I continue to focus on publications about Papua New Guinea and by PNG authors. You will find some of these listed here on our website.

I love Stella Sondpi’s Pombreol, which is her retelling of stories told her by her grandfather, Pombreol, pre-first contact in the Mendi Valley.

It is a voice from the past which gives so much insight into the reality of life then, not by an outsider but by Pombreol himself through Stella.

It's raw and brutal in places as they battled the spirits and elements, while humorous in places, especially the reactions to the first patrols.

Over 4,000 copies have been sold particularly through a sponsor wanting to get copies into all SHP school children's hands.

I am working on Stella’s follow up which looks at traditional legends and proverbs and how they mirror Biblical narratives.

The second in the Nenge Series is now published, The Power of the Bird, while the third in the series in still a work in progress.

While continuing the overall theme of conservation of cultural heritage and land in the face of the environmental destruction from mining and exploration activities, the second book also explores issues of politics, urban settlements and women, perennial issues in PNG, as the story develops. It is available as an e-book and hardcover.

I’m planning a trip to PNG in September, my first since Covid lockdowns, and would like to do a workshop for writers in Port Moresby if there was interest - 6^th and 7^th September are good dates at this stage.

The workshop aims to assist authors to prepare their manuscript for publishing, and guide them through the steps required to do that, whether self-publishing or through an existing publisher.

I would invite any people interested to email me here to express their interest.

The workshop will be at minimum cost and can include Tok Pisin speakers and writers.

If there is interest, I’d be happy to work with any co-sponsors.

I’ve noted some articles in PNG Attitude regarding the lack of PNG publishers and publishing opportunities.

I sense an underlying suspicion, sometimes vocalised, that publishers are really only after your money.

One of the aspects that PNG authors have to wrestle with is that costs are involved and, because they are often in an international market, kina exchange rates don’t help. So publishing is expensive. However, the bottom line in the author’s mind should be: is the final result to a standard of excellence, both in content and cover, that will communicate my message to an international target market? How much am I prepared or able to pay to achieve that?

The four key areas for authors to be aware of in publishing in my experience so far are:

- Preparing the manuscript

Many authors don’t realises how much time is needed to edit, review, re-edit, review, re-edit, re-edit….

Writing the story is just the beginning of a long journey. I will spend months sometimes in this process as I liaise with authors back and forwards. 

It starts with spelling and grammar, but then must move to critiquing what is written to provide the author with suggestions to improve their work.

But any author must consider how best to have someone worthwhile review and offer editorial assistance as part of the publishing process.

People are not going to read rubbish, whether it is an e-book or hardcover, and a publisher will not be interested in something that does not already indicate excellence, or that they will need to spend months editing.

This is an even greater challenge for people who are writing in a language which is not their mother tongue.

- Designing the book and cover

The internal design of the book and the external cover both help convey your message or story.

The cover is most important as people will decide whether to buy a book off the shelf or online if the cover communicates to them enough about the story and makes them want to read it.

The internal layout of the book is also important because ease of readability is imperative. This includes things like the font type and size, size of margins, justification, pictures, chapter headers etc.

Publishers are aware of these dynamics and so will incorporate them into the production of the book. The look and feel of the book, cover and text, will impact how successfully your book becomes marketable.

Whether or not you engage a publisher or self-publish your book, it is essential that your finished manuscript is at a top standard, usually a print ready .pdf.

- Opportunities for markets

This is such a key issue in PNG as bookselling opportunities are so few. I don’t have any data on how e-books are selling in PNG but that is a much cheaper option for readers.

However, the financial rewards for e-book authors are very low unless it is a high volume seller.

There are a couple of outlets such as Theodist and CHM at the international airport for hardcover books, but market opportunities for every day Papua New Guineans are so limited.

One entrepreneurial solution could be an association of authors around the country who can sell their books locally.

Pricing is difficult because sale price must include a profit above the cost of printing. Exposure to international markets is also important. I sell, and have sold, books in three ways:

- Books supplied at wholesale cost to the author who can sell as able;

- Advertised on my website with PayPal options for people to buy direct (from anywhere in the world) www.nengebooks.com;

- Through Ingram Content/Lightning Spark who I publish with, who then have the book listed on their global data list. People anywhere in the world can buy from from them through a bookseller. I have sold PNG related books in USA, Canada, UK, NZ and several European countries as well as Australia.

For the last two, royalties are paid back to the author for every sale.

The availability of books in schools has significant potential for PNG authors and the National Library recently sought to provide the Minister for Education with a list of books available, to which I supplied a catalogue from Nenge Books. I hope that provides opportunity for the future.

Self-publishing has become much easier in the last decade or two and so many authors are taking that route, which is commendable.

Authors should be clear about what opportunities for marketing are offered through self-publishing and local printshops.

Some sales opportunities may be dependent on buying from a registered business organisation (ie publisher) which can cut out buying direct from authors.

- Shipping costs

The books I publish are available to be printed print-on-demand in Australia, USA, UK, Canada and Europe.

For PNG authors, the cost of postage/shipping from Australia adds significantly to the cost, especially for small quantities.

So the reality is that the landed cost in PNG of a book is likely to be over K30 with current exchange rates.

The author or bookseller then puts their own profit margin above that. I’m not sure if printing costs within PNG are much cheaper?

There is always, unfortunately, the risk of books not making it through the postal system. On one shipment of 20 books I posted to PNG recently, the particular post office in the National Capital District charged an extra K80 before handing over the books.

My enquiries have not been answered but there should be no additional charges at post office delivery.

It is a source of real concern that the cost of books is so much out of reach of the average person in PNG and a hindrance to literacy.

I choose to offer substantial discounts to PNG authors because I am passionate about getting them in print where possible.

However, authors need to recognise that there are costs involved and those need to be addressed realistically.