5 things that can kill or sell a book

Growing up for me meant an encounter with the novellas, ‘Eze Goes To School’ and ‘Eze Goes To College,’ written by Onuora Nzekwu, once a teacher, civil servant and journalist. Published in 1966 by African University Press, these books and others – by authors beyond Nigeria’s shores – like Charles Dicken’s ‘Oliver Twist,’ shaped my […]

Growing up for me meant an encounter with the novellas, ‘Eze Goes To School’ and ‘Eze Goes To College,’ written by Onuora Nzekwu, once a teacher, civil servant and journalist. Published in 1966 by African University Press, these books and others – by authors beyond Nigeria’s shores – like Charles Dicken’s ‘Oliver Twist,’ shaped my taste for literature. Even then, covers played an important role in triggering my interest. Yes, cover and page illustrations, of Eze boarding a lorry to the city and school, Oliver Twist’s hungry features as he, ‘asks for more’ food, that popular line that makes rounds among book lovers till date.
As competition thickens among Nigerian writers, with self-published authors fighting tooth and nail to engrave their names in every tongue, stacking their works on bookshelves across the country and traditionally published authors, who enjoy more time in honing their craft while the publisher worries about logistics, the ‘first impression’ from a new author still stands a book out–this could either spell doom or glory. So, a book’s cover may receive standard attention, even if the content happens to be disappointing, beginning from the cover design that blends colours, style, targeted at capturing any book worm’s attention, to the author’s name, known or unknown, eye-catching title, compelling storyline followed by glowing commentaries or reviews from renowned magazines, newspapers, legendary writers, critics and so on. The list continues, but remains subject to innovations.
1. Author’s name
“It is that simple: the name of a popular author,” some readers loyal to particular names will say.
With the growing revolution in Nigerian literature, ‘new names’ emerge every year, therefore, to conclude that they determine the ‘selling power’ of a particular work may not be totally true. However, even for a new name, a nudge somewhere may lead one to a book hunt. So, when I searched out Helon Habila’s ‘Oil on Water,’ it was not just because the title struck me, but hearing the name mentioned again and again with reference to the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Caine Prize for African Writing, which his novel, ‘Waiting For An Angel,’ won, sold his works even before I purchased them and like a serial killer on the prowl, bought them, one after the other, seeking to devour his written words.
Again, reading Habila’s novels only confirmed all the compliments of quality and style I had heard about. What if the first had been a disappointment? Probably, I would not have bought the second or third, like the case had been with other unfortunate authors. The name was unknown, but title, synopsis and some other factors had quickly convinced me to make a purchase and I did, only to regret after reading a page or two. Much ado about book features!   
Perhaps, this is the reason why readers such as Monica John, look out for names of authors they trust to deliver. “I enjoy romance novels and read authors I trust to deliver,” she explains.  
2. Book title
“The title is the first thing that would attract me,” offers Femi Obasa, an avid reader. I am in a bookstore at the National Arts and Craft’s village here in Abuja, a cozy place with a soft chair to sit and beautiful covers of Nigerian literature staring back at me. Earlier, I had picked up ‘A Box of Chocolates,’ a collection of short stories written by Jude Idaba and dropped it. But Obasa’s response, which came without hesitation and with the pointing of a finger at this book-when he came into the bookstore-made me pick it up again and flip the first page. Yes, the title is catchy, but the first paragraph clinched it for me. It ran with a smooth rhythm and promise of an exciting narrative.
“The title is good, but does not fit the short story collection,” Obasa says about ‘Indigo,’ by Molara Wood, adding that: “It doesn’t capture the theme.”
3. Cover design
Most readers do not hesitate to pick a book written by an author they are very familiar with. I was not surprised to discover Azafi Omoluabi-Ogosi, publisher of ‘Parresia’ was one of them. “We don’t sit down to decide on covers for our books,” she explains. “When we are given a cover sample and it appeals to us, fine. However, the theme influences the cover design. Personally, colours and the general quality of a cover decide for me what book to pick when I enter a bookstore, except if it is written by a known author,” Omoluabi-Ogosi adds.
“We are almost all guilty of this. But beyond that, how much of a story’s plot can be gleaned from the cover given to it? Is it even necessary for a cover jacket to tell any story at all or have any link to the story inside? And lastly, can a book cover be misleading?” Jude Dibia wrote when he posted two different cover designs on the internet (in 2011) of his then yet to be published novel, ‘Blackbird,’ to get opinions from readers.
4. Synopsis
This excerpt taken directly from the cover of ‘A box of chocolates,’ a short story collection by Jude Idada, made me want to read the book:“In the box are eighteen chocolates; each one carefully made, painstakingly wrapped and methodically packed. Each chocolate with a unique taste, each one representing a different story. In the box, sits a plethora of colours, a myriad of aspirations, a landscape of experience…”     
This clearly illustrates the ability of a well thought out storyline to capture the attention of a reader and make him or her want to purchase and read a book. However, after the back page, I needed more evidence to part with my money, got my attention, I flipped to the first page and the first paragraph did the same. There and then I knew I must read it.
In my book hunt, I notice another with an attractive cover, but behind, the storyline throws me off. It is almost unreadable, jumbled because of the theme font style used. “People are ignoring the book,” the sales girl in the bookstore I visited, Enobong Edet, says. I quickly used this opportunity to ask her about the books most sought after in the store by readers and she gives me an endless list that includes: ‘Baba Segi’s Wives’ by Lola Shoneyin, ‘Night Dancer’ by Chika Unigwe, ‘Fela, The Bitch of a Life’ by Carlos Moore, ‘Everyday for the thief’ by Teju Cole and ‘Soldier of Fortune’ by Max Siollun. A look at some of these books informs me that besides their eye-catching cover features they dwell on themes that enlighten the reader on aspects of Nigerian history and society.
5. Commentaries/reviews      
The name of a renowned author may be enough to sell ‘him or her’ to the reader, but the title, storyline and general cover design, of most worksmay require extra effort to do that. In order to garnish this master-plan of ‘selling the product’ of probably years of research and scribbling, the book flaunts commentaries inside the pages and sometimes on the exterior, showcasing testimonies of former achievements and what the present work has to offer.
“A gripping historical page-turner that reads like a novel. ‘Soldiers of Fortune’ is a remarkable book that must be read by all Nigerian,” Cheda Nwanze, testifies on the back cover of ‘Soldiers of Fortune.’
This commentary, apart from the title and the intriguing images of Generals MuhammaduBuhari and Ibrahim Babangida, all in military uniform, and M.K.O.Abiola is perhaps enough to make most readers pick this narration of Nigeria’s political history from Buhari to Babangida from 1983-1993.       
About Molara Wood’s ‘Indigo, ’Ikhide R. Ikheloa, a writer and relentless critic note that:“In this stunning collection, colourful characters speak triumphantly of the enigma and beauty that is Africa. ‘Indigo’ is a lovely metaphor for the collage of stories lovingly spun together. The tapestry is beautiful, warm, and comforting. These are stories rendered in a griot’s voice, just as the storytellers of old would have told them.”    
Reading this and knowing the critic’s bluntness in critiquing any work, I could not help but decide to read ‘Indigo,’ if only to find out why Ikheloa dared to praise it.