Training People to Treasure Good Books
We are just coming to the end of our 3-year dictionary project. Now comes the exciting development where we can use all the research we've done into the Kurdish language to produce quality Christian resources in Kurdish.
But we're on the horns of a dilemma, and I want us to act wisely here.
We will aim to print and sell hard copies of God's Big Picture, but in addition...
In the West, Christian publishers generally sell e-books, so you might think this is a no-brainer. After all, it is often said that what people don't pay for they don't value. I agree.
However, there are other players, notably HeartCry and 9Marks, who put out their Arabic materials as free pdfs online, as well as selling them. I respect their ministries; they have good reasons for making pdfs easy as pie to send from one device to another.
However, many book pdfs do the rounds here in Kurdistan and they are not really treasured. Consider these factors:
- It's not easy to bookmark on a pdf where you're up to. Pdfs are great for skimming and searching, but less good for reading from cover-to-cover.
- They look cheap and worthless. They often come without a nice cover.
We have an opportunity to sell God's Big Picture for about $3 as a Kindle book. It might be the first ever Kurdish book on Kindle to be published in Kurmanji, Behdini and Sorani in one volume.
There are some arguments against the Kindle approach though:
- Some say Kurds don't use Kindle. I don't think this is a clinching argument. In any case, we're dealing with a tiny community who would read Christian books, and they could easily be persuaded to start using Kindle on a tablet or phone if they're not already used to reading English or German books for example on Kindle.
- How would they pay? There are many Kurds in the West- so they can use a credit card. But even within the Kurdistan Region, the Fastpay app is now available and allows people to buy online.
- Translated books are not ideal. It might be better not to make a big splash by recommending God's Big Picture to all Kurds as if this was the must-read for all Kurdish believers. I have noticed that the same story that is so well told in GBP can be much more powerfully told in terms that actually relate God's kingdom purposes to the Kurdish people. For example, Abraham travelled through Kurdish territory; Jews were exiled by the Assyrians to what we now call Kurdistan; those Jews heard the gospel at the Day of Pentecost, coming from Media, Mesopotamia etc. So there is a case for regarding GBP as a useful training tool for Bible teachers among the Kurds, best instantly accessible as a pdf, alongside the Arabic which will be available as a pdf- not least in establishing the spiritual language that is needed to teach the Old Testament. Furthermore, we are not the publishers. Heartcry are the publishers and they will probably post the Arabic pdf on their website; so it could make sense to go along with their policy for other languages.
Although God's Big Picture has sold well and been translated into about 30 languages, probably we shouldn't expect it to be the classic book that will grab the hearts of lots of Kurds. Perhaps that book that we pray for- tailor-made for a Kurdish readership and taking into account the archaeology that is all around Duhok and Erbil- would take another 3 or 4 years to produce. That will be the one to sell on KIndle and say Invest Your money in it: it's really worth owning and reading carefully!
Hello, Hmmm... I can't say I have 'wisdom' or and word from the Lord, haha, but a few ideas pop up in my mind: 1. Make a free short video that summarizes the key points (like a book trailer) and let it be shared freely on social media, then provide a link to people who want more from the book to buy the actual book. 2. Make the book free, but the end of the book will promote a series of 'seminars' which people can pay to have more detailed teachings and feedbacks. 3. provide a free but dull-looking pdf version for those who want to read it, but the paid version will be a much better quality printed book for those who want to give it out as gift. 4. Have a free version for those who can't afford, but the paid version will have a couple of extra bonus chapters and group discussion questions/resources etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm Joanie from Manchester by the way :)
DeleteThanks Joanie. Those are all great suggestions. It shows that, as we like to say, there's more than one way to skin a cat. But you're rightly trying to uphold the principle that people who receive teaching should share in supporting that ministry.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the copyright situation with this book? Do you have the right to distribute it for free in Kurdish translation?
ReplyDeleteI totally see your point about how this translated book has its uses but may not be the one you want everyone to read and own - so maybe circulating the PDF version less widely and saving your marketing of a kindle/paper version for a more appropriate material would be best.