Which path should Caribbean writers take?

In his 2003 Anthology ‘Ariadne & Other Stories’, Guyanese writer Ruel Johnson said: “A real publishing industry in the Caribbean is non-existent. Our far-flung and fragmented geography, small population and an increasing apathy towards literature are just some of the factors that combine to make the production and sale of books ‘adventurous’ in economic terms.”

Unfortunately for Caribbean writers, 17 years have passed, and this is still the case. There are little to no options in this Region for native writers to get their work published traditionally. The only pathway left for us, therefore, is to either invest our own money into the project or to embark on the arduous process of seeking sponsorship- even with the existing apathy towards literature to which Johnson alluded.

For many reasons, the Caribbean literature canon consists of a proliferation of self-published or indie-published works. While this pathway has, itself, increasingly become the path of choice for writers internationally, the lack of an established industry in this region leads to the persistence of issues pertaining to copyright, mass production, marketing and funding for Caribbean writers.

The few options that are within our grasp
My knowledge of all the options that exist is, by no means, exclusive. In fact, I write simply as a fellow stakeholder in this arena, in search of said options of getting my work out there. Based on my experience, I am aware of the seemingly-defunct Guyana Prize for Literature, which was the most recent local option that allowed Guyanese writers to get their manuscripts published and access training via workshops. In the Caribbean, among the more well-known options for writers is the Bocas Lit Fest which, through its annual festival and other initiatives, fosters networking and creates links among writers, readers, publishers and others. I have otherwise stumbled across entities like CaribLit, which makes connections between Caribbean writers and the United Kingdom; and The Caribbean Writer, a regional publication- but neither seem to be very active recently- unless you count their interactions on Twitter. The Commonwealth Prize also recognises Caribbean writers, but none of these are concrete publishing options, and only a few cater for full-length manuscripts or the longevity of these writers’ careers. Further, the ability to get their attention seems to be shrouded in the perception that there are many gatekeepers that make it hard for a wide inclusion of writers to get published.

How to self-publish your book
So, as a result of what I highlighted above, self-publishing remains the easiest way we can get our work out there, if we ever are to stand a chance as writers. So, if you are considering this option, here is some information on how you can go about doing that.
Self-publishing or indie-publishing means that you can bypass all the red tape of sending a book proposal to an agent and trying to sell your manuscript to taking your content into your own hands and presenting it to the public on your own terms. When an author self-publishes, they manage and control the entire process and they own all their content. This means that the writer is responsible for writing as well as ensuring the editing, publishing, marketing and distribution of the finished product. Depending on where you choose to sell your published book, you can also earn between 40 to 100 percent of the profits earned on sales. For example, self-published authors could receive 70% of the royalties for an eBook priced between $2.99 and $9.99 when they sell on Amazon.

Drawbacks of being self-published
This seems like a great deal especially since you have total creative and marketing control and can also get your book on the market much faster than the traditional route. However, there are drawbacks to this independent process. First, it is a lot of work to do on your own, so you will still need to hire professionals (editors, marketers, printing presses etc) to get it right, and without sponsorship- which is hard to get- you have to invest 100% of the money. Additionally, in trying to cut costs, many self-published authors end up doing the entire thing on their own which brings out a low quality and standard of work and even results in poor marketing, sales and ultimately profits. This is the struggle of the self-published author.

The lack of quality has therefore created a stigma in the self-publishing world. Many traditionally published authors and those in that arena look down on self-published works as substandard or a shortcut of the “real” process. This has gradually begun to change, however, given that bestsellers such as ‘The Martian’, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, ‘Eragon’ and ‘Legally Blonde’ – all of which were also made into movies- were all initially self-published works and are proof that with the right bit of luck and marketing tactics, you can earn real money from self-published work.

Final bit of advice
As I have outlined before, Caribbean writers already don’t have the luxury of choosing between self-publishing and traditional publishing unless they have lots of luck and patience to pursue the traditional route. If you can find the money to invest in putting out your own project, then by all means, go ahead. However, I have noticed that many persons end up rushing this process just to make quick sales and/or call themselves “authors” overnight. That is, of course, not the way to go. Following up from my advice on how to write a novel, I would say to persons looking to get published: do your research, take your time and write a good finished product, invest your money in getting professionals to bring it up to standard and market it properly.

If you do not have the money, then take the time to learn the process well and execute the project on your own, but before you do so, ensure that at the very least, it can stand the test of time next to other bestsellers on the shelf.

Interested in contributing to this column on writing? Email me at thewritemind592@gmail.com