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  • ‘Disappointment birthed my publishing firm’

    ‘Disappointment birthed my publishing firm’

    • Chief Executive Officer, Pen-Digital Nigeria Publishers, Mr. Assin Godstime is author of many texts that have received approval of the Ministry of Education in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Lagos states. The prolific writer, historian and journalist invented Nigeria’s first ethnic current affairs – Urhobo Current Affairs. He speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on his interest in writing and publishing, the relevance of Innocent soul and why many of his plays are not on stage yet.

    How do you manage deadline in journalism with book writing?

    I am first a writer before becoming a journalist. I had written a number of books before I picked interest in journalism. My interest in journalism started after my friend and pen brother was published in the Nigerian Observer and he felt like he had made heaven even if he had committed all the sins of the earth.

    He continually bragged about with it to the extent that the entire neighbourhood knew he had been published in the Nigerian Observer. His achievement became my encouragement, hence I picked up the challenge to be published. When I was published in the Nigerian Observer, for the first time in 2011, it was a full page unlike my friend’s quarter page so he had to keep calm and could not talk nor brag henceforth. Since that motivating experience, I have been a freelance journalist. I was a columnist at a time.

    How did you grow your interest in writing books?

    Considering the low returns, is it worth the trouble keeping awake?

    Writing is inborn with a little development. Let me explain this. In-born in the sense that one is born a literary writer. A little development means that one needs self-development to blossom. In this submission, development requires endlessly reading and adequate use of language. Literary authors ought to be bibles of language. Self-development has helped me a lot. I read tirelessly to keep the brain alive. The dictionary is my pillow with which I sleep and this has transformed my thought, and the way I write.

    My interest in writing was birthed on the premises that I wanted to be heard as well as leave a lasting legacy. I thought of passing my message through comedy, but knowing that a comedian does not stand the test of time aborted my interest in comedy. Writers, particularly literary authors, leave lasting footprint. You could imagine the legacy those who wrote the Bible left behind for Christians.

    How about the dictionary?

    Things Fall Apart by Achebe is a lifetime legacy. In terms of being awake doing all-night writing, it’s not burdensome for me owing to the fact that the talent to write is inborn. I write effortlessly as soon as I have a good theme. I’ll say I am privileged to have been gifted, sincerely.

    Of all your publications, which one is dear to your heart and why?

    Having written quite a number of books, I find it difficult to pick at one as my best. At one stage I admitted that my play, A Dance to the Golden Vision was my best. A few years after I gunned for my historical prose, Oduduwa and, funnily, as it stands, these books are no more intriguing to me in spite of the fact that they have sold in hundreds of thousands. If I were asked my best today, I would opt for ‘Generation of Mad People’ due to its present relevance and income.The book has complemented my hard work in the meantime. In conclusion, all my books are dear to my heart because I take time to write.

    Were you driven into self-publishing by experiences with publishers?

    Every writer’s wish is to grow. Growth, in this submission, is expansion. At a time in my career I discovered that my printer could no longer meet up with my demand.The endless disappointment on the side of my printer pushed me into learning printing. Self-publishing is tasking because you have to do everything the printer or publisher does for you with both your finances and body. But, in all, self-publishing reduces cost and also quicker to achieve. No matter the pages of a book, I could deliver its publishing in two days. Disappointment birthed my firm – Pen-Digital Nigeria Publishers.

    Read Also: Buhari slams newspaper for publishing falsehood

    Innocent Soul, your publication on genotype approved by the Delta government is about what?

    The importance of genotype and blood group to human life is similar to the role water plays in our lives. The difference is that why we know the importance of water to our lives, a number of us have little or no knowledge about genotype and blood group. I was once innocent of both. Because I was not good at Biology, I probably didn’t know much about genotype. I grew into a sturdy man without knowing my genotype until one of my friends became a victim.

    A friend of mine married a girl whom they were both ‘AS’ and as unfortunate as the situation was they had an ‘SS’ child. The health of the child continually sucked their resources.The child did not die nor survive. The child is just there suffering the negligence of two adults who could have ignored the terrible outcome. The child is an ‘Innocent Soul’ who ought not to have been born if both parents had avoided or heeded the counsel of medical experts. This ugly situation birthed my prose genre, which I entitled: An Innocent Soul to enable me educate children in our public and private schools, particularly those in the junior secondary schools of the danger of intentionally neglecting genotype and blood group when picking future partners. As a writer I should be able to solve a problem, if not problems with my books. My books are cure to challenges that society immensely need to blossom.

    Has any of your plays been performed and where?

    In terms of stage performance, I have not had keen interest in this area. But one of my plays was screenplay and eventually acted, but the producers did not keep to the simple agreement we had so I had to abort the move to have it in the open market. The fact that my books sell in thousands had kept me from stage plays even though a number of school owners had approached me to stage my plays to enable their students have a better knowledge of the text. In a short while, hopefully, I will be staging one of my plays in a national theatre. But this notwithstanding, I have partaken in reviews/presentations discussing my books and their roles to human life and society.

  • ‘How I got my break from publishing’

    Victor Basola though a graduate of Biochemistry discovered his passion in book publishing. In this interview with Omolara Akintoye, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Aaron & Hur Publishing, a creative book publishing firm based in Lagos with branches nationwide, explains his rise from grass to grace. Excerpts:

    What’s your assessment of the publishing industry?

    Publishing is one of the most profitable businesses right now in Nigeria. In fact, no matter who you are, you can venture into printing and publishing even if you don’t have a kobo on you. It is a knowledge based business that you can enter even without your own money. This is because the customer pays you upfront and you use the customer’s money to complete the job and then get your balance when you deliver the job. If you don’t have the printing knowledge, you can partner with a very good printer and share profit until you get grounded in the technicalities. One major warning, if you don’t know how to print don’t attempt to use your customer’s project to learn, you may land in the police station. People keep saying that Nigerians don’t read and I say, I don’t know about that because we have been printing thousands of books weekly for our numerous clients all over the world at Aaron & Hur  Publishing for the last eight years since we started. If you don’t know any business to start, just go to Shomolu and keep your eyes and hears open and you will be on your way out of poverty.

    Challenges encountered at the beginning

    At the beginning, I had serious problems because I didn’t know how to print. I only knew how to write and edit manuscripts. And that alone is not enough to pay my bills because the real money is in the printing. So I was busy travelling round the country to get jobs while the printers sat in one place and made huge profit from my labours. And you know what? I kept running into debts!!! Because if there are issues with the quality of the books, I had to use my money to repair it or if the books get lost in transit, I had to bear the loss. Also, because I wasn’t involved in the printing the cost of production, producing high quality books was very expensive because after the printer charges a high amount, I still added my own profit which made the margin too high and I was termed expensive by clients, hence I kept losing jobs. So I had to find a way to eliminate the middle man so as to keep my expenses low and the final margin very small. As God will have it, in 2015, after about 4 years of suffering I met a man who asked me to pay him N40,000 (about $110) for him to teach me printing for three days. Can you imagine, N40,000 for only three days? Anyway, I had no option but to humble myself, pay him the money and grabbed the life-saving knowledge in three days. That knowledge was a life saver. After then I began to control the printing process and then began to see some profit for my labour. That was when I could employ quality staff and I began to duplicate my influence in faithful men who became able to handle the business even as I travel around the world on my Evangelistic trips.

    Tell us about the initial capital and how you were able to get it?

    In the printing and publishing industry in Nigeria, except you want to deceive yourself, you don’t need any capital to start. I believe I am talking to young men and women who are ready to move their lives forward. Excuses are the tool that fools use. I have explained before, partner with someone who knows how to print and start getting jobs while the other partner handles the printing process until you learn the technicalities. You don’t even need an office. If you do a good job and maintain your integrity, a large percentage of your clients don’t really care to know where your office is located as long as you deliver exceptional quality as at when due.

    Can you tell us about your humble beginning?

    I am Basola Victor Ayodele, born by an Insurance salesman and a hairdresser in 1986 in a little town called Ile-Oluji, Ondo State. I was born into a humble beginning but with a very strong determination to succeed against all odds. I wasn’t born with the proverbial silver spoon so we had to rise against all odds to buy a spoon for ourselves as we began to grow up. And I thank God that I wasn’t born with a silver spoon because we would not have pushed for the golden spoons we now have. I was an extremely brilliant student with very high hopes of graduating with at least a second class upper degree, so as to secure a “good job”, but I couldn’t achieve that dream because of my collision with destiny. This happened the day I came across a book by Napoleon Hill titled “Think & Grow Rich” while on campus. That day, I concluded that I didn’t need my University certificate to make it. Let’s just say that I was distracted by my vision. Due to my unquenchable thirst for knowledge, I consumed every financial material I was privileged to come across and attended several business trainings, leadership and financial seminars while my mates where in the classroom studying to pass with good grades. This was later confirmed when with my third class certificate in Biochemistry in 2008; I was able to secure a “good job” with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) as a contract staff shortly after graduating from the university with a mouthwatering salary of N150,000 monthly. I became restless again and resigned my appointment from SNEPCO after about 18 months to form what is today known as Aaron & Hur Publishing, a fast growing media group based in Lagos, Nigeria. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, in fact I remember one day I trekked about five hours from Allen Avenue in Ikeja to Ajuwon-Akute, because I had no transport fare of about N250 (less than a dollar) but today, the story is different. I suffered poverty and this was largely because I lacked a lot of experience and necessary know-how and there was basically nobody willing to teach anybody anything those days so I had to get my hands dirty and learn on the job. We made lots of mistakes but we kept pushing and God has been helping us. My advice today to young graduates is that they should find a company or a mentor who is excelling in their chosen field of endeavor and work there or attach themselves there so they can learn the ropes. This will save them from making costly yet avoidable mistakes. At this point, a fat salary should not be your focus but an opportunity to learn what you need for tomorrow. If you get the knowledge, you will get an edge that will equip you to produce the money.

    Compare your publishing work here in Nigeria and overseas, which one is beneficial?

    Publishing your books here in Nigeria is far cheaper than doing it abroad most especially if you have a quality publishing house like Aaron & Hur Publishing and a few others. If you see the quality of our jobs, you will not believe that it was printed in Lagos. Apart from our giant strides as one of the biggest publishing firm in Nigeria, we have clients in the topmost echelon of society in USA, France, Germany, Malawi, Greece, Ghana and some other countries because they know that it’s cheaper to print with Aaron & Hur Publishing in Nigeria because of our exceptional quality. However, a trial will convince you.

    Why did you choose publishing instead of pursuing your course of study? 

    I didn’t know what I wanted before I wrote JAMB. Just like many students. Some of students were forced into studying what their parents desired and in obedience they mortgaged their passion. Not every brilliant student must study science. That’s the mistake many schools made in those days. I was extremely brilliant so we were conscripted into science class and that’s how I ended up studying Biochemistry. But obviously that’s not my passion.

    What are the regulatory or procedural landmines you have to cross to become a publisher? 

    You have to register your Business as a Publishing company with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and then register your presence with National Library so your ISBN’s are genuine and original. And you can submit your certified Copies after printing.

    How long do you need to wait before you break even or start making profit? 

    If you know what you are doing four years is OK for you to start breathing fresh air.

    What are the sources of raw materials required for publishing?

    Unfortunately, almost everything we need for the publishing business is imported.

  • LCCI to inaugurate printing, publishing, allied group

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said it would inaugurate a new group, the Printing, Publishing and Allied Group. The group is intended to bring together stakeholders from the Printing, Publishing and Allied services.

    LCCI said membership of the group is drawn from the Printing, Publishing and Brand management sub-sectors of the nation’s economy and is open to interested members of the general public.

    In a statement, the chamber said the proposed group will bring together major players in the sector and facilitate business growth, networking opportunities, business development services and training opportunities for joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnership with foreign businesses and vital business information.

    Commenting on the initiative, LCCI Director General, Muda Yusuf, said that the “sector’s potential contribution to our economic development is huge and thus should be well harnessed.

    “It is important we create a platform for key players in the sector to connect and discuss solutions to issues and challenges plaguing the sector. The group will engage relevant authorities to foster the advancement of the sector”, he added.

  • Fed Govt to start publishing yearly National Accounts

    The Federal Government is working on a policy that will dovetail to publishing the nation’s yearly accounts as part of its efforts to fight corruption.

    The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris who spoke in Abuja yesterday said: “To satisfy public awareness, we have made it a point of duty to publish monthly allocation of funds to the three tiers of government from the federation accounts and the OAGF  (Office of the Accountant General of the Federation) is working to make it a deliberate policy to make public, annual national accounts of the country.”

    He said doing this would be in line with the current administration’s philosophy of accountability and transparency.

    Idris spoke when he paid  courtesy visit on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), yesterday in Abuja.

    To curb corruption, revamp the accounting and reporting of governments’ financial transactions and deepen transparency in the management of public funds, the Federal Government will also adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) accrual-based accounting standards by January next year.

    IPSAS are a set of accounting standards issued by its Board for use by public sector entities globally for the preparation of financial statements. These standards are based on the dictates of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

    By adopting and implementing  IPSAS, Nigeria will join the rest of the world in  the preparation and presentation of accounts for public enterprises.

    Ahmed said the first stage of IPSAS, which is the cash basis of accounting, was already being implemented with success and appealed to the SGF for support to make the IPSAS accrual-based accounting standards policy a success.

    Ahmed told the SGF that he has “vigorously pursued the implementation of the TSA as part of Federal Government’s policy to have a firm grip on the financial position and efficient allocation and utilisation of resources.”

    To determine the level of implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Idris said a technical support team had been commissioned to carry out diagnostic review of its implementation and performance.

    In his response, the SGF, Mr Babachir Lawal said the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFIMS) are central to the success of the current administration.

    He said:“We believe that these are the best ways to block leakages in the public sector and ensure that funds are adequately accounted for so that government can have enough to meet its obligations.

    “The government is also concerned about the people in charge of all this, because a system is only as good as its operators. That is why we are watching the accountants in all the MDAs closely.’’

  • ‘In publishing, cost of distribution is higher than unit cost’

    For about two decades, publisher Kraft Books, Mr. Steve Shaba has committed his resources into book publishing. He speaks on the state of publishing, books distribution and the challenges of e-books among other issues.

    Publisher Kraft Books Mr. Steve Shaba has lamented the absence of professional book distributors that should have complemented the services of publishers. He said unlike in the 80s when professional book distributors carried books from one place to another, today books are not widely distributed. He said as a result of this, Kraft Books has resorted to carrying its books to every literary forum to exhibit for the public.

    “Unfortunately in Nigeria, we don’t have professional book distributors whose main aim is to distribute books. Way back in early 1982 to 1988, I know there were one or two professional book distributors taking books from one place to another. They carry several books to their destinations and to the end users. But, such facilities are not just there any longer. What we try to do now is take our books to every literary forum that we are invited to.

    “For some of our creative books and text books, we send some copies to lecturers who will be able to read the books if they are interested. One will reduce the cost of selling price as we sell directly. That way, we are moving on. It’s quite encouraging. Also, for every new book, we send the booksellers’ complimentary copies. In an average, we do a minimum of sixty new books in a year excluding reprint. We don’t consider reprint a new title,” he said.

    Beyond distribution, Shaba observed that the Nigerian society does not support general interest reading and books written for leisure. This, he said, is one of the challenges facing book publishing, noting that a society where the cost of distribution is higher than the unit cost of the book is inclement for growth.

    He wondered what to expect in a society where the per capital income is low and where there is a shift in the reading culture away from general interest to books that are set for exams.

    He also decried the non-functioning of most libraries but called for the establishment of one library in every local council area. “We are talking of 774 local government councils and we have three books for each library, definitely we would not be where we are. At least these books will go round and the awareness will be there,” he said. On the challenges with bookshops, he said: “There are times you publish book and you see people pick them, particularly if they are using them to teach. The ones that go to bookshops, bookshop owners will tell you that these books are not recommended. If as a publisher you want the books to be sold, they will collect it from you and it is until when they are sold they will give you the money,” he noted, adding that there are lot of budding writers who write more than they read.

    He observed that most Nigerians read only recommended text and that in internet age people are shifting focus and moving away from interest books. According to him, politicians who should read about the late Nnamdi Azikiwe or Obafemi Awolowo to know about what they have done don’t even read biographies or books on the great nationalists.

    For the publisher, the greatest Nigerian novel ever written is Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart because it is there for such long a time. “I won’t say it is the greatest, but it is well read,” he added.

    On his assessment of e-books climate in Nigeria, he said: “I prefer the text books. There are challenges of e-books, I will prefer the text books because I can refer to it, I don’t even have the e-reader. I prefer the text. I don’t publish e-books and it has its own challenges just like the other forms of publishing. At times if I want to access e-books, you will consider electricity, and data plan. The challenges are really enormous and when your system is corrupted, you will lose what you have.”

    Shaba disclosed that Kraft Books handles all forms of publishing including self publishing but ‘if the book is not good enough, we will not publish.’

    “We won’t put it under our label. You can take it to the printer. In our publishing house, the assessor will assess your work. We are not garbage in and out,” he said.

  • Distribution bane of publishing in Nigeria –Onyenokwe

    Distribution bane of publishing in Nigeria –Onyenokwe

    With more than a dozen magazine covers jostling with various online publications for public attention, while vendors litter the streets of Lagos, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Publisher of TW Magazine and a Mara Mentor, says the biggest problem with publishing in Nigeria is distribution.

    Globally, increased competition with digital media has seen print media forced to supplement their platforms with websites as technological innovations threaten to silence hardcopy newspapers completely.

    According to the 2013 The State of the News Media Report, the total traffic to the top 25 news sites increased 7.2% in 2012. And according to Pew Research data, 39% of respondents got news online or from a mobile device, up from 34% in 2010, when the survey was last conducted, indicating patterns of audience growth on digital platforms.

    Onyenokwe, who was recently discussing the dynamics of media enterprise on the Mara Mentor Talk Show, however voiced optimism towards Nigeria’s publishing industry, stating the need to break the cycle of traditional distribution and recognise the need to supplement print media with the innovations of new media as important to business success.

    Addressing issues surrounding the business of publishing in Nigeria, Onyenokwe said prospective media entrepreneurs should adopt creative ways to deal with the challenges that come their way. According to her, TW Magazine launched a website and app to supplement its print version, thus aligning with the proliferation of digital devices in peoples’ lives.

    She also implored young entrepreneurs to take time to learn and understand industries completely before going into business. “If you live in a neighbourhood and something about it bothers you, then maybe that’s where your business lies,” says Onyenokwe.

    But as more Nigerians get access to the web, new media is increasingly gaining ground with citizen journalism on social media and mobile apps, while blogs and websites continue to gain traction and amass a significant size of advertising budgets.  Newspapers and magazines, on the other hand, are seemingly stuck on the wrong side of the McLuhan’s famous Theory of Technological Determinism, which predicts more emphasis on digital media as the world advances.

    However, Onyenokwe believes the key to transforming the fortunes of print media businesses in Nigeria perhaps lies with changing the sector’s distribution mechanism, which is still largely characterised by road-side hawking and the ubiquitous free readers association.

     

  • ‘Piracy killing publishing’

    ONE of the problems of the books industry is piracy, the President, Christian Books Association Nigeria (CBAN), Mrs Modupe Ehirim, has said.

    She spoke at this year’s national convention/fair of the group in Lagos.

    She said because of the problem, there are more pirated books in the market, adding that given their cheap prices and the economic downtourn in the country, some people prefer them to the original ones.

    Praising the National Copyright Commission (NCC) on its battle against piracy, she said more efforts by the law enforcement agency and other sister agencies would help to nip the problem.

    Mrs Ehirim urged the government to prosecute the cases of arrested books’ pirates, adding that arrests and seizures of their books were not enough to deter suspects and others from the illegal trade.

    She called for more enlightenment on the evils of piracy to the economy, saying that more people should be urged to desist from buying pirated books.

    On the fair, she said it was aimed at making available good books and creating awareness for the industry. Assessing its impact in the last 10 years, she said the turnout of people at the fair had been impressive. “Last year’s fair in Port Harcourt was well attended. Beside books, we also feature music and other church materials in our fairs. As Christians, we do not sell what is fake. We only sell good materials,” she said.

    She also called on the government to assist CBAN’s members by repairing roads and providing other social amenities, which she said, were hampering the distribution of books, adding that the wear and tear of the roads was adding to the cost of distribution and making business difficult. “My bookshop is not in Lagos. Because of bad roads, it takes some time to distribute to some customers,” she said.

    On Nigerians reading culture, she said: “It is poor. The environment does not encourage reading. In those, the British Council Library was very conducive for reading for us. Now there are no such public libraries or where they exist, they are not enough. But this is changing. Adults are beginning to appreciate the importance of reading. It is the same thing with the youth. In our bookshop, we had invited youths for an excursion. She commended President Goodluck Jonathan for encouraging reading culture through the Bring Back Book project,” adding that the programme should be sustained.

    She urged Nigerians to read, saying that reading enables people not only to know about themselves but also about others abroad and how they solve their problems.