South Africa Celebrates World Book Day

Check out this Sowetan article, Share books with a child, this World Book Day. The article offers tips to get your children reading at home.

You can also download stories for your children on Nal'ibali. The site has a growing collection of stories that you can download and read through with your children.

On a personal note, Mma and I are doing well. She's now sitting on the front stoep, enjoying the sun and the garden. For some reason, this morning I was in the mood for GLEE's cover of PINK's Raise Your Glass. It's adding a bit of bounce to me while I work.

Decision validated

An old friend unknowingly validated my decision to retell and publish old Setswana folktales. She SMSed me to ask me if I still remembered the story of Tselane and the giant, and if so, can I retell it to her?

She says she's the official storyteller to her nieces and the they are having so much fun she needs more stories for variety. Of course I was happy to send her a copy of the story. We'll see what she thinks.

I think she is the ideal target market for my children's stories - someone who regularly tells the children in her care bedtime stories and has a very keen interest in African folktales. Now if I could find more like her to buy my ebooks:-)

Meanwhile, I have a guest post on Young Work At Home Moms, where I chat about the benefits and challenges of working from home.  Check it out.

Revving Up My Social Media Marketing

I hope you like the new look and feel of the blog. I hadn't intended to change the scheme, but I lost the template for the last design while I was experimenting with blogger - something that I usually do so when I actually upgrade my designs I know what I'm doing. So, I decided to go with a predominantly blank canvass, with book covers and hopefully, photographs, bringing in the colour.

The upgrade was timely though, because I've recently revved up our social media marketing with the help of Gaynor Paynter of Talking Point Media Consulting and it will be nice for our visitors to find us on a fresh, updated site.

Gaynor's role is to promote my books online. Basically, she will maintain the Damaria Senne Media Facebook page, integrate it with my twitter, Google+ and other social media platforms,make sure that they are all updated regularly, arrange guest-blogging gigs for me and place free articles in article directories and place free adverts for the books in various online marketing directories. Gaynor will also help me get the books reviewed.

Outsourcing this task will cost me a bit of money, but I'm very comfortable with the decision, as it frees me up to spend more time writing, publishing and doing client work while having the assurance that the marketing and promotion work is getting done.

BTW, don't forget to take part in this week's competition to vote for your preferred Waking Up Grandma book cover. 

1st Prize =  $5 Amazon gift voucher + two of my ebooks of your choice
2nd Prize =  Two of my ebooks of your choice
3rd prize= A Kindle copy of Waking Up Grandma

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Buy The Doll That Grew

Pule's sister Neo broke his wire car during the wire car race in their village. Pule was furious but he forgave Neo - until she damaged his car again. Then he decided to get revenge.

Buy The Doll That Grew on Amazon today.

The Doll That Grew officially launches on 5th March

Thank God it’s Friday!  It was not a hectic week choc-full of deadlines, but it was stressful in a “I hate waiting for editorial queries from the publisher” kind of way. I expected the queries to come through and the printing dates are looming. So not hearing from managing editor tied my stomach in all kinds of ugly knots.

So I decided to put some focus on personal/self-published projects. The big news is that I’m having an official launch for The Doll That Grew on Friday the 5^th March 2012. It will be a virtual launch.  

Please invite me to be a guest on your blog so I can talk about:

• writing for children
•  e-publishing
• publishing rights (the rights to The Doll That Grew reverted to me after the book was published by Macmillan South Africa)
• self-publishing
• the writing life
•  making a living as a writer
• writing for different platforms 

You can also interview me to do an author or publisher profile, or ask me to chat on your blog on whatever topic is suitable for your readers that also resonates with what I do.

I also welcome reviews on Amazon (I can send you the Word manuscript so you can read the story and share with potential buyers on Amazon what you think about it. Email me at damariasenne@gmail.com for a copy. )

The Doll That Grew is currently being translated to Setswana, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, French and German. Translators have been assigned and now it's a matter of time before the books are ready to be loaded on Amazon too.

I figured since I’m publishing the book electronically, it will not take too much to translate it too and it would be lovely if parents were able to read the story to their children in their native languages.   Many thanks to all the people who agreed to translate the book for me.  Your assistance is appreciated. Muchly!

New cover for "The doll that grew"

The good news is that my children's story, The Doll That Grew, is almost ready for release through Amazon. I just need to sort out a few pesky details, like choosing a cover, loading the title on Amazon and setting a launch date.

Meanwhile, I have 3 suggested covers to choose  from. The difference is in the text. Please vote for the cover you prefer in the comments section?

Option 1

 

Option 2

Option 3

In more writing news: I was in Joburg again yesterday and have been selected to co-write a course (has to do with writing and publishing, so it's not a stretch). This is excellent news, as I need the security of steady work while I adapt to living part-time in a different province/town and caring for my mother. The only problem is that this commuting back and forth is very tiring ( and getting old fast). But there is no other option, so I'll just have to suck it up.

Spending the day reviewing another chapter of Book 7 and dealing with queries from the client publisher.

Inspired to read across genres

By Pamela Moeng

Check the Sunday Independent Book Review section (Sunday, 29 January) to read about locally written and published crime novels with female protagonists.

I was surprised at the number of local writers writing crime thrillers, a genre out of my normal choice range for a number of reasons. What I read made me think I need to read more widely across genres I have never thought of tackling (reading or writing) before.

My thing, from the impressionable teen years, was romance novels. I read them voraciously through my teens, twenties and even, secretly like a dirty little vice, into my thirties. Now I (try to) write them, while harbouring the ambition to be the next Barbara Cartland.

Romance is good for the soul, I say, despite the arguments that the happily-ever-after endings give our daughters and possibly sons the wrong idea about relationships, not to mention marriage. Chick lit is another favourite of mine – I love the wit and humour of them.

But crime thrillers just never crossed my mind as a possible genre. A friend who lived with me for a while and I had an addiction to Crime and Investigation on DSTV, but after a time I realised I was seeing psychopaths and serial killers around every corner. Dinner party conversation so often focuses on crime these days and reading about it just seems like overkill, no pun intended.

Nevertheless, given the apparent popularity of female protagonists in local crime thrillers, I’m going to read a few to support local writers and publishers and to see what I may be missing in a brand new genre.
I think I will also research which successful authors cross genres and are successful in more than one.

Self-publishing is not for losers

Today I'm keeping a low profile, writing my fingers off on client projects and guest-posts to promote the ebook.

Thanks Rebecca for agreeing to to host me as a guest-blogger. BTW, Rebecca is currently asking her readers: Should you self-publish your book?  Please hop over there and share your views with her and her readers.

Self-publishing is not for losers:-)

My answer is: self-publish when it is appropriate for you. There are works that I reserve to submit to mainstream publishers for consideration and works that I choose to self-publish.

However, the important thing for me is not to self-publish a project because mainstream publishers have rejected it and therefore, I self-publish as a last resort. That would mean that self-publishing is somehow... less... and it isn't.  It would mean self-publishing is for projects that other people don't want. Not a good recipe for success, I think.

My criteria is based on whether I believe I can easily find a home for a project [if the hunt for a publisher requires too much research, or if I already communicate with the target market that would buy the product, then I may choose to self-publish.]
Preparing to launch through smashwords

We're also doing a new format for the ebook to publish on smashwords. This is not going to affect the way the PDF book that is one sale, but the publisher has very specific guidelines on how the want the book and I'd really love for it to be released with them too, as they offer ebooks in a variety of formats.

How has your week been so far?

Starting Your Own Business in South Africa by Barrie Terblanche, Pamela Moeng

The 12th edition of South Africa's bestselling guide to starting a business is now on sale. Updated in 2010 and published in August, the book is made up of 3 main sections: Planning, Getting started and Scaling up.

The book is published by USA Oxford University Press and is available from Kalahari.net for R211.95.Exclusive Books is also offering the book at a very special web site price of R180.00.

Nice one, Pam!

Now I’m getting greedy

By Damaria Senne

Last week a friend of mine gave me a box full of Afrikaans literature novels and poetry collections, so I could donate the books to a school or library of my choice.

I’m heavily involved with READ SA and moderate its Facebook page, so I never run out of schools and libraries to give away books to. So I posted an announcement on the FB page offering the books and within a day, I had someone who’s starting a school in Pietermaritzburg asking if he could have them. Of course I said yes, and we’re now making plans for him to send someone to pick them up.

So where does greed come into play?

The school founder mentioned that they are setting up the library from scratch and would love to stock with classic literature in local languages (all 11 of them). And well… I want to help them. Or rather, I want to ask you to help them.

So, I’d like to ask you to donate your very pricey novels and poetry collections to this school:-). Email me at damariasenne@gmail.com if you have a couple of books to donate, and I’ll give you my address so you can drop the books off  at an agreed upon location or post them. My request is not time sensitive, so if you miss the first delivery, which will happen as soon as we make arrangements, we can send the books on later.

I also want to thank you for supporting many of the causes I’ve spoken about here. You guys are great, and really, I wouldn't have been able to use this blog to support non-profit organisations as well as I have in the past if it were not for you and your donations of needed items. So, THANK YOU!

Introducing Jenny

The great news is that the artist I've been in talks with about doing illustrations for my children's book that's coming out in September has, in principle, agreed to do the job. We still have to sort out the storyboard samples and contract issues, but things are moving along.

Her name is Jenny. As you can see from her company web site, she's a very talented lady. And if you also need her services for one of your projects, please do feel free to contact her directly.

New Releases Planned For 2011 So Far

It's now official - the big non-fiction book will be launched on the 9 June 2011.I'm still not sure what I can say or cannot say about the contents of the book, so I'll check with my publisher and maybe tell you more then. I'll also  find out if they will set up a pre-ordering facility and maybe some of y'all can buy a copy or two before the launch?

Heh! No presssure on you there! My publisher sounds like he already has an aggressive marketing plan in place, and my marketing role there is small and I think, optional. I still plan to work hard to promote the book, because I think young people visiting South Africa for the first time will need it. But, it sounds like the publisher plans to do more than just include it in their catalogue.

Children's book in the works too

I'm also planning to publish an illustrated children's book, with the launch date set for Thursday 1 September 2011. Basically, the story is about tree planting, which is why I'm choosing Arbour Month to launch  the book.

I've already written and edited the book, and just need to give it to professional editors to work on it and then assign an illustrator. I don't have the resources to pay an illustrator upfront, so I'll mostly look for someone willing to take royalties against sales.

I expect it's going to be a lot of hard work ( and a steep learning curve) to do this title, because it will be the first book I self-publish through my new company Damaria Senne Media (which I've already registered). But it's not my first published children's book, so I will have some credentials to leverage this on.


I also have some works collecting dust in my laptop, which I'm going to go through and evaluate, with the view of submitting them for publication or self-publishing them as epubs.

Huh! We'll see how that works out.

Letters Of Rejection Every Writer Must Read

Check out author Richard de Nooy's pre-emptive letters of rejection. Here's a sample:

Dear Paris Review,

Although I am honoured by your request to contribute to your magazine, I regret to inform you that I must cordially decline as it has come to my attention that you have long preyed on the gullibility of those ignorant enough to believe that you are based in the French capital, when indeed you are little more than a colonial rag, buffing up and serving somewhat outdated quotes to your friends on social networks. That said, I wish you the very best of luck in your further endeavours.

Yours in writing,

Richard de Nooy

LOL! Read the rest of the letters

So who's Richard? He's one of my favourite humour writers, that's who. "Met" him online through READ SA. As for his credentials, he's grew up in Johannesburg, but has lived in Amsterdam for more than 20 years. His first novel Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot (Jacana, 2007) won the University of Johannesburg Prize for Best First Book. It was published in Dutch as Zes beetwonden en een tetanusprik by Nijgh & Van Ditmar in 2008. De Nooy was awarded a grant by the Dutch Foundation for Literature to write his second novel in Dutch. Zacht als Staal will be published in August 2010. He is currently working on the English edition of this novel.

Learn more about Richard and his writing
Join READ SA's Facebook group.

Donate Books to Bookery

By Megan Voisey-Braig

ReadSA appeals to you to donate books to Equal Education’s Bookery. Equal Education is in particular need of primary and high school books, non-fiction and reference books. All donated books should be in a satisfactory condition please. Any books in Afrikaans and in Xhosa are most welcome too, as are any other books.


Equal Education also needs assistance with helping the school libraries acquire Libwin Software, for cataloguing purposes. Volunteers are always welcome to help sort out and catalogue donated books.

Address to donate books:

The Bookery 20 Roeland Street Cape Town.

 From the building of school libraries to the giving of a book, Equal Education needs you in their community!

About Equal Education and Bookery

Equal Education is a community-based organisation. It is vigorously campaigning for quality and equality in the South African education system and we engage in evidence and research based activism for improving the nation’s schools. We promote the constitutional right to equality and education, with the firm belief that these will enable the poor and working class to an equal opportunity in life.
The campaign for School libraries. Only 8% of public schools in South Africa have functional libraries. These are almost entirely situated in former Model C schools, which continually have the resources to stock and staff these facilities. Approximately 20,000 schools are without libraries, thereby denying their learners access to regular reading opportunities.

The Bookery is the home of the Equal Education’s campaign for school libraries the slogan (1 school, 1 library, 1 librarian) was adopted for it, the campaign started in 2009. Most of the children in poor communities only have their first access to a reading book that they can take home and read for themselves in a school library.

Research shows that student performance increases by about 10% and 25% when a library space is adequately stocked, and properly staffed within a school.

The Bookery is where we collect books, sort them, cover and catalogue them to a computer software that allows the school to manage the books once they receive them. We work on giving 3 books per learner “ if the school has 1000 learners they get 3000 books.”

From the moment we have identified the school we will work with as partners, the process takes 4 weeks until the opening of the library. We gather support and regularly visit and monitor the school library, until they are ready to take on the library on their own.

We have opened the 3 school libraries this year. We opened the first one in Khayelitsha Thembelihle High School, Lavender Hill High School in Retreat and our third was opened last Friday Masiyile Secondary Khayelitsha.

For more information on Equal Education, please visit their website

With thanks, Read South Africa and Equal Education.

1400 Readers, Writers, Editors, Publishers & Librarians Like Read SA

I just want to celebrate with you the fact that the Facebook page for Read SA now has 1400 fans. This is a great milestone, I think. Many thanks to all of you for supporting this worthy initiative and telling your friends and business associates about it.

If you're in the book publishing industry in some way ( writer, editor, publisher or even accountant), or if you're a parent/educator or just love reading and want to encourage South Africans to read and be well-read, please join us?

I'd also like to ask you to tell you book club, forum where y'all talk about books you're reading, your writing group or even your family members about this initiative.

Help us get South Africa reading!

Request For You To Donate Books To A Poor Community

Andrew Davis has written to me via READ SA, asking us to donate books to the community of Zoar. Basically, if you'd like to participate, you can choose a book that you want to donate, and mail it to the physical address he has provided. As a blogger, you can also help by re-publishing Andrew's letter below, which outlines the community of Zoar and its reading needs:

The community of Zoar is a very poor Afrikaans rural community situated approximately eighty kilometres from Oudtshoorn in a village.

The community struggles against poverty, illiteracy and unemployment as the majority of them are seasonal workers on the surrounding fruit farms.

The people have very limited resources to expand their world. And because of the limited resources and lack of money they are caught up in an awful social reality, where you get alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancies and high levels of crime.

READ SA forms part of a bigger community, and therefore it is our social responsibility to equip these people with certain skills and knowlegde useful for the challenges of society.

I firmly believe that having access to the wonderful world of books will contribute to their development and the transformation in thought.

I therefore ask you humbly to help these people by giving them books to read. Having mention all these things, I have to inform you that there is a small library, but with very limited books.

Will you please help us , so that we can start by exposing people to a world of books, especially non-fiction,spiritual,refe

rence books, psychology,motivational books,etc

Post books to:

Andrew Davids
1 Bo- Street
Zoar, Ladismith(WCP)
6656
Email: davids@hilbert.co.za

Are You Attending Read SA's “Meet the Writers” London Event?

Read SA invites you to “Meet the Writers” at a special event in London the day after the conclusion of the London Book Fair.

Join SA authors at The Meat & Wine Co., Westfield London, on Thursday April 22 at 7pm (click here for map).

Your hosts will be the South African writers Imraan Coovadia, Siphiwo Mahala, Angela Makholwa, Thando Mgqolozana, Kgebetli Moele, Ndumiso Ngcobo, Fiona Snyckers, Zukiswa Wanner and more!

Bookings are just £90 per person and include a three-course meal and seating at a writer’s table. All proceeds from the event go to Read SA, a registered non-profit organisation that aims to boost the profile of South African writing locally and abroad.

Write to ReadSouthAfrica@gmail.com for details and to book. We look forward to welcoming you in London!

What Criteria Do You Use To Buy Books By A New To You Author?

"The most criticism that’s levelled on writers is that after the submission of the manuscript, we sit back and relax and wait for the book to sell itself," writes Zukiswa Wanner in her latest post entitled "It's Still The Marketing Stupid!" Zukiswa is the author of Behind Every Successful Man and The Madams.

I beg to differ on that with regards to South African writers (and you can call me a fictional writer if you like), she says.

"South African writers are some of the most hard-working marketers that I know. I have never yet known anyone who has turned down a chance for a radio or television interview. I am yet to come across a writer in this country who is approached by a magazine to write an article and they do not do it. This should be enough to put them in the psyche of the mainstream right? Right?"

Nope!

Check out her full post here.

So, I'd like to ask you guys to tell Zukiswa what brings writers to your consciousness when you buy books. How do you decide which new author to try out, and which book to buy?Have you ever decided to buy a book because you liked an author who was interviewed on TV or radio or you read their profile in a magazines?

Why I love Ebooks

One paperback novel at Exclusive Books ( by my favourite author) = R103

Three secondhand paperback novels = R40 each, which translates into R120. If I can find the books.

Eleven ebooks by my favourite authors (same titles I could have bought in paperback) = R111.50 from Must Love Books.

And yes, I still love being able to touch a book and turn the page. But somehow, the math says buy an ebook. I don't have to leave the house to get the books, they are way cheaper and I still get the same titles I would have if I bought the paperback. Now if only I could afford a decent ebook reader.

SIGH!

So how do you feel about ebooks? Do you ever opt to read them, rather than a book? And why?

I'm Famous!

LOL. Not really.

But the authors of Ethnicity Inc. refer to me and a blog post that I published about the plan of the Royal Bafokeng Nation to install Internet services in my home village, Phokeng. [more of a footnote, really:-)]

Still, it felt weird reading my words in the book. And I was mildly freaked out by the realisation that once you publish something in the Internet, your words can spread to places you never even dreamt they could reach, and have unintended consequences.

To paraphrase Lord of the Rings' Frodo, when he spoke about his uncle Bilbo Baggins: "It's a dangerous business, Damaria, blogging on the Internet. Once you publish your words on your blog, there is no telling where they might be swept off to."

P.S. Ethnicity Inc. is a penetrating account of the ways in which ethnic populations are remaking themselves in the image of the corporation—while corporations coopt ethnic practices to open up new markets and regimes of consumption. It was released last week, and is available at Exclusive Books.

Thanks Sue, for the heads up.

And in the second episode of Kwanda