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Geko Publishing is an independent, young publishing company based in Johannesburg. The company was established in 2006, by Andrew Miller and Phehello Mofokeng. Geko's mission statement behind is ‘Freedom. To write’ - the expression of creative writing on a free-thinking platform. Geko creates a space for unknown and unpublished writers to break into the market. We publish local works of poetry, prose, short stories and novels, with the aim of putting local talent on the map. Geko has published a total of 20 book titles to date – from Myesha Jenkins, to Abdul Milazi and Lance Henson.

Contacts

T: 011-050-0146
M: 083-991-6647

Geko Publishing
3rd Floor, South Wing
Hyde Park Centre
Hyde Park 
Johannesburg

Our different roles - writer, editor & publisher ...

A writer writes. Then the editor edits. Proofreader then proofs. Finally publisher publishes. So you as a writer, your focus is nothing else but to write. Every bloody day if possible. It is the work of lesser men, to tell you if it is worth publishing or not. Not yours! Yours is to just write!

As an author, get your name known. Social media is best for this!

Authors need social media more than the publisher or any other role-player in the cycle of publishing. So get social and get your name and talent as a write known. Publishers find it difficult to market an author who does not have a following.http://www.carriemumford.com/is-social-media-mandatory-for-writers/

To self-publish or to find a publisher, that is the question. Is it not?

So when it comes to whether you should publish your own book or look for a publisher, I just do not have one straight answer. Many people that published themselves always come back smarter and braver from the experience. They suddenly realise that publishing is really not as simple. THey also understand the process, the workflow and the cycle - from writing, refining, proofing, subbing, layout, editing, re-editing, printing and then the final product. They also seem to understand the sales element of the process, as well as the marketing. This is a good thing - for an author to understand all these.

The frustration though, from self-published authors comes from those who sometimes do it for wrong reasons - such as thinking that we publishers are greedy fools after authors' royalties, or sometimes you have been rejected so many times, or because you think you will be able to become an instant millionare, or because you think your material needs no editing or processing by professionals.

So should you publish yourself? I do not know ... Maybe, maybe not! But in all honesty, why not? Why not publish your own book if you have all the required stuff in place? If you have a good proof-reader, good editor, good material and good sales knack - why not? My biggest problem with self-publishing is the lack of professionalism in most books - from the spelling errors, bad grammar, bad design etc.

So should you find a publisher? I do not know ... Maybe, maybe not! Big publishers are great. They are the big fish and if you can get to one, why not! Here are a few reasons why:

1. They are a bit difficult to negotiate royalty for example - Penguin gives nothing more than 12.5% for entry level author.

2. They are professionals, so you cannot half-step when working with them.

3. They might not give your book a lot of attention as you are still a new writer. So you will have to do a lot of work yourself.

4. They are very dismissive - and quickly so. Sometimes mistakenly.

But if you get a good big publisher, your name can be made.

So what is my advice? Start small ... Go to a small independent publisher. Find out how they work. What is their royalty. How often do they pay. Who did they publish. etc Then you can submit to them for a review - even if they do not publish you, a small independent publisher can give a very good review that can guide you into a better writing career ...

Book Spazas - Part #1

Do you have or know of a place in a township that we can turn into a spaza shop - book spaza shop? It can be a garage, a back room, a mkhukhu or an outhouse. If you do and you are keen to run your own book spaza, #GekoPublishing will give you free stock to sell at your new shop.