The difficulties of Brazilian authors

With a low rate of readers in the country, writers report difficulties they face in the literary medium

The most recent survey of Portraits of Reading pointed out that Brazil lost 4,6 millions of readers among 2015 and 2019. According to the percentage, the index dropped from 56% for 52%, being that 48% of the Brazilian population represent people who did not read books, not even in parts, we last 5 years or 3 months, equivalent an average of 193 millions of Brazilians.

There are several reasons that contribute to this reality, the lack of incentive and the great occupation in social networks are one of them. However, the situation is not found only in those who consume the books, but also in those who produce.

The writer Rachel Fernandes, Sweek Stars winner 2018 with the book 457 Miles, after becoming known on Wattpad, she decided to bet on the editorial market and says that there is a lot of lack of incentive for the artist even within the medium.

“The greatest difficulty for the Brazilian writer is the reality in which he is inserted. We received very few incentives and culture, as always, is considered a superfluous item. Being a writer, in Brazil, it is a daily act of resistance. ”, said the author.

In fact, in recent years there have been several reports and complaints from national authors disappointed with some editorial houses, this is because there are several companies with little experience in the area and different ways of publishing a literary work.

The writer Gleiber Clodomiro, of Minas Gerais, informs that models to launch a book are growing more and more, however, it emphasizes that the author needs to pay attention to the reality of each one of them, so the interested party needs to study history and the publisher's catalog.

“The author runs the risk of having his project harmed by countless printers, disguised as publishers, or professionals who do not fulfill their obligations leaving the artist in the hands”, reports the writer of John Aron and the enigma of dreams.

This perception is reinforced by Vanessa Guimaraes, author of the award-winning Butterfly Kiss. The artist with a few months integrated in the middle, stands out with his debut book and is already preparing for the launch of a second work.

“If I had to give good advice to those who are starting, he would be: look for a good publisher ”, informed the author.

The independent mode, alternative and traditional are some means of publication that dominate the Brazilian publishing market. Each of them bears their singularities. Vanessa Guimaraes is one of the national artists who intends to become a traditional author, but reports the narrow opportunity in Brazil.

“As a beginning author, the first obstacle I encountered was finding a good publisher in the alternative market, since the traditional ones give priority to already established authors, most of them international. Unfortunately, national literature is not as prestigious, although we have so many wonderful works. ”, told the author.

Along 2020, sales of physical and digital books have increased considerably for a market that has suffered a major crisis for years, but suffered the biggest drop ever recorded at the end of the year for a month of December, according to IBGE surveys.

Isabela Zinn, of Brasilia, started her career as a published writer a few weeks ago, and even though it’s so new in the middle, already feel the difficulties of being an author in Brazil. In a scenario full of uncertainties and with few opportunities, the young woman claims that she has hope in the success of her work and invests in innovative means of dissemination to win readers.

“I’m happy with every little achievement, but it would be a lie if I said I don't dream about The kingdom of the black rose [his book] being translated into English and distributed worldwide. ”, said the author.

Despite the difficulty imposed by the literary market, more and more authors and publishers have ventured through books in pursuit of the dream of storytelling.