Megan Ross is a South
African writer. She has just published
her first book, Milk Fever, a book of
poetry about unexpected motherhood. I recently had the opportunity to
interview her, to find out a bit more about the process of signing a book deal
and getting published in South Africa.
She gave insightful and honest answers about her experiences as a
writer, and the hard work and dedication that goes into producing a book.
On the process of signing
a book deal, Ross got this impetus from responding to a call for submissions at
Uhlanga Press; a South-African-run, independent poetry press. She sought out the opinions of Nick Mulgrew;
a colleague, writer, and editor who later brought her book to life. Ross loves what Mulgrew is doing at Uhlanga,
and says that it is a very exciting space, continuing with the new wave of
young poets. By combining excellent book
cover designs and type setting with his own brand of perfectionism, which
extends to editing, and design; debut poets are able to bring out books of a really
high quality, which is something that he insists on. Her submission was received in December 2016,
and she had heard by February 2017 that they were interested in creating a book,
and could go ahead with it.
Having worked in
publishing for many years, and then having been on the other side; Ross spoke
honestly about the nuances of publishing in South Africa. It can be described as a dog show; clients
don’t pay, people don’t buy books, writers don’t support other poets and
writers. One has to fight for
distribution and to get books into bookstores; which would never be the case in
places like the UK or USA. There’s a
lazy approach to buying African literature. Ross contended that it is a
double-edged sword; although the administrative side of it can be frustrating,
once you find your people in the African literary community it feels like
you’ve come home. Through the industry
she has been able to make digital relations and meet incredible writers from
all over the continent, especially from Nigeria and Kenya. Through competitions like Short Story Day
Africa and the Short Sharp Awards, she has made really close friends with
Efemia Chela, Sibongile Fisher, and Rachel Zadok. Ross says that you need to work out who your
friends are in the industry, and who’s going to have your back, as those people
become your everything. It is also a
very exciting time to be a coming of age writer in Africa, because there are
incredible bridges being formed between continental Africans and Africans on
the diaspora. There are debut works
coming across from both sides which are uniting writers and bringing across a
very diverse body of work. Ross says
that there’s so much talent here which is an exciting thing, as well as so much
enthusiasm and determination. A lot of
the writers are being recognised and being signed to international agents,
which a couple of years ago was a very difficult thing to do, but they are
breaking glass ceilings now. Being on
the other side of publishing as a sole author, Ross said that it’s always
heartening to see how many readers there are in the country, contrary to the
myth that South Africa doesn’t have a reading culture.
A bit on her brilliant
launch week in the Western Cape: the first launch was held at the Book Lounge in Cape Town on the 14th
May 2018. Having been to launches for
her short fiction which has been published in anthologies, this was her first
launch as a sole author and the nerves were sickening. The venue was full, and overwhelmed by the
support that people had come out for her, she said that it was a beautiful
evening. As the week progressed she had
a reading at a SHAWCO Health event for
third and fourth year medical students, in which Ross and the students spoke
about Post-Partum Depression, and explored the institutional violence that the
young health professionals had encountered.
It was enlightening for them to see these issues from the perspective of
the patient. She enjoyed the experience
of connecting with young readers and writers, and was honoured that even though
they were students they still bought copies of her book. She finds talking at schools and universities
the most rewarding, as she gets to learn and teach at the same time. Her other events included a poetry reading at
ZEITZ MOCAA with Francine Simon,
which allowed for the intersection between poetry and visual art, and speaking
at the Franschhoek Literary Festival
with Joseph Woods, an incredible Irish writer and poet. Her next leg of launches will take place in
Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape.
Megan is represented by Pontas Agency and signed with them in
February 2018. This was a huge
compliment and affirmation as they represent individuals for life, which
advocates that they strongly believe in her work. This means that she now has people on her
team. She can email her agent at any
time for help or advice. She likens this
experience to that of running a marathon with people handing her water along
the way, and waiting for her at the finish line. What this means for the future is that her
short fiction and novels can be passed on to USA, UK, and European editors;
which as a young writer from a small town in South Africa, is an amazing foot
in the door, and will help her to further establish herself as a writer.
At the moment she is
currently working on a novel, which has been two to three years in the making,
trying to narrow down the plot. The most
important thing for her is to get the setting, sense of place, and voice right
before she begins. Her agent recently
gave her advice which has helped her to provide a definitive outline of the
novel and to work out the first chapter.
She is also working on a collection of short stories, called Delicious Monsters. She is always thinking of ideas for short
stories and for more novels in between the ‘work’- work that brings in money. Ross
enjoys to work on multiple things at the same time.
When asked about what the
reception of her book has been, Ross said that she was still awaiting the first
media reviews from a literary critic.
She said that poetry is slow in South Africa; in terms of reviewers
taking a while to pick it up. Poets are the bastard step-children of the
literary world, she notes. Poetry is
also one of the hardest genres to be published in. She was surprised that she went back to it
after the birth of her son; it was the first genre that she wrote as a teenager,
but she never took herself seriously in it.
She is used to writing short-fiction, which makes it rousing that poetry
ended up being her first book published as the sole author. In terms of friends and colleagues supporting
her and buying the book, and creating interest in it, she says that that
response has been great. She is excited
for some criticism, and for an honest review of the book from someone not
invested in it. From being on the
authoring side of publishing, she is overwhelmed by the generosity that has occurred,
and has had many women from all walks getting in touch with her, to say that
they relate to her experience. On a
personal level she says that it has been very satisfying to connect with
people. She gave the example of a single
woman, with a four year old daughter, who put up her hand during the Q&A of
her launch and thanked her, which she said was beautiful and unnerving to have
someone connect with her work like that.
Ross has said that her priority has always been making a space for other
women; and that is what she aims to do with her work. She said that a writer has the opportunity to
make space and make it possible for women to externalise what is often meant to
stay internal and hidden.
Her advice to those who
wish to write is to create a body of work.
If you want to take yourself seriously as a writer, you need to
understand that it requires so much sacrifice.
When she decided to write the body of work that became her book, it came
at a great personal cost. She stopped drinking
and partying, she gave up Friday nights and Saturday mornings. It took the balance out of her life, but
because of it she was able to finish a book and almost finish two others. Her boyfriend describes it as an “arse to chair
job” as every spare moment she had was devoted to writing. If you’re just interested in the ‘part’ or
looking like a writer, you’re not working.
It’s an art form that takes discipline and structure. She says that if you really want to write,
you have to be reading; if you don’t make time for that, you won’t make time to
write. Read widely; authors you love,
authors you hate, read outside your comfort zone, reread things, read for
pleasure, read to understand how people do things in their work. Every single step is a step towards the
finished product. She says that you have
to understand that self-doubt is just part of the process, and not throw
pity-parties for yourself. Ross went on
to say that most of her favourite authors are almost all women, and almost all
mothers, as they are so good with their time and wholly devote any spare time
that they have to perfecting their craft.
Megan Ross is a force to
be reckoned with, and you will be seeing much more of her work in years to
come.
The dates (at the time of
writing) for her next book launches are set for:
NELM, Grahamstown – 16th
July 2018
Love Books, Melville,
Johannesburg- 26th July 2018
Follow her @megan_ross_
for more information regarding launches and her work.
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