Compiled by: Gillian Fraser
Article source: JOY! Magazine
Each month, JOY! receives messages from readers asking if we can help them with information about publishing a book in South Africa. This January, as you start the new year inspired and potentially beaming with excitement to publish your own book, we congratulate you! Below you will find some tips and advice to help you on this publishing journey.
The unfortunate truth
Starting off with the hard truth, the reality of publishing and marketing your book must be carefully considered before you start. There is, unfortunately, a very limited market in South Africa for books. Very few bookshops (if any) will carry local authors. The biggest bookseller in South Africa works with around eight international wholesalers, and your chances of finding a retail outlet are almost zero. If you wish to publish a book with Christian content, you will face even more significant challenges and struggles. Unless you have a large following, you are unlikely to sell many books.
The most important steps
All things considered; we still recommend that you write your story! The first step is to make sure that your book is properly researched, well-written, and professionally edited. Don’t rush this process! You will also need a professional cover design with an eye-catching title. Covers DO sell books!
There are a few ways to get published
1. Find a publishing company and submit your manuscript. The average publishing company receives high volumes of manuscripts each day. If yours is successful, you will receive a small royalty of around 10%. The publisher will do the initial marketing. After around three months, if your book is not selling, it will be removed from bookstores. You can use a publishing agent to introduce you to a publisher and increase your chances of getting published, but this costs a fair amount of money.
2. Use a vanity publisher. These are companies that charge you to prepare and publish your book, but they retain the rights to your content. This route is expensive. Again, you end up doing the bulk of the marketing for little financial return.
3. Self-publish your book through a local printing company. Print on Demand (POD) is an excellent South African company that can either simply print your content for you, or they can assist you with your writing and publishing journey. We have worked with them for years and have helped many Christian authors self-publish their own books through their services. We highly recommend this option. They also assist with sales of your book through resellers like Takealot. JOY! readers qualify for a discount when using POD (see the page alongside for contact details).
4. Self-publish your book online (ebooks). For authors who don’t have much money to spend, consider producing an ebook. This costs nothing up front, and you retain control of your book, its cover, content, and price. Find an online bookstore, such Amazon, and upload your content. Again, you will do most of the marketing yourself.
How to self-publish ebooks
Amazon is the biggest seller of books in the world. They offer free publishing of Kindle and paperback books. Distribution is handled by them. Royalties range from 35% to 70%. The only drawback is that you must format the books yourself. Online digital publishers like Draft2Digital format your Word document without charge.
It’s time to publish your book! God bless you!
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Date published: 18/01/2024
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.rawpixel.com
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