Race, Faith and Community in Contemporary Britain Essays on Black, African, and African Caribbean Muslims in the UK PROUDLY MUSLIM & BLACK REPORT 2022

not lowball me (Flood, 2020).” The 21 year old British-Nigerian Muslim writer wanted to centre
Black characters in her debut novel about institutional racism in an elite white school (Khan,
2020).
Halimat Shode, founder of Black Muslim Times said, “I feel like Black Muslims are only called
upon to talk about race relations.” There is clearly more to the Black British experience than
racism. Some have taken it upon themselves to set up their own organisations and safe spaces
to document the diversity of Black Muslim experiences. Examples include Black Muslim Times,
Everyday Muslim, Black and Muslim in Britain, and The (Virtual) Salon. More platforms and
initiatives are needed to promote Black Muslim stories, writers and poets.
In my view, getting published will always be challenging for writers as the market is saturated.
Over 200,000 books were printed in the UK in 2019 alone. I was fortunate that my first book
proposal on anti-Black racism and African Muslim history was accepted by an independent
Muslim publishing house. However, I did experience some difficulties with subsequent book
proposals. When I pitched to write about racism and African history, I did not encounter much
push back from Muslim and non-Muslim publishers. This was not the case when I pitched to
write a book about intimacy and Islamic sexology. I was asked to significantly change the
subject matter of my book about relationships to make it more ‘palatable’ for (South Asian and
Arab) Muslim readers. This was something I was not willing to do. I am not alone in this regard.
To be published, many Black writers feel they need to conform to the worldview of non-Black
commissioning editors who have particular expectations over what kind of stories they deem
to be ‘authentically Muslim’ or interesting for readers. Due to the lack of support, I decided to
go down the self-publishing route after my first book which was more costly. Fortunately, I was
able to finance the upfront book publishing costs. Not many aspiring writers are in a position
to self-fund their book projects. It is a risky investment and may not pay off. Interestingly, it
was not until I achieved a considerable amount of success with my subsequent self-published
books, that publishers reached out to me to publish a similar book on the same topic that I
initially proposed to them. From my experience, Black writers are more likely to get published
if they are able to demonstrate their commercial value in the market.
For aspiring writers seeking notoriety or to be recognised as an expert or thought leader in
their field, traditional publishing is probably the best route over self-publishing. Dr Jonathan
Wilson, Professor of Brand Strategy and Culture at Regent’s University in London, suggests:
The real barriers are further down and much earlier: as a student, building your career
as an academic, or holding down another job that still gives you the time to follow your
writing passion and potential. For those that want to take this path, the best advice I can
give is to demonstrate beforehand your quality and what you can bring: write articles
that showcase your style and perspective, and build your social media following. At the
end of the day, publishing a book is about demonstrating to the publisher beforehand
that they will make money and gain kudos.
Traditional publishing also provides better distribution and publishing expertise for new writers.
That being said, self-publishing is potentially more lucrative for authors who know how to
market themselves and distribute their books effectively.
For example, to make £30,000 via the traditional publishing route for a book selling at £7.99
that pays a 10% royalty payment to the author, 37,547 books would need to be sold. To make
the same amount via the self-publishing route with the book selling at the same price but with
the self-published author receiving 40% of the book price, 9,384 books would need to be sold.
Self-publishing is something Black Muslim writers should consider if they are unable to secure
a suitable book deal. Publishing is not a meritocracy. The best books do not always get picked
up by agents or publishers. Whatever route writers opt for, it is important that more Black
Muslims are published so that we can enrich ourselves with their different experiences, stories,
and insights.
Recommendations
In order to effect change, publishing houses need to be aware of the various obstacles Black
Muslim writers face and develop strategies to find and publish them.
For aspiring writers wanting to get published, do not procrastinate. There is no harm in reaching
out to a publishing house or agent with a book proposal. The passion to write is likely to wane
over some time. It is also important for aspiring writers to self-promote and actively engage
with their audience. Marketing is essential to becoming a publishing success. The industry is
not a pure meritocracy.
Black independent bookshops are an untapped market to stock books by Black Muslims. More
Black editors and publishers may help to find and publish more Black writers. To achieve
publishing success, I believe books by Black Muslims would need to target a wider audience
and not just independent Muslim bookshops. The internet is an inexpensive outlet to market
to a wider demographic.
For writers going down the self-publishing route, they can start a blog to build an online
presence. As their audience grows it would be easier to gain a book deal once they have
proved their commercial value.
It is also important to prepare oneself for rejection and criticism. A writer must understand
that not everyone will enjoy their work, writing is subjective. Rather than waiting for a major
publisher or editor to validate or approve their work, I advise aspiring writers to concentrate
on writing and building an audience.
For policy makers, I recommend the following:
• Increase Black hiring.
• Facilitate workshops on creative writing and how to get published.
• Discover different channels (i.e. online) to find Black Muslim writers.
• Rethink what is considered ‘quality’ and ‘commercially valuable.’
124 125