International Publishing Fellowship: Day 2 – A MERRY MANCHESTER AND A HAPPY NEW RESOLUTION

Muwado Ad by BadidiTech Holdings

For many self-employed Ugandans, this year began in February. We spent the first weeks of January preparing for a rumoured internet shutdown, then enjoying the break from our 24-hour businesses during the internet shutdown, and finally scrambling for school fees through the rest of the month. Anyways, the internet is back, school fees are still traumatic, politics is still weird, and now we can start the year.

I have been amazed by the feedback I have received about my series of posts on the International Publishing Fellowship, most of it offline. I was surprised by how many people noticed that I did not finish the series. I stopped at Day 1 (1.4). I promised to return to it, and here I am, excited to share one of the most important sessions for me.

We took the train from London to the beautiful Manchester city on a very, very rainy Friday morning. I overheard people calling Manchester the rainy city, or was it the weeping city, something like that. For us books people, the more important fun fact is that Manchester is a UNESCO City of Literature.

After sorting out our accommodation for the night, we walked through the rain again. Despite the showers, walking in Manchester felt like walking in a movie scene. A nice blend of traditional and modern infrastructure. We walked to the home of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation. And about three hours later, I concluded that this session was my turning point in the programme.

We listened as Andrew Biswell shared an enlightening introduction and background on the International Burgess Foundation. Then Kevin Duffy spoke about book rights, Ra Page about Translations, and Isabelle Kenyon about marketing. These were round table discussions, not workshops. No PowerPoint slides, just sharing from the heart. And my goodness, everything was exactly what I needed to hear! This session made me believe in publishing again, and in writing, and editing, and Scribe House again.

The discussion is too weighty for me to pour out in detail, I did not take minutes, but Rebecca asked us at the end of it all to share our reflections, or what in Uganda we call the ‘take-home’ of the day. These are the reflections I shared, the things that truly hit home for me:

• Even though England has a much more organised publishing industry than Africa in general, some publishing dynamics are the same. Independent publishers are at the front line. We discover talent. We uncover hidden gems. We may not always have the capacity to turn them into global sensations, but we expose them to systems, and global publishers, that can. And that is actually a good thing. Do not give up on new, untrained authors with great potential. More importantly, a message to my fellow Ugandan publishers: do not give up on our promising literary fiction authors.

• Our publishing houses can still become profitable. Let’s learn more about rights, translations and digital publishing.

• From Ra, I learnt that it’s ok to champion the unique book formats you want to try out.

• From Kevin, I learnt that setbacks are a normal part of success. Trust the process. “Do the small things every day, and do them well,” he said. This spoke deeply to me because there are many small tasks I thought could help Scribe House grow, but I abandoned them because of the time, energy, and mental strength they cumulatively require. Also because they do not bring in money immediately. It’s time for me to go back to those small things and do them one by one, daily. Like updating our website with the full list of books we’ve worked on. That simple task has sat on my to-do, or to-delegate, list for three years. We have been consumed by bigger things like editing books day and night.

• Isabelle spoke straight to my heart. Her insights on marketing and publicity validated many ideas I had pushed aside for lack of time and money. She showed me that I had actually been on the right track all along. This was a huge pick-up-your-mat-and-walk moment for me. A revival.

• Altogether, this round table discussion gave practical, real-life perspectives to the workshops we had the previous day on the same topics – rights, translations, marketing and publicity. But more than that, it inspired me to act. “Go back home and clean up house, you can do it!” That is what my heart received.

I keep telling the team that publishers in Uganda are the ‘apostles’ of the publishing industry. We are still laying foundations, building systems from scratch in a difficult socio-political and economic context. But just as we, the newest publishers on the block, are benefiting from the foundations laid by post-colonial publishers and private players of the 1990s, I hope future players will find this industry easier because we paved some crooked roads.

My resolution is to pick up my mat and walk, and to do the small things every day, and do them well. So help me God

Written by

Crystal Butungi Rutangye

I delight in the power of the written word to share ideas, thoughts, stories, memories, and other aspects of humanity. With over 14 years' experience, my expertise includes editing fiction and non-fiction trade books, ghostwriting, book production management, and training new writers/editors. I lead a team of zealous book editors, graphics designers, and illustrators at Scribe House.

Follow

Did this story move you? Every gift goes directly to Crystal Butungi Rutangye — writers on Muwado earn from reader appreciation, not algorithms. Even $1 makes a difference.

Gift Once Gift Monthly