AfroSamurai:
If you don't like reading you wouldn't have been a Nairalander.

Gbam!

Donald3d:
Most of them don't understand their target audience when advertising

Hmm! Can you explain this further?

Imarnuel04:
People are too stressed out to read. Simple

Then maybe the authors need to make the stories very short and very catchy (page turners). What do you think?

AfroSamurai:
Actually, nigerians read. If nigerians don't read people like Linda Ikeji, Seun and the rest of them won't be millionaires today.

The trick is, nigerians don't read the kind of literature that adds value to them. A cursory look at this fact is using Nairaland's literature section as an example. The amount of traffic it generate is far below what other section like Romance (usually fool of horsesh1t) generate.

So, before there will be what the OP is asking, we nigerians have to re-orientate our minds.

True. Very true. Thanks for your comment.

RickandMorty:
Because we are just existing in Nigeria, we are not living.

85% of the polulation are just trying to get through the day without dying or starving.

Hmm

Poor marketing, and most of the books are like pamphlets which is quite discouraging

Nigerians read..just not fiction

If someone like Royver or SammyHoe ever writes a book, I'll definitely buy even after reading the whole story on here.

And I'm not talking PDF, I'm talking about a book I can hold and flip it's pages., fold some part I paused on..


I begged one of them to make one of his story on here into a book that I want to buy, I was ready to pay anything even if na 10k then, money dey scratch me to spend then.
The guy no gree o.

So how can you blame us for not buying, where are the books? Or you want me to take a picture of my collection?
Both Nigerian and foreign.

AfroSamurai:
Actually, nigerians read. If nigerians don't read people like Linda Ikeji, Seun and the rest of them won't be millionaires today.

The trick is, nigerians don't read the kind of literature that adds value to them. A cursory look at this fact is using Nairaland's literature section as an example. The amount of traffic it generate is far below what other section like Romance (usually fool of horsesh1t) generate.

So, before there will be what the OP is asking, we nigerians have to re-orientate our minds.

Browsing sections like romance provides more informative value than literature section. In the midst of all the trolling and trivial discussions, there is still a lot of useful information disseminated through articles and blog posts. Maybe you should have used a better juxtaposition. There is nothing of value in reading books on literature section. Most of the writers there are uncreative and just waste time doling out mediocre stories that contain the plots of already successful books. Reading stories on literature section adds no value to my intellectual experience. It doesn't open up my mind to new ways of thinking, it doesn't broaden my knowledge of the world, it doesn't introduce me to the real stories of real people, and it doesn't contain any profound philosophical theme that's worth pondering.

kayo80:


You said I am wrong, then you say it is because nobody has tried it. I don't get you. Is there any millionaire fiction author in Nigeria that made his/her money in Nigeria, from fiction book sales in Nigeria? No. That's my argument. By the way, Nnedi Okoroafor lives in America.

Wrong because your query does not make any literal sense and is irrelevant, you should be asking where are the Nigerian Science Fiction writers; find them and find your millionaire and if you're asking because you made your millions from SciFi then please what is the name of your book so we can patronise you further.

And again thanks for clarifying your question.

https://www.nairaland.com/332444/nigerian-ever-written-science-fiction

meneski:
we must force our people to start buying books.

You force them to buy it. Can you force them to read it? How do we force them to buy it anyway?

Masterxmind:
Poor marketing, and most of the books are like pamphlets which is quite discouraging

What if they made the books like Pamphlets cos Nigerians don't read, and they feel the shorter books/stories would at least hold the short attention Nigerians have for reading fiction.

correctguy101:
If someone like Royver or SammyHoe ever writes a book, I'll definitely buy even after reading the whole story on here.

And I'm not talking PDF, I'm talking about a book I can hold and flip it's pages., fold some part I paused on..


I begged one of them to make one of his story on here into a book that I want to buy, I was ready to pay anything even if na 10k then, money dey scratch me to spend then.
The guy no gree o.

So how can you blame us for not buying, where are the books? Or you want me to take a picture of my collection?
Both Nigerian and foreign.

OK. I understand you. I guess you are one in a million.

We actually av fiction writers? Abegeee. They are more like glossed-over autobiographers. Who wants to read about someone elses' lives when they are struggling with theirs?

kayo80:


What if they made the books like Pamphlets cos Nigerians don't read, and they feel the shorter books/stories would at least hold the short attention Nigerians have for reading fiction.

Wrong again...

Spasmic:


Browsing sections like romance provides more informative value than literature section. In the midst of all the trolling and trivial discussions, there is still a lot of useful information disseminated through articles and blog posts. Maybe you should have used a better juxtaposition. There is nothing of value in reading books on literature section. Most of the writers there are uncreative and just waste time doling out mediocre stories that contain the plots of already successful books. Reading stories on literature section adds no value to my intellectual experience. It doesn't open up my mind to new ways of thinking, it doesn't broaden my knowledge of the world, it doesn't introduce me to the real stories of real people, and it doesn't contain any profound philosophical theme that's worth pondering.

You have made a valid point. I try to put a these elements in my stories... Please try and read mine whenever you have time. Thanks.

kayo80:

Yes, Nigerians don't really read, but someone like NaijaSingleGirl was able to capture a lot of Nigerians with her humor and controversial subject matters. But since she released her book (29 and single or something like that) two years ago, the book has sold just 800 copies on Okadabooks. I was really disappointed in her sales, judging from her popularity and all the promo she did before the book was released, I was expecting it to have sold at least a couple of thousands of copies.

We have a population of 180 million. And in Lagos alone, there are like 20 million people. What can be done to turn things around so fiction authors make a good living from their works?

It has nothing to do with reading habit. More of reading interest. I am afraid to break this news to You, it will get worse.

We are a country of misplaced priorities.

Now the truth is Nigerians read but what do they read? What do they take serious? Your answer lies there.

Why did MMM explode?

Why did sports betting skyrocket?

Why is everyone wanting to be star?

I could go on and on...

But the essence is to point out where our interest lies.

We have no time to leisure reading.

kayo80:

OK. I understand you. I guess you are one in a million.

Nope, I believe in a trillion... People are much in the world na...

futurism:


It has nothing to do with reading habit. More of reading interest. I am afraid to break this news to You, it will get worse.

We are a country of misplaced priorities.

Now the truth is Nigerians read but what do they read? What do they take serious? Your answer lies there.

Why did MMM explode?

Why did sports betting skyrocket?

Why is everyone wanting to be star?

I could go on and on...

But the essence is to point out where our interest lies.

We have no time to leisure reading.

Hmm! I get your point.

Spasmic:


Browsing sections like romance provides more informative value than literature section. In the midst of all the trolling and trivial discussions, there is still a lot of useful information disseminated through articles and blog posts. Maybe you should have used a better juxtaposition. There is nothing of value in reading books on literature section. Most of the writers there are uncreative and just waste time doling out mediocre stories that contain the plots of already successful books. Reading stories on literature section adds no value to my intellectual experience. It doesn't open up my mind to new ways of thinking, it doesn't broaden my knowledge of the world, it doesn't introduce me to the real stories of real people, and it doesn't contain any profound philosophical theme that's worth pondering.

What about this? https://www.nairaland.com/4225131/sango-osun-love-story

correctguy101:

Nope, I believe in a trillion...
People are much in the world na...

Lol!

If you want to hide something from a black man.....

kayo80:

Yes, Nigerians don't really read, but someone like NaijaSingleGirl was able to capture a lot of Nigerians with her humor and controversial subject matters. But since she released her book (29 and single or something like that) two years ago, the book has sold just 800 copies on Okadabooks. I was really disappointed in her sales, judging from her popularity and all the promo she did before the book was released, I was expecting it to have sold at least a couple of thousands of copies.

We have a population of 180 million. And in Lagos alone, there are like 20 million people. What can be done to turn things around so fiction authors make a good living from their works?

They love free work do Nigerians. nijiasinglegirl was just lucky. I have produced 3 masterpiece novels. combined, they have not been downloaded as much as my free works.

This is one reason I,m moving into writing fiction on blogs but I have found a way to monitize. only if I had a Nigerian sponsor,

plagiarism has a role to play in the matter.

I now do other kind of writing

Eze2000:


They love free work do Nigerians. nijiasinglegirl was just lucky. I have produced 3 masterpiece novels. combined, they have not been downloaded as much as my free works.

This is one reason I,m moving into writing fiction on blogs but I have found a way to monitize. only if I had a Nigerian sponsor,

plagiarism has a role to play in the matter.

I now do other kind of writing

Which way have you found to monetize your stories? Please share. I just really want authors to be able to make a decent living from their works... Whether it is directly or indirectly.

Spasmic:
I see reading fiction as a complete waste of time. It doesn't add a modicum of value to my life. That's why I don't read it. And you Nigeria fiction writers aren't even creative to begin with. All you do is rehash old stories or copy the plot of already successful books.

I mean this in a nice way. But you, my friend, are merely ignorant. What books have you tried to read? Wanna know how you reached this conclusion of yours.

Do you think movies too are a waste of time?

Very many factors militate against having a financially successful novelist in our clime. These include; poor economy with majority of Nigerians living below the poverty line, poor reading culture, ineffectual copyright and intellectual property laws, piracy, high cost of book production, stiff competition from other media i.e. Nollywood etc, lack of interest and financial support from publishers amongst other factors that I haven't thought of right away.

Some persons above me have highlighted the reasons why, summarized thus:
- Nigerians are too stressed out to read.
- Nollywood might have taken over the play.
- The average Nigerian writer is not creative.
- Poor marketing of the art.
- Nigerians are trying to survive first, before living (congruent with the first point above).
- Nigerians don't read... etc.

Dike Chukwumerije, the (in my own opinion) popular poet-cum-wordsmith once shared his own experience. He told the story of how he launched his first poem book but made insignificant sales, and how that stimulated him to think and discover another way to sell his creative. Today he travels to cities in Nigeria to do what he calls the Made in Nigeria spoken word poetry. The last time he visited Lagos he sold tickets for N4,000. Guess what? Tickets were all sold out, and people even thought the show was worth more than the ticket price.

I'm of the opinion that sales involves strategy and should be followed as such, whatever the field. It is not enough to have a great content; one needs to, as someone has already pointed out here, know your target audience. One needs to understand the behavioural traits of the people you want to sell your creative to. I write too, as a hobby anyways, and friends tell me to take it up as a job full time. But there's more to making money from writing than just putting up a great story.

I'm welcome to ideas of make millionaires off writing.

kjhova:
Very many factors militate against having a financially successful novelist in our clime. These include; poor economy with majority of Nigerians living below the poverty line, poor reading culture, ineffectual copyright and intellectual property laws, piracy, high cost of book production, stiff competition from other media i.e. Nollywood etc, lack of interest and financial support from publishers amongst other factors that I haven't thought of right away.

I totally agree with this point you've just raised, what good is an unsupported author or book. Then again publishers especially in the parts of Nigeria of have been fortunate to reside tend to look for easy pay books even going as far as reprinting works from The African Writers Series.

BruncleZuma:


I totally agree with this point you've just raised, what good is an unsupported author or book. Then again publishers especially in the parts of Nigeria of have been fortunate to reside tend to look for easy pay books even going as far as reprinting works from The African Writers Series.

Nigerian book publishers are also struggling and have to make their business decisions on shoe string budgets too. This is a critical problem.

I once started a work titled "THE ORIGINS (Essay on Confraternities in Nigerian campuses" and required to do many interviews, some of which were going to be clandestine, at locations criss crossing the 6 geo-political zones of the country. The project also required visiting certain locations which kept being mentioned by early interviewees to get good perspective necessary for better descriptive narrative in the book.

I visited Longman as well as two lesser known publishers with my early manuscripts and midget recordings...of course, nothing came of my request for at least a review session and at best a pre-deal or something. Needless to say that I abandoned the project eventually. Shame on me.

kjhova:


Nigerian book publishers are also struggling and have to make their business decisions on shoe string budgets too. This is a critical problem.

I once started a work titled "THE ORIGINS (Essay on Confraternities in Nigerian campuses" and required to do many interviews, some of which were going to be clandestine, at locations criss crossing the 6 geo-political zones of the country. The project also required visiting certain locations which kept being mentioned by early interviewees to get good perspective necessary for better descriptive narrative in the book.

I visited Longman as well as two lesser known publishers with my early manuscripts and midget recordings...of course, nothing came of my request for at least a review session and at best a pre-deal or something. Needless to say that I abandoned the project eventually. Shame on me.

As far as your manuscript exists you shouldn't give up just yet.