I Do Not Come To You By Chance...
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's debut novel, I Do Not Come To You By Chance, launches in the US and the UK this month (buy from Amazon). The novel charts the rise and fall of Kingsley, an engineering graduate who, when family fortunes fail, is forced to turn to his Uncle Cash Daddy (a 419-er) for help. I Do Not Come To You Chance is a tragi-comic depiction of how a 419-life can seep in as young Nigerians struggle to make ends meet.
I Do Not Come To You By Chance will be published by Cassava Republic Press later this year.
Some press exposure: see this article on NEXT, a piece in the UK Independent (today) and an article in CS Monitor.
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14 comments:
This is a gorgeous cover. It really represents what I imagine the character to be. I hope Cassava Republic's cover will be as good as this or better.
Sounds superficial, but people do judge a book by it's cover. I trust that you people will come up with something equally nice.
But when exactly is the book coming out in Nigeria? I can't wait.
This is a lovely cover. I am confused now, is this the naija cover the US, UK cover? Cause on Amazon there are two covers. One is really really dreadful and the other one is ok. Is this the hard cover? But it is nice and I have placed my orders on Amazon.
It really does sound interesting and would be nice to see how she tackles the subject. I look forward to it.
You people are doing us proud O!
The problem with you left wing liberals trying to get into the capitalist game is that, you are so frigging naive about how these things work, that it is actually sickening.
You keep promoting your author's work on this blog before you have published them in Nigeria. You wet our appetite and then expect us to wait for your own edition. You must be kidding! Last year, you did a few publicity for Sarah Ladipo Manyika's book Independence and you expect us to wait for your edition to come out? You people are not serious. I ordered the UK edition, loved it and recommended it to our book club and we ordered 20 deliveries of the book (since we are talking about covers, that one was shit)and we have now read it. It is a fantastic book. Patchy in places, but we all loved it. A great departure from the usual African war/victim story. If you are looking for a great tears induced love story, this is your book.
Next newspaper even did a review of Independence, a lukewarm review by one of your authors, Helon Habila and there was no mention of the fact that you guys are going to be publishing it in Nigeria instead they mentioned the UK publisher.
Can't you guys co-ordinate yourselves better? This is the problem with all this small is beautiful nonsense. Do you think if you had published first a bigger or even a smaller publishing house in the UK or US would have mentioned that you have published this book and they will be publishing it later in the year? I beg my friends, get with the programme!!
Why are you helping Western publishers to promote their books when yours is not out yet? Are you so secure of your market in Nigeria that you think it is ok to start plugging the book for other publishers?
Like most people that will see this post with opportunity to access Amazon, I have ordered my copy and no doubt if I like it I'll recommend it to my book club and people in my networks.
You probably won't publish this, but that is your problem. Believe it or not,I am actually trying to help your company.
I'll stop now the cover is very nice and it seems evocative of all one can imagine about 419ers.
btw, why don't you just tell us the edition for this cover. My guess is that this is a cassava republic's cover. You covers are always better than the Western covers of the books. So far the two covers I have seen, one is totally off the mark and the other is pretty, but not quite (Ankara motif for a book on 419, okada give me a break).
Anyway, good luck with your effort.
Teni
Anon, how can they do you proud if you are not supporting them and instead you are ordering yours from Amazon!! If everyone continues to order their books on Amazon they will go bankrupt in no time cause everyone would have placed their orders.
A word of advice Jeremy, don't publicise for others until your book is out.
Na wa for you Teni, cut them a slack jare. They are doing a great job. Yes, they won't get it right at first and it is unstrategic of them to publicise this before their own edition, but with all our support they will get there.
Cassava Republic need our support and I am certainly going to wait to buy their edition and so should you. If there are people out there with marketing and publicity experience, they might want to offer them help on how to think about these things. We don't need to throw insults at their effort.
And for your information, small is beautiful.
@Teni Williams, Jesu Kristi, o ba de te slow. Abi kini Jeremy se fun e ti o fi n so iru oro beyen si?
Anyway sha, relax jo! Haba, that your comment long pass the original post sef. O ga o.
Jeremy is not only giving exposure to the book but also promotes the new writer as well.
Looking at it from that point of view, he does a great job promoting new writers.
However, if one looks at it from the money/hungry/capitalist world of Teni, then I guess he should not promote writers unless he is making a buck already off them.
That to me, would be sickening...
But Teni is right about the rationale of promoting the book or the writer before Cassava Republic's edition. However the way he/she sets it up is unconstructive. I don't think Cassava is a charity and as such they would have put a lot of money in the production of their books, so they need to make the money back so they really need to be more strategic.
But well done for your selfless work because not many people will be promoting on behalf others.
You people will get your reward.
it didnt occur to me like that o.
i want to support cassava republic but alas i already got my copy - very ugly cover lol (it was also the last one in stock) and chimamanda's new book from amazon.
so Jeremy is there a way people abroad can get the cassava republic editions online?
i guess i thought they were only available in nigeria.
help us out.
ok, may be the way, I put the whole thing is not particularly constructive, but it is just frustrating to when I see people doing a great job and they let themselves down by some small silly mistake.
Jeremy, I did not mean to belittle you guys effort. You are doing a great job. But I still think you should be more strategic in how you promote your authors. Because the book is out in the West doesn't mean you necessarily have to draw attention to it before yours is ready. Unless you are appealing to Nigerians in the diaspora to buy the book then it makes sense. However, you might want to even encourage the Nigerians in the diaspora to buy your edition or buy your edition for their friends and family back home.
Teni
Speaking of Cassava Republic, y'all need to resupply your stockists and update the list of booksellers on your website, in Abuja your books are next to impossible to find!
I got my copy of this book yesterday and I stayed up through the night to read it. All I can say is that, it is brilliant, brilliantly funny. I look forward to more from this writer.
I laughed and laughed myself to tears. It is so refreshing from the usual heavy, woe-is-me that has become the staple of so many African writers. I must admit I stopped reading African writers a loooooooooong time ago. Then I picked up Sefi Atta's Yahoo, Yahoo, Teju Cole's Every Day and Toni Kan's Nights of the Creaking (strongly recommend)and then this one. My faith is renewed. I haven't read anything like this for a long while now - well at least not since Sefi Atta's hilarious novella Yahoo Yahoo on the theme.
Chance is tragic, but in a way that one begins to understand and even sympathise with the 419ers. Although Cash Daddy is hilarious and vulgar at the same time (think of Shakespeare's Falstaff) he is also tragic and one really feels for him. (Jeremy can you guys not set up a discussion board for us to discus your books?)
Talking of cover, mine is rubbish, it is the American edition. I don't get the whole map business, kind of colonial. If one has to go by the cover, this one will definitely not pass.
Anyway, I beg my people read this book. I wish I could buy the cassava republic edition, I am based in the US. But I will buy for my friends back home once you people start selling online!!
Just as a matter of interest, do writers have a say on their book cover? or do you people just impose on what you think will sell the book? If I was Adaobi, I would never have allowed them to use that cover. It really doesn't convey what the story is about. It will certainly not draw me to it. Jeremy, I take it that this cover is Cassava Republic's and if it is, then it is apt and I'll definitely buy the book just for the cover.
Anyway, lets support this author (and cassava republic) and buy this book. Well done Adaobi for a great job well done.
Jeremy, have you people consider a virtual tour where we can meet the author and ask her questions? You should.
Nwaubani rocks!!! After this, I can start reading African authors again!! I look forward to more of this author's writing. I hope she makes it 'cause she deserves it.
Don't worry Jeremy, I'll also buy your edition for my people back in Nigeria when it comes out. Is it possible to pay for the books using my credit card and then the book gets delivered to people in Nigeria? At the moment your website doesn't allow us to buy online?
This cover is different from the one I have O!! Just for the cover only, I nearly did not buy it.
Nwaubani rocks!!! After this, I can start reading African authors again!! I look forward to more of this author's writing. I hope she makes it 'cause she deserves it.
Don't worry Jeremy, I'll also buy your edition for my people back in Nigeria when it comes out. Is it possible to pay for the books using my credit card and then the book gets delivered to people in Nigeria? At the moment your website doesn't allow us to buy online?
This cover is different from the one I have O!! Just for the cover only, I nearly did not buy it.
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