Becoming The Muse

The Write Space: Manuscript To Marketplace

The Write Space |for writers |readers| publishers is a monthly meetup hosted by writer and poet Morset Billie where he invites industry experts to a round table discussion on issues from the world of books and writing.

The latest session of the Write Space held at Alliance Française ran under the theme Manuscript To Market Place with guests Batsirai Chigama, a poet, author and literary activist and Tendai Karonga, a media and communications specialist, participating in a conversation on the book distribution ecosystem.

Tendai Karonga shared about how the book industry was growing and embracing digital platforms were literary works were more accessible to people. While there is a shift to digital publications there’s still those who prefer physical books and we need structured publishing houses and agents who can navigate the distribution ecosystem.

Batsirai Chigama a self-publishing consultant having self-published her bodies of work reflected on her journey to being published, and how a bookshop that had stocked  her book claimed not to have it in stock only to find it gathering dust, because it had been shelved as a children’s book because of the title; Gather The Children. One has to be pro-active about marketing their book and that can mean carrying it with you and bringing it out when the opportunity strikes.

Self-published authors need to work on a distribution plan as one’s publication, no matter how brilliant, will not sell itself. A self-published author present, recalled how their books were literally doing just that, sitting and gathering dust, as they had not done anything else beyond publishing, and that being an introvert, marketing was not their strong suit. They were encouraged to step out of their comfort zone, with others sharing how contrary to appearances they were also introverts, and pushed themselves to show up… An unsurprising trait as most writers tend to be introverts.

There was also a discussion on piracy, about how pirated editions of books are sold at nominal fees or for free, prejudicing authors of their revenues and violating copyrights. A soon-to-be published author shared how they had resolved to have their work as a physical publication only, with no digital publications to curb piracy.

The overarching idea was the need to be intentional with cultivating the book culture so that the readers and writers have a better appreciation of the ecosystem. Book Clubs, Book Fairs, Festivals and Exhibitions can be used to curate books into an experience that everyone can enjoy.

The conversation was not exhaustive and discussions similar to this one need to be tabled frequently. What would you say to someone who is published or planning on being published about navigating the book ecosystem?