Why Masobe Books will revolutionise Nigerian literature – Othuke Ominiabohs

Othuke Ominiabohs is the founder of Masobe Books, a new publishing House based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also author of ‘A Conspiracy of Ravens’ and ‘Odufa: A Lovers Tale’. Here, he talks about why he started a publishing house, the quality of work they desire and more. Excerpts: Starting a publishing company, and a […]

Othuke Ominiabohs is the founder of Masobe Books, a new publishing House based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also author of ‘A Conspiracy of Ravens’ and ‘Odufa: A Lovers Tale’. Here, he talks about why he started a publishing house, the quality of work they desire and more. Excerpts:

Starting a publishing company, and a traditional one at that, is arguably a financially risky business in Nigeria. Why did you decide to establish Masobe Books?

Masobe Books is more than a business. It is a family, a home for writers and a labour of love. There are a lot of writers out there with great stories to tell and very little opportunity of ever getting published. Their stories might not necessarily be in the genre of the beautifully crafted literary fiction books being sought after and accepted in the West and even here. But these narratives speak our truths. They are embedded with our Nigerianism and our stories.  There are a lot of readers out there too, who probably don’t even know just yet how much they would enjoy reading these works. The need to provide a home for these voices and to bridge the gap between writer and reader is why Masobe Books was born; out of the desire to protect good stories by discovering them and promoting them. Despite the million and one challenges posed currently in the literary industry, from production to distribution, I have a dream that one day, the Nigerian child would say with pride: “I want to become a writer.” But the onus lies on us to set the pace and create that future.

Why the name, Masobe?

Masobe means “let us read.” It is in the language of my tribe, the Isoko people of the Niger delta. I chose this name for a number of reasons. First, the name Masobe is a call to action, for us as a people, to read. The benefits of reading cannot be overemphasized. It is our goal to get people reading again, especially the younger generation. We want to share the magic of stories, explore the worlds woven in book pages and uncover secrets that lie in plain sight. When we read, we gain experiences of ten lifetimes and we are better for it. There is no better name for our family than one that extols us to live, to read. Secondly, the Isoko people are a minority tribe who place a premium on education. My people are ingrained with values and a textured culture that celebrates industry and progress. I represent my people and my tribe. I stand for our values by using our language to champion this call to action. Thirdly, I recognise my roots and I am proud of my heritage. No matter how far I go, as long as I carry Masobe with me, the journey will never get lonely or tiresome.

In terms of fiction, what kind of stories does your organisation desire?

We desire stories that are emotive, evocative, compelling, exciting and original; stories that will make hearts race, make you laugh or cry and make the reader want to flip the pages. It doesn’t matter what genre, in fact we encourage more diverse writing: thrillers, mystery, horror, sci-fi, whatever catches your fancy. Just write and we will read.

Some Nigerian publishing houses seem to prefer publishing well-known authors as opposed to fresh voices. In fact, a few prefer doing editions of books written by popular Nigerian writers abroad. How wide is Masobe throwing its net?

At Masobe Books, we are open to publishing any good book that meets our standards, regardless of the author’s previous writing credits. If we all focus on popular Nigerian writers who live and have been published abroad, what then happens to the good writers we have in and outside the country who are not known? As a business it is totally understandable to want to latch on to a name or a brand you can sell with little or no effort, but Masobe is not just a business and unlike most businesses, profit isn’t what drives us but the burning need to make a difference in our industry; to be better, to do better. And for us, making a difference starts from being open and receptive of all fictional works, with the basic consideration being the merit of the work in question.

There are a few recognised publishing houses in the country, including Cassava Republic, Paressia, AMAB Books, Farafina and several more. But they are unable to cater to the needs of the country’s teeming writers. How robust is Masobe and what do you plan to do differently?

We have a sizeable team at Masobe Books, and especially one dedicated to marketing. We look forward to taking a good number of authors from that list of teeming writers out there, but first, their stories have to meet up with our standard. Selling and getting these books to the reader is a major area of focus for us, and we are taking steps to surmount foreseeable challenges by going into strategic partnerships that would guarantee better results. We are also working on a few other projects that will aid us in the long run. But among other things, we will make a conscious effort to make our books more affordable, we would create a few more channels for getting our books to the reader and all hands are on deck in our marketing department.

How often does Masobe intend to release new books and what authors and titles should the book market expect?

We plan on releasing a few books every year, and this release may or may not be tied to each quarter. Currently, we are looking at releasing at least two books every quarter. We want people to read and we want them to read the kind of stories they like. Let them have a choice, and choices are born when there are options. We have a number of fantastic books set for release in the coming year. I am super excited and so is the Masobe family; we cannot wait to unveil these books and tell you all about our gifted authors. Our authors will be announced sometime in late August or early September on our website and on our social media platforms. For now, though, I can only reveal three of them. There is Angel Patricks Amegbe. Her book is titled ‘The Days of Silence’. Angel is a Nigerian, a writer, a poet and blogger who lives in Germany. Her mission as a conscious creative is to heal and change the world through storytelling. This is her first book. There is ‘The Voyage of Saints’ by Marvin Abe. Captain Marvin is a seasoned mariner and an experienced manager in the oil and gas sector. He became captain on Nigeria LNG owned vessels in 2004, a Deputy Director in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency in 2013, and he is currently the Managing Director of Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited – a subsidiary of FMN plc. This is his first book. Then there is me. My new book, ‘Aviara: Who Will Remember You’ is also set for release. I authored ‘Odufa: A Lover’s Tale’, ‘A Conspiracy of Ravens’ and ‘Aviara’ will be my third book.

Masobe has a variety of imprints. How effective do you think they can be?

We have four imprints: Masobe, Keriku, Oremaha and Bookchasers. Due to the nature of our services, it is imperative to categorise them into distinct, dedicated units. Each of these imprints handles a section of our services. Masobe is the traditional publishing arm, where we accept books that meet our standard, and then we publish and market them. Keriku is our vanity imprint, or what we call self-publishing in our industry-speak. This arm of the company accepts jobs from writers who want to publish their books by themselves. They fund the entire process while we handle the production. Oremaha is the arm that handles the publication of children’s books. Bookchasers is our distribution arm. This imprint is responsible for getting books to the bookstores and ultimately to the reader. These imprints make up our brand.

How are you bringing your experience as an author to the table, as regards your publishing outfit?

As an author, I learnt a lot from interfacing with editors, publishers, printers, booksellers and even readers. This has helped tremendously in my new role. Knowing firsthand what works here but won’t work there, has made all the difference. Then again, there were expectations I had of publishers as an author, and now as a publisher I am able to better manage our authors and their expectations. Part of what fuels my drive for a better literary industry is borne out of my frustrations as a writer. The need to be and do better were awakened by my experiences.

In other climes, authors sometimes get advance royalties for their works. How do you intend to make publishing more favourable to writers?

We do not currently pay royalties but that is something we are looking into. However, we do not necessarily have a one-fits-all kind of contract, or what we call the industry standard contract where the author has little or no say on any of the clauses. At Masobe Books we encourage our prospective authors to negotiate for fairer deals. It is our hope that our aggressive marketing model will yield results that will provide better income for writers.

Masobe Books put out a call for submissions that ran from the beginning to the end of June 2019. How would you describe the response from writers so far?

We got a good number of submissions. A lot of people are writing, but I wish they read more. Although most of the submissions didn’t meet our standards, we are grateful to the authors who sent in their works. For those whose works we won’t be accepting, I wish them the will to continue writing and fine-tuning their craft. The secret to good writing is to read and read some more and read again and write. Repeat the cycle. Read and keep reading. We look forward to seeing more works in a greater variety of genres in our next submission window which is in October.

Since you are now a publisher, how do you intend to make out time to write your own books?

I reckon not having the time to write as usual, but I would have to come up with a formula that can let my writing coexist with my schedule. But I am also prepared in the event that I am unable to write until the company is stable. Prior to my decision to go into publishing, I had worked on a few manuscripts. So, for instance, my fourth and fifth books are completed. I love writing stories and I wouldn’t want to give that up if I can help it.