Today I’m welcoming Carla Doria to Bookish Brews. She is a self-published author of The Last Families, here with me today talking about self-publishing Bolivian Literature. When Carla reached out to me it was incredibly clear she is very passionate about her journey as a self-published author, particularly in Bolivia. When she told me a bit more about her challenges, it was something that I had never thought too much about and immediately knew that she should have the space to share.
Bookish Brews Snapshot
The Last Families by Carla Doria
When their land is destroyed, the last families extraordinary talents set off to find a place to survive. None of the families expect to find a land full of secrets in a world that no one understands.
đž Sci-Fi/Fantasy âïž Debut Author đïž Multiple POV đ€ Thought Provoking
- Genre: Speculative Fiction
Self-Publishing in Bolivian Literature
Self-publishing has become a very natural way of publishing. It might also be the only opportunity for many authors out there. With globalization and available services online, one would think that any author in any country could have the same self-publishing resources without any issues, but that is not always the case.
As a recently published author, coming from a country in South America, specifically from Bolivia, I encountered some constraints that might have never crossed the minds of authors living in other countries. When writing this article, I struggled to find a term that would differentiate my country from other countries. Do I say western countries? Developed countries? Countries in the northern hemisphere? Honestly, I donât think there is a good term, but Bolivia is a developing country and probably going slower than others.
Choosing to Publish in English
My journey into writing my first fantasy book, âThe Last Families,â has a particular characteristic for a Bolivian author writing Bolivian Literature. It is written in English. And by making that decision I accidentally removed myself from many opportunities as an indie author.
There are many reasons why I decided to write it in English. I could go on for several minutes, explaining that I feel comfortable writing in this language, that I read more in this language than in Spanish, that I have an English-speaking friend with editing experience, and so on. But to cut to the chase, I wrote it in English to reach more people. And I knew the market for books written in Spanish was smaller. Maybe I was too ambitious? or just a desire to transcend language barriers?
Publishing Resources are in English
If you google âhow to get book reviewers,â you will come across thousands of results, and you canât even imagine the number of YouTube videos with advice about it. You are certain to find a huge platform of book bloggers, book reviewers, bookstagrammers, social media accounts, and many people whoâve been in this âbusinessâ (since many of them charge for their services) for many years. There are even lists with rankings for book bloggers. If you search for the Spanish equivalent, âcomo conseguir crĂticos para mi libroâ, you will find some good results on how to become a reviewer and not much more. Finding book reviewers in Spanish is hard. I guess the market hasnât grown that much yet in this language. Then, if Iâve already convinced you of the advantages of writing in English, what are the disadvantages then?
Local Disadvantages of Publishing in English
I canât do local book signings. Nor can I promote it in local bookshops, local book fairs, launching events, local media coverage, etc. I have to watch local authors being featured in local newspapers, magazines, and local editorials promoting their authors on social media while knowing I probably wonât ever be there. And yes, I have to emphasize the word âlocalâ here. Why would they publish a book that only a tiny segment of the population will be able to read? People want books in Spanish in Bolivia. There is only a very small segment that will read in English. The local market is not interested in promoting an author that will write in a different language. In other words, I rely on the big worldwide web. I rely on long-distance communications. I rely on people that I will probably never meet in person.
Self Publishing Companies & International Authors
You are probably thinking that this situation doesnât prevent me from printing my books locally. I can go to a printing service and they donât care whether the book is in a popular language or in hieroglyphs. But these are not print-on-demand (POD) services. You have to print at least a minimum number of copies, and Iâm not talking about a few hundred. The little research I did pointed to a thousand digits. That is quite an investment. And even if I did that, shipping to other countries would sadly become a nightmare. It is awfully expensive. This is when big international PODs become important to international authors.
And with that, I come to my last point. Are print-on-demand services really caring for authors like me? Short answer: No, not at all. The big ones (cough⊠the one starting with A) will send you payments with checks! Are you kidding me? Any check is going to take ages to get to me. It could get lost in the mail. And even if it gets to me, I have to pay a big international fee just to cash that check. What happened to online payments?
I did a three-part rambling about this on my blog, starting with this one. I promise that wasnât the only issue. Many big âsuggestedâ PODs had platforms where I would get the following messaging: âwe donât support your country, we donât accept digital signatures from your country, we apply extra excessive taxes since your country doesnât have a tax treaty with our country, we only print in the USA, Canada, a bunch of European countries, AustraliaâŠâ and well, you get the idea.
What is the Right Step for Bolivian Literature?
Many years ago, I found a blog post about a girl wanting to read books by authors from every single country in the world. When she got to Bolivia, there was none written in English. You couldnât expect her to learn the language of each country. And this is one of the reasons why Bolivian literature is mostly unknown. I know a couple of Bolivian authors who could also write in English. But letâs be honest. It might not be the cleverest thing to do after all. I actually wonder if I did the right thing until now.
There is clearly a barrier that could be solved by big POD publishing companies catering better to international authors. But also, bloggers, book reviewers, and websites make a huge difference when they provide opportunities to more diverse authors, like this website, for which Iâm deeply thankful.
Final Notes from Amanda
When Carla wrote all of this out to me, I felt so honored that she shared her challenges with me. Living in the USA itâs hard to conceptualize specific challenges that others might have outside of the US. Publishing here has become more accessible than ever, which we can clearly see with the rise of self-published literature. However, thatâs a very US-centric mindset and Iâm personally working on doing my best to break free of it, but there is no doubt it is challenging. So, getting insights like this are crucial to understanding how inequitable publishing and writing can be.
