About Us

With offices in London and The Gambia, SKP has established itself as an energetic, innovative, forward-thinking, independent publishing company with the sole intention of publishing ideas in the pursuit of human advancement. Our publications include non-fiction religious books, story books, history books and historical romance, motivational books, poetry, celebrity autobiographies and illustrated children’s tales. We pride ourselves to ensure that books authored by Gambians are available in the increasingly competitive world book market. We are casting our net as widely as possible in search of great African stories, at a time when traditional publishers and literary agents are closing their doors to many talented new authors. We endeavour to solicit work from both new and established writers in order to help them flourish in the crowded international intellectual platform.

Production:
We start with a raw manuscript. The work is initially scrutinised and reviewed by our editors, and then it must be formatted correctly. This stage varies in complexity: it can be as simple as removing blank space, or we might give the book a particular look, with the use of special fonts and layout styles. If there are any images or photographs in the text, they will be carefully examined to ensure they are of sufficient quality to be printed.
Once the manuscript is formatted, it is then thoroughly inspected by proofreaders. This process, which will not be rushed, is designed to identify and correct any spelling and factual errors, embarrassing typos or grammatical mishaps. If desired, editorial suggestions about how the book might be re-written can be referred back to the author. Once all edits and amendments are finalised and agreed by the author with their signature on the publishing agreement, the book is then ready for publishing and printing.

We don’t restrict our authors to a particular book size and we offer paperback, eBook and Amazon Kindle formats. Any book published in The Gambia will be available in the Suba Bookshop at an affordable price. Under certain circumstances, we may offer traditional publishing services to authors by covering the cost of editing and production whereas the author is relived of all financial burdens. However, as an independent publishing company, we generally expect authors to meet the cost of editing and publishing, in addition to that of advertising and marketing.

Submission:
The process begins when the author sends us a sample of their work. This is passed to our editorial team, to assess if they find it appealing and marketable, the author will then be ask to submit the electronic copy of the complete manuscript. On receipt of this, the work is passed to the editors to consider the text in its entirety. Many factors will be taken into account during this assessment period, not merely the content of the work itself, but also the freshness and originality of the approach and the suitability of the style. There will also be a consideration of the amount of editing needed to bring the work to a level necessary for publication. We do understand that the texts we receive are not necessarily perfect and the work will be judged as much on its potential and its achievement. Any concerns the editors have will be addressed with the author during the editing and production process.
For all your submissions, please send an electronic copy of the manuscript (in Microsoft Word, or what have you) to subakunda@yahoo.com

Marketing and Advertising:
In comparison to submission and production, marketing is a much more open-ended process and can involve a wide variety of approaches, any combination of which may used to promote a particular book. The process begins prior to a book’s publication with an internal strategy targeting the right audience in the market. Having analysed not only the book’s unique qualities but also the features it shares with works in similar genres, we identify the sales techniques most likely to prove effective and from this we will formulate a comprehensive but flexible marketing plan tailor made for this title. Even after the book is published, we continue to meet the author regularly in order to discuss its progress, adjusting the technique we employ based on the book’s sales, and researching the latest forms of promoting, which may offer new and innovative approaches.

For instance, a large network of book bloggers and reviewers are keen to work with us, which is a vital part of building recognition in the weeks leading up to publishing, as well as after the book is published. The review of genres and the content may encourage a high response rate and boost online awareness. Our marketing will involve mainstream media both traditional and modern forms of publicity ranging from radio stations and newspapers, to TV and social media. We will send out a press release and encourage the media fraternity to interview our aspiring authors. However, SKP does not take responsibility for any expense involved in marketing and advertising.

Royalties:
In the event that the author paid the cost of editing and production, we take 20% of the royalty from book sales, and 60% royalty in the event where the publisher has met the cost of editing and publishing. In order to make steady progress in book sales, we endeavour to pay our authors at least once every six months.

Author’s tips:
Maya Angelou says “there is no agony greater than a book lying on the author chest”. Now that so many people have the option to self-publish their works, there is a widely held view that turning an idea into a manuscript and then into a printed book is easier than ever. Professional publishers like us can transform your manuscript and guarantee that it is both attractive to your readers and worth a spot on any bookshelf around the world. And we strives to exhibit our books at major international book fairs such as London book fair, Frankfurt book fair and Sharjah book fair in UAE.