Resources for Writers
What opportunities are there for writers in Africa?
• Research competitions that you can enter
• Go to bookish conferences, symposia, festivals
• If you are on Facebook or Twitter – you will be sure to find useful people to follow, and groups or organisations that can help you achieve your goals.
• Get onto the mailing lists of bookstores.
How do I know if my writing is any good?
• Send it off to literary magazines, both online and print. If your writing is rejected this is sort of feedback. Do not give up. See if you can look at your work with fresh eyes and make it better. Send it out again. Join a writing group or start a writing group.
• Send a completed manuscript off to a publisher. Before you do this, though, you need to research the market. Go to bookshops and look carefully at which local publishers are publishing books in a similar genre to yours. Make a shortlist of three or four publishers, including some small publishers. Before you submit a manuscript, go to each publisher’s website and find out what their submission requirements are. Many publishers do not want to see a whole manuscript but rather want a package of the items listed below. But find out first what they want. a) One paragraph synopsis of the book; b) one paragraph bio-note about author; c) one-to-two-page synopsis of your book; c) a chapter-by-chapter synopsis (3-5 lines per chapter); and d) two sample chapters.
How can I improve my writing?
•Find a writers’ course or workshop that you can attend
•Register for a creative writing course at university. The SA Writers’ College is a
reputable online writing college. You could get your manuscript read by an “expert” reader for a small fee.
•Send stories, poems, articles, essays etc. to literary magazines and popular magazines where relevant.
•Go to a local bookstore or library and find books that give advice and suggestions about how to write better.
• Read widely and frequently – you have to be an avid reader if you want to be a good writer.
If I have a book that I want to publish, what should I do?
• If you want a commercial publisher to consider your work, you need to identify which publishers do the kind of book you are wanting to get published.
• You should also go to bookstores and see who is publishing similar books and see what is being published so they don’t reinvent the wheel
• Poets should read the section about getting your poetry published. You shouldn’t think of starting with getting a book published. Get individual poems published first.
• You could consider self or independent publishing. Sometimes you can’t get published straight away, because you are a new writer, or you write in a genre that has limited appeal – have you considered independent publishing or self-publishing? Think about ways of pushing the boundaries of publishing–pamphlets, chapbooks, simple cheap books, digital printing, zines, reading to each other.
Research local books and publishing
• Go to a bookshop or a library and look at who is publishing what and whom? Join the mailing lists and loyalty programmes that your bookstore might have. You will get discounts, you will be invited to launches of books, where you will hear successful writers speak, read and launch their books
• Read the books pages of newspapers and magazines. For South Africans – check out the Publishers’ Association website www.publishsa.co.za, or buy a copy of the annual PASA directory, which gives a breakdown of all publishers in South Africa who are members of PASA, what their publishing interests are, and contact details. Most publishers have their own websites and often tell you how they like to receive submissions. If they don’t tell you, give them a ring and ask. Hang out with/meet and/or listen to published writers at various events and festivals. Here are some South African examples, but many countries will have their own festivals and fairs and bookish events, and if they don’t – why don’t you start something? Time of the Writers is held at UKZN in March each year. For Afrikaans speaking writers – Woordfees at Stellenbosch in March is a must. The Franschoek Literary Festival in May is a feast of literary activity. Poetry Africa is held at the University of KZN in Durban in October each year, a fantastic opportunity to listen to local and international poets reading and performingtheir work. In Cape Town, in September, there is the Open Book Festival, which is organised by The Book Lounge.
What is available for children’s writers and picture book illustrators?
• Find courses and workshops for the writers of children’s books
• Read lots of children’s books – to yourself and to children
• Tell stories to children – either your own or volunteer at a school or library
• Some cities and towns have specialist children’s bookstores. Most decent bookstores have a children’s section, and some are better than others. Look out for books that have won prizes or other recognition.
Read, read, read
• …as well as whatever else you read, you must also read what other African writers have written and are writing. You need to know where you fit into the ongoing conversation that is African literature, African writing.
• Buy local books and subscribe to local literary magazines.
• Read local titles from the library closest to you.
• You may find books about writing useful too.
