Have you ever imagined your name on the cover of a bestselling book? The thrill of seeing your stories in print? For many South African writers, publication feels like a far-off dream. But with dedication, creativity and persistence, it can become a reality.
Ready to break into South Africa’s vibrant literary scene? Get started with our nine-step guide to becoming a published author.
South Africa’s literary world spans twelve official languages, a dozen distinct cultural traditions and, yet, a trade book market that is, by global standards, tiny. But this smallness is both an obstacle and a gift: there are no impenetrable walls of agents and gatekeepers separating you from the editor who could change your life. The only thing standing between you and publication is a strong manuscript and an understanding of the South African publishing landscape.
Each step below explores the challenges and the practical considerations that can help you write a publishable book.
Step 1: Find the story that belongs to you
Before you type a single word, ask yourself an uncomfortable question: why does this story need to exist? South African publishers receive stacks of manuscripts during each submission window, and those that receive a rejection note tend to share one quality – they could have been written by anyone, about anywhere.
What publishers want is specificity. Describe the smell of a Durban street-food market after rain, an Afrikaans phrase that exists in no other language on earth, the precise discomfort of a Soweto funeral where the wrong relatives sit in the wrong seats. Specificity is how universal emotions reach a reader.
Acclaimed American writer, Jacqueline Woodson writes, ‘The more specific we are, the more universal something can become. Life is in the details. If you generalise, it doesn’t resonate. The specificity of it is what resonates.’
The real challenge here: most aspiring authors abandon ideas too quickly, deciding they are not interesting enough before they have tested them on the page. Start with the image, the character or the question that haunts you. Train yourself to carry a notebook and use it: overheard arguments, the way people hold their hands when they talk, news stories that upset you or memories that resurface at inopportune moments.
Step 2: Write the first draft
First drafts are like quarrying: you hack away at stone to uncover what is hidden inside the mountain. The danger at this stage is not imperfection; it is stopping before you reach the good stuff.
Writers who stall during their first drafts usually do so because they are editing and drafting at the same time. They reread yesterday’s pages, rewrite the opening chapter for the seventeenth time and polish sentences before the story even exists. Commit to a daily word count target. Between 500 and 1 500 words is a sustainable range for most working people. Don’t focus on perfection during this process; disable your editorial instincts and keep moving forward.
For a standard adult novel of roughly 60 000 to 100 000 words (Penguin Random House South Africa’s required range for fiction), a daily target of 1 000 words produces a complete first draft in three to four months. That is an achievable goal for someone with a full-time job, provided the writing happens daily.
The real challenge here: the middle section of almost every novel is where manuscripts can peter out. Opening chapters are carried by the excitement and novelty of writing; endings have their own pull. But the middle, often around chapters eight to sixteen, demands that you write through the suspicion that the whole enterprise may have been a mistake. Every published novelist has crossed some version of this stretch. The ones who finish are those who keep showing up and pushing through, putting words on the page despite doubt or fear.
Step 3: Edit with discipline and outside eyes
Editing is where the story you intended to write collides with the story you actually wrote, and revision becomes the negotiation between them.
Self-editing has several stages, each requiring a different kind of attention.
Structural editing comes first. Does the story arc work? Does each chapter earn its place? Are there characters who arrive with purpose but then drift off page? Does the protagonist change? Structural problems cannot be fixed with better sentences. They require cutting, rebuilding and, occasionally, the ruthless deletion of scenes you love. Stephen King has famously referred to this as ‘killing your darlings’.
Line editing follows, sentence by sentence, asking whether each one is doing its intended job. A common pitfall for writers is over-explanation: the impulse to tell the reader what a scene means rather than trusting them to feel it for themselves. Trust your nouns and your verbs. Weak writing leans heavily on adverbs and adjectives; strong writing builds images from specific people doing specific things.
Copy-editing and proofreading come last, catching pesky errors in grammar, punctuation and continuity. A character’s eyes may be green in chapter two and brown in chapter nine. A professional proofreader will catch this. You may not.
Most published novelists revise their manuscripts multiple times before submission. This is not a sign of failure or perfectionism; it’s a sign that you’re willing to go the distance.
Beta readers and writing groups can catch the things you are too close to see. South Africa has an active network of writing circles, and the SA Writers’ College publishes a directory of them. Participating in one before submitting your manuscript may save you from your own blind spots.
The real challenge here: many writers submit manuscripts that are still a few revisions short. They may have fixed obvious problems but have avoided asking the harder question: is this as good as it can possibly be? Remember, the opportunity to make a strong first impression on a publisher can be brief.
Step 4: Understand the market you are submitting into
South Africa’s trade publishing sector operates within its own economic realities, and writers who understand these pressures are more likely to submit better manuscripts to better-matched publishers.
The South African book market publishes thousands of new titles annually, with the education sector accounting for the bulk of the industry’s revenue. General trade publishing (fiction, narrative non-fiction and memoir) occupies a narrower commercial lane than many writers realise. Print runs for debut novels typically range from 1 000 to 3 000 copies. The industry’s 2023 to 2024 survey, published by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa, identified a lack of cash flow, delayed government payments and rising production costs as the most pressing challenges facing SMME publishers. Understanding these realities can help writers understand why publishers approach acquisitions cautiously: each publishing decision carries real financial risk in a tight market.
What this means in practice:
- Publishers look for manuscripts with an identifiable readership. They will ask: Who is likely to buy this book, and how many readers are there?
- Local settings and stories offer the real advantage of providing perspectives and experiences that imported titles may not be able to.
- Genres such as crime fiction, memoir, historical fiction and popular non-fiction (biography, politics, sport and true crime) sell consistently well in South Africa.
- Although literary fiction is still published, it may involve shorter print runs and careful commercial consideration.
- The Afrikaans publishing market, served by publishers such as Jonathan Bell Publishers and LAPA, remains commercially active and has its own imprints, prizes and readership.
Publishers who work across South Africa’s range of official languages actively seek manuscripts that engage with the multilingual, multicultural context of South African life. The DSAC Publishing Hub (run by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in partnership with ANFASA) has specifically called for manuscripts ‘penned in official South African languages, including Khoisan languages’, and offers successful authors a development grant of R25 000, as well as a publisher pairing. This is a funding route that many aspiring authors could benefit from.
The real challenge here: many writers treat the South African publishing market as a single entity and submit the same manuscript to publishers whose catalogues have almost nothing in common. Research before submission, not after.
Step 5: Know your publisher before you knock
The single most avoidable submission mistake is sending a manuscript to a publisher that does not publish the kind of work you have written. Jacana Media, which describes itself as a publisher of books that ‘disrupt, provoke and change what gets said out loud’, may not be a natural home for cosy romance fiction. Modjaji Books publishes southern African women writers. Submitting as a man or submitting work not grounded in the southern African context, is a waste of everyone’s time.
Below is a guide to some of the major publishers and the kind of books they are looking for.
Penguin Random House South Africa (penguinrandomhouse.co.za)
The largest general trade publisher operating in South Africa, its imprints include Umuzi (literary fiction), Zebra Press (politics, current affairs, history and sport), Struik Lifestyle (cookbooks), Struik Nature (southern African wildlife and environmental topics) and Struik Travel & Heritage.
For fiction submissions, Penguin does not want your entire manuscript at first. They want a book proposal: a structured document covering the title, genre, target market, comparable titles, author biography, tagline, blurb and complete synopsis. This should be accompanied by only the first chapter. If your submission is successful, the full manuscript is requested separately.
Penguin Random House SA states on their website: ‘We publish English and Afrikaans novels which will sell in the South African book market. Originality, high writing standard and market appeal are therefore essential.’ Manuscripts must be 60 000 to 100 000 words. They do not publish poetry, short stories, graphic novels, academic texts or screenplays.
Their fiction imprint, Umuzi, is described as publishing ‘the finest fiction in South Africa across various genres … a bespoke imprint of choice for established literary authors, prize-winner books, and trailblazing new voices that thrill and surprise readers in terms of content, style, and/or form.’ If literary fiction is your territory, Umuzi may be your target.
Response time: approximately four to six months. They do not provide detailed feedback on unsuccessful submissions.
Send to: fiction@penguinrandomhouse.co.za
Jonathan Ball Publishers (NB Publishers) (https://www.jonathanball.co.za/)
South Africa’s largest local general publisher, its main imprints are Tafelberg, Human & Rousseau, Pharos, Kwela Books, Best Books, Sunbird, Bouncy Ball, Briza, Delta and Lux Verbi. Afrikaans romance fiction is published under specialised imprints including Jasmyn, Melodie, Satyn, Hartklop and Mirre.
Submission requirements include a 200-to-300-word summary of your manuscript, author contact details, three sample chapters, biographical details and a detailed list of chapters.
Send to: submissions@jonathanball.co.za
Jacana Media (jacana.co.za)
An independent publisher that, for over 24 years, has built a catalogue of more than 2 500 titles. Their primary interest is the arts, current affairs, South African history, memoir and biography, natural history, children’s books and public health, but their fiction list extends considerably beyond that, particularly through their literary awards.
Jacana operates a submission window with specific opening and closing dates. Their 2025 window closed on 29 November 2025. Sign up to their mailing list for updates on the next opening. They require the first four completed chapters plus a short synopsis, not a full manuscript. Their portal advises writers to ‘think carefully about the extent to which your work fits into the list and be prepared to persuade us that your title belongs in the catalogue.’
Jacana also runs the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award, open to unpublished novelists who are citizens or permanent residents of South Africa. The winner receives R35 000 and a publishing contract from Jacana Media. Entries must be a minimum of 40 000 words, submitted blind (no author name on the manuscript) and primarily in English, although the award specifically welcomes ‘innovative writing and the exploration of languages, capturing the multilingual landscape in the continent and the world’. This is one of the most direct routes into publication for debut fiction writers in South Africa.
Send to: submissions@jacana.co.za
Modjaji Books (modjajibooks.co.za)
Founded in 2007 by Colleen Higgs, Modjaji is an independent feminist press that publishes southern African women writers: fiction, memoir, short story collections, essays and narrative non-fiction. They have published over 200 titles and are a member of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
Their submission window opens periodically (the most recent ended on 30 November 2025) and manuscripts must be submitted via their Submittable platform. Unsolicited emailed manuscripts will be ignored. They recommend signing up for their newsletter and keeping an eye on their social media to find out about their next submission opening. They are not currently accepting poetry collections. They recommend reading several Modjaji titles before submitting ‘to get a feel for our voice and what we’re looking for’.
In 2024, Modjaji announced an international publishing partnership with US-based Catalyst Press, extending their authors’ reach into North American markets.
Wits University Press (witspress.co.za)
Established in 1922, Wits University Press (WUP) is the oldest university press in South Africa. Their focus is on academic and general trade books: art and heritage, popular science, history, politics, biography, literary studies and women’s writing. For non-fiction writers working in these areas, WUP offers serious editorial attention and distribution.
A submission needs to include a provisional book title, the author’s name(s), a brief synopsis of the book, the estimated length of the manuscript (number of words), table of contents, projected completion date, the introductory chapter plus one sample chapter and the targeted readership.
Send to: Louis.Gaigher@wits.ac.za (the current commissioning editor)
Catalyst Collective (catalystpress.org)
Fundamentally committed to publishing quality literature, Catalyst Collective is a hands-on publishing house with three imprints: Catalyst Press, Flare Books and Powers Squared. Catalyst Press is their imprint focused on African writers or for African-based books. They publish around six to eight titles a year, and you can submit during July and August. Flare Books and Power Squared focus on authors in North America and around the world.
Submission requirements include a synopsis, bio, pitch, and up to 50 pages.
Send to: submissions@catalystpress.org
DSAC Publishing Hub (https://www.anfasa.org.za/dasc-publishing-hub/)
This government initiative pairs selected authors with established publishers and provides development grants. Categories include novels, poetry anthologies, drama texts, narrative non-fiction and children’s and young adult books, with an emphasis on stories of national significance and manuscripts written in indigenous languages.
Manuscripts can be submitted on their website (https://www.anfasa.org.za/dsac-manuscript-application/).
Step 6: Build your submission package
Different publishers want different things, and submitting in the wrong format is an immediate disqualifier.
For most South African publishers, you will need some combination of the following:
A query or cover letter. Keep it to one page. Who are you? What is your book? Why are you submitting to this publisher? If you have previously been published – whether in journalism, short story anthologies or literary magazines – mention it. If you have not, do not apologise. Just be precise about what you have written.
A synopsis. A full summary of your story, including the ending. This is often the document writers find most challenging because compressing 80 000 words into one or two pages requires you to know, without ambiguity, what your book is actually about. If the synopsis is unclear or unfocused, it will substantially weaken your overall submission.
Sample chapters. Typically, the first three to four chapters in the order they appear in the manuscript. Resist the temptation to send your favourite chapter from the middle instead of the opening. Publishers often focus on openings because that’s where readers decide to stay or leave. If your opening is not strong enough to carry the submission, revision may be the answer, not substitution.
Formatting. Manuscripts are commonly formatted using double or 1.5-line spacing, in a 12-point serif font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond or Century), and with page numbers. Submit it as a Word document unless the publisher specifies otherwise.
The real challenge here: the synopsis. Practice writing it before completing the manuscript. If you cannot explain the narrative arc in two pages, it may suggest that parts of the story still need refining.
Step 7: Submit, and build a tolerance for rejection
Most published South African authors have a rejection file. Some have a very thick one.
Because many South African publishers accept unsolicited submissions directly, response times are often long. Penguin Random House SA takes four to six months to respond to fiction proposals. Jacana provides feedback only on submissions they wish to pursue. Silence is often the most common response, and learning to distinguish productive waiting from stalling is a skill in itself.
Submit to multiple publishers at the same time where submissions guidelines allow it. You are generally under no obligation to a publisher until a contract is signed, and many South African publishers understand this. Keep a submission log: who received what, on which date and when you should follow up.
Personalised rejections, even brief ones, can contain useful information. A publisher who says, ‘Not right for our list at this time,’ may be telling you something different from one who says, ‘Compelling writing but the structure needs significant work.’ Read these responses carefully.
Between submissions, keep writing. The writer who finishes a second manuscript while the first is under consideration is often in a stronger position than the one who waits a year or two for an answer that may never arrive.
Awards can provide an alternate route towards visibility. The Dinaane Debut Fiction Award (Jacana), the Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award (Jacana Literary Foundation) and the AVBOB Poetry Prize (across all official languages) are among the most active in South Africa. Reaching a shortlist can become a useful credential that catches a publisher’s attention.
The real challenge here: rejection accumulates. Writers who succeed are those who are prepared for rejection, able to process it and then get back to the desk.
Step 8: Read your contract with clear eyes
A publishing contract is a legal document, and no amount of excitement or relief at being offered one should prevent you from reading it carefully.
Royalties. Traditional South African publishers often offer royalty structures within a particular range, although rates vary between publishers, genres and contracts. Penguin Random House SA offers an average of 12.5%. Royalties are paid as a percentage of the net revenue of the book based on the number of copies sold. A novel sold at R250, generating R12.50 per copy, needs to sell 8 000 copies before you have earned R100 000. In a market where debut print runs are commonly 1 500 to 3 000 copies, royalties alone will rarely provide a reliable full-time income.
Rights. Your contract will specify which rights you are licensing, for example, South African rights, broader African rights or world rights. If a publisher requests broad rights to a debut novel, this warrants careful scrutiny. Rights you retain may be sold separately later.
Advances. Most South African publishers do not offer advances for debut fiction. Some offer small ones. An advance is not a bonus; it is an early payment against future royalties that you repay through sales before additional royalties accrue.
Copyright. Under South African and UK copyright law, your work is already protected without formal registration.
If you are uncertain about contract terms, the Publishers’ Association of South Africa (https://publishsa.co.za/) can answer general questions, and the Professional Editors’ Guild (https://editors.org.za/) can direct you to industry professionals for advice.
Step 9: Publish, then do the work that publishing requires
When your manuscript reaches production, you may work with a developmental editor, a copy-editor and a proofreader. This process can take months from an accepted manuscript to a book that reaches readers. It requires patience, responsiveness and the willingness to accept editorial changes that may sometimes feel bruising.
The cover you imagined for your book will almost certainly not be the cover your publisher ultimately produces. Publishers understand their market and their shelf. Engage constructively with cover discussions, but remember that this is territory where the publisher’s experience counts for a great deal.
After publication, books don’t always sell themselves. Authors who treat launch day as the finish line are routinely disappointed. Social media presence, particularly BookTok and Instagram, has become a real driver of South African book sales. Reading events, school visits and literary festivals (the Open Book Festival in Cape Town, the Franschhoek Literary Festival, Time of the Writer in Durban) may connect your book with the reader who needs it.
The real challenge here: publishing often requires a kind of public confidence from people who became writers partly because they prefer spending time alone with language. The promotional work may feel unnatural at first. Do it anyway.
A Note on Other Routes
Traditional publishing is not the only path.
Self-publishing can incur significant costs, depending on the services engaged, but it also offers higher royalty rates of 60 to 100 per cent per sale and greater creative control. However, it requires authors to manage editing, design, distribution and marketing themselves. Amazon KDP, Smashwords and local platforms are all available to South African authors.
Hybrid publishing offers a middle ground: professional production services in exchange for a fee, while allowing the author to retain more rights and a higher royalty than through traditional publishing. Quality and business models vary considerably, and due diligence is essential here.
Literary journals and magazines are the training ground that many aspiring novelists overlook. Publishing short fiction in New Contrast, Prufrock, The Johannesburg Review of Books or Itch can help build a writing reputation, develop the discipline of completing and releasing work and occasionally catch a publisher’s eye.
Publisher Directory
Major publishers:
- Penguin Random House South Africa – fiction@penguinrandomhouse.co.za
- Jonathan Bell Publishers (Tafelberg, Human & Rousseau, Kwela and others) – submissions@jonathanball.co.za
- LAPA Publishers (Afrikaans, children’s and some English titles) – fiksie@penguinrandomhouse.co.za
- Wits University Press – Louis.Gaigher@wits.ac.za
Independent publishers:
- Jacana Media – submissions@jacana.co.za (window-based)
- Modjaji Books (women writers; Submittable platform)
- Catalyst Collective – submissions@catalystpress.org
- Pan Macmillan South Africa – submissions not currently available.
- New Africa Books – info@newafricabooks.co.za
Smaller and specialist publishers:
- African Perspectives Publishing – https://africanperspectives.co.za/authors-submissions/
- Botsotso – botsotsopublishing@gmail.com
Government initiatives:
For a comprehensive and regularly updated directory of small and independent African publishers, the African Small Publishers’ Catalogue (published by Modjaji Books, most recently in 2024) lists over 60 publishers from across the continent and is available through African Books Collective.
For general publishing enquiries, contact the Publishers’ Association of South Africa (PASA).
The South African literary landscape is shaped by diverse voices and new perspectives. These are stories that only you can tell. But strong ideas also need care and a professional approach. Our Write a Novel Course guides you from first idea to professional proposal in just one course. Join the course that has launched multiple award-winning authors in South Africa.
Some of our delighted published authors – all graduates of the Writers’ College!
