. Authors spread word of their books alone mostly through social media.
Self-Publishing
This is an emerging trend in the publishing industry for both hard and soft copies of books and novels. An author looking to self-publish a hard copy of his work is usually required to find independent publishers who will use their printing services of produce copies of the book. The author here covers all the associated costs such as editing, the cover page design and marketing/advertising costs as well. Authors are therefore required to provide a complete copy of the manuscript for printing. Examples of independent publishers in Kenya includes Storymoja and The Writer’s Guild
Independent printing press usually provide an author with a quote pricing a specific number of books at a given amount. After the printing is completed the author then looks for the market to which he/she will sell their work. A way through which this can be done is through approaching different bookshops to stock the finished work. Many bookshops usually pay for books after they are sold however and as such the author may need to wait a while before receiving payments.
For those with relatively less influence and resources, the other available option of marketing and distributing their work is through word of mouth and delivering to individual customers. Many established authors such as Ng’ang’a Mbugua have lauded this method as the most effective in making sales and bringing in returns. This is because the money comes in almost immediately and it is cheaper than other rigorous methods. The author can also use social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter to spread word amongst their followers and friends. Self-publishing authors are encouraged to start blogs which will enable them to have an already established audience that will be more receptive to buying the author’s books.
Social media has been instrumental in revolutionizing the way that authors spread word about their works. The added advantage that it is mostly a free marketing platform has helped many authors reach their audience.
The cost of self-publishing a hard copy book usually depends on the publisher and other factors such as paper quality etc. The Writers Guild of Kenya, however, provides a rough estimate for editing at Ksh. 1.3 per word. An author may, however, decide to use another editor of their choice. For cover design and layout, the cost is usually not more than Ksh. 50,000 depending on the number of pages.
Self-Publishing E-Books
Another option available for Kenyan authors today is to self-publish their books in digital or soft copy format. This version of books known as e-books have become very popular in the world today because of technological advancements that have enabled books to be typed, stored and distributed in electronic format.
E-books introduces the author to international markets as well as the domestic ones. Needless to say, with the enlarged market comes more demand for quality work as there is a lot of competition. An author looking to publish his/her book in electronic format has two options. Either to open their own website/platform and sale the book directly from there or to approach an established international eBook publishing platform such as Smashwords, Amazon’s Kindle or CreateSpace also by amazon. Publishing eBooks through these platforms enables the book to be distributed worldwide on the various platforms where readers buy electronically.
The development of money exchange services such as PayPal makes sure that the author receives their money in the local currency even if the pricing on the above platforms is usually in dollars and other major currencies. Banks such as Equity and others provide a way to withdraw the funds directly from PayPal to your bank account. Safaricom users have the option of linking Mpesa to their PayPal accounts and getting the money straight into their phones.
For the author that decides to start their own eBook platform to publish and sell their works, all that is needed is the knowledge of starting a reliable website where users can buy directly from it. This will give the author more control over his creative work and the money also goes to the account directly. Here is an example of a Kenyan author who successfully used this method.
As with all other self-publishing options, the marketing and promotion of the book relies squarely on the author’s shoulders. He/she has the responsibly of informing the public on where to access their work through any of the marketing strategies that we have already mentioned.
Self-Publishing of eBooks has been considered to be more lucrative as the costs incurred are not as high as having to physically print and distribute copies of books. The author gets more returns depending on how well they are able to market and sell their product.
Lastly, Kenyan authors should know that they are not limited to publishing only full-length novels and books. There is also money to be made from submitting short stories and poems to online literary magazines such as Kwani? This platform also advertises other platforms that call for such submissions and pay the winning pieces handsomely. They will also publish the story or poem in their online journals that could also be made into a physical magazine. Authors are advised to keep checking such sites for different calls of submissions that happen all year round. Commonwealth Writers is a website that often lists such submissions.
Above all, it is important to note that in Kenya more and more writers are choosing the self-publishing option due to the fact that many traditional publishers focus more on the school market, marketing only the government approved curriculum books. The creative author is therefore forced to go the self-publishing way which is much more lucrative.