UPDATE: I originally wrote
this as a comment for Lydia Teh’s blog about book publishing in Malaysia back
in 2007. Then I used it to start my own
blog. Since I still keep getting hits on
a regular basis and had planned to link to an upcoming interview with a
Malaysian writer publishing in Singapore, I thought I should update it. It’s been ten years!
Yesterday, I was visiting bookstores in Kuching in order to convince them to stock my book,
Lovers and Strangers Revisited (Silverfishbooks 2006)
, since tomorrow 20 May 2007, there will be a profile of me
and a review of my book in The Borneo Post. I was told by both Times and
Popular Bookstores that the KL office does the ordering for them, so they faxed
a copy of my NST review (16 April 2006) with some cryptic notes from me, which
I followed up today with a lengthy email to lobby my books into their Kuching
stores (hopefully all over Sarawak and Sabah).
Having the interview/review coming out boosted my confidence and gave me
credibility since I wasn’t known in Kuching, having recently moved here from
Penang, as did the fact that “Neighbours”, one of my short stories from the
collection, had been selected by the Ministry of Education to be taught in
2008 SPM Literature, thus guaranteeing a lot of interest among teachers and
students. Plus they will be discussing my
story on an online forum on the MELTA website.
UPDATE: MELTA had
over 20,500 hits and 276 comments on my story alone before it was archived and
later removed. And “Neighbours” was taught from 2008-2014! Denis Harry had written an article for New Straits Times about my character
Mrs. Koh, who has become this stereotype for a busybody neighbor in Malaysia, “Are you Mrs.Koh?”
My Malaysian publisher Silverfishbooks had told me that their Singapore distributor
was making excuses about sending my books to Sarawak because of the shipping
costs. For a publisher, having a good
distributor is imperative or your books won’t be placed in bookstores. Even getting the books into the stores in
Penang (where I lived for twenty years) and on campus at USM (where I taught for
ten years), took some arm-twisting and follow-ups on my behalf. Now I have to start all over again in Kuching.
Hopefully something will come of the
contacts I made yesterday, the emails I wrote today, and phone calls I’ll be
making on Monday.
One bookstore did agree to
take 25 books on consignment basis. The
problem seemed to be the shipping costs between East and West Malaysia, making
the books less profitable for the distributor and the publisher, so I agreed
to use my own stock and cut a deal with the bookstore. The owner requested
that his bookstore be mentioned in the review tomorrow to direct customers his
way, which the Borneo Post reporter, who had interviewed me, arranged. She had even approached the bookstore on my
behalf (bless her heart!). I merely
sealed the deal with a phone call and delivered the books so I would finally
have some books in Kuching before the
profile/interview hits.
Timing is everything. Just wished they were in all of the stores
throughout Sarawak and Sabah!
Previously, the original version of my book was published by
Heinemann Asia in Singapore back in 1993. 75 copies of my book were sold by a
Times Bookstore in Penang—a lot for local fiction.
So when I asked them to restock the book, the
manager said no. He said their policy was not to stock second editions except
their own (Times Editions) books. I looked at him as if he had a hole in his
head. They sold 75 copies!
I was in the
store regularly to buy books and to browse and would guide customers his way.
I even held a successful autograph signing
in his store.
But he refused to make an
exception—that was Times Editions policy back in 1993!
Lydia Teh, whom I later wrote the short story
“Merdeka Miracle” with (along with Tunku Halim) for Going Places, said that MPH published
her third book and she was real happy with them (later her book won the Popular
Reader’s Choice Award). MPH has a good
working relationship with MPH Bookstores (not officially related) and they have
stores all over Malaysia (but not in Sarawak). MPH books seem to get good media coverage, good
in-store promotions, and nice listing in MPH magazine.
UPDATE: MPH Bookstore did come to Sarawak and did a
great job promoting my book when I later switched publishers to MPH with
Silverfishbooks’ blessing since they ran out of stock (and still couldn’t get
my books in Sarawak). I even gave a talk
in their store...for three of my books.
Still my big concern about switching publishers…will the books get out of
Malaysia/Singapore market, a lament I’ve had since my first experience in
Singapore. At least Silverfishbooks has
a website where you can order my books (with free shipping all over Malaysia
including Sarawak and Sabah) and an online newsletter. But so far, most (if not all) publishers in
Malaysia and Singapore only sell here; although some, past and present, have tried
to make inroads into the UK/US markets.
UPDATE:
Websites, online access, and the e-book market has changed that somewhat. Technically
anyone around the world can order your book/e-book from your publisher’s
website, but in reality they mostly shop at Amazon and other large forums so if
your books aren’t there….Some Malaysian and Singapore publishers have recently
opened offices in the UK and that’s exciting news for local writers.
A
good place to find a publisher is to browse the Local or Asian fiction
section. I used to jot down unfamiliar
or new publishers and then check them out at book fairs in KL and Singapore,
picking up their catalogues, even visiting their offices. Now it’s much easier via the internet. Publishers, some promising ones, still come
and go, and self-publishing your books has become somewhat ‘acceptable’ but the
quality will depend largely on you and who you hire to edit your books—believe
me poor or no editing really shows and it’s cringe worthy! Then there is the problem of getting your
books into bookstores and into the hands of potential readers…
Some
of these so-called publishers have become aggressive, even contacting
unsuspecting writers on their bogs, praising their writing style, convincing them
to publish with them and then slapping them with a bank-breaking fee. Hey, they’re in it for the upfront
money! Oh, you didn’t read the small
print? Sorry-lah, but you still have to
pay! An editing client of mine, despite
my objections, found this out the hard way; she was convinced it was legit—a
mainstream publisher—and had to cough up RM19,000! She wasn’t so naïve the second time around
and followed my advice and took her non-fiction book to MPH.
So
beware, investigate, and Google for complaints—they are out there! Know what you are signing up for! Also crowdfunding your book has become a safe
win-win trend for writers and publishers.
London-based Malaysian author Ivy Ngeow, whom I recently interviewed, crowdfunded a novel in the UK and talked about the pros and cons.
As authors, whether in Malaysia or Singapore, we have to promote our books any
way that we can—through websites, blogs, readings, and networking with other
writers. Last year, I practically sold more books on my own through a book
launch, creative writing workshops, and eager students that I taught, than I
did in bookstores and online orders.
For book launches, by the
way, you don’t just have one and expect everyone to show up to buy your book.
You got to turn it into an event. Last
year in Penang, I asked Penang Players to help (I used to stage manage their
plays) and they agreed to sponsor the launch, read excerpts from four short
stories, and gave an animated reading of my play, “One Drink Too Many” a comedy
that I wrote based on the story, “Neighbours”. Still I was told I’d be lucky to have 30
people show up. We had over 100! But that took a lot of emailing, publicity, a
great full page review in the NST mentioning the launch, and turning the launch
into an “event” where people talked about attending in advance and brought
along friends and enjoyed themselves.
Penang Players were a huge help and very entertaining!
But first, you have to write a book that people want to buy (and hopefully read),
then do some homework in Malaysia/Singapore to see who is the best publisher
for you and make sure they have a good distributor or your friends will
complain, “I went all the way over to so-and-so bookstore to buy your book and
they didn’t have it!” Then court the media. In 2006, New
Straits Times did a full page review with color and my photo, so did The Expat Magazine. Plus I had a few online reviews. I was grateful for all of them.
UPDATE: If someone asks you for an interview, take it
seriously. Don’t be flippant and risk
turning away potential readers.
Answering well thought out interview questions in advance or via email
takes a lot of time, but the payoff can be huge, especially if others share
that on Facebook and Twitter, which could lead to other interviews. Respect the interviewer’s time and be
courteous and grateful. They could’ve
easily interviewed someone else instead of you.
The Star, unfortunately, did not
review the Silverfishbooks version, even though Silverfishbooks and I
had sent them books in KL and I sent them books in Penang. I also met with Star reporters (including a
former student) and a friend who does book reviews for The Star who initially said yes, that she would review the book,
but she was already overcommitted and the timing was bad for her, so I forgave
her.
UPDATE:
This was before Silverfishbooks began to earn nominations for some major awards
in Malaysia and overseas. Their short
stories have appeared in anthologies and one of mine was even picked up to be
used in a Cambridge Exam that paid quite nicely—thanks to Silverfishbooks.
But I’m not giving up on The Star. I
will be contacting them again as soon as The
Borneo Post comes out…It’s all about persistence and believing in your
work. So far the individual stories from
Lovers and Strangers Revisited have
been published 54 times in nine countries, four of the stories have been taught
in four universities in Malaysia. Plus
“Neighbours” will be taught all over the country.
UPDATE: The seventeen individual
stories from LSR have been published 80 times in 12 countries, taught in
several Malaysian universities, private colleges and in secondary school
literature, and also in Canada. Two
stories have been taught at Ohio University (USA) and students from Ohio
University traveled to Malaysia to film one of the stories, “Home for Hari
Raya”. (For the MPH version, to
help to promote the book, I wrote a blog series The Story Behind the Story that
was taught along with the story itself.)
So it’s a bit frustrating
that I’m having such a hard time in Kuching getting bookstores to stock my book
that only came out last year! Hopefully
tomorrow when my interview/review comes out, all that will change. I have to remain optimistic, and then build on
that momentum for Sarawak, if not all of Malaysia. Maybe next time, instead of short stories,
I’ll write on something controversial, with a lot of sex and mayhem, so the
media will jump all over it. Of course, that could backfire and get my book banned.
At least I could say, if only the book
hadn’t gotten banned, it would have been on all of the bestsellers’ lists in
Malaysia and Singapore!
UPDATE: Later, thanks to Lee Su Kim whom I met at
conference in Penang, I networked myself into a two-book deal with MPH, and the MPH
version of Lovers and Strangers Revisited (with two stories added) was
not only reviewed in The Star, but
also won the 2009 Popular-The Star Reader’s Choice Award. In
2011, it was translated into French. So persistence does pay off! Never give
up on your stories or your novel. Just find another way. I had to
do that when I moved to Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo.
—Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer
My interviews with other first novelists, also about publishing in Malaysia and Sarawak
Ivy Ngeow author of Cry of the Flying Rhino, winner
of the 2016 Proverse Prize.
Golda Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.
Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day, finalist for the
Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009.
Chuah Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days of Change.
Plus:
Beheaded on
Road to Nationhood: Sarawak Reclaimed—Part
I
