Salamatu Sule has chosen a part that many artists and authors dread so much. She is a literary agent and book reviewer, a career that makes her deal directly with authors and publishers. In this interview with Edozie Udeze she shares her experiences so far and what she has been doing to build up her resume in this regard and more.
WHY did you choose to be a literary agent?
First, I started as a voracious reader who reads virtually every book I came across whether they were fiction or not. After graduating from the University, I had the opportunity to work with a few institutions and learn a lot, especially the art of negotiation. However, I never set out to become a literary agent until I joined the Association of Nigerian Authors, Abuja Chapter. There, I was Secretary for almost two tenures and observed some loopholes that demanded attention. However, after my experience at the Frankfurt Book fair, I was sure I wanted to become an agent and that is how I developed and co-founded what is today known as the Fahimta Literary Discourse, a solution powerhouse for writers, publishers and authors.
How profitable is this business?
The business in Nigeria is not as financially rewarding as it should have been because the whole idea of a literary agent is new to many Nigerian writers. They do not know why they should hire an agent to help facilitate the business of their books and I think because they expect the publisher to handle every bit of the value chain on their behalf.
Ours in Nigeria is a special case because, traditionally, agents pitch good and salable manuscripts to reputable publishers, get a good deal out of it and then get paid a commission as stipulated in the contract. Whereas, in Nigeria, all we do is invest all of our money to get the book published because there’s not a single grant that helps facilitate the local production of books.
The issue of dichotomy between agents and publishers on one hand and publishers and authors on the other hand is commonplace. How do you handle this?
I will tell you this for free. Most of the publishers you see today went into publishing because they were frustrated having to send queries about their manuscripts to publishing houses without any feedback. But when they eventually start a production house, they get carried away with the business of making money without looking into other areas of promotion. An agent comes in to ensure follow-up, especially in the areas in which the contractual terms are entered into.
Some writers out of a burst of excitement, do not even enter into any concrete contract and cannot fight legally when there’s an issue. An example of a scenario is an author whose works have been on sale by a publisher who has refused to make a return of royalties to the family because the author is late and the contract did not state any possible next of kin. Another is the issue of piracy where the publisher feeds fat on the author’s works without any information regarding the number of books published or what institutions the books have been sent to and access made available to the author, data of sales made per quarter or annually.
So, when authors approach me, the first question I ask them is: what is the nature of the contract you entered into with the publisher? So, many times, for traditional publishing, we ask for a right of first refusal. I have done that for clients many times. When we enter into this kind of fight, sometimes it gets messy because you need to know the law to engage them. Others have become sneaking parasites; they take your books elsewhere without prior notification and it’s criminal to do so, even if the book is traditionally published.
Authors complain about how publishers rip them off in terms of royalties. what is your take on this?
As I mentioned earlier, we have not just book pirates but parasites who feed on authors intellectual rights. Authors must take seriously any publisher that indulges in that kind of practice. I hear of some reputable publishers that update their clients about sales made from their books. However, there are also some reputable publishers that parasite over author’s works including film-makers and as an agent, if a client comes to me with this kind of issue, I won’t relent until justice is served.
Some filmmakers have over the years, fed fat from authors without even a written consent to take either excerpts or in whole, their works for the screen. They just do it without apology and as I speak, we are in a conversation on one of such ongoing at the moment and we shall see it to a logical conclusion. We also have information regarding schools selling author’s books where the author just found out and we are investigating.
This year, the agency will partner with institutions like WIPCO, and the Copyrights Commission to instil discipline in this industry. If the need arises, we shall name shame.
Why do publishers shun most fictional manuscripts these days?
Publishers are putting their monies where they can quickly makes turnover. So, they are more thematically driven by salacious stories and somehow, biographies and memoirs and science fiction seem to be the main business for them. Again, writers need to be more creative in their art of storytelling. In this day of AI, originality is going to be expensive and to be a writer who wants to get good publishers like Masobe and others, you need to up your creative prowess.
Share some of the experiences in this line of business so far
So, far, I have overstretched myself from just being an agent to become a book reviewer, and book talk host and also into intellectual rights activism. I mean, the experience has been worthwhile. We win some and lose some. I am currently working with some established publishers to see how collaborative efforts can help solve some of the problems plaguing the industry.
I am also working with booksellers like Adam’s Pages and one of the things we always priortise is to pay clients their monies when due. When a client’s books are not selling we call them and sometimes even ask them to take their books back.
Are Nigerian authors getting more offers from external publishers?
For those whose publishers have good marketing strategies, oh, yes, I know MASOBE Books have been able to get foreign rights for their clients and even film adaptations which is a good thing. They also have been able to break one major problem of the book industry and that is the areas of digital marketing and promotion.
What is the situation concerning copyright infringements in the book chain business not just in Nigeria but elsewhere?
Elsewhere, they seem to have a structure and policy that guides copyrights and even sales. I know in Germany, they have a fix pricing system that works for book sales and agents out there ensure publishers comply with copyrights of every production. For example, if Soyinka’s The Lion and Jewel was to have a 24/7 run in a dedicated theatre today, there would have been a blueprint as regards to what the copyrights terms are and what should not. We are yet to start all of this conversation here in Nigeria and the question why are we not even doing so, why are we not operating on the value chain system of the business of books?
