Who Can Publish on Sọna?
Author and publisher accounts are currently open to residents of Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
Who can publish on Sona comes down to a short list of countries, along with the currency and payout method available in each.
If you are based in one of those countries, you can sign up, upload your books, and start selling to readers around the world. Reader accounts, on the other hand, are open to everyone: any reader, anywhere, can create a free account and purchase books on Sọna.
The platform was created to elevate African literature and give African authors, especially Nigerian authors, a home-built platform that serves them properly. Author account availability is expanding over time. If your country is not yet supported, check back or contact the team at readsona.com.
Pricing in Naira
All books on Sọna are priced in Nigerian Naira (₦). As an author, you set one base price in Naira. That base price is what your earnings are calculated from.
Readers may see a slightly higher checkout price than the base price you entered because Sọna includes payment processing costs in the reader-facing total. Nigerian reader accounts see the local processing gross-up for local payment methods. If a Nigerian account pays with a card issued outside Nigeria, the total may update to reflect the international card-processing gross-up before payment. Reader accounts outside Nigeria see the international processing gross-up. This keeps books accessible to African readers while still enabling global card payments.
For example, if you set a book at ₦1,500, a Nigerian reader account will see about ₦1,625, while a reader account outside Nigeria will see about ₦1,665. Your author/platform split is still calculated from the ₦1,500 base price.
Global Payments, Zero Friction for International Buyers
Pricing in Naira does not mean locking out international readers.
Sọna processes payments through Paystack, which supports Nigerian local payment methods and cards from Nigeria and other countries. A reader in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, or anywhere else can purchase a book on Sọna with a supported card. Their card issuer may convert the Naira charge into their local currency.
From the reader's side: the store and cart show the Naira total before payment, including the relevant processing gross-up for their account country and selected payment method.
From the author's side, earnings are recorded in Naira as normal, with no additional setup required.
This means your book is genuinely available to the world from the moment it goes live.
What International Authors Need to Know
If you are an author based outside Nigeria:
Pricing: Set your base price in Naira. Research comparable books on the platform to find a price point that feels right for your audience. Reader-facing totals may include local or international payment processing gross-up, depending on the reader's account country and payment method.
Payouts: Sọna supports Nigerian bank payouts, supported mobile money payouts for individual authors in Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, and international or alternative payout methods for eligible authors outside Nigeria. During payout setup, enter the details requested for your country and payout method. For supported Ghana/Kenya/Ethiopia mobile money, enter your provider, mobile money number, and registered name exactly as they appear on the wallet. Cross-border processing fees and currency conversion are deducted from payouts outside Nigeria. The rest works the same way as for Nigeria-based authors.
KYC: All authors go through the standard KYC (identity verification) process before payouts are enabled. International accounts may require additional documentation depending on your country.
Currency: Your earnings are denominated in Naira. If you are based internationally, your payout will be converted from Naira by your receiving bank or payout provider at prevailing exchange rates.
Territorial Rights: If you hold world rights to your books, no additional setup is needed: your books are available globally by default. See the territorial rights guide if your situation is more complex.
What International Readers Need to Know
Reading on Sọna requires a free account. Once you have one:
- Browse the full catalogue of books
- Purchase with a supported card; your card issuer may convert the Naira charge into your local currency
- Read full books in the Sọna Reader mobile apps and, where the rights holder enables it, the protected web reader
- Your library is your library, wherever you are
There are no regional restrictions on the Sọna app or website itself. Individual books may have regional restrictions applied by the author based on their publishing rights, but those are the author's choice to configure, not a platform limitation.
Built for African Stories, Open to the World
Sọna exists because African stories deserve a platform that was designed with them in mind, not adapted from a tool built for someone else. The catalogue focuses on Nigerian and African literature: fiction, non-fiction, romance, thrillers, literary essays, poetry, and more.
But the best African literature has always spoken to universal experiences. Stories of love, family, identity, ambition, loss, and belonging travel across borders when given the chance. Sọna is how those stories get that chance.
If you are a reader who loves African fiction and has struggled to find it, or an author who has struggled to reach readers who actually want your kind of story, this platform was built for you.
Ready to publish? Create your account at readsona.com/publish. Ready to read? Download the Sọna app or browse at readsona.com.
Related Posts
- Territorial Rights and Regional Restrictions on Sọna: How to limit which countries can purchase your book
- Earnings and Payouts on Sọna: How international payouts work and how to set up your details
The Sona author account supported countries list also determines whether Sona mobile money payouts are available to you directly.
