By Anote Ajeluorou
WHILE the love for books and the passion to reading them to
acquire knowledge for innovation and development in Nigeria are said to be on
decline, certain anomalies in the book chain have also been ascribed to it. One
obvious dysfunction is in the supply line. Although writers are still writing
books while publishers are also struggling to publish even under harsh economic
environment, getting books to those who need them remains problematic. This has
created a window for a third, uninvited, criminal party - the pirate, to eat
where he didn’t sow and starve writers and publishers of vital funds needed to
grow the business.
The need to
strengthen the supply link from publishers to book consumers formed a major
talking point at this year’s Publishers’ Forum held last Thursday at Goethe
Institut, City Hall, Onikan, Lagos. It
served as a prelude to the yearly Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) which ran
from November 14 to 16, 2014. The festival, the 16th in the series, is
the brainchild of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), and had Freedom and the Word as theme dedicated
to celebrate Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka who clocked 80 last July 13.
As statement from the organisers said, “As one
of the pre-festival events, ‘Publishers’
Forum’ was conceived in 2010 to
provide a space for publishers in Nigeria
to gain critical insight into their current operations within the context
of the challenges facing their industry, brainstorm on their findings and
identify key steps that can be taken as individual businesses or as a
collective, to improve their bottom line. At CORA, one of our goals is to build
capacity and knowledge in the Nigerian creative industry space. By helping
to build publishers’ skills, we hope to support the development of the
nation’s publishing industry.
“In line with this year's theme, the day
provided principals of publishing houses with the tools and
skills to grow their businesses, maximize sales opportunities and
identify strategies that are practical, implementable and financially viable”.
Among the various sessions held, perhaps, the
one that was most animated was Publishers
and Booksellers: Strengthening Links in the Supply Chain. It had, among
publishers, the boss of Cassava Republic Press, Dr. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf; authors
and publishers, Modupe Oduyoye, Femi Morgan of WhiteHouse Collective, and Ayo
Arigbabu; writers, Chike Ofili, and Aladesuyi Lawrence. A senior official of
Booksellers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Popoola Aladesuyi, represented his
association. Also officials from Guaranty Bank, who came to promote the bank’s GTB
SME MarketHub for online marketing of products, and other online platforms for
e-book sales were present to lend effect to the critical nature of books.
Of course, booksellers, who ordinarily make
up a strong link in the book chain, are often blamed for some of the financial
woes publishers and writers face, with their weak operational system. It was,
therefore, an opportunity for them to air some of the challenges they face and
how much help they need from publishers and other stakeholders alike to perform
better and improve on their work of taking books to consumers.
Popoola Aladesuyi, who was mostly under fire
from the audience, responded well to issues raised against his association. But
first, he confessed that his association’s capacity to deliver needed to be
raised through training and funding. He said whereas books ought to be consumed
daily, there was a small window of opportunity for book sales in the country, which
was usually during school resumption season, after which books become luxury
items. He related how much risk booksellers take in stocking school texts that
may be revised without notice and changes made in recommended books that
usually leave the bookseller in a quandary, as he now has stock he doesn’t know
how to dispose.
According to him, “Books are seasonal in
Nigeria because we live in a society where reading comes second only after
food. Yes, although it’s an aberration, books are seasonal.”
Aladesuyi also raised the issue of mutual
suspicion among writers, publishers, printers and booksellers, which often
crippled business relationships, with one feeling that he or she was being
short-changed.
Although it was easier to market educational
books, he stated that non-educational books present their own peculiar
challenges for which they needed help. He advised the serialization of such
books and their promotion on radio and sundry platforms to help expose them to
the public.
FOR Ofili, who is
a writer, operators in the entire book chain were too traditional and lacked
innovation for their own good. Hence, he said, nothing seems to work for them,
as they fail to venture into new terrains to do book business. According to
Ofili, “We have become too traditional and laid-back in the book chain. We’re
so traditional in our thinking. We need to take a cue from Nollywood; it became the third largest in a span of just 20 years.
It’s breaking barriers”.
Ofili confessed to the shame and humiliation
he felt when Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials in Lagos left book
hawkers alone while raiding roadside traders for violating the law. He said the
officials did not look the way of those hawking books whereas others were being
chased away. He said it meant that the officials didn’t see the value in books the
way they saw other sellers.
He argued, “Those in the book business want
things the easy way. Motivational booksellers are more innovative, adventurous;
they cram themselves in small cubicles everywhere. It’s a tough task, but I
think we can reinvent the wheel if we want to.”
Aladesuyi Lawrence, a former staff of
Litramed Publications Ltd, advised booksellers to be ready to take certain
amount of risks by warehousing or stocking books from publishers and discount
the idea that books are seasonal, but to see them as products for all times. He
also tasked booksellers to train their staff and relate well with all
publishers and not be selective or discriminatory. More important, he advised booksellers
to learn how to display books in shelves in an attractive manner to entice
consumers and for them not to leave their shelves dusty and untidy, as was
often the case with many of them.
ALSO, one major
grouse of publishers against booksellers is that they often sabotaged the
entire business when they deliberately fail to pay for books supplied them, and
so cripple publishers and create bad blood between publishers and authors. Bakare-Yusuf
urged booksellers to be faithful to payment agreements. Book piracy is another
volatile crime publishers put to booksellers, and Bakare-Yusuf didn’t spare
Aladesuyi and his association, and asked them to be committed enough to stop
piracy.
“Booksellers should pay publishers”, she
said. “After sales, we don’t want to go bankrupt. And for booksellers to stop
pirating books. You need to impose sanctions on your members who default.”
Cassava Republic Press boss also tasked
booksellers to innovate their business for better performance. She asked them
to take up the many sales platforms like Conga, Bayam, GTB MarketingHub for
SMEs currently on offer to maximize sales. Finally, she stressed, just like
other members of the forum agreed, that there should be regular sessions for
everyone in the book chain to meet and interact. “We must continue to have this
kind of conversation among ourselves”, she concluded.
In his response, Popoola Aladesuyi charged
publishers to help his association on capacity building. He said unlike
publishing where there are various levels of professionals manning various
aspects of the business from editor to illustrators to proofreaders and others,
booksellers hardly have such proficient staff to facilitate sales. Most
booksellers, including himself, he noted, didn’t require any form of training
to enter into business. And so, it was hard for his members to be abreast of
most of the innovations taking place in the book business.
“Unlike publishing where there are trained
professionals in various sectors, no training takes place amongst booksellers”,
he stated. “Let publishers organize capacity training for booksellers to get
the business done properly. Let there be a coalition, a positive relationship
between publishers and booksellers”.
Aladesuyi disclosed that his association was
mulling the publication of a directory of his members and an online platform,
which he said would be launched sometime in March next year. He also asked
publishers to increase discount offered his members so they could be better
motivated. On the discount score, Bakare-Yusuf said it was not in the cards, as
it would mean raising the cover price of books, a situation she said would
further drive away the few consumers of books and dwindle scarce patronage.
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