[authorme] PUBLISHING EMERGING WRITERS FOR SEPTEMBER 2008
- From: "Bruce Cook, AuthorMe.com" <cookcomm@xxxxxxx>
- To: authorme@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2008 20:04:11 -0700 (PDT)
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In this issue...
HER VOICE IS IMPORTANT - Juliet Maruru
INTERVIEW - AUTHOR CAROL DENBOW- Bruce Cook
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HER VOICE IS IMPORTANT
by Juliet Maruru
A few months ago, I wrote an article that discussed identity: The Portrait.
It was spawned by a memory of my late brother who taught me two very important
lessons.
1. I am who I am, a female, a girl growing into a woman, and there is
nothing shameful about that.
2. I have a voice and I should use it to build myself and help my
society.
The response I got from those who read was minimal. So I decided to just go out
and ask it:
Is the African Woman's Voice important? How can she make sure it is heard? And
in what areas especially is it important for her voice to be heard?
What is your perception of a woman's voice? Is it a nagging, overaggressive
voice? If not, what is it?
One person immediately commented and declared that the Woman’s voice has an
impact, has always been heard, and does not need to change or to compete with
the man’s voice.
I agree only just partly. A woman’s voice does have an impact. She has been a
mother to great and small men, good and terrible ones, too. She has been a
sister, daughter, wife to these men. She helps them, whether actively or
indirectly to make decisions. She is a part of their life. But has she always
been heard?
Ramah Nyang, a radio journalist said, “Yes, she has, though that's a very
general statement. In urban Kenya, it is a more or less foregone conclusion. In
rural Kenya, it is quite the opposite. I've been to villages where women are
literally captive to choice of their often drunken, morbidly conservative other
halves.”
I suppose in most African urban societies, the woman’s place as a breadwinner,
policy maker and leader is recognised and respected. As noted by
Ramah, the woman in rural areas is held captive to a man’s choice, which makes
her vulnerable to abuse, HIV infection and limits both hers and the society’s
economic success.
But does that really mean that the urban woman’s voice really makes an impact
and in the right way?
Simiyu Barasa, a writer and filmmaker had this to say, “A woman’s voice needs
to be heard, and yet because her voice is so powerful, societies have invented
ways of muffling it. Different societies have different ways of doing this, so
different societies need different ways of tackling this denial of women's
right to live a full life.”
Yes, the urban woman’s voice has more strength, but the urban society adjusts
itself on ways to muffle it. The woman is frustrated by finding herself a lone
parent with a single income in a lot of cases. The woman finds herself earning
less than her counterparts. The woman has to struggle more than her
counterparts to get recognition for her work. And the woman, having been
socialised by repetitive circumstances, limits herself, by giving up on her
endeavours towards financial and career success, by choosing easier but less
rewarding careers and investments, by hiding her voice so as to be
inconspicuous.
Every woman needs to recognise the importance of her voice, to herself, to her
family and to society as a whole.
The woman finds herself in nurturing roles in many instances, as a mother,
grandmother, aunt, older relative, which affords her the opportunity to be
actively involved in molding the characters of future leaders, both male and
female. Her voice can guide, correct and assist the young ones into identifying
and being comfortable with their identities, as well as using their skills and
talents towards better futures, their own and the society’s.
As a policy maker, the woman is psychologically equipped, generally, to see
details that can help complete the picture. If a woman can break beyond
barriers, society made and self imposed, she would be a valuable member of a
team, and with the right qualifications even a leader. Take a look at the women
who have made it into top leadership positions, from Queen Zenobia 3rd century
warring queen of Palmyra, to Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of
England and Martha Karua, the Minister of Justice in Kenya. They all have 3
things in common.
1. The courage and strength to walk into a traditionally male dominated
field and make an impact in it.
2. The ability to strive beyond common boundaries and excel even where
their male contemporaries had failed. This is sometimes not because of
exceptional ability but because of the keen awareness that she must prove
herself an extra mile.
3. Vocal and exceptional women leaders are humans, too. They make
mistakes, elicit dislike and hate from that, or lose their empires all
together. We notice more, because they are women.
And yet, without her voice, society is not. Ramah puts it like this, “The
distinction lies in asking whether say, Caroline Mutoko (A very vocal and
successful radio presenter) needs to speak out, as much as say, Atieno over in
Homa Bay district with a drunken husband (who infected her with HIV I might
add), needs to.”
Ramah concludes, “Sure, your species nags, and whines, and complains about
things that I find perfectly normal (like a guy's obsession with soccer or
cars), but the bottom line is this; - its part of who you are and that's what
makes your species not only important, but special.”
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INTERVIEW - AUTHOR CAROL DENBOW
by Bruce Cook
Bruce Cook: How can an international writer get noticed in the American market?
Carol Denbow: The good news is, now more than ever before, an international
writer has many more international opportunities for exposure thanks to the
World Wide Web. It has been predicted that eighty percent of book purchasing
will take place through the Internet by the year 2020. Personally, from the
trend I’ve noticed recently, I feel it will be even sooner yet. Amazon.com is
one of the best book-selling sites on the Internet and has expanded to include
Joya Amazon.cn (Chinese), Amazon.fr (French), Amazon.de (German), and
Amazon.co.jp (Japanese). Barnes & Noble booksellers online have followed suit
with international sales. Their brick and mortar book stores now stock foreign
publications as well, including Vogue Magazine in four different languages.
International writers need to use the resources available to them the same way
American writers do in countries foreign to them. When I Google my books, I
find them advertized in languages I can’t even begin to identify. Building and
maintaining a good Website to promote your work, in any language, and then
following up with submissions to the major search engines will get you noticed.
It takes time, but will be well worth the effort, especially once the time
arrives when cyber space book sales override our traditional sales methods here
in the U.S. and the world.
Bruce Cook: Do you recommend self-publishing a book?
Carol Denbow: Well, there are advantages that go along with traditional
publishing, primarily, the cost—there really isn’t much when compared to
self-publishing. But you do give up a considerable amount of control in
exchange. For instance, I genuinely dislike the cover that was designed for my
book, Stress Relief for the Working Stiff. I don’t feel it represents the
contents of the book as well as the title being difficult to read from any
reasonable distance. To me, this breaks the first rules of a good book cover
design. But regardless of my efforts to change it, I have a contract with the
publisher, and that is concrete. So even though it’s my book, I lose the power
and control I would have had I self-published the book. Because of these
things, I prefer to self-publish.
When you self-publish a book, and here I’m excluding print-on-demand
publishing, you maintain complete control, but, in turn all expenses and a lot
of work falls on your plate. Self-publishing requires an enormous commitment to
what can equal years of preparation. After spending what may seem like endless
hours writing your manuscript, there will be many more devoted to editing,
layout, cover design, finding a reliable printer, marketing, and promotion. But
of course, when you do-it-yourself, all profits are yours to keep.
Print-on-demand publishing is when you pay a publishing house to do a
considerable amount of the work for you and make your book available to most
buyers. But with POD publishing you still have to pay for copies of your own
book. Also, your book is rarely “returnable” by retailers such as Barnes &
Noble, so they are reluctant to order it, limiting your sales market.
Publishing options are something each individual author must choose according
to their personal needs and expectations. For me, yes, I prefer to go all the
way and self-publish on my own.
Bruce Cook: Is a marketing plan necessary?
Carol Denbow: If I said no, I’d be shot dead! Writing is a business and as with
any business, you need to have a plan. There is no point in writing and
publishing a book unless it will sell. Since more than seventy-five percent of
books are self-published, I would like to direct this answer to those. On
average, a self-published book sells only 120 copies. Are these statistics from
published authors who lacked a good marketing plan? Absolutely!
I’d like to point out as well that book marketing is an ongoing effort. A new
release can take up to three years to show signs of success. Some authors give
up long before their book has the opportunity to really “get out there.” My
first book, Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? was released back in September
of 2006, but didn’t evolve into what I would consider a “successful” book until
early this year. It takes a good and ongoing plan with aggressive and unique
ideas to properly market a book.
Bruce Cook: If a writer invests $100 in promotion, will it be possible to earn
that amount back in profit? (If not, is there a point where sales might equal
the investment?)
Carol Denbow: It’s pretty well known that paid advertizing doesn’t typically
sell books. Potential customers prefer to touch and feel, or at the very least,
get a good glimpse of what’s inside the book.
First let me say this; when you submit your manuscript to one of the bigger
name traditional publishing houses, they expect you to have a promotional
budget of at least $5,000. But when they accept your script, they also expect
to sell at least 5,000 copies of your book. If you self-publish, you can spend
the same $5,000 but not have the resources available to you that the
traditional publisher has.
Now after all that, $100 doesn’t seem like much to invest. But do the math. If
you write a book, publish it, and order or buy 200 copies, what do you have
invested in each copy? If each copy costs you $6.00, and your cover price is
$18, your distributor or retailer gives you 50 percent of that, you profit is
$3.00 before shipping costs. So you’ll need to sell at least 33 books to make
up that $100 investment.
The best ways to promote your book are free. As a self-promoter, a little time
spent can save your small profits for something better (maybe your next book).
There are thousands of ways to get your book noticed and sold without the
expenses on traditional paid advertizing. Be creative and try to think outside
the box.
Carol Denbow is the author of three books including A Book Inside, How to
Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story, (2008). Visit Carol’s Website at
http://www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com or http://www.freewebs.com/AuthorsBox.
==============
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Publishing Emerging Writers, August, 2008 (No. 908)
Publisher: Cook Comm - Bruce L. Cook, 6086 Dunes Drive,
Sanford, NC 27332 USA.
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