How relevant is self-publishing to Nigerian literature?

This book is ‘A Heart to Mend.’ After it went viral in 2009, she set up her publishing website, naijastories.com in 2010. But perhaps not everyone has such a colourful tale to tell about self-publishing because of the massive volumes of sub-standard materials that continue to flood the Nigerian literary scene.    Now a publisher, Whitman […]

This book is ‘A Heart to Mend.’ After it went viral in 2009, she set up her publishing website, naijastories.com in 2010. But perhaps not everyone has such a colourful tale to tell about self-publishing because of the massive volumes of sub-standard materials that continue to flood the Nigerian literary scene.    
Now a publisher, Whitman says about self-publishing: “It does not affect the quality of books released into the market, except where the authors themselves are not prepared and their books are not ready to be published. Before a book is released, it needs to go through a procedure that includes editing, proof-reading, design, layout and more. Whether one is a self-publisher or a traditional press, they need to know this.”
How it started
Adedipe Oluwafemi is the author of a self-help book he self-published, titled ‘If I Rule the World, Winning in an age of Change and Complexity,’ He explains that certain factors push writers to self-publish their works.
“One is tempted to ask the reason behind the enduring popularity of self-publishing. The answer boils down to the peculiar economics of the publishing industry. Publishing is not a money spinner because more than 90 percent of published books don’t generate any profit. So, publishing houses have learnt to hedge their bets,” he explains.
“They only place their money on authors who possess established names, followership and platforms. If you are a new author, regardless of how pretty your ideas are, if you cannot show that you have an established base of readers who will bring in the money, then the major publishers don’t have many incentives to take you on. But you don’t blame the publishers they are commercial entities, which means they have to make their numbers. So it is easier to just publish a Soyinka or a JP Clark than to take the chance on an aspiring Ben Okri or a Teju Cole. And it is far easier too for them to just publish a school text that will be purchased in large numbers by the Ministry of Education than for them to bet on a brilliant but unknown author,” Oluwafemi adds.
“Over time, this peculiar situation led to several unintended consequences, the most important of which is the creation of oligopolies in which a few big publishers control a large portion of national publishing markets. Just take a look at the Nigerian publishing space; you will see it is controlled by a few large publishers, maybe five or less. And wherever there is an oligopoly, consumers will always try to find alternatives to it. So when Nigerian authors began to notice the availability of tools and technologies that will allow them to bypass the traditional publishers and get their books into the hands of the reading public, they were quick to embrace it, hence, the recent explosion in the number of self-published books,” he says.
The result
After the hassle with literary agents and multiple rejections from publishing companies, many Nigerian writers resorted to financing the publishing of their books through publishers that are ready to ‘print’ at a price. However, after the printing, there is the rigour of marketing and distribution which most of the publishing houses are unable to take care of. Thus, the writer becomes the financier, the marketer and the distributor of his or her product.    
“The publishing industry in Nigeria for me has failed,” says Seyi Adigun, author of four collections of poetry. “There is no publishing industry here when it comes to literature. The publishers are just super printers. In some of the arrangements we have, you approach them as a writer, they go through your work, tell you how much it costs, then you get sponsors to offset the cost or you do so yourself. It then comes out with the label of the publisher who says he has published it.  When they are through with your work, you carry your printed volumes and go home with them. Who promotes the work or edits it is your headache. Only a few real publishers are out there today. My last work, ‘Princess of the Harmattan,’ was self-published. I had to raise the funds and look for sponsors to get it out.”
Chioma Nnani is the author of a fiction novel titled ‘Forever There For You.’ Her words flip both sides of the coin: “A popular perception of self-publishing is that ‘people will print poorly-written material, put a cover on it and call it a book.’ This sort of ‘allegation’ is not entirely baseless. But the truth is that one who doesn’t appreciate quality just doesn’t – there are some traditionally published books that have typographical errors, illogical story-lines, ‘dirty’ font and horrific cover designs.”
Another major issue is in the fact that many Nigerian would-be authors are not as knowledgeable as they should be, about the publishing industry – even in self-publishing. The buzz or promise of ‘seeing one’s name in print’, especially for the first time, can have the very unfortunate effect of ridding a person of common sense. So, some fail to ask pertinent questions or check contracts – mistakes which come back to bite them in the behind.”
Oluwafemi also admits that self-publishing has several drawbacks, one of which is a lack of quality.
“Many self-published books are either poorly written, badly edited or are printed with inferior materials,” he says. “The reasons for these are all too common. Self-published authors often lack access to the resources that make for a quality book: editors, proof readers, book designers, high quality printers and so on.”
The verdict?
“Self-publishing is what is there,” Adigun says resignedly. “Without it there would be no thriving Nigerian literature. Self-publishing is an alternative platform for bringing works of literature to the market place. It did not start today and did not start in Nigeria. Again, it is not synonymous with inferior works. One of the most popular works in English literature, Alexander Pope’s ‘The Translations of Homer’ (pub. 1713) was self-published, same as Ernest Hemingway’s classic, ‘Three Stories and Ten Poems.’ In fact, many of the most enduring authors in history have self-published their works, especially at the beginning of their writing careers. Ezra Pound’s ‘With Tapers Quenched’ was self-published in 1908 and Virginia Woolf’s ‘Between the Acts,’ in 1941.”
Nnani notes that: “It should be encouraged. There are many excellent authors whose voices would never have been heard, if they were still waiting for that all-important call from a literary agent. Personally, I am thrilled at its emergence and growth. Some might think of it in derogatory terms – especially in comparison with traditional publishing, but self-publishing worked for me. I went through a rigorous process, during which I worked harder than I have ever done in my life. The end-result is a product that I’m proud to have my name on. If I could go back and do it again, I would do it faster.  
Nnani adds that: “But all in all, the effects of self-publishing on Nigerian literature have been hugely positive. It has democratised the publishing space by allowing authors to deliver works to and engage directly with their readers without the traditional publisher serving as the all-too-common intermediary. This has allowed readers to discover new authors, new voices and new narratives that just wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”
At University Press Plc, Abuja, a well-known publishing house that has survived for decades, Mrs. Ramat Nike Mohammed, explains that what is called self-publishing is known to them as the ‘author finance’ type of publishing.
“There are instances where authors would want to finance the publication of their works and another where they leave their works with us and wait patiently because we choose first those that we envisage will be marketable before taking full publishing responsibility and give royalties to the author concerned. But sometimes they get impatient and so pay to have it published.”
Mrs. Mohammed further reveals that a renegotiation sometimes takes place between the University Press and an author finances the work but allows them to market it: “This we do only when we foresee that the material would be valuable. These are usually academic books. But we mostly encourage author finance.”
Intriguingly, she adds that University Press does not reject manuscripts because they may have some value eventually, but only keeps them until they top the scale of preference.
“No written material is useless,” she concludes.