Seun:

If you win a Nobel prize and the average Nigerian can't see the beauty in your work, you've failed in my book.

If you win The Nobel prize and the average American can't see the beauty in your work, what then?

Seun you're an unabashed capitalist -- fine. But if you don't know anything about art, leave it for the artists.

They don't lecture you about money, or do they?

If you win the nobel prize and the average American can't appreciate your work, then there's a problem with the nobel prize! It doesn't take an "artist" to write something that no-one wants to read. Anyone can do that.

If your writing is such that only highly educated people can pretend to understand it, then you're not being artistic, you're just obscure! The whole point of art is not to prove intellectual superiority, but to pass a message accross!

Seun as you've obviously never read a book that won the Nobel Peace Prize I will cease to address you on this subject.

I agree with Seun.

Is it not ironical that all the international prize winning Nigerian novelists never even made the New York Times Bestsellers List and were not even among the top bestsellers on Amazon?

I know my elitist Nigerian colleagues who are prize writers. Because, their focus is to win literary prizes. And I can bluff and rebuff them. Because they cannot even put down my genius at the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). I made the exclusive list of the best new writers in Nigeria. And jokes apart if you name the best 10 poets in Nigeria and my name is missing, you are ignorant of the fact.

I am not a prize writer.

Seun, I agree with you on that. Some novelists, in an attempt to showcase their intellectual superiority, use big grammar. For Nigerian novelists, if your work does not bear any resemblance to the day to day life of an African, or has a theme that we can all relate to, forget it, I wont be impressed.


http://nigerianmemories..com/

the average nigerian reads stuff like sidney sheldon, harold robbins, john grisham. these will never, ever, ever win prizes

Yes we really need to publish more books in Nigeria, after all no one is really reading them!

Publishing in Nigeria is actually a goldmine and the popularity of Nollywood can translate into popular literature.

Imagine how Nigerians will respond to the books of the bestselling Living in Bondage, Glamour Girls and other popular movies and use the same covers of the movies for the books. If I publish a novel with the title Nollywood Girls I am sure people will be anxious and curious to read it. And I can write it in 30 days in Lagos. But to write it will cost me some money to stay in Lagos undercover and mingle with the Nollywood girls where they meet and befriend them while posing as a filmmaker until I finish my research.

i have a book. nobody eer agreed to publish it.

Sijien,
I have already addressed similar cases in literary discussions on Nairaland and no need to repeat myself. Search the section on Fiction and you will find all the answers to your publishing needs including the right links for bona finde agents in the UK.

JK Rowling the now celebrated author of the Harry Potter series got turned down by many publishers until God favoured her and she found the right publisher and today she is even richer than the Queen of England.

The first and foremost thing is to hone your skills in writing and master the craft of good writing.

A publisher introduced a young writer to me who said he had many unpublished novels he called masterpieces and I asked for his best samples. But when I read the first chapters I was disappointed. Because, the guy did not even know how to write. He wanted to write historical fiction, but did not know the format.

I wrote a novel set in Côte d'Ivoire when it was known as Ivory Coast and the events happened before the outbreak of World War 2 and my principal character or protagonist had to leave for France and later fought for the freedom of France from the Nazis. I spent over a year in the library to research on Cote d'Ivoire before World War 2 and on the over 100,000 French Africans who fought in World War 2. I read books on the German occupation of France and the Nazi officers in command then.

Research well before writing any novel.
Even the Almighty God did not create Man overnight.
Do you know that we are His Story (history).

obong:

nigeian needs to start publshing in local languages. it will boost sales big time

Seriously, bar Yoruba how many of those books would be widely read?

Chxta,
When I have the money, I will give grants to Nigerians who want to write books in our native languages for the conservation and preservation of our native languages, lest they would become undervalued. I am going to record my next CD in my mother tongue of Igbo.

You won't do that unless you don't value your money. The purpose of language is communication, and it's easier to communicate when we all speak the same language. It's wasteful to invest in obscure languages.

amen 2 that seun

English was forced upon us.

Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa are not obscure languages.

More Nigerians understand their native languages than English.

I think there is a lot of writing and publishing going on already. The major problem is with the poor quality of books written and marketing. Most of the publishing is self publishing and so there is hardly any promotion or marketing. In Nigeria marketing hardly goes byond the launching of the book. That has to change. I agree that there is a whole industry waiting to be tapped in this area.

newera:

I think there is a lot of writing and publishing going on already. The major problem is with the poor quality of books written and marketing. Most of the publishing is self publishing and so there is hardly any promotion or marketing. In Nigeria marketing hardly goes byond the launching of the book. That has to change. I agree that there is a whole industry waiting to be tapped in this area.

Nigerian publishers are not serious and the very smart South Africans are going to pull the carpet off their feet.

Nigeria deserves the best.

I thought this should come back to the front of postings. Don't you agree?

A notable Nigerian writer Ebereonwu passed away recently. But, his books are not popular, except for his movies. I was disappointed when members of Nairaland couldn't discuss him and his literary accomplishments. And I wonder how many of our authors they even read?

I can now say, we are writing and publishing more books. But the majority of literate Nigerians are ignorant of the books.

Nigerian men are doing 97% of the writing and publishing. Nigerian women are not prolific writers.

I think it a great tragedy that we can count our female writers on our fingertips in a population of over 140 million. And the real magazines published by Nigerian women are not up to five!

What is the greatest ambition of Nigerian women?
Marriage!

Educated Nigerian women need to write and publish more books to correct the erroneous and ambiguous inclinations of Nigerian girls and women.

The ambition of most of our women should not end up in the bedroom, but at the top of the board.

What's your obsession with writing and Nigerian women, Orikinla? For goodness sake, not everybody is cut out to be a writer. There are females and males also in admirable and notable professions that is of greater benefit to the society than writing. And for those who value marriage over career, I say, more grease to their elbows. Dont even attempt to place more emphasis on writing over marriage.

I really think we should write more. Thousands of bankers are actively banking daily, thousands of musicians are singing, actors acting, poets and novelists are about the only sect I know of people that don't plan on making much of their t their talent.
Someone talked about nollywood. I'm actually writing what may be the first standard script for a Nigerian home video. We need to do something in that area too. Think about it. It's actually our God given responsibility.
Anyways, I'm trying to put together a poetry competition for amateurs and am hoping people will get book deals and all that through that post of exposure.

There's a gold mine out there waiting to be dug by a Nigerian Publisher with a vision and a strategy to sell books to our mass market. One day ,

What mass market?

Sorry it wasn't so clear. That's my personal definition of - a large market of potential readers/buyers. It may not be so apparent but they are there!

if you ask me i think Romance novels would sell beta
or what can be attributed to the likness of nigerians reading those silly and
annoying Ghana short novella that have their themes centered on love,
well i shouldnt deny the fact that i read them once when i was younger, but now the senselessness of it
repulse me although the ones from other notable american authors can be described as okay(mills and boons) But i hope nigerians develop the knack for reading novels and not only when it is recommended for exams and schools.

@orinkinla
it is not right to say that Nigeria women have nothing up their sleeves except marriage and sex
clearly you have seen the great contributions some of them have put into the industry
and i hope you respect them.

Beauitifully said by everyone .we all have something to say , The
truth is nothing can move or get to the next level with out effort. asked yourself why american read so much books. i believe itsa combined effort.they had a campagn in school over there that read READING MAKES A COUNTRY GREAT.so please stop been Nigerians about this reading issue do something about it .

Myself i really love writting ,thats one of the things i would do before i die to
publish and print a book.i have this story am trying to work on ,its a killer i know you are saying i have heard this before .What i need now is directions
i just need directions on how to go about it. i had a friend that gave me some tips but i need more at this stage , my email divagate2006@yahoo.com

Why is it that there are more writers in Nigeria than Authors. Does that mean that the Publishing sector is crawling?

Its hard to find readable Nigerian writers either with mass market or critical appeal. How many nigerian written books are really profound or intense? I like Sefi Atta and Adichie as well as any other bookish nigerian but can I place then at a level with JD Salinger, or Edith Wharton or even Nick Hornby.... I'm not so sure.

I write at www.lagosgirlromanceseries..com and my amazon author page is at www.amazon.com/author/somiekhasomhi

Well, I am a nigerian, and I just wrote a book, which qualifies me to speak as a Nigerian writer. I think.

Most nigerian writers want to write lofty, incomprehensible messes that nobody can identify with, they forget that a story should entertain as well as educate. I have read some of the best novels ever written, from Vanity Fair, to Jane Eyre to Of Mice and Men to The Catcher in the Rye to The elegance of the Hedgehog and what they have in common is that they are entertaining as well as profound.

Secondly many Nigerian writers don't read. How can you be a good writer when you don't read the works of other writers? Nigerian writers want to study courses on how to write meanwhile they don't know who Tolstoy or Dostoevsky are, do not understand Shakespeare and cannot be bothered with the humour of Jane Austen! The best teachers of writing are books! Read read and read, read good books so that when you write you can know how good your writing is by how it reads to you.

And read Shakespeare... Mark anthony's speech at Julius Caeser's burial.... Genius!

I write at www.lagosgirlromanceseries..com and my amazon author page is at www.amazon.com/author/somiekhasomhi

Many writers overlook the professional view of writing by focusing only on passion. Well passion is good. I am passionate about music but professionalism places many musicians above me despite my overflowing passion.
Many people are passionate about publishing business but professionalism places TOBIT above many emotional giant engraved with passion.
Writers should see writing as more of art than talent.

Fearless03: Well, I am a nigerian, and I just wrote a book, which qualifies me to speak as a Nigerian writer. I think.

Most nigerian writers want to write lofty, incomprehensible messes that nobody can identify with, they forget that a story should entertain as well as educate. I have read some of the best novels ever written, from Vanity Fair, to Jane Eyre to Of Mice and Men to The Catcher in the Rye to The elegance of the Hedgehog and what they have in common is that they are entertaining as well as profound.

Secondly many Nigerian writers don't read. How can you be a good writer when you don't read the works of other writers? Nigerian writers want to study courses on how to write meanwhile they don't know who Tolstoy or Dostoevsky are, do not understand Shakespeare and cannot be bothered with the humour of Jane Austen! The best teachers of writing are books! Read read and read, read good books so that when you write you can know how good your writing is by how it reads to you.

And read Shakespeare... Mark anthony's speech at Julius Caeser's burial.... Genius!

I write at www.lagosgirlromanceseries..com and my amazon author page is at www.amazon.com/author/somiekhasomhi

Many writers overlook the professional view of writing by focusing only on passion. Well passion is good. I am passionate about music but professionalism places many musicians above me despite my overflowing passion.
Many people are passionate about publishing business but professionalism places TOBIT above many emotional giant engraved with passion.
Writers should see writing as more of art than talent.