Centre for the Book. Writing and Publishing for All. An Impact Study of the Centre for the Book's Community Publishing. Programme,

Transcription

1 Centre for the Book Writing and Publishing for All An Impact Study of the Centre for the Book's Community Publishing Programme, Anita Shaw Deputy Programme Manager, Centre for the Book December 2012

2 SUMMARY This report describes the findings of a study to assess the impact of the Centre for the Book's (CFB) Community Publishing Programme (CPP) from its inception in 2001 to The study sought to establish the extent to which the programme has been effective in meeting its mandate to provide advice, funding and technical support to emerging writers and publishers in South Africa to assist them in publishing their books. This is within the context of the Centre for the Book s mission to promote a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all South Africa's official languages. The study examines the impact of the programme by focusing on the books, the authors, and the publishers concerned, and, since the allocation of grants to authors to enable them to self-publish their books is a pivotal part of the programme, the focus is on the actual grants as well. The study is based on statistical analyses, documentary research, online questionnaires, postal questionnaires, and telephonic and interviews with relevant stakeholders. Recommendations are made regarding the way forward. It is anticipated that the findings of this research will inform the continuation of the programme and will contribute to its ongoing relevance and efficacy. 1

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 4 LIST OF GRAPHS 5 LIST OF TABLES 5 LIST OF APPENDIXES 5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 6 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 7 CHAPTER 3 BACKGROUND An international perspective The South African paradigm Grants in South Africa 11 CHAPTER 4. FROM MANUSCRIPTS TO BOOKS Manuscript submissions Reviewing the manuscripts Manuscript selection The allocation of grants Publishing the books Print runs Genres Languages and provinces of residence 19 CHAPTER 5 THE AUTHORS Rewards Support and training Challenges Suggestions for improving CPP Writers groups Other books Case study: Kyle Khan 29 CHAPTER 6 THE PUBLISHERS The emergence of small scale CPP publishers Suggestions for improving CPP Contribution to publishing in South Africa Case study: Aerial Publishing 33 2

4 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusion Recommendations The reviewers Selection panel Financial Expansion of CPP Training and support Marketing and publicity Record keeping 40 BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 3

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the executive head of Centre for the Book, Mr Mandlakayisa Matyumza, the Community Publishing Programme coordinator, Ms Nelisa Lunika, and the Centre for the Book s staff for their invaluable support and assistance. I also want to thank the previous CPP coordinator, Ms Colleen Higgs, and all the CPP recipients, selectors, reviewers and other stakeholders who took the time to answer my phone calls and s, and to complete the surveys and share their experiences. Their assistance is highly appreciated. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACT CFB CPG CPP DAC DoE Arts and Culture Trust Centre for the Book Community Publishing Grant Community Publishing Programme Department of Arts and Culture Department of Education MAPPP-SETA Media Advertising Publishing Printing Packaging Sector Education Training Authority NAC NHC NLSA PanSALB PASA SABDC National Arts Council of South Africa National Heritage Council of South Africa National Library of South Africa Pan South Africa Language Board Publishers Association of South Africa South African Book Development Council 4

6 LIST OF GRAPHS PAGE Graph 1. Number of Books Published by Grant Recipients 18 Graph 2. Genres of Books Published by CPP 19 Graph 3. Language Distribution of Books Published by CPP 20 Graph 4. Comparison of CPP Languages and Home Language Distribution of South Africa 21 Graph 5. Provinces of Residence of Grant Recipients 21 Graph 6. Financial Rewards for Books 23 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Grant Recipients who were Members of Writers Groups 28 Table 2. CPP Books Published by CPP Publishers 31 Table 3. Books Published by Aerial Publishing 34 LIST OF APPENDIXES Appendix A Guidelines for the Community Publishing Grant 42 Appendix B CPP Survey for Reviewers, Translators, Editors and Proofreaders 44 Appendix C CPP Selectors Survey 46 Appendix D CPP Grants issued Appendix E CPP Authors Survey, Part 1 and 2 52 Appendix F List of Centre for the Book's Pamphlet Series for Writers 55 Appendix G CPP Publishers Survey, Part 1 and

7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A fitting slogan for the Centre for the Book's (CFB) Community Publishing Programme (CPP) would be 'Writing and Publishing for All'. CPP is based on the vision that anyone in South Africa, irrespective of their personal circumstances, can write a story and publish it, irrespective of its genre, language, or commercial viability. This report describes the findings of a study to assess the impact of the CPP from the programme s inception in 2001 to The programme s mandate is to provide advice, funding and technical support to emerging writers and publishers in South Africa, to assist them in publishing their books. This is within the context of the CFB s mission to promote a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all South Africa's languages and to promote easy access to books. 1 This mandate is informed by the reality that it is extremely difficult for new authors to have their books published, especially if the books are written in indigenous languages, since such books are often considered commercially unviable. This is the first study to be conducted of this programme. The time-frame of the research 2001 to 2010 was selected as the programme was initiated in 2001 and is still in existence. In this time-frame a substantial number of books were published as part of the CPP. This time-frame was considered sufficient to assess the successes and challenges of the programme, and its impact. The purpose of the study is to establish the extent to which the programme has been effective in meeting its mandate. The research will focus primarily on the books, the authors and the publishers that emerged as a result of this programme. Since the allocation of grants to authors to enable them to self-publish their books forms a pivotal part of CPP, these grants will form part of the focus of this research. Recommendations will be made regarding the way forward. It is anticipated that the findings of this research will inform the continuation of the CPP and will contribute to its ongoing relevance and efficacy. This report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 describes the research methodology. Chapter 3 places the research within its contextual background, and provides a brief overview of international trends and the South African paradigm. In chapters 4 to 6, the metaphor of a journey is used to examine the processes involved in CPP. Chapter 4 considers the journey from CPP s perspective, and describes the processes from the call for manuscripts to the publication of the books, as well as the attributes of the books. In Chapter 5, the journey is examined from the authors perspective, while the publishers perspective is examined in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 is devoted to a discussion of the conclusions drawn from the research, and contains recommendations pertaining to the future implementation of the CPP

8 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY In order to achieve the objectives of this research (which is to assess the impact of the CPP from its inception in 2001 to 2010), a combination of methodologies was used. Both empirical and nonempirical data were collected and analysed. Statistical analyses, documentary research, online questionnaires, postal questionnaires, telephonic and interviews were conducted. For the purpose of this study, statistics were collected for grants issued for the period 2001 to 2010 only. Due to the time-lapse between when a grant is issued and the book is published, the books relating to grants issued in a specific year were usually published the following year. A total of 22 books were not yet published for grants issued from 2001 to 2010 at the time when this research was conducted (September-December 2011). The statistical data were drawn from the previous and current CPP coordinators' records, physical examination of the books where possible, as well as survey responses. Great care was taken to ensure accuracy; however, there were several gaps in information due to inconsistent records and missing information. The documentary research covered the records of the previous and current CPP coordinators, CFB publications, as well as books and electronic sources. Shapcott (2007) and McLean and Poland (2010) were consulted for information on grants issued in Canada and Australia. Internet searches were conducted for information relating to grants in the United Kingdom (UK) and Africa. Edwards and Mgwaru (2010) and Galloway and Struik (2009) were consulted for information about the state of publishing in South Africa. CFB resources, Higgs (2003) and the National Arts Council (NAC) and National Heritage Council (NHC) websites were consulted for information about literary grants in South Africa. Different online surveys were sent to 68 authors, 14 publishers, 3 selectors and 24 reviewers, editors, translators and proofreaders whose addresses were on record. The reviewers, editors, translators and proofreaders were grouped together as their functions sometimes overlapped. Postal surveys were sent to eight authors and four publishers. Some of their contact details were no longer valid, so the surveys did not reach all the intended persons. Twenty-six authors, six publishers, two selectors and eleven reviewers, editors, translators and proofreaders responded to the online surveys. Thus the response rates were 38.24% for the authors, 42.86% for the publishers, 66.67% for the selectors and 45.83% for the reviewers, editors, translators and proofreaders. There were no responses to the postal surveys. Telephonic interviews were conducted with Ria Mills (mother of author Cival Mills), Doreen Kahn 7

9 (mother of author Kyle Kahn) and Colleen Higgs (previous CPP coordinator). interviews were conducted with Mariss Everitt of Arial Publishers and Christina Watson of Via Afrika. Kyle Kahn and Arial Publishers were selected as case studies to illustrate the impact of CPP on an individual writer and publisher respectively. Interviews were also conducted with Mandla Matyumza (executive head, CFB) and Nelisa Lunika (current CPP coordinator). 8

10 CHAPTER 3 BACKGROUND The vision of 'Writing and Publishing for All' is not unique to South Africa. The use of public funding or grants to promote writing and publishing has played an important role in the growth of the quantity and quality of several countries' literary outputs. This has contributed significantly to the development of literary cultures and a sense of national identity in these countries. However, literary grants have traditionally been the preserve of developed countries. 3.1 An international perspective Examples of grants issued by English-speaking developed countries are those offered by the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Canada Council and the Australia Council (Shapcott, 2007:442). Since the 1960s, the Canada Council has instituted a wide-ranging series of grants and subsidies for writers and publishers for the promotion of Canadian literature both at home and abroad (Shapcott, 2007:443). Currently, Canada has more than twenty funding programs available for writers and publishers. Two such programs, introduced in 1972, are the Emerging Publisher Grants and Block Grants. Both are intended to provide financial assistance to Canadian publishers to offset the costs of publishing Canadian trade books that make a significant contribution to the development of Canadian literature (Canada Council for the Arts, 2004, quoted in Sheffield, 2009:7). These funding programmes have contributed to the development of literature as one of Canada s most mature and respected cultural industries. The value of literature was well understood: Writing and publishing translated into profits and employment for many Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, written media contributes nearly half of the percentage share of the nation s GDP generated from the cultural sector. As a result, the federal government has a vested interest in supporting the writing and publishing industry; the business of books not only generates wealth, but also contributes to the construction of a strong sense of national identity. (Sheffield, 2009:1-2) In Australia, the Australia Council expanded its patronage of Australian writers and literature in 1973 through its newly formed Literature Board. The Board began a hugely influential series of grants for writers which led to the acclaimed new Renaissance in Australian fiction from the 1980s (Shapcott, 2007:443). These grants were provided to assist the publication of books of literary merit by living Australian writers, which may not otherwise be published (Australia Council, 1995, quoted in McLean and Poland, 2010:7). For the period 1995 to 2005, the Literature Board subsidised the publication of 884 books. Almost a quarter of these books either won or were shortlisted for major literary awards, significant recognition in terms of critical esteem and reputation for the authors and publishers. These subsidies were also essential to the continued existence of many small publishers 9

11 (McLean and Poland, 2010:3). Any Internet search will reveal that there is a myriad of publicly funded grants available for writers and publishers in the United Kingdom. For example, the poetry kit website 2 lists several grants available to writers and publishers. The Arts Council England, for example, distributes public money from the government and the National Lottery to artists and arts organizations. Fifteen awards of each are given to writers engaged on works-in-progress. Another institution, London Arts, operates 30 funding programmes aimed at poets and fiction writers. These grants enabled UK writers to sustain themselves while writing and to contribute to the significant British literary heritage. In contrast, an Internet search for publicly funded literary grants in African countries, other than South Africa, will generally fail to deliver any positive results. Unless African writers are amongst the most successful, award winning writers, they have to depend entirely on their own resources to sustain themselves while writing or to pay for the costs of self-publishing. This situation is detrimental to the literary output of many African countries. There is, however, a small number of non-govermental organisations that promote African literature and make funding available to African writers. One such organisation is African Writers Trust, a non-profit entity which seeks to bring together African writers in the Diaspora and on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups ( In general, there were increases in literary activity, both in quantity and quality, in countries where governments were supportive of literature, and grants were issued to writers and publishers. Such grants benefited both authors and publishers and contributed to the cultural heritages and economies of the countries concerned. 3.2 The South African paradigm In contrast to the situation in developed countries, writers and publishers in developing countries such as South Africa face a different reality. Many developmental needs compete for scarce public funding. In addition, the vast majority of the population's priorities are directed towards meeting basic needs; book buying is often very low on the scale of priorities. As a result, the book buying market is very small. It is estimated that the current book buying public of South Africa is only out of a population of 48 million people (Edwards and Mgwaru, 2010:iv). Books are often viewed as necessary for education rather than leisure. Hence, the education departments and general public tend to focus primarily on textbooks and academic books. Almost all commercial publishers in South Africa focus on one of the three sub-sectors, viz. trade, education, or

12 academic to the extent that their chosen field of publishing generates more than 80% of their total income (Galloway and Struik, 2009:2). This situation is especially detrimental to literature written in indigenous languages. In its 2008 report, the Publishers Assocoation of South Africa (PASA) revealed that only 27.74% of the sales of all locally produced books were in African languages, compared to 48.33% in English and 23.93% in Afrikaans (Galloway & Struik, 2009). However, this does not mean that South Africans do not read indigenous languages. Edwards and Ngwaru (2010:v) argue that South Africans do indeed read indigenous languages when the content is affordable, accessible and of interest. They cite the example of the Durban-based Zulu daily newspaper, Isolezwe, which, with a circulation of more than , outperformed the English dailies from the same publisher. 3.3 Grants in South Africa In South Africa, it is impossible for the government to match the huge sums of money that countries such as England, Canada and Australia allocate to literature. However, the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) through the Centre for the Book (CFB), the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), and the National Heritage Council (NHC) make public-funded grants available to promote writing and publishing. NAC, formed in 1997, is a statutory public entity with the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) as its executive authority. NAC provides funding to individuals, institutions, community groups and organizations in various arts disciplines, including literature. Their grants for creative writing include autobiographies, novels, short stories, and children s literature. In addition, they offer publishing subsidies for publishers. They also fund courses for writers and publishers. 3 The NHC too allocates funds to writers. Organisations (and in rare instances, individuals) engaged in heritage projects can apply for NHC funding to publish their works. 4 Writers can approach CFB for assistance. The mission of the CFB, an outreach unit of the NLSA, is to promote a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all South Africa's languages and to promote easy access to books. The CPP was started in 2001 in support of this mission. The project was provided with seed funding by a commercial publisher, Nasboek, which has since become Via Afrika. Nasboek donated R over three years to pilot the project. Since then funding has been received from Via Afrika (R in 2008 and R in 2010/11), the MAPPP-SETA and the Mpumalanga Provincial Library Services Department. Currently, the programme is a public/private partnership with both Via Afrika and government funding

13 Via Afrika s CEO, Christina Watson, claims that Via Afrika supports CPP because the programme allows for books to be published that have merit but which would not have been included in a formal publishing list. The programme builds capacity and develops authoring skills, as well as business skills which are huge needs in our country. It supports the notion of growing a culture of reading (Watson, personal correspondence 2012, June 21). The programme empowers new writers to self-publish. Self-publishing is a big industry everywhere in the world, including South Africa. Self-publishing enables authors to publish their books or other media without the involvement of established publishers. The authors are responsible for and in control of the entire book production process including design, printing, pricing, distribution, marketing and sales. Authors can do it all themselves or outsource all or part of the process to companies that offer these services. With modern technology self-publishing is within many people s reach. In 2008, for the first time in history, more books were self-published than published traditionally ( Through CPP, the CFB provides advice, financial and technical support to writers and writers' groups in South Africa to assist them in self-publishing their books. The programme was also intended to contribute to the growth in the number of small publishers in South Africa (Higgs, 2003:53). Works which might appeal to very small segments of the market and would not be considered commercially viable by commercial publishers are funded. The grants thus make publishing of marginal works possible. In recognition of its contribution to cultural development in South Africa, the CPP was awarded the ACT Cultural Development Award in 2007 by the Arts and Culture Trust. 5 The project was also nominated and shortlisted for the 2010 PanSALB Multilingualism Awards (Matyumza, personal interview 2012). 6 From the above, it is evident that funding for authors and publishers contributes to a country's literary heritage, as well as its economy. This is the case in South Africa too, albeit on a much smaller scale than in the developed countries examined. But the CPP s raison d'etre is more than just to provide funding; it is also to assist authors and writers to produce good books All personal interviews were conducted during January

14 CHAPTER 4 FROM MANUSCRIPT TO BOOK 'Writing and Publishing for All' is not an easy journey for new writers in South Africa, especially if they engage in creative writing and especially if they do so in indigenous languages. The CPP mandate is to provide advice, funding, technical support and capacity building to emerging writers and publishers in South Africa, to assist them in publishing their books. The aim is thus to accompany new authors on the journey from manuscript to publishing, and to make the journey easier for them. There are three aspects to this journey that will be examined in this study: the authors, the publishers and the books. This chapter focuses on the books. 4.1 Manuscript submissions The process starts when the Centre for the Book issues a call for manuscripts on the NLSA website. Authors are invited to submit their manuscripts for possible publication. Initially, manuscripts were called for twice a year, in April and September. According to the coordinator, this proved to be problematic, as she would still be working on the April intake when the September intake took place. This caused a huge delay in terms of the all the processes that have to be followed. To counter this problem, the CFB executive head decided in 2010 to limit the call of manuscripts to once a year, in April. Between 30 and 60 manuscripts in different languages were submitted to CPP for consideration each year. In order to be eligible for CPP assistance, applicants had to be South Africans or permanent residents. The manuscript had to be an original work written in any of the official South African languages; however, writers were encouraged to write in indigenous languages. The CPP focused on books for reading pleasure and not books that could be construed as textbooks. Works had to be recognisably South African in character. Reissues or reworks of previously published books were not permissible. 7 Initially, novels, non-fiction, short stories, dramas, poetry and collections of works by groups of writers, essays, memoirs and biographies were all accepted. However, the guidelines were amended in 2011 so that non-fiction works were no longer considered; the focus was to be on creative writing (Matyumza, personal interview 2012, January). 4.2 Reviewing the manuscripts After the closing date for submissions, the manuscripts were processed by the CPP coordinator and sent to reviewers who were proficient in the languages of the different manuscripts. The reviewers 7 See Appendix A for Guidelines for the Community Publishing Grant. 13

15 provided feedback on the manuscripts, including potential suitability for publication. The reviewers surveyed for this research were drawn from a list of 24 names comprising reviewers, editors, proofreaders and translators provided by the CPP coordinator. 8 Of the 11 respondents to this survey, seven were language practitioners who worked in parliament, two were editors and two were lecturers. Seven (63.6%) of the respondents indicated that they were reviewers. All the reviewers lived in the Western Cape, with the exception of one who lived in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. The CCP coordinator said that the reason for the predominance of language practitioners who worked in parliament and lived in Cape Town was that she initially had no contacts in other languages and was referred to parliament's language practitioners as they represented a wide range of official languages. She has since been able to establish contacts in other provinces (Lunika, personal interview 2012). The respondents were on average well qualified in their respective languages and also worked in that field. Seven of the respondents reviewed, translated, edited or proofread for other organisations or businesses, of which five were publishers. They had been involved with CPP for between one and five years. Eight of the eleven official languages of South Africa were represented by the respondents; Xitsonga, Sepedi and Sesotho were not. The five respondents who stated their academic qualifications were mainly postgraduates, with a PhD in isixhosa being the highest qualification. The majority of the respondents were happy with the number and quality of the manuscripts that they received in their respective languages. Despite the fact that the CPP coordinator said that she had designed a reviewer form to be used as a guide and explained guidelines to reviewers when they collected the manuscripts, or called those who lived far away, some of the reviewers indicated that they did not have specific criteria on which to judge the suitability of manuscripts for CPP. One said she used other companies instruments while others said they used their own criteria. One respondent aligned her criteria with the aims of CPP: Quality of writing and an indication on the part of the author/s that they are committed to working on the manuscript. I match this with the aims of the CPP to promote a publishing culture in South Africa. I also look at the potential for publishing the work through commercial publishers when this is high, it is preferable that these manuscripts are passed on to publishers. When the commercial viability of a manuscript is low, the work is more suited to the CPP's aim of supporting those manuscripts that enhance the variety of local published voices. The survey respondents said reviewing could take anything from ten minutes for a children's book to more than one month for a full-length novel. The respondents indicated that different volumes required different lengths of time to review and they were guided by deadlines posed by CFB. One respondent said the following: This would depend on the subject matter and the length of the book. A novel/manuscript of 200 pages could take three or four hours to read and review, and a further two to 8 See Appendix B for CCP Reviewers, Translators, Editors and Proofreaders Survey. 14

16 three hours for the comments to CFB and the author. Some comments to authors are really difficult to compose, as the reviewer tries to offer positive comment wherever possible, and this can sometimes be very difficult! After completion of their reviews, the reviewers return the manuscripts with their feedback to the CPP coordinator. These are then discussed by the selection panel at the manuscript selection meeting. 4.3 Manuscript selection The next step in the process is the manuscript selection meeting. The selection panel is very small; it consists of the CPP coordinator and four publishing representatives, two from Kwela Books and two from Via Afrika. In 2011 a Via Afrika representative left and an independent literary expert was included in the panel. The panel selects the manuscripts that they deem most suitable for publication, guided by the feedback provided by the reviewers. After the selection meeting, the panel's selections are forwarded to the CFB executive head who has the final say on selection. One of the selectors, in her response to the selectors survey, 9 identified the small size of the panel as a weakness and recommended that it should be enlarged. The CPP coordinator agreed that the panel should be enlarged as it would expedite the selection process. She argued that selection meetings were sometimes delayed due to the unavailability of members; with a larger panel the selection meetings could still continue. However, the coordinator said a lack of funds to pay additional panel members hindered this possibility; the current selectors were paid by their employers. Funds allocated to additional selectors would mean that there would be fewer funds available for grants (Lunika, personal interview 2012). To the question posed to the selectors on how to improve the grant process, one of the survey respondents pointed out that their lack of involvement in the CPP process was a challenge: I sometimes feel slightly uncomfortable about not knowing how much money gets awarded to which author, and what those authors do with the money. I think it should be up to the panel to decide how much money an author is awarded as we can comfortably judge how much an author should be paying freelancers for their services. I also think we should be receiving updates about how far authors are progressing with their projects and how they are using the money. This was also highlighted by a second selector: As a selector, I would like to be informed of what happens after a writer has been given a grant are all grant holders books published in the end? It would be good to know whether the writers have approached reputable editors, proofreaders, etc., to help in getting their books published, and whether the end product is a quality product that we all at 9 See Appendix C for CCP Selectors Survey. 15

17 the CPP can be proud of. The lack of involvement also included the reviewing of the manuscripts prior to the selection meetings. A selector said: I think it would be good to know who our external readers (reviewers) are. Over the past few years of being at the CPP, we have not been happy with our readers' reports. Most of the time they are not helpful, and we end up having to read the manuscripts ourselves. I think that in order to make the selection process easier, we (the selectors) should receive the manuscripts before the meeting, write reports, and bring it to the meeting. By reading the manuscripts ourselves, we will know what to discuss in the meetings. The CPP coordinator agreed that some of the reviewers reports were not very helpful, hence in 2011 she organised a workshop for editors, reviewers and proofreaders in order to develop their skills (Lunika, personal interview 2012). In their criteria for selecting manuscripts, one the selectors' response encapsulated the spirit of CPP: I look for strong manuscripts that I know other publishing companies might not publish stories that I feel need to be told. Publishing houses are very strict with the types of manuscripts that they choose to publish. And sometimes a good story is rejected because it doesn't fit the companies publication list. This happens with poetry collections and African language manuscripts, and I feel that these are the manuscripts that specifically need the grant... I think the biggest strength of this grant system is that it gives struggling writers an opportunity to be published. And it, more importantly, encourages people to read and write. 4.4 The allocation of grants A total of 88 grants were allocated between 2001 and The amounts allocated were available for 72 of the 88; a total of R ,38 was allocated to these books. The amounts for some of the books in process were not yet available. Grants ranged from a minimum of R2 300 to a maximum of R The average amount allocated was R7 419,12. Initially, successful writers could apply for grants for subsequent books. Kholeka Sigenu and Tina Piek received grants twice before the discontinuation of this practice. Kholeka was funded R to publish Ezakowethu, an isixhosa book of folktales, in The success of her book prompted her to translate the book into English. She was funded an additional R6 000 to publish the English translation in In 2007 Tina Piek received a grant of R8 700 to publish her anthology of Afrikaans short stories, Kom ons dans. In 2009, together with Gail Matthew, she received R7 000 for their short story anthology Fourteen word stories from the centre of the universe. This practice was discontinued in 2011 to allow more newcomers access to the grants. 10 See Appendix D for CPP grants issued between 2001 and

18 4.5 Publishing the books The grants provided the funding for authors to self-publish their books, which meant that they, with the assistance and advice of the CPP coordinator, were responsible for the full book development process from manuscript to publication to sales. Before 2010, the grants were paid directly to the recipients, who were then solely responsible for ensuring that their books were published. They were responsible for finding service providers for every step of the book development process, e.g., editors, designers, proofreaders, and printers and to pay them from the grant money. However, in one case in 2008 and six cases in 2009 the books were not published by December 2011, in some cases because recipients struggled to find service providers, especially in the rural areas, or the money was not enough to cover the full publishing cost, or the recipient used the money for other purposes. As a result, in 2010 a decision was taken by the CFB executive head that CFB would pay the service providers concerned instead of giving the money to the grantees (Matyumza, personal interview 2012). The decision to pay the service providers produced mixed results. On the one hand, the recipients did not have to worry about not having enough money to pay the service providers, but on the other hand, additional red tape and delays were introduced. The grant recipients were expected to work with the coordinator, instead of going through the whole process on their own. The coordinator's workload increased significantly as she became directly involved in all the stages of the development process of each book. One of the respondents in the authors survey commented that he experienced a challenge in securing quotes from service providers as he had no idea how much money was available to him. However, the coordinator emphasised that the new system benefitted the authors as the CFB covered all the costs in the book development process which might come to more than what the authors initially budgeted for. In addition, the new system enhanced quality control, e.g., the CFB made sure that proper editing and proofreading were done (Lunika, personal interview 2012). Of the 88 grants allocated between 2001 and 2010, 66 books were published and 22 were not yet published by December In most cases, for grants allocated in a specific year, the books were published either the same year or the following year. The impact of the delays caused by the new system can be seen in Graph 1. Of the 23 grants allocated in 2010, only eight books were published by December The ninth book published was for a grant issued in See Appendix D for dates of grants issued and publication dates of books. 17

19 14 12 Graph 1. Number of Books Published by Grant Recipients Number of Books Date of Publication Graph 1 illustrates the number of books published in each year of the programme. Starting from one book published in 2002, there was a steady increase in the number of books published each year, with a peak of 12 in The average number of books published per year was Print runs The grants were intended to cover printing, binding, editing, proofreading, illustrations, layout, design, marketing and distribution. The available money covered the costs of small print runs. The figures for print runs done were available for 47 of the 88 grant recipients. Print runs ranged from a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 1000 copies. The average number was copies per title. The authors were also responsible for marketing and selling their books. Most of the authors have sold out all their copies by the time the research was conducted, except for those who have only recently published their books. Authors who were particularly successful reprinted their books, using funds from their sales to finance reprints. An example of a very successful book was This too shall pass by Dr Cival Mills. Mills was left completely paralysed and a victim of 'locked-in' syndrome after a horrific car crash. His book was initially published in 2007 with a print run of 500 copies. As a motivational speaker, he sold his book wherever he appeared. It sold out very quickly and subsequently between and copies were reprinted in several print runs. At the time of the interview, the book was still selling well (telephonic interview with Ria Mills, Cival Mills mother, 2012). 18

20 4.7 Genres One of the objectives of CPP was to publish marginal works which would not be considered commercially viable by commercial publishers. Grants were allocated for a range of genres as illustrated by Graph 2. CPP proved particularly beneficial to the publication of poetry, a genre of cultural and literary significance, but which traditionally appealed only to a small segment of the market. Poetry had 32 titles (36.4%), followed by novels with 15 titles (17%) and short stories with 13 titles (14.8%.). 12 According to the CPP coordinator, this was not due to a bias towards poetry, but because most of the submissions were poetry (Lunika, personal interview 2012). Graph 2. Genres of Books Published by CPP Number Biographical Children's Books Children's Poetry Drama Folktales Motivational Articles Non-fiction Novels Poetry Reference Review s & Articles Short Stories Short Stories & Poetry Traditional Literature Genre 4.8. Languages and provinces of residence Through the CPP, the CFB promotes writing and publishing in all local languages. However, grants were allocated for books in nine of the eleven official languages of South Africa, as illustrated by Graph 3. Except for English with 34 titles (38.6%) and isixhosa with 29 titles (33%), all the other languages were poorly represented, with less than seven titles per language. No grants were allocated for siswati and Xitsonga. There were two bilingual titles (English and isixhosa) and one multilingual title See Appendix D for details See Appendix D for details 19

21 40 Graph 3. Language Distribution of Books Published by CPP Number of books Afrikaans English isindebele isixhosa isizulu Sepedi Sesotho Setsw ana sisw ati Tshivenda Xitsonga Bilingual Mutilingual Language These figures correlated poorly with the home language composition of South Africa, as illustrated by Graph 4 (home language figures from Linguistic atlas of South Africa, 2006:15; 2001 statistics). English-speakers (8.2% of the population) and isixhosa-speakers (17.6% of the population) were overrepresented with 38.64% and 32.95% of the grants respectively. All the other official languages were underrepresented. IsiZulu, Sesotho, Xitsonga and siswati were the most underrepresented languages. The gap between the percentage of speakers and the percentage of grants allocated was greatest for isizulu, which is the home language of the largest percentage of South Africans (23.8%). Only two grants (2.27%) were allocated to isizulu titles. Tshivenda had the best match between percentage of home language speakers (2.3%) and percentage of grants allocated (2.27%). 20

22 Graph 4. Comparison of CPP Languages and Home Language Distribution of South Africa Afrikaans English isindebele isixhosa isizulu Sepedi Sesotho Setsw ana sisw ati Tshivenda Xitsonga Languages There was a strong correlation between languages represented and the provinces where the authors reside. English and isixhosa are predominantly spoken in the Western and Eastern Cape. On the other hand, the provinces where the four most unrepresented languages, isizulu, Sesotho, Xitsonga and siswati are spoken, were poorly represented in grant allocations. According to the language distribution patterns of South Africa, most isizulu speakers live in KwaZulu Natal, Xitsonga speakers in Limpopo, siswati speakers in Mpumalanga and Sesotho speakers in Free State (Linguistic Atlas of South Africa, 2006). These were four of the provinces that were poorly represented among grant recipients. Graph 5. Provinces of Residence of Grant Recipients Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng Kw azulu-natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Province Western Cape Percentage Speakers Books Number Province 21

23 The province of residence of 82 of the authors was available. This is illustrated by Graph 5. All nine of the provinces in South Africa were represented to various degrees. The majority of authors were from the Western Cape (32) and Eastern Cape (25). The Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West Province each had one author. According to the CPP coordinator, these imbalances were due to submissions received, rather than biases towards English and isixhosa and the Western and Eastern Cape. Authors who spoke the indigenous languages often wrote in English, not considering that there might be a need for books in their own languages. Many thought that their books would be exposed to wider audiences if written in English. A further factor was that CFB was based in Cape Town, and many of its activities occurred in and around Cape Town and at literary events such as the Wordfest in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, where many isixhosa speakers reside. This meant that authors from the Western and Eastern Cape were more likely to be exposed to the CFB and therefore more likely to know about CPP and to submit their manuscripts (Lunika, personal interview 2012). The journey of CPP books from manuscript to publication thus produced mixed results in all aspects investigated. The reviewing panel lacked diversity as its members were mainly language practitioners who worked for parliament and resided in the Western Cape. The selection panel was small in size, but committed to the CPP vision; however, there were some challenges with the selection process. The total number of books published in the ten years since the start of the project in 2001 was fairly low at 66, but the programme developed along a positive trajectory with a steady increase in the number of books published each year. Although print runs were fairly small, the authors were able to increase their print runs in response to demand. Although poetry as genre was well represented, other genres were not. Although English and isixhosa were well represented, other official languages were not, resulting in a poor correlation between languages funded and the home language distribution of South Africa. The imbalance in language distribution was also reflected in the provincial distribution, with the Western Cape and Eastern Cape well represented, while other provinces were not. However, the books cannot be examined in isolation. The authors, the creators of the books, will be discussed in the next chapter. 22

24 CHAPTER 5 THE AUTHORS In pursuing the vision of 'Writing and Publishing for All', the authors played the most important role in the journey from manuscript to publication, because without them there would be no books. This chapter focuses on the impact that the CPP journey had on the authors, investigating aspects such as rewards, support and training received, challenges faced and suggestions proposed to improve CPP. This chapter is based on the feedback received from the 26 respondents to the Authors Survey. It concludes with a case study of one of the CPP authors. 5.1 Rewards Rewards, both tangible and intangible, are often the means by which authors and society at large measure success. Rewards provide authors with recognition for their work and a sense of achievement. Regarding financial rewards, respondents were not asked to provide specific amounts; instead they were asked about the performance of their books. They were given choices that ranged from extremely good to extremely poor. The survey results indicate that none of the books fared extremely poorly. Most books performed either good (40.9%) or extremely good (36.4%). Thus, for most respondents, publishing their books has been financially rewarding. This is illustrated by Graph 6. Graph 6. Financial Rewards for Books 9.10% 36.40% 13.60% Extremely good Good Average Poor 40.90% In terms of awards, Elizabeth Magakoa received an award from the mayor of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and Nonkqubela Evelyn Rasmeni was nominated for the PanSALB Multilingual Awards in Most respondents said their books achieved acclaim in ways other than awards. Mary Magdalene Tal 23

25 (author of Living on the fence, an anthology of poetry by refugee women) said the following: Our book did not win awards, but is widely used in schools around South Africa and in the USA as a teaching tool for learners, to raise awareness of refugees, wars, conflicts and human rights. Other authors received recognition in the form of newspaper reviews and interviews on radio and television. One of Edwina Fransman's short stories was selected by NB Publishers for an anthology of short stories for grade 9s. Wonga Welile Bottoman's book about his life as an MK cadre received recognition from other cadres and their families. Tina Piek's book was selected as one of the top five creative books of 2008 by Sarie magazine. Many of the grant recipients who responded to the survey said that they experienced a sense of achievement by virtue of receiving the grant and having their books published, but for some there were additional accolades. Kholeka Sigenu said: I have become a publisher and in 2004 I won Woman writer of the year from Woman in Writing. Recently in July 2011, I won Business Woman of the year (Start up category) because I have a B&B as well as the publishing House, Khol Publishers (granted by Business Women Association SA). Comments from some of the other respondents illustrated their appreciation for learning many invaluable lessons in the production phases of their books and achieving recognition from their peers. Edmond Gezi Simon commented that his profile as an author improved drastically after he received the grant and he became well known in South Africa, in neighbouring countries, and overseas. Other respondents' comments also illustrated the positive impact of being grant recipients. These ranged from getting requests for more books or for translations of their books; requests to make speeches or present writing workshops; obtaining the respect from their communities; getting reviews in newspapers, and more and better job opportunities. However, a very small number of respondents thought that their profiles had not improved. 5.2 Support and training The grant recipients had to ensure that their books went from manuscript to publication. For most of them, this was their first experience along this journey. In line with its mandate to provide advice and technical support to writers to assist them in publishing their books, CPP provided support and training for recipients to make the process less arduous. Grant recipients were encouraged to attend training workshops organised by CFB. Workshops for authors, illustrators, reviewers, proofreaders and editors were held at the CFB in Cape Town and at various venues throughout South Africa. Only four of the survey respondents indicated that they attended CFB workshops or training programmes. Of the four, one attended the Wednesday Out to Lunch sessions, one attended a four-day 24

26 training session on children's writing and one attended a workshop on short story writing. Edwina Fransman attended a writers' workshop at the Cape Town Book Festival. CPP also provided the authors with marketing support by announcing the publication of their books using the CFB channels, book launches, exhibitions and displays at literary events, displays on CFB walls and showcase shelves. These efforts led to radio interviews, newspaper and magazine articles and requests to buy the book from a public that otherwise would not have known about the book (Higgs, 2003:54). To further assist writers and publishers, CFB produced a number of self-help publications. These include the booklet A rough guide to small-scale and self-publishing by Colleen Higgs (2005) and a pamphlet series for writers, 14 edited by Karen Press and Colleen Higgs (2006), revised by Nelisa Lunika (2008). Many respondents indicated that they got no support from CFB, while others praised the support, encouragement, advice and guidance they received. Deon-Simphiwe Skade said, Sis' Nelisa Lunika, the coordinator for the Community Publishing Grant has been extremely helpful. Her support is invaluable. I bought myself a self-publishing book jointly published by The Centre for the Book and Colleen Higgs, which was also extremely helpful. On the other hand, others lamented the lack of support. Comments included that they were still waiting for support, they wish there had been some support, and that they received no training. The question regarding whether the training and/or support that they received had been useful to them elicited positive responses. Tina Piek said, For sure. I have been able to pass on my knowledge and experience of self publishing to my community and also while giving writing workshops for the department of literature Afrikaans in the Eastern Cape. People loved the much needed guidance and information. Kholeka Sigenu said, If they had not guided me throughout I would not have done it. Now I have also published someone else's book Challenges Many of the respondents said that they experienced no challenges, while others recounted some of the challenges that they experienced. The two main challenges were that the grants were too small and that there were delays. Some of the respondents said that the grants were insufficient and they experienced challenges in finding additional funds to cover all their expenses. Also, the procedure of getting quotations and waiting for approvals delayed the process of getting the book printed and published. Setumo Mokoatsi commented that the present method of controlling the grant delays the process of having the book published. I think the previous method of depositing the money into the grantee's account and having him to account for the expenditure incurred was excellent. 14 See Appendix F for list of pamphlets. 25

27 Deon-Simphiwe Skade said, The challenges I experience relate to not knowing beforehand how much money one may use for the whole process. I think it would help a great deal if the Centre were to disclose this grant upon awarding it. It will help when one is trying to secure quotes and such matters. Domina Munzhelele commented that the grant was too little for marketing the book as radio, newspaper and magazine advertisements were very expensive. The CPP coordinator agreed that delays and the size of the grants were major challenges, but argued that the new system of paying service providers directly solved the challenge posed by the size of the grants. Delays were mainly due to the processes involved in registering service providers on the NLSA database, a process that was very time-consuming and challenging, especially for service providers from areas other than Cape Town and Pretoria where the NLSA was based. A further delay was caused by waiting for approvals throughout the various book development stages. The coordinator observed that sometimes writers expected publishing to take place quickly, whereas various processes have to be followed to produce books of high quality (Lunika, personal interview 2012). 5.4 Suggestions for improving CPP The survey respondents offered many suggestions to improve CPP. Support, marketing and distribution were the main areas that respondents thought should be improved. Deon-Simphiwe Skade commented that a lot more could be done to support grant recipients: As a first time publisher/writer, I feel there ought to be a data list of contacts or key people in the publishing industry based on the geographical areas of authors. This list, which should include printers, editors and so on, would go a long way in ensuring that the process of creating the author's book is easier. In my experience with the Centre for the Book, I'm grateful to Sis' Nelisa Lunika for recommending people I should contact for some aspects of my book. Fortunately, I'm based in Cape Town, which is where these key people reside too. It would be difficult for someone living outside Cape Town. I also think creating bigger media awareness for the recipients of the awards would go a long way in breaking the notion that mainstream publishing is the only way to go. The media campaign I'm referring to above, should be done in such a way that would encourage people to write more and get involved in the project. This would also encourage the general South African community to celebrate this important intervention brought by Centre for the Book. I was very fortunate to have done a lot of research before embarking on the publication of my book. However, some people (preferably the recipients) may need some sort of a workshop that will equip them with the necessary knowledge to make their journey easier. 26

28 Suggestions to improve CPP included the following: Workshops to assist people with the process of self publishing and marketing in the different provinces. A web-page with a list of all the books per small publisher that CFB supports, with the publishers' contact details. Regular book launches to give young writers more exposure. Follow-up with CPP writers, especially workshops. Develop a network/support group of writers who are recipients of the grant to share ideas and experiences. More engagement from somebody at the Centre for the Book once the book was published. More books printed. No delays. More assistance with marketing and distribution of books especially for new writers. Assistance with marketing strategies. Introduction to other stakeholders like bookshops and the Department of Education. Broadcast CFB resources in ways other than the Internet, for example, get grant recipients to speak on TV and radio. Books that win CPP awards should automatically be selected by all the provincial libraries and the national library. Increase the grant amount. Early release of the funds. Fast-tracking the process of releasing the money. The coordinator agreed with some of these suggestions, for instance that a list or web-page of service providers be compiled. She disputed that not enough support or guidance were offered as all successful applicants were sent a letter, guidelines, and agreement to guide them along the book development process. Book launches took place. With more human resources to assist her, she would be able to do much more. However, the candidates were aware that CPP was a self-publishing programme; they were expected to have their own marketing plan as part of their application. CPP was not mainstream publishing, where the publishers handled marketing and distribution. Buying slots on TV and radio would entail spending money which could have been used for grants. Delays were a problem, but this was often due to waiting for approvals; the coordinator could do nothing until approvals were granted (Lunika, personal interview 2012). 5.5 Writers groups Writers groups offer many benefits to their members. They provide opportunities for writers to hone their skills, to network and to support each other during the processes of writing and publishing. They 27

29 also provide writers with opportunities to access resources and training. However, very few of the grant recipients were members of writers groups. Table 1 is a list of the authors who were members of such groups. The majority of the groups were based in the Western and Eastern Cape. Some of the respondents who were not members of writers groups indicated that they would like to join a group or start one, or did not know of one operating in their area. The importance of writers' groups was further emphasised by the CPP coordinator who commented that she often worked with them when organising writers' workshops in various areas. Some of the groups she worked with were the Gugulethu Writers Group (Western Cape), Moduane Arts Ensemble (North West), Xitsonga Writers Association (Limpopo), Development of Limpopo Literature Organisation (Limpopo) and Simanywa Lusiba Writers (Eastern Cape). In cases where there were no writers' groups, attendees at CPP workshops often exchanged contact details with the aim of starting a group, as has happened in Kimberley for example (Lunika, personal interview 2012). Table 1. Grant recipients who were members of writers groups Author Writers Group Province Angifi Dladla Community Life Network Gauteng Edmond Gezi Simon ANFASA Limpopo Edwina H Fransman Creative Writers Group Western Cape Eric Klaas Writers Forum Western Cape Kholeka Sigenu Chris Hani Writers Association Eastern Cape Mandla Matyumza Bhala Nciba-Mzimkhulu Eastern Cape Mary Magdalene Tal Women's Writing workshops programme Western Cape Nonkqubela Rhasimeni Amathole Writers Association Eastern Cape Sally Argent Group writing with other authors Western Cape Seitumo Mokoatsi Northwest Writers Forum Northwest Willem Fransman Jr Kreatiewe Skrywers Groep Western Cape 5.6 Other books It is important to investigate whether obtaining a grant motivated writers to write and publish additional books as the impact of the programme can also be measured by the writers' subsequent productivity. The results were positive. Based on the results of the survey, 50% (13) of the respondents went on to publish more books or were in the process of doing so. Among the respondents, Kholeka Sigenu wrote Ezakowethu folktales from home, co-wrote a few more books and was writing another to be published by February Eric Klaas published two books: Guguletu Seven in 2009, and The English teacher in Nonkqubela Rasmeni worked on three 28

30 books: an English translation of Kuhla ngamqala mnye (What's good for the goose, is good for the gander), an isixhosa Novel Bubomi ke obo, and Obo busuku bunye busisidenge Part Two. Liesl Jobson compiled the EU Sol Plaatje Award anthology and had a short story collection forthcoming from Jacana in Case study: Kyle Khan At age 13 Kyle Khan, from the Western Cape, was the youngest author to publish a book with a CPP grant. His book, Ms Raboto, is a fantasy story in English, suitable for children aged 7 to 13. It was published in Kyle started writing stories from a very young age. At school his grade 2 teacher allowed the children to use an old computer, so his parents allowed him to use their home computer as well. He would sit in front of the computer for hours, writing stories. He often told his parents that he did not want to be a writer when he grew up as he was already a writer. Kyle wrote Ms Raboto when he was 10 years old. It's a story about a robot teacher. Kyle made photocopies of the story and distributed it to his friends, family, and at school. Everybody who read the story enjoyed it very much. His mother, Doreen, said she wanted to encourage him to continue writing, so she searched the Internet for ideas about what to do with his stories. One day she came across information about CFB and CPP. She decided to enter Ms Raboto on Kyle's behalf. Much to the family's excitement, the manuscript was selected for a grant. Doreen said that she had no idea how to publish the book. CFB recommended that she purchased A rough guide to small-scale and self-publishing. She found this book very helpful in guiding her through the publishing process. She was fortunate in that she could enlist the help of family and friends. Her nephew, a graphic designer, did the illustrations and a friend did the editing. These processes took long as they both had full-time jobs. Eventually, the manuscript was ready for publishing. She approached New Voices to publish the book. Word quickly spread that Kyle's book was published. Between Kyle's friends, his school, Doreen's colleagues and her husband's colleagues, the first 100 copies quickly sold out. They used the money to finance another 300 copies, which are also selling out fast. The success of his book made Kyle a local celebrity. He was interviewed on radio and television. The Jelly Bean Journal in the Argus wrote an article about him. He also spoke at CFB s literacy programme. Although he received many invitations to speak at schools, he preferred writing. Doreen says the impact of having Kyle's book published was significant. It built up his sense of pride 29

31 in his writing. It also motivated other children to read. Parents often told her that their children, who were reluctant readers, enjoyed reading the book because it was written by a child like them. What tips do the Khans have for aspirant writers? Doreen said parents must believe in their children and encourage them to pursue their dreams. Kyle often said he was going to publish a book one day and his parents supported him fully. Kyle said that to be a good writer, one must read a lot. He practices what he preaches. He goes to the library regularly to borrow books and he also buys books. Doreen says when they go shopping; he spends all his money at Exclusive Books. When people asked him what he wants for a birthday or Christmas gift, his answer is always the same: 'An Exclusive Books gift voucher!' (telephonic interview with Doreen Khan, 2012, January X) Summary As was the case with their books, examining the journey of CPP authors produced mixed results in all aspects investigated. Although many achieved tangible and intangible rewards, others were less fortunate. Some were happy with the support and training received, while others felt that there was a lack of training and support. Many experienced no challenges, while others experienced challenges with the size of the grants, delays, marketing and distribution. The changes that they suggested to improve CPP ranged from greater support, marketing, distribution, increasing the size of the grants and eliminating delays. Very few of the writers belonged to writers groups and so missed out on the opportunities and support offered by these groups. The grants had positive effects on the productivity of the recipients 50% went on to publish more books, or were in the process of doing so. The inspirational case of Kyle Khan, a young grant recipient, was presented to portray the positive impact that the CPP grant has had on him. 30

32 CHAPTER 6 THE PUBLISHERS Publishers play an important role in the journey from manuscript to publication, as their role is to see that manuscripts become books. CPP is essentially a self-publishing programme; the authors are their own publishers, but not all of them become small-scale publishers. This chapter investigates the impact that the CPP journey had on the six small-scale publishers who responded to the Publishers Survey. 15 This chapter focuses on aspects such as their emergence, the contribution of CPP to publishing in South Africa, and their suggestions to improve CPP. This chapter concludes with a case study of one of the CPP publishers. 6.1 The emergence of small-scale CPP publishers One of the initial objectives of CPP was to contribute to the growth in the number of small publishers in South Africa. CPP gave writers and writers groups the financial impetus to self-publish their works. This led to the creation of several small-scale publishers. Twenty-nine small scale publishers published 40 of the CPP titles as illustrated by Table 2. Most of them were based in the Western Cape. Table 2. CPP Books published by CPP publishers Publisher Number of CPP books Province!Xthorro 2 Western Cape Aaron s Beard Books 1 Aerial Publishers 7 Eastern Cape Bathurst Bookfair 1 Eastern Cape Bethlehem 1 Free State Bhala Nciba Mzimkhulu 1 Eastern Cape Bodhi Books/Botsotso 1 Botsotso 1 Gauteng Bread Winner Books 1 Western Cape Chakida Publishers 1 Gauteng Eclectic Writers Club 1 Free State Ignite House 1 Gauteng Just Done Productions 1 Western Cape Khoi Books 2 Eastern Cape 15 See Appendix G for Publishers Survey, Part 1 and 2 31

33 Kidza Books 1 Western Cape Klaas Institute 2 Western Cape KreAkon Uitgewers 1 Western Cape LiNc Publishers 1 Gauteng Lynn East; Ithuthuka Investment 1 Mpumalanga Marosa 1 Gauteng Masithethane Language 1 Western Cape Services NAPS Publishers 2 Limpopo New Voices 1 Western Cape Sikakane Publishers 1 Gauteng SilverSedge Books 1 Western Cape Sound Sprung 1 Western Cape Swii Arts Amendment 2 T & T Publishers 1 W & W Publishers 1 Limpopo Five of the six publishers who responded to the survey said that they would not have been able to publish without the financial support of the grant. Sally Argent said that she would not have had the finances to publish her book. Kholeka Sigenu added:...the first publishing house ridiculed my efforts and at the time I did not know that a person could do self publishing. Money was also very scarce. I thought publishing was awfully expensive. 6.2 Suggestions for improving CPP As much as publishers appreciated the exposure and help they got from CPP, the respondents made some suggestions for improving CPP. Sally Argent suggested that... more grants could be made available. I submitted two other manuscripts at the same time as mine and they did not receive the grant. Both authors have not proceeded because of lack of know-how, both need editing and both need the finance for editing and publishing. Mariss Everitt suggested that the Aerial Publishing model where sales from books published by CPG are used to fund the publishing of more books could be suggested as a model for recipients of grants. Other suggestions from respondents were that more money be made available to emerging publishers to fund bigger print runs as an average of 200 copies was not enough to make an impression on the mainstream publishing houses. Another issue was reliability; respondents said that beneficiaries must 32

34 receive their grant as soon as they qualify and CPP must monitor the beneficiaries progress in publishing their books. They also suggested that small publishers should be assisted more than once, and should be assisted in selling their books. The CPP coordinator pointed out that CPP authors were noticed by mainstream publishers as publishers on the selection panel deferred manuscripts suitable for mainstream publishing to their publishing houses. In one case, Via Afrika identified an isixhosa book that they would be willing to publish if the Department of Education called for an isixhosa book. Whether authors wanted mainstream publishers to publish their books depended on the agreement that could be reached between the author and publisher. In one case, for example, the author was not happy with the publishers' terms and conditions, and preferred the self-publishing route offered by CPP, as it offered the author greater control. 6.3 Contribution to publishing in South Africa The impact of CPP can also be measured by its contribution to publishing in South Africa, where the emphasis is on publishing books for education rather than recreation, as discussed in Chapter 3.2. The respondents agreed that CPP made a contribution to publishing in South Africa. Mariss Everitt said that the CPG makes possible what would not be possible, financially. Sally Argent commented that stories that might not be accepted by mainstream publishers can be aired and appreciated, and it gives valuable skills to people who would like to be publishing but lack experience. Willem Fransman Jnr said this book is part of the South African Story! Without the grant, my contribution towards Afrikaans and the culture would be in vain... and stayed part of our oral tradition. 6.4 Case study: Aerial Publishing A group of writers in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape formed a publishing collective, Aerial Publishing. By applying for grants to publish some members' books and using funds generated from the sale of these books to publish other members' books, Aerial Publishing was the most prolific of the small-scale publishers investigated. They published 12 books between 2004 and See Table 3 for the list of books and amounts granted. 33

35 Table 3. Books Published by Aerial Publishing Date of Publication Author Title Grant Amount 2004 Rosamund Stanford The peeling of skies R Crystal Warren Bodies of glass R John Forbes Exposure Paulette Coetzee As each new year opens Zolile Calana Localu-Calulo R Mariss Everitt On gardening R Dudu Saki Do men wear clothes R Carol Leff Flashes Sonwabo Meyi Rage against the beast Robert Berold (ed) Seven variations on a poem by Du Fu 2011 Marike Beyers On another page Anton Krueger Everyday anomalies - - Mariss Everitt, a CPP recipient and member of Aerial Publishing and its nominated spokesperson, explained how their publishing collective worked: Aerial is a community publisher and is run on a collaborative basis. The way it works is that when a writer is published by Aerial they automatically become part of the committee and help with the publication of the next set of books. Services are voluntary and members do what they can, given work commitments, etc. At present there are 12 members, 10 are Aerial authors and the other two are Robert Berold and Deborah Seddon who are founding members and editors. In 2011 there were seven active members on the committee. We are about to start the selection process for the publishing of two more manuscripts and our two newest authors will join the committee this year. Aerial started in 2004 with the publication of the first two books. In order to qualify one has to have done the annual writing course run under the auspices of the Institute for the Study of English in Africa (ISEA), an institute based at Rhodes University. The annual course runs for six months, once a week, in the evenings. The idea is to give writers who have done the course a publishing platform. We receive between five and ten manuscripts when the call goes out and from these two are traditionally selected for publication. Members of the committee then edit the manuscripts and Robert Berold does most of the 34

36 legwork for the actual printing of the books. Marketing is a bit of a problem. We always launch the books in Grahamstown and sell quite a few copies this way. The poets themselves also sell their own books. A total of 12 books in all have been published. We do small print-runs to keep costs down and then reprint on demand. We don't yet have a website, but are working on it as this would be a good way of selling books. Aerial was started thanks to a grant from CPP and, when funds got low, we received a second grant, for which we are grateful. (Everitt, personal communication 2012, January 11) CPP was thus successful in its objective to contribute to the growth of a number of small-scale publishers in South Africa. A number of small-scale publishers were created which would not have existed without the financial impetus provided by the grants. The publishers agreed that CPP made an important contribution to publishing in South Africa as it allowed for voices other than the mainstream to be heard. Like the authors, the publishers made a range of suggestions for improving CPP. Aerial Publishing provided an interesting model of writers who formed a collective which focused on publishing its members' works. 35

37 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Conclusion CFB's mission is to promote a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all South Africa's official languages and to promote easy access to books. CPP was started in support of this mission to empower new writers to self-publish. Marginal works, which would not be considered commercially viable by commercial publishers, were to be funded. This is vital in South Africa where the emphasis in mainstream publishing is on publishing books for education rather than recreation, and an extremely low level of publishing in indigenous languages prevails. Manuscript submissions were mainly in English and isixhosa and mainly from the Western and Eastern Cape. There was thus a poor correlation between languages funded and the home language distribution of South Africa, which meant that the CPP fell short in its mandate to promote writing and publishing in all South Africa's official languages. This was also reflected in the provinces of residence of the authors, which were mainly the Western and Eastern Cape. A total of 88 grants were allocated between 2001 and By December 2011, 66 books were published and 22 not yet published. Encouragingly, there was a steady increase in the number of books published each year, but there were delays with the grants allocated in 2010, which had a negative effect on the publication of those books. Grant amounts were fairly low; the average amount allocated was R The grants only covered small print runs; authors who sold out their books used the funds generated to finance reprints. Most CPG recipients found publishing their books rewarding, both in tangible and intangible terms. Their books did well financially and they achieved recognition and accolades. They had mixed experiences with support and training. Some experienced challenges, especially that the grants were too small and that there were delays. Very few of the recipients were members of writers groups; they thus missed out on the support that such groups offered to their members. Many of the writers continued writing and publishing additional books after their granted books were published, which can be attributed to the positive impact of CPP. One of the objectives of CPP was to contribute to the growth of the number of small publishers in South Africa. This objective was realised as several small-scale publishers were created. The publishers agreed that CPP made a contribution to publishing in South Africa as it enabled voices other than the mainstream to be heard. CPP made an impact in many respects, but this impact was restricted to a small number of people mainly in the Western and Eastern Cape and to English- and isixhosa-speakers. Although much has 36

38 been achieved thus far, there is room for improvement. After ten years in existence, it is time for CPP to move to the next level. The programme has the potential to make a greater impact nationally. 7.2 Recommendations The following recommendations, based on this research, are proposed for the way forward: The reviewers The pool of reviewers should be broadened to be more diverse, instead of mainly consisting of language practitioners who worked in parliament and lived in Cape Town. Initial steps were taken in this regard; these should be encouraged Greater quality control measures must be implemented in order to promote consistent feedback that is more helpful to the selection panel. One such measure would be to amend the current reviewers form to include specific criteria for reviewers to attend to when reviewing manuscripts Regular training workshops for reviewers should be held Selection panel The size of the selection panel should be increased; an eight person panel might be a better option than a four or five person panel. This must go hand in hand with diversifying the panel in terms of gender, age, languages and population groups. The panel should comprise people from the book world, e.g., publishers, book sellers, authors, and librarians. One or two previous grant recipients should be included in the panel; they would be able to make a valuable contribution from the perspective of recipients. Increasing the size and diversity of the panel should result in more diversity in the manuscripts selected. It would also enable selection meetings to continue even when not all members were present, as there would be enough other members to allow decisions to be made, thus eliminating one of the factors causing delays. However, to avoid additional costs, new recruits would have to be volunteers or employed in sectors where employers would be willing to carry the costs of their staff attending the selection meetings. Fortunately, as selection meetings are only held once a year, this would not entail significant financial commitment from employers Greater involvement by the selection panel in the CPP process. This would include reviewing the manuscripts, determining amounts allocated for each publication (as discussed in below) and receiving updates on the publications. As the panel would be drawn from the book world, they would be able to provide additional support and mentorship to recipients. This would depend on the extent to which individual panel members would be willing to become involved. 37

39 7.2.3 Financial More funds must be allocated to CPP to allow for more grant recipients. The current low allocation is a drop in the ocean compared to the need for publishing opportunities in South Africa. The number of books published each year must escalate in order to give more writers opportunities to publish their books In addition, the grant amounts must be increased. The average amount of R7 419,12 was too low to cover all the costs associated with publishing which included editing, proofreading, printing, etc. The amounts allocated must align with the realistic costs of publication. The amounts allocated must be reviewed on a regular basis to keep up with inflation. The suggestion by one of the selectors that the selection panel decide how much money an author should be awarded is valid, as they would have a very good understanding of the costs of publishing. Awarding realistic grants would make it easier for the recipients to publish their books on time The grants must be paid directly to the recipients as CFB's new system of paying service providers created unnecessary delays as evident by the large number of 2010 recipients who had not yet published their books by December Also, the fact that recipients were unsure about how much money was available to them hindered the process of securing quotes. Paying the money directly to the respondents would allow them to take ownership of the publishing process and take responsibility for ensuring the timely publication of their books. This would also support the aim of developing small-scale publishers. Central control limits the capacity of the programme to grow, as this is restricted by the human resource capacity of the CFB. To ensure that recipients produce their books after receiving their grants, contracts can be introduced whereby they undertake to publish their books within a year or pay their grants back Alternatively, if the CFB retains the new policy of paying service providers directly, the policy has the benefit of ensuring that all costs are covered. It also allows for greater quality control by the CFB. However, this policy is restricted by human resource limitations and red tape. Additional human resources would be required to deal with the additional workload that this policy entails. Further, the processes whereby approvals are granted and the funding is released must be streamlined and expedited Expansion of CPP For future expansion of the project, outreach campaigns must target authors from underrepresented languages to encourage them to submit manuscripts in their home languages. The four most under-represented languages, isizulu, Sesotho, Xitsonga and siswati, warrant focused attention Resolving the language imbalance will also entail resolving the provincial imbalance, as these languages tend to be spoken in the provinces that were poorly represented among grant recipients. So 38

40 the provinces of KwaZulu Natal, Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga must be targeted in outreach campaigns Future expansion of CPP is hindered by limited human resource capacity. One of the results of this is the delays which were identified as a major problem by many respondents. One way to resolve this problem would be to shift the responsibility for their book publishing to the grant recipients by giving the grant money directly to them with a contract that their book should be published within a year, as discussed above. However, if the CFB chose to project manage the publishing of all the books themselves, human resource issues must be improved. This entails capacity development, improved time-management, improved scheduling and streamlining of approval processes. The processes to be followed must be simplified and attached to very specific timeframes that both the CFB and recipients are compelled to adhere to. Casual staff might have to be employed to deal with some of the routine work. The onus is on CFB to ensure that it takes all the necessary steps to keep its side of the arrangement. This would make it easier for recipients to keep their side as well To expose the CPP books to bigger audiences and markets, grant recipients must be assisted in selling their books online through the various online book retailers, such as Amazon and Kalahari. They should also be offered guidance to use new formats such as e-publishing Training and support More training must be provided to grant recipients specifically, e.g., workshops to equip them with the necessary knowledge to publish, market and distribute their books A network/support group should be created for grant recipients to share ideas and experiences, according to their geographical locations Writers (not only grantees) should be encouraged to join or form writers groups in their areas to provide them with better access to resources and training, and opportunities to network, support and assist each other Regular book launches are important to generate publicity and marketing opportunities The creation of an on-line national database of service providers in the publishing industry, e.g., printers, editors, proofreaders, illustrators. The database could also include writers groups, publishers groups as well as the small-scale publishers who started as a result of CPP and who would be willing to assist other grant recipients in their areas Too many small-scale publishers that publish only one or two books does not entail an efficient use of resources. Writers in the same geographical areas should be encouraged to form publishing collectives so that they can assist and support each other in publishing their works. 39

41 7.2.6 Marketing and publicity More marketing is required, using social media, e.g., Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Grant recipients should be given advice on how to use social media to promote their books The visibility of the project must be increased nationally. CFB must do more to publicise the CPP. The public needs to know of the existence of the project and its achievements. A marketing and publicity strategy is required Record keeping The researcher experienced considerable difficulties in collecting statistical data relevant to this research. She therefore recommends that a record-keeping template as designed and populated by her be maintained by CFB. This would enable the consistent keeping of records of dates of grants issued, dates of publication, authors, titles, genres, languages, publishers, provinces of residence and copies printed. Such a template would be of immense help to the coordinator. It would make identifying potential problems easier, ease data collection for future reference and research, and allow for consistency in record keeping. By implementing these recommendations, the CPP will be able to move to the next level and make a greater national impact. It would move much closer to fulfilling its mandate to provide advice, funding and technical support to emerging publishers and writers in South Africa to assist them in publishing their books. It would also move closer to CFB's mission to promote a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all South Africa's languages. Then it will indeed fulfill the vision of 'Writing and Publishing for All'. 40

42 BIBLIOGRAPHY Centre for the Book Guidelines of the Community Publishing Grant. Cape Town: Centre for the Book. Centre for the Book South African small publishers' catalogue. Compiled and edited by Maire Fisher and Colleen Higgs. Cape Town: Centre for the Book. Edwards, V., Ngwaru, J.M African language publishing for children: where next? Available: _for_children_where_next. Higgs, C The Community Publishing Project: assisting writers to self-publish, Innovation 26: Higgs, C A rough guide to publishing. Cape Town: Centre for the Book. Higgs, C Supporting small scale publishing. Available: [2012, October 21]. Galloway, F., Struik, W Annual book publishing industry survey report Publishing Studies, University of Pretoria. Available: Linguistic atlas of South Africa: language in space and time Edited by I.J. van der Merwe and J.H. van der Merwe. Stellenbosch: Sun Press. McLean, K., Poland, L A case for literature: The effectiveness of subsidies to Australian publishers Report prepared for the Literature Board of the Australia Council by Dr Keith McLEean and Dr Louise Poland with additional research by Jacintha van den Berg on behalf of the Writing and Society Research Group University of Western Sydney. Available: or_literature_the_effectiveness_of_subsidies_to_australian_publishers_ Shapcott, T Literary life: prizes, anthologies, festivals, reviewing, grants, in S. Earnshaw. Ed. The handbook of creative writing. Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press. Sheffield, R We d lose our shirt! : How Canada s cultural policy has shaped the Canadian literary canon. Faculty of Information Quarterly Housing Memory Conference Proceedings 1(3). Available: South African Book Development Council Factors influencing the cost of books in South Africa. Study conducted by Genesis Analytics (Pty) Ltd, Commissioned and funded by the National Department of Arts and Culture. Available: [2011, October 21). 41

43 APPENDIX A CENTRE FOR THE BOOK GUIDELINES FOR THE COMMUNITY PUBLISHING GRANT BACKGROUND The Community Publishing Grant is awarded by Centre for the Book to South African Writers to self-publish their works. The grant is made available annually and the results will be announced 3 months after the closing date. The closing date is 30 April each year. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Community Publishing Grant aims to make it possible for individuals, community groups and community based organisations to publish books. The grant also aims to empower individuals and groups to develop the necessary skills and capacities to enable them to publish, which in turn means that interesting and worthwhile books, which would otherwise not be published will see the light of day. Underlying this grant is the belief in the beneficial and enriching influence of books in society, particularly of books that reflect a diversity of voices and experiences. WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY? South African or permanent resident writers/writers groups/wannabe small publishers. Manuscripts that are clearly works of non-fiction are not eligible. The manuscript must be an original work written in any of the official South African languages. However, writers are encouraged to write in indigenous languages. The manuscript should not be a re-issue or a re-working of a previously published book. The manuscript must be published in South Africa. The award is given to a manuscript that is recognizably South African in character. National Library of South Africa employees are eligible for the grant but will not receive preferential treatment. Only typed manuscripts shall be considered. WHAT WILL YOU GET? The Community Publishing Grant pays up to R to cover the printing costs of a small print run only. Applicants should be realistic about the number of copies they hope to have printed as such amount is generally only sufficient to cover print runs of 42