By Paul Chika Emekwulu
One day I decided to browse through the rejection letters I have earned over the years ọf my writing. I discovered that they were enough to start a wall papering business. These letters which were from both Nigerian and American publishers came with different reasons why different publishers rejected my manuscripts. While some were encouraging, others were very discouraging.
Following are two of the rejection letters out of many, one of them from a Nigerian publisher and another from a US counterpart.
Here is one from a Nigerian publisher, Africana First Publishers dated November 16, 1987.
Thank you for your manuscript, “Century Mathematics for Senior Primary Schools in Nigeria.” We regret to inform you that we cannot publish it because we already have a similar work as a revision material.
We do hope however, to have fruitful relationship with you in your future works. The manuscript is hereby enclosed.
Thank you for your interest in our company.
Here is one from a US publisher dated 24 June 1988.
Your letter containing a manuscript titled, The “Magic of Numbers” has been forwarded to me for review and reply.
Your manuscript is well written and interesting to read. However, your manuscript does fit into the category which we call supplementary, and as a basal textbook publisher, McGraw Hill School Division is not prepared to market such items as you propose. Thus, we must decline this opportunity to act as your publisher of this project.
Your manuscript is hereby being returned to you.
Sincerely,
Richard Monnard
Editor in Chief
Mathematics and Science
Among others, here are other reasons why my manuscripts and therefore any other could attract the slush pile of any publisher. In my own particular case it was mostly around 1982, this time austerity measures had just been injected into the Nigerian economy with the hope of rescuing the economy. The reasons were many.and the following are some of the excerpts:
Oil glut, cut backs, bad economy, corporate culture, limited audience, schedule overload, austerity measures, financial constraints, reduction in publishing programnes,
publication of in house materials only, too specialized for a publisher’s publishing needs, incompatibility with a publisher’s publishing programmes
The list goes on.
If you have earned at least one rejection letter from a publisher, the above reasons probably are not new to you. Those and others not listed here comprise litany of reasons why a publisher could reject your manuscript. I do believe they are in business and as such have to protect their business interests at all times.
Rejection doesn’t necessarily mean that poor quality material was submitted. At times publishers make wrong conclusions about submitted materials based on wrong premises.
But do you really have to give up because your manuscript was rejected? The answer is no. Do you have to have a bad day because your manuscript was rejected? Again, the answer is no. Because your manuscript was rejected is not enough an excuse for you to get depressed, declare a bad day and wear the rejection on your face Because your manuscript was rejected is not enough an excuse for you to turn into a nagging wife or a nagging husband, because your manuscript was rejected is not enough an excuse for you to be an abusive father or an abusive husband, because your manuscript was rejected is not enough an excuse for you to be an abusive wife or mother, because your manuscript was rejected is not enough an excuse for you to be abusive to anyone. Period.
Rather, your manuscript being rejected is a signsl for you to do just this one thing and it is this: Sit back and start all over again but more intelligently.
I once said to myself:
“Everything I have ever written has to be re-written in a new language and a new style.” Be encouraged.
Despite rejection you don’t throw in the towel, despite rejection new books will still be written and despite rejection book festivals will still be taking place in different parts of the world.
Rejection cannot therefore put a stop to Book Expo America, rejection cannot therefore put a stop to Nigerian International Book Festival, rejection cannot therefore put a stop to Jerusalem Book Festival, rejection cannot therefore put a stop to Portharcourt Book Festival and it cannot therefore put a stop to Ake Book Festival and so on. Despite rejection libraries are still being built and have to be stocked with new titles and your book could be one of them.
Unfortunately, this does not describe Nigerian book situation because Nigerian publishers are not aggressive enough compared to their western counterparts and Nigerians as a people don’t care a hoot. Nigeria is a country where cellular phone is now the new novel forgetting that the cellular phone is a wonderful thing to have but not a wonderful thing to make it your best friend because there are better friends and a book is one of them.
Sometime in the spring of 1994, while riding from Norman in the state of Oklahoma in the United States on a city bus, I heard two people, a man and a woman chatting among themselves. It was not like I was eavesdropping. I was busy myself rommaging through one of the dailies. I didn’t pay any attention to the subject of their conversation but as soon as the woman uttered three words, three words to that young man, I immediately turned in their direction. “Don’t give up,” she said to the young man. Today I am saying the same thing to you: “Don’t give up.” See yourself as someone with a mission and when you have a mission you cannot be stopped.
This means that your book cannot be prevented by any excuses: Writer”s block (lack of ideas) cannot prevent it, having gone to the wrong school cannot prevent it, having lived or living in the wrong neighborhood cannot prevent it, being a member of a minority community or another tribe cannot prevent it, being verbally challenged cannot prevent it, coming from wrong part of town cannot prevent it and not having a celebrity status cannot prevent it and so on.
If you expect to be popular before embarking on your book project that is mistake number one because it sounds like putting the cart before the horse.
The following may surprise you.
Alice Walker, the author of “The Colour Purple” was once unpopular. Danielle Steele, the author of “The Perfect Life” was once unpopular. Maya Angelou, the author of “I Know Why the Birds Caged” was once unpopular. Tony Robbins, the author of “Awaken the Giants Within” was also once unpopular and so were Brian Tracy and late Zig Ziglar, all renounced motivational speakers and are all Americans.
Here in Nigeria Professor Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laurette and the author of “The Man Died” was once unpopular. Professor Chinụa Chebe, the author of the famous “Things Fall Apart” was once unpopular. Princess Njideka Gọzie Okeke was once unpopular before releasing her famous music album titled “AKANCHAWA.” Chimamanda Ngọzi Adichie, the famous novelist of international repute was once unpopular and so on. The list continues.
Today, the works of some of these men and women are read in different parts of the world with their works translated in different languages. “Things Fall Apart” for example has been translated into more than 50 languages and has sold over 10 million copies. Some of their works have been made into movies. A typical example is “The Colour Purple.”
At times writing a book becomes a matter of being able to seize the moment. A vital part of seizing the moment is being able to recognize opportunities, because you cannot seize the moment if you cannot recognize opportunities. With the way “419” has been so popular in the social and business lives of Nigerians, there should have been at least one book on it – a book that teaches honesty, a book that speaks against the evils of bribery and corruption in Nigerian society, a book that teaches the young and the old that the fattest bone still awaits the dog that dares to be patient, a book that discourages “get rick quick” mentality, a book that teaches one of the philosophies expounded in Napoleon Hill’s classic, “Think and Grow Rich” where he says, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it a seed of a greater or an equivalent benefit.” There is a need for a book to teach both the old and the young Nigerians that goal setting could still be a gateway to personal achievement, that goals when set realistically could be attainable. What happens when we set goals? When we set goals we face challenges and when we face challenges we discover our hidden potentials, by discovering our hidden potentials and utilizing them we can transform our dreams into physical reality. The good thing about the end result of goal setting is that among other things it doesn’t discriminate based on our religion, social status, political affiliation and how many years we have stayed on this planet. I said that because some of us are like:
“But I am too old to write a book”
That sounds like an excuse to me. If you eventually decide to write a book, the truth is that you are not the first and you are not going to be the last to do so. The oldest person in the world to write a book is Downing, an American who was born on 22nd August, 1913 whose book, “The Other Side of Infamy” was published on 15 February, 2016 in Colorado Springs, United States of America. While he is the oldest to have published a book there are many other seniors who have one or more books to their credit.
Now what about young writers? Some parents make excuses for their children or allow outside influence as a factor by concluding and saying, “My child is too young to write a book.”
In countries of the world there is a minimum age for driving as there are different countries.Should age restriction be extended to writing? The answer is a resounding no.
I never at any time thought about age restriction when it comes to writing until I met a desperate mother who shared with me a story about her daughter’s penchant for writing. Age restriction never crossed my mind because I never thought that age should be a barrier for anyone who wants to write, the age notwithstanding. Actually it was the woman’s story that prompted me to finish this article which has been gathering dust for sometime now. I therefore hope that this will provide some inspiration not only to this woman and her daughter but so many other young talents and their parents out there. By the way there are so many of these young and bright minds. There are many of them who at times are scared of making their desire to write known to their parents or other adults around them. Such young minds need to believe in their ability and of course need all the support they can get.
Putting age restriction on writing is a way of denying people access to all kinds of information, putting age restriction to writing is denying people the right to think about any conceivable issue or topic. No one individual or age group has it all or can say it all, no one individual or age group represents the experiences or opinions of the rest of us. Many things about our lives are different.
Here are examples of books written and published when the writers were teenagers. Barbara NewHall Follet born in 1914 wrote her first novel at the age of 8. Miss Ònyeka Promise Kosisọchukwu from Ụmụikwu Anam in Anambra State was 10 when she write “The Brilliant Child”. In Johannesburg, South Africa we have Michelle Nkamakeng who wrote her first book, “Waiting for the Waves” when she was only 7. According to Wikipedia, an online free encyclopedia, she is the youngest author in South Africa in particular and Africa in general. She is a multiple awards speaker, reader and activist.
If you have decided to try your hand in writing a book, then it is time to develop new habits. It is time to pay occasional visits to bookshops in your local community, it is time to pay occasional visits to your local or state library and it is time to pay occasional visits to your town’s civic center that just added new book collections to their library. When you get to the bookshops and libraries admire the books on the shelves, look around, go to the magazine area and while away your time for a while. Go home with the conclusion in your mind that one day, these men and women in the libraries and bookshops will have the opportunity to read your work.
Here are some of my published books:: “The ‘GPS’ of the Holy Bible”, “Mathematics for Christmas”,
“The “U” Point with a Keke Driver”, “I Just Need the Formula to Get the Answer” , “African time: Loved by Many, Hated by a Few”, “Road Safety Handbook for Motorists, Motorcyclists & Pedestrians”.
In conclusion, my last word is simply this: If your dream has ever been to write a book and you have been living in a decision island, one day I’ll, listen to me: What I was years ago, you are now and what I am now, I want you to be. Be encouraged and by all means necessary publish that book. Any delay can be dangerous.
Lastly, “Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Do not defer till the evening what the morning can accomplish.” (Unto thee I Grant)
