Today's guest post is written by Navjot Kaur who set-up Saffron Press in Canada. I worked with Navjot when she came to me for a critique of A Lion's Mane, her first publication. She produced a beautiful and moving story which reflected aspects of Sikh culture, while being accessible to a wider audience. In this post she reflects on what led her to establish Saffron and some of the challenges she faced in the process.

The decision to self-publish was not an easy one, but after a decade of sending out meticulously-edited manuscripts and cover letters to editors and agents, following relevant market research and constantly striving to become a better writer, it became clear to me that something had to change.

Writer’s notebooks seem to follow me wherever I go – I LOVE them!  My words bare witness to personal experiences as well as subjects I feel strongly connected to.  I constantly look for ways to grow and expand my own diversity of thought.  I probably would never have fit the mold of a traditional publisher since the Sikh identity was never meant to fit in, it has always stood out and been different.  Editors cannot understand the Sikh experience unless they are stopped 100% of the time going through an airport terminal or had a family member targeted for being a terrorist because of the way they look.  The media has done a great job to encourage hidden biases but I can work to inform those biases through my work too.

Children’s books including the Sikh identity have neither changed over the last thirty plus years, nor do they expand my mind in a way that differs from the rest.  Most are non-fiction titles literally explaining the Sikh faith.  Yes, Sikhs belong to a Faith community but we are also everyday people, active members of our respective communities, doing things most others do.  There is a vibrant, very much alive and thriving identity so often misunderstood in our global world that needs more than folktales to feel represented.

After learning of our son’s hearing loss and being thrown into a world we knew nothing about, I knew the time for change had come.  I had to face my fears and ask questions about what being Deaf meant.  I had to become informed about the Deaf experience.  I had to make sure my son would be equally comfortable in his Deaf identity as his already visible Sikh identity.  It was a rough road and that was only the beginning.  Saffron Press launched in September of 2009 with its first title - A Lion’s Mane. Using the metaphor of the Dastaar, or Sikh turban, I began unraveling the question: Do you know who I am?  This was a question I thought my son may ask his peers one day, hopefully before and not after a negative encounter.

With my teaching background, I created a curriculum guide and lesson ideas to make the story accessible to even the most hesitant educator.  During a critical discussion with Grade 6 students during Bully-Prevention week, a comment followed by a trickle of laughter was made that associated an AK47 to a man in a turban and my stomach turned.  The next day, I used A Lion’s Mane as our mentor text and saw the shifting mindset first-hand (they didn’t realize I was the author so the discussion was open and honest).  For most it was total ignorance about the Sikh identity.  These books are relevant and matter.  [available at Another Story and The Magic Suitcase in Ontario and can be ordered at most bookstores in North America and the UK].

What I find most disheartening is that the literal faith-based books that publishers were and still are launching to fulfill the obligation of meeting diversity requirements continue.  These will probably not meet the top 16 list that my son brings to bed every night.  (Yes, no kidding - sixteen books every night!)  He just wants a regular story with a regular character that looks just like him.  As he witnessed the production of A Lion’s Mane, I saw an engagement in him that I hadn’t noticed before.  At four years old, he would ask if the character was him, or his uncle and if the older character was Nanu (Grandfather).  He saw his life, his story, his reality.  It was worth it.

Publishing is a risky business and became even more so when we realized that the cultural value placed on reading for pleasure in our own south-asian community is minimal.  After talking to teachers and librarians, reading it seems, is valued in an academic capacity by South-Asian families but not widely appreciated as a leisure activity.  Book buying is therefore limited to school use.  This could be one of the reasons for the lack of resources within the South-Asian cultural experience, as well as the lack of sales.  Know your market and print conservatively until you are established.  Thankfully, A Lion’s Mane has gained an active social media following which has allowed us to gain insight into an evolving generation as far as reading habits.  Saffron Press is a pioneering initiative and I hope it will help change South-Asian perspectives about the importance of literacy from early childhood.

Beginning the self-publishing journey requests unwavering passion and every moment of your day and often night.  You have to live and breathe it so you absolutely have to believe in the decision and your work.  It takes away from your writing time because now you are responsible for every part of your book’s success.  From designing layout to producing your first mock-up, from finding the right editor (brilliant Laura who will polish your words like silver), to printing on the right weight of paper, and to finally marketing the work in a way that represents your authenticity, remember, it’s your baby.  Don’t rely on “the experts” to understand the finished product you want.  Self-publishing demands you to be present and focused.   So please do venture, but be prepared for the sleepless nights.

Thanks to Navjot for writing this post. You can find Saffron Press on the web, Facebook and Jacketflap.