The Agony of the Ghanaian Writer at the Feet of the Book Seller

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Do you remember this popular Ghanaian saying that: “Monkey ‘dey’ work Baboon ‘dey’chop?” It is a very painful experience indeed! You may not appreciate its psychological impact until you are baptised into it.

Philosophically, creativity goes hand in hand with inspiration while inspiration moves side by side with motivation. Thus, to a certain degree, a creative person may need some speck of inspiration in order to create. And to some extend, some spark of motivation may be needed to ignite the engine of inspiration. All this may depend on the person’s own inclinations anyway.

In Ghana, there is a general perception that Ghanaians don’t read. This perception may be real or otherwise. If it is real, then why? There is also a perception that Ghanaians don’t write. This may also be true or false. If it is true, then again why? Can a serious creative nation write and read text books only

To attempt to provide answers to the preceding rhetorical questions, this writer will like to share his personal experience with the reader about the agony, anguish, ordeal, pain, torture, stress, suffering and woes, a Ghanaian writer had to endure not only in the hands but also at the feet of some book sellers in Ghana.

In order not to jump the gun, it will be more prudent to assert that there are thousand and one reasons why Ghanaians don’t write. Socio-economic, political or even cultural factors as well as simple high cost of printing material can be cited. But to this writer, the certificate of humiliation and contempt some booksellers present to writers as their rewards for writing, tends to play a dominant role in the non-writing culture in the country.

In 1994, this author had his first work published after the manuscript had been in hibernation with the publisher for ten (10) years. Yes, ten years. It was a collection of poems for children. As a matter of fact the publisher gave me a very nice diplomatic explanation. “You see, as a rule we don’t normally publish poetry because Ghanaians don’t read poetry. But we decided to publish your poems because we find them unique”, he said. As to whether I gained anything for writing that book only Jesus knows.

As if by design, ten years later in 2004, another book, this time, of African proverbs which I co-authored with my late friend Albin Korem, (May his soul rest in peace) was published. The manuscript of this book, too, had had to journey from one publisher to another for over seven (7) years with promises to publish it. When we were frustrated and disappointed enough, we decided to publish it ourselves. This was how and why my friend had to finance the printing of that work.

It was only upon taking delivery of the books and sending them onto the market that we got to know the punishment awaiting a writer in the court of a book seller. First of all some book sellers will expect you the writer to give them the book on the “sale or return” basis commission of over 25% to 35% or even more. The implication is that, depending on the cover price of the book, you the writer will go hungry and hang yourself while the seller feeds fat on your sweat.

The truth is that the seller is totally oblivious of whatever energy, time, and money the writer might have spent in terms of research, let alone the sleepless nights he might have stayed on his bare buttocks burning the midnight candle to write the book. And while the writer is racking his brain in the night, the seller is snoring in the dream land – “hornnrrrr-hornnrrrrr- hornrrrrr!”

One bitter experience encountered was the cheating character of some book sellers in this country. While the writer, taking into account the non-reading culture of the Ghanaian, prices his book in such a way that ordinary readers can afford to buy it, some book sellers who are only interested in making undeserved profit will accept to sell the book at the approved discount percentage only to turn round to illegally inflate the price of the book in the absence of the writer. This selfish attitude on the part of some book vendors tends to drive away even the few prospective readers who may be desirous of buying the book.

A practical example is the situation where a book that was priced at Sixty-five-thousand cedis (¢65,000.00) was being sold for between ¢75,000.00 and ¢150,000.00 a copy by some bookshops in this land of our death. This makes it extremely difficult for humble Ghanaians to afford to buy the book. The result is that only a few foreigners and some tourists are able to buy the book. Apart from cheating the public, these book sellers are being unfair to the writer who may want to dispose of the first edition as quickly as possible so as to come out with the next one. In fact some of the book sellers are so insensitive to the plight of the writer that, they will laugh and jubilate if the writer goes to commit suicide. Why should this be so?

There is an African proverb which says that: “You must not bite the finger that feeds you.” If there were no writers on this planet of interdependence, what will the bookshop owners be selling? Books all over the world are written by writers. Therefore, book sellers must not wish the down fall or the demise of writers. The day the last writer will die the last book seller will also go to hell.

Another unthinkable experience this writer has gone through and continues to go through is the fact that, after some bookshops have actually finished selling the entire stock supplied to them and have taken their legitimate commissions plus their “illegal/immoral profits”, they feel reluctant giving the author’s little share to him. Rather, they adopt a “go-come; go-come” strategy to humiliate the writer as if he was a vagabond in the kingdom of street beggars. This is mind boggling and not a laughing matter at all, reader!

This author can place his left hand over his heart and the right hand over the left and vouch that Ghanaians are not lazy writers at all. There are gifted writers in Ghana who can write from January to December non-stop. Just take a glance at the magnificent way some Ghanaian journalists write and you will concur with me that there are brilliant writers in Ghana. But nobody has the appetite to write a book because they dread the verdict awaiting them at the end of the rainbow. It is like writing a book is not only a misdemeanor but a first degree felony in Ghana.

My late co-author Albin Korem went to his grave with this kind of notion in his heart. When he was alive, he would sometimes rush to my office after going round the bookshops, begging them to pay him in vain. Then he would weep like a child. And I would be consoling him. He could not understand why some bookshop owners would finish selling our books, took their profits whether legitimate or otherwise but refused to pay him his due. Now he is gone and I am dancing to the tune of this uncharitable behaviour of some bookshops in Ghana. Is it fair?

On the other hand, some bookshop owners are not only honest, but kind and loving indeed! They will motivate and encourage you to write more books and supply them to their shops so that they can sell them and get their commission. God bless such booksellers. But for those who take delight in cheating and frustrating writers they must go and wash their shame in the Atlantic Ocean.

One cardinal truth is that writers will always need sellers to market their products for them. But book sellers can never get books to sell if there are no writers. In fact they can sell anything under the sun but not books. While writers can decide to sell their own books the same cannot be said of sellers unless they are writers themselves as well.

In some countries, writers do not go round begging for payment of their works. The beauty of the book industry is that if book sellers can focus on selling books and pay writers correctly, fairly and promptly, instead of writers hobbling from shop to shop begging for their own payment, they will have time to sit down and relax. They will then take three deep breaths, visualise, concentrate, contemplate, meditate and receive inspirations from the Supreme Creator so as to create more works for all to enjoy.

If Ghanaian book sellers frustrate writers to their graves there will be no Ghanaian writers in Ghana. Ghana will remain a nation of consumers of everything including foreign books. When will Ghana also start exporting Ghanaian books in drove? Shall we ever be guided by this principle that: “The black hen that lays the white egg must not have its neck squeezed out of the existence?”