How to take (and give) rejection

This is such an interesting topic I just have to blog about it. Ted linked some quotes from a local publisher, basically saying, "Rejection is not about you. It's about your work. You are not good enough yet to get published. So deal with it."

Brutal yes? What if that entire book was your life work and you have just been told it's not good enough? No words of encouragement. No constructive criticism. Just a flat, "No."

Lit agents and publishers call it the 'slush pile.'

I personally believe that if you want to reject someone, it's best to outline to the person:

1. It's the work you are rejecting, not the person
2. If this particular piece of work is not good enough, it doesn't mean your future work will not be good enough
3. These are the reasons: a)....b)....c)
4. BUT you can improve if you do a)....b)....c) e.g: write better grammar, make your sentences simpler, write a more compelling story etc
5. It's not the end of the world. JK Rowling herself was rejected many times.
6. Now, go home and take my advice and polish up your tome. THEN come and see me again when you are ready.

All this can be said fairly nicely. We need to nurture our young Malaysians, not deflate their hopes. (Yeah! The Merdeka spirit!)

I may not be a big time publisher, but I certainly hire people in a big time way (almost every month). Sometimes during the interview, when I decide I'm not going to take someone, I actually tell the person kindly, "You know, You have these good points 1), 2), 3). But you come across as not very energetic/your English is quite bad. That's why I can't take you on. But if you improve on a), b), c), next time I'm sure any company would be glad to have you."

The Sun had a bound woman pose

Ah, pity the Sun isn't online, but they had an interview with me today and a striking photo of a model with her hands bound behind her back as a pose. Hee hee.

I'll post the article later. (That means a massive typing job).

But if everyone can head over to Argus Lou's new blog (please look at my links), she has a nice story there for your reading pleasure. Give her your comments, yes?

MPH Writer's hi-tea

Sharon and Lydia have already blogged extensively about this, so I'm going to give my take on it.

It's my first MPH writer's hi-tea, and when Yvonne Lee whispered into my ear, "Every year got a lot of drama one," I didn't understand. Until I saw it for myself!

THE TOPIC: e-books. Not really appropriate because most people weren't that interested in it. They were more interested in getting published the traditional way.

THE TIMING: It started late...perhaps more time should have been allocated for Q and A.

THE MODERATORS: I thought they did a fine job with what they were given. This is what I said to Lydia, who's feeling a little down because someone sent an email around complaining about her moderation. "You did a fine job, Lydia. If anyone thinks they can do better, maybe they should give you pointers next time before the forum. After all, we didn't learn moderation techniques in school, did we?" And we all know there are personalities who cannot be told "Your time is up."

The highlight of the forum, for me, was Lillian Too! She's a little bit like Erin Brockovich in the way she tells it as it is, according to as she knows it. She doesn't mince her words! I think she deserves a forum all to herself. I know she stepped on many people's toes with what she said during the forum, but - like Lydia said - you can't please everyone all the time.

Among the things I gathered from her speech:

1. She says not to trust literary agents, esp UK and US ones (I have one myself, and so far, he hasn't given me any cause for doubt.)
2. She has sold 10 million copies since 1993 of all her books. Bravo! Despite that, she doesn't earn as much from royalties as she does from publishing and stocks and shares.
3. "Write a damned good book!"
4. She has personally pledged that if she thinks your book, dear author, is good, she will personally introduce you to Harper Collins et al and fight for you all the way.

I think she's a really good marketer and businesswoman, especially since she found a niche at that time not many people ventured into - feng shui - and took it all the way. And if she comes across as less than humble, well - remember, this is what makes the world go round, all types of personalities!! (I think she stepped on a few romance writers' toes when she said they follow a formula).

Then during the hi-tea, I circulated around with Lydia, Yvonne, Eric Forbes, Sharon and said hi to everyone I haven't met. I finally met Karen Ann Theseira. One of the Book Project writers (Vaneeta - hope I spelled it right) came up to me and said how much she enjoyed Dark City. I was so pleased. Also found out I sold 5 more books from 1 Utama since yesterday's talk.

I think May Zhee, the pretty 15 year old author of Vanity Bee, will go a long way. Apparently, she self-published and got a distributor all by herself, without any help from her father. Attagirl!

My first author appearance

MPH, 1 Utama, 1.00 - 2.00 pm

It's over, and it's not a total disaster! Thank goodness some of my friends showed up, like Yvonne Lee, Margie, Pauline, Eanny. And I met Yvonne Foong and Kit for the first time. And some other people I don't know actually sat down to listen too. I think there were about 20-25 people there, including the ones standing behind the pillars and bookshelves.

Yvonne Lee was the most active participant in the Q and A, and she asked so many questions to keep the momentum going. Thanks Yvonne!

Basically, I just talked about writing and publishing in general, and coming up with ideas for the stories. Then I did some book signing. My agent Jerry was there, and he brought along an editor. After that, Jerry held centre court as everyone networked and exchanged cards. Let's hope a lot more writers get published after this!

The Singaporean editor Jerry brought along actually hated my first story :) But he thought the rest of the book was pretty good, though he says it can't come up to Edgar Allan Poe standards (obviously) because I described too much.

Rodney, the store manager, was there all the time and was most supportive. He said I'd sold over 80 books in 1 Utama, and he had just reordered another 50. (I checked with the computer, and it said I sold 85 copies.) He also gave me a rolled-up copy of the Bestseller List which cited Dark City.

So all in all, a new experience! Now for the Writer's Hi tea tomorrow. Apparently over 40 writers will be there at the Booker Room in 1 Utama. Lydia will be one of the moderators. Book exchange tomorrow, Lydia!!

Galaxie interview and author appearance

Finally, got time to post it. As seen in this fortnight's issue of Galaxie:


GALAXIE INTERVIEW WITH XEUS

What are the inspirations for your stories in Dark City?
Urban legends, newspaper stories of rape, murder, kidnap, the Canny Ong incident and movies or shows like The Machinist, The Eye and Desperate Housewives.

Some of the titles of your stories are intriguing (like Session One, The Six Million Dollar Man) while others (Coup of the Century, The Maid) are more direct. How did you come up with the titles?
I’m really bad at giving titles to my stories but I do try to make them punchy.

While writing Dark City, were you spooked by any of the stories?
Not at all. I am hardly frightened by anything I write or read. Nothing really disturbs me.

What do you look for when you read a book?
I am drawn to good plots, the ideas that drive a story and great story-telling craftsmanship.

Can you name some of your favourite authors?
Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Lord Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King’s early work ‘cause his later ones are verbose.

What kind of books do you like to read?
I read any book that has an interesting plot, even chick lit, but I find books on serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer (the one who inspired Silence of the Lambs) fascinating. I love getting into the mind of serial killers.

What’s in store for you after this?
There are plans to turn Dark City into manga. I’m also working on a children’s book.


Oh, I have my first author appearance this Saturday!

It's at MPM 1 Utama, 1.00 pm - 2.30 pm. I honestly don't know if I can stretch it out that long. Don't worry, it's mostly Q and A and inspiration stuff. Please come if you can to support me! (Afraid no one will turn up)

MPH Writer's Circle yesterday

Ted has blogged about this, so I'm going by a different angle and what I took from it.

Dato' Ng, CEO of the MPH Publishing Group, said that the 'in' genres now for fiction are Malay romances (and Malay books in general) and Children's books. I am in the midst of writing the latter (and having Dark City translated into the former), so I asked if he was interested. He said, "Of course, let's have a look at it."

(Actually, my agent is hoping to get this children's book published in the UK because I have actually met the UK publishing contact - blogged about earlier - but you never know how these UK publishing deals turn out. So I better arm myself with a whole lot of options.)

The most interesting part of the morning for me (other than meeting Ted) was the way Dato' Ng suggests and rejects books on the spot. Being 15 years in the business, he has an uncanny knack of knowing what sells and what doesn't. This is the gist of it.

Q: "Should I write an autobiography about a movie star?"
A: "Nope. Definitely not. It won't sell."
Q: "What about Siti Nurhaliza's wedding?"
A: "It's already been written about. Besides, if you don't have her permission, she might sue you."
Q: "I'm in HR. I want to write about how young people can find careers."
A: "Is there a market for this? Everyone just goes on the Internet and downloads this nowadays. The trick is to keep your book short and simple. People don't like to read long wordy books."

And I've learnt something about children's books. Apparently, the writer shares copyright with the illustrator, and the illustrator also gets part of the royalties. The illustrator's pictures might turn out to be more popular than the text itself!

As for non fiction, political figures always sell, and cookbooks are evergreen.

Dat' Ng also espouses self-publishing whenever able, especially for non-fic. But the con is finding a distributor for your book, because bookstores won't deal with single authors. ("Too much fuss creating a separate account and invoice just for your book, which might sell only 5 copies.") Naturally, fiction writers don't like to self-publish because it is horribly tabboo.

The other session was from Shoba Mano, who had success getting published the e-publishing way (these US publishers also do softcover) in the romance genre. Great going, Shoba!! Apparently, one can also attend writers' workshops on the net and google for a whole lot of publishers. Some of these publishers accept query letters and your first 3 chapters by email.

Although it is not my genre, I do know a little bit about Romance. I'm talking about pure romance (with its subtypes of historical romance, adventure romance etc), not chick lit, the latter of which I infinitely prefer.

According to the 'how to' books, Romance is one genre where it is easiest to get published. BUT you have to follow a certain plot pattern. There always MUST be a happy ending, when the lovers unite after many obstacles. If you don't follow this pattern, you will NOT be published in this genre.

So all in all, interesting morning.

Quill mini interview

There's a mini interview with me in this quarter's Quill, MPH's magazine for writers.

Here it is:

DARK CITY

A collection of pulp fiction that will entertain and keep you turning the pages.


Who is Xeus?

Xeus* likes to write racy, explicit stuff. “I wanted to write without the fear of censorship, and in Dark City, the publishers let me go a mile.”

In Dark City: Psychotic and other Twisted Malaysian Tales, all seven deadly sins are explored in great detail.

Xeus took two months, between having a full time job, to write the first draft, another month to rewrite it and yet another for editing. “I wrote for one or two hours each day. Sometimes during weekends, I’d finish an entire short story in a day.”

Reviews from the trade press have been great, with accolades like ‘remarkable’ and ‘it’s that good’ being tossed around.


*a pseudonym


I also met Ted and his better half at the writer's workshop today. Hi Ted!! Looking forward to your first book. I'll post more on this workshop later.

Sniff...a sweet letter

I bought the Merdeka copy of Galaxie today. There's a review of Dark City and an interview with me. I'll post those later. But meanwhile, I got yet another spin snippet for the back cover of my next English edition and Malay edition.

“Each tale opens with a disturbing can of worms…..Psychotic, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Resistance are sensational and thought-provoking…..a fun read with plenty of thrills to keep you engaged.”

Galaxie


Hee hee. I'm getting quite good at abbreviating reviews.

Anyway, there was a very sweet letter regarding one of my columns. I write 2 columns for Galaxie, and this is one I've kept for over 10 years now. Imagine - 10 years on the same column! Along the way, I've received bouquets and brickbrats. During the Michael Jackson baby stint back in the 90's, I wrote about how weird Mikey was (he still is) and received quite a lot of hate mail.

Recently, I wrote about how horny King Kong was and apparently received quite a lot of complaints as well! It's fun to write an entertainment column that provokes such strong feelings.

I've also received many great letters along the way, all of which are published in the Letters column of Galaxie. Going down (sniff) memory lane, I remember one letter telling how a student was reading my column under her desk in class, and she laughed out loud. The teacher demanded to see what she was reading, and she showed her. The teacher then read out my column to the entire class, and everyone had a good laugh.


And since I now have a blog, I'll share the most recent one in this current issue. There's no secret that I'm also Suzie of Galaxie, and since Suzie is also a pseudonym, here goes:

"I'm wondering about my most favourite column, Suzie Says. I've noticed that Suzie's page has not been featured in 2 issues and I was wondering why. I hope you've not stopped this column because she does have fans out there. Regardless of the complaints you got for her article Horny, Hairy Ape, many of us think her column is brilliant. I've been an ardent fan of hers for many years and I just worship her eruditeness and wit. I may be opinionated, but I think she unequivocally rocks and I think she is what distinguishes Galaxie from other local magazines. So please do not exclude her from future editions, OK?"

Santheira, via e-mail

Sniff.

Anyway, I was interviewed by The Sun today and Klue yesterday. More on that when it appears.

If you have writer's block, should you try to force it?

Every now and then, I have the incredible urge to NOT write. Like for the last few days. I was bogged down by work, and didn't have the energy to lift a pen (uh, tap into a computer.) And of course, if I haven't written, I feel guilty as sin.

Do you ever feel that way?

So - do you force it even when you don't feel like writing, even when your brain's as dry and uncreative as a wispy bone?

Some writing books advocate that you should do 1 page every day, even if you don't feel like it. You should, they say, whittle at it even when the words are forced and painful and you feel like you're writing something totally unpublishable. Honestly, I've tried that, and I realized, "Hey, writing's supposed to be my hobby. I'm supposed to enjoy it. Why am I forcing it?"

Then of course, some days, the words and ideas just fly. I would do pages and pages and even whole chapters. Some of the stories in Dark City were written in 1 day, just because I had the 'urge.' That's why these days, when I don't feel like writing, I don't force it. And when I do, I let it flow.

What's your style?

Anyway, I'm going to the MPH Writer's Circle this Saturday. Gonna meet up with Oon Yeoh, who promised to interview me for his new magazine. Anyone coming? Thought I need the camaraderie of other writers to make me snap back into effortless writing.

Why the Singaporean National Library banned me

My Singaporean literary agent gave me the scoop on why Dark City was banned by the Singaporean National Library.

"DC was restricted because of profane language and obscene content,says the report. No surprise,there is always a double standard when the authorities censure the local works as compared to their leniency with English and American works."

I see. So they are allowed to stock American and English books with profane and obscene content, like works from DC Lawrence or Joyce. But NOT Singaporean and Malaysian works.

I don't get it. Why the double standards? Are we in South East Asia meant to be 'pure'?

PURE? Us Asians? Who's anyone trying to kid?

I've been banned!

Would you believe it? I've been banned by the Singapore National Library. They refused to stock my book in all their branches, citing 'It's too explicit and graphic" after reading a few chapters.

The outrage!

At least I haven't been banned here by our own Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka. They took 5 copies to keep as 'National Heritage.' I'm not sure I can quite call Dark City a national heritage, but at least I can count on my own countrymen/librarians to support me.

Aside, I've been offline for several days now, thanks to Streamyx. But those TM guys have been working around the clock to restore it. And they have. Kudos. They get a bad rap, but sometimes they get it right.

FHM Review

Ah, another one of those capsules to add to my list. This is the first magazine I've been on so far.


FHM CAPSULE REVIEW

Local author Xeus offers twelve fiendish short tales that’s set against a backdrop of an Asian metropolis. Laced with local superstition, anecdotes and spiked with twists and deception, Dark City turns out to be a maze of intrigue that will set you off in a labyrinth of bizarre dimensions.
Don’t read when: At home alone at night.


Having my book translated into Malay at this moment. I still can't come up with a Malay title but my publisher tells me the translator will think of something. Great. Anything I come up with will resemble "Kota Gelap" or "Cerita Cerita Ghairah." Never got anything above a C3 in Malay.

I'm getting a new cover because many people complained this current yellow cover is too horror-like. And will put all my review snippets all over - translated, of course.

Malay books sell a lot more than English books, so I'm looking forward to it. Hope they won't lose the drift of the stories TOO much.

The things that make me happy: checking stock

Honestly, the things that make me happy nowadays have changed considerably from a few months back.

I was in MPH 1 Utama last week. And what do I do whenever I'm in 1 Utama these days? That's right - I check stock on their computer. I counted 19 books sold between a period of 10 days, which put a permanent smile on my face.

So much so that when I went for dinner in Shogun and went back for a 2nd round to check stock in MPH (pathetic, I know), I counted yet another book sold during the time I was at dinner. And was over the moon.

(I know, I know. I should get a life.)

When I was browsing through magazines, my ex-boss came up to me and whispered, "I have read 10 chapters of your book. Ssssh. The wife is around. It's fantastic writing and I've told everyone at the office to get it. I really liked the twists. In Coup of the Century, you wrote about (someone we both know), didn't you?" (His wife won't let him buy Dark City for fear of contaminating their two teenage girls at home. So he's reduced to reading it from the racks at MPH 1 Utama.)

I was at KLIA airport the other day too, and was dismayed to see my book not being displayed anywhere in the annex terminal bookstore there. I phoned my distributor immediately, and later found it was (oh) sold out.

Went to Kino yesterday and was gratified to see it still on the Bestseller rack (though as I mentioned, it doesn't mean anything. It's just for books they want to push.)

Of course, I don't get all success stories with all stores. There's one near my home which HASN'T MANAGED TO SELL even a single one of the 5 copies they took. And several more scattered all over the place which are really slow. (Apparently, most people buy their books from a few concentrated stores only, or at least, I'm going by that theory.)

But the ones that move do really make me happy.

(Yes, yes, I know I'm very pathetic and I will get a life now.)

Sun review

And here's the Sun review, which is not online as the Sun is not an online newspaper....


DARK CITY

SUBTITLED ‘Psychotic and other twisted Malaysian Tales,’ this is a selection of short stories verging on the macabre. The author, who uses the pseudonym Xeus, scratches the soft underbelly of Malaysian life to reveal a seething mass of barely concealed dread.

There are 12 stories in Dark City (RM29.90) which explore everything from serial killers and ghosts, to terrorist cells and child kidnapping. Each contains a twist; some more apparent than others, while a couple are utterly shocking.

The first story, Psychotic, seems to be inspired by the Canny Ong murder. A waitress at a pub is kidnapped and taken for a terror ride, before being raped at a cemetery as a prelude to murder. At times, I found it painful to read the descriptions; Xeus (a fitting definition for the name in the Urban Slang dictionary is “sadistic genius that tortures people for fun”) milks the scene to the point of nausea, which I suppose is the point.

My favourite is The Resistance, about a terrorist cell that gathers to launch its fiendish plan against mankind. This remarkable story has all the elements of s suspense thriller as meticulous plans are put into play and a gathering storm sweeps through the narrative. The secret weapon revelation (though it is not explicitly stated) is, pardon the pun, a real killer.

Monster, on the other hand, is a tale that carries a lot of weight as it deals with events presently in the news. The plot concerns the only child of an ordinary middle income family – a spoiled brat – who is kidnapped and held for ransom. The family scrambles to pay the money but then something goes terribly wrong….

Overall, a good read. Some stories telegraph their ending, but remain entertaining. Everything is familiar, yet not so. This is KL as you fear to imagine it. – N. Shashi Kala

Star review

I realised these were published before I created this blog, so here goes. Trying to create permanent links now.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/19/lifebookshelf/12059127&sec=

Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales


Author: Xeus

Publisher: Midnight Press, Venton Publishing, 353 pages

HERE is an entertaining and creditable collection of short stories by a Malaysian author. It draws on the dark and unsavoury sides of human nature festering in urban life: sex, murder, rape, abuse, hubris, revenge, greed and unnatural desires are only some of the subjects. The themes are so universal that anyone living in any city in the world would be able to find similar cases in the daily news. Written in the traditional short-story style, all 12 tales harbour suspense and surprises along the way and a particularly vicious twist at the end. See if you can spot it coming.

A foretaste of the tales: Psychotic – On her way back home from work, a young woman is waylaid in a dark alley by a serial rapist who takes her on a long, terrifying journey. Will she escape unscathed? One If By Land – What is causing the inmates of a prison to drop dead under mysterious circumstances? A new prisoner is forced to play detective before he becomes the next victim. The Resistance – A terrorist cell gathers to launch its most fiendish plan against mankind. A semi-clairvoyant flight attendant is the only one who suspects them, but is she too late? The Maid – A desperate housewife, butcher’s knife in hand, finds the bloodied body of her Filipino maid sprawled across the floor. Did she do it or are there other sinister forces at work?

Available at major bookstores, and most independent bookshops and airport newsstands in Malaysia and Singapore. The author has chosen to publish under a pseudonym due to the dark and explicit nature of the stories. This is the author's first book.

Capitalism and August events

John Ling at http://www.johnling.net/ has very interesting posts on capitalism and Karl Marx.

I have been in Vietnam a lot the past few months, and learnt a lot about their communist system. They are actually not communists anymore, they have turned socialist, though the communist party is still in charge. After listening to their entire history of poverty, lack of identity, lack of focus and power being in the hands of a few individuals, I have come to the conclusion that communism doesn't actually work.

Take a look at their current living conditions.

1. Vietnam was in shambles after the war.
2. Today, the average wage of a government doctor is US300 a month. They resort to working overtime in private and selling medicines illegally to substantiate their living. And that's for a doctor! What more the menial worker?
3. Healthcare is not free. Health insurance taxes each worker 6% of his monthly salary. Their payout for medicines is capped at US300 per month.
4. Things are expensive in Vietnam. An average meal in a coffee shop costs RM5-6. more than in Malaysia.
5. Workers go everywhere on motorcycles. Public transport is very poor.
6. Retired oldies get prescription drugs for their own ailments, but instead of taking their medicine, they sell them for money, thus endangering their own health. There is no retirement or pension scheme.

How to make the country richer? There is no other way. You have to let foreign investment come in and create more jobs for the people. Basically, you have to open your country to the world and not be isolated like a silo. Then with rising wages, you can levy more taxes, and your money pool will expand.

So my conclusion: capitalism actually DOES work, BUT with a MINIMUM WAGE. That minimum wage is to ensure basic living conditions are met, and FREE basic provision of human amenities (like healthcare and education) is a must for any society to work. Most countries in EU are following this proviso (Germany, Switz, Austria), and are largely content.

Boy, that was heavy!

As for August events, I have booked myself in a few:

Individual author appearance:
1. 26 August 2006, Saturday
1.00pm - 2.30pm
Entrance1, MPH One Utama Mega Store

10 September 2006, Sunday
3.00pm - 4.00pm
Courtyard, MPH Mid Valley

Topic: Can I make money off writing? How to make money $$ contributing to
newspapers and magazines.How you can write a story that will get published

I am also scheduled to appear with other writers at the MPH High Tea with Writers' workshop on 27 Aug at 1 Utama. I have also begged all my friends to attend these sessions so I don't show up alone. Dear Lydia has agreed (hugs Lydia).

I have also given my first interview to a local mag and will be doing another for a local newspaper next week. A newspaper has asked to serialize a couple of stories from my book. This is the first time they are doing this after more than a decade.

Will post more when they actually occur.

Is writing a full time job?

Lots of people come up to me and actually ask me: "How do you do it? How do you combine a full time career with writing part time? Where do you find the time?"

Well, if what they are really asking is: "If I want to write, should I quit my full time job to do writing, which is what I truly love?" (so many veiled subtexts in that initial question.) then my answer is an emphatic: "No."

DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. (If you have one)
DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB UNLESS YOU ARE JK ROWLING/DAN BROWN.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB TO WRITE.

To me, it is simple. If you want to be a writer, you need to pay your bills. And writing in our tiny markets won't do that for you. Even if you were to go international, most international writers do not make money the way JK Rowling does, not with the measly royalties the publishing houses offer. Most of them are hungry and starving. Most of them are miserable. Most of them are waiting for that big break.

So my RULE NO.1: YOU NEED TO PAY YOUR BILLS.

RULE NO.2: IF YOU HAVE A FULL TIME JOB, THE EXPERIENCE IS ACTUALLY MORE ENRICHING FOR YOUR WRITING. Therefore, YOUR FULL TIME JOB CAN BE YOUR MUSE.

The characters you meet in your daily life are muses. So are the experiences you go through. After all, 'The Devil Wears Prada' is one big "I hate my boss and she can't do anything right" rant.

Tired after a full day's work? Write only a bit each day. Write more during weekends. If you don't feel like writing one day, don't force it. Let the juices flow. But chip at it day by day, and at the end, you'll have a book.

And what separates those who have produced something from those who haven't? SHEER WILLPOWER AND DETERMINATION TO BE A WRITER.

Heck, if I can do it, anyone can too.

Reader's review

Searching around the web, I came across this reader's review of Dark City. I hope the blog author won't mind me reposting it :) You can see the original blog at

http://rajaezman88.blogspot.com/2006/06/dark-city.html

Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Dark City...
My second book review...
Hmmm....
The book... Dark City... and I'm particularly proud of this one...
Written by a M'sian who goes under the pseudonym of Xeus...
It comprises of 12 different stories... sharing a similar theme... which is...
HOW PSYCHO THIS WORLD CAN BE !!!
It's first short-story says it all... Psychotic tells about a young woman, who was waylaid in a dark alley by a serial rapist. So the question is does she stay alive??? Or... is there something else about the story ( I would definately suspect the latter... ). Every story tends to bring out the same feeling within all it's readers...
At first, people will be thinking that each plot are extremely cliche... but by the middle part of each story, things take a twist... and each ending is definately unexpected !!!
Some of the stories, though, are only suitable for the upper-aged class of readers...
To many 'things' are written extremely in detail...
It took me aproximately 2 days to finish this 353 paged book...

Ok... so here's a list of stories in the book and a brief synopsis about each of them...

1. Psychotic : A woman struggles for dear life when she is abducted and raped... but does she make it out alive.. or is there more to this story....???

2.Trashcan Child : A lady takes in a trashcan child and treats her as her own... eventhough she had solemnly swore before that she would never have children... Will this baby change her mind??

3.One if by land : Prison inmates are dropping like flies and it's up to a sole newcomer to get to the bottom of things... But who's killikg all the inmates, one at a time??? The wardens??? The doctors??? Hmmm...

4.Session One : A wife struggles to keep her marriage intact, eventhough she's well aware that her husband has been cheating on her ( with her best friend !!! ). Will her therapy sessions help??

5.The scarlet women : A horny 16 year old finnaly gets to live his dream ( and a shallow one, I might add... ) of hiring a prostitute... but does everything go according to plan???

6.The six million dollar man : Who would be a prime suspect for your murder... a. your beautiful, extremely-nice-to-you-for-your-money wife; b. your 'I wanna be a chef and not go to Cambridge and you can't make me' son, whom you refuse to pay for his education other than the unversities you've chosen for him; c. your mistress, who's also a gold-digger; d. your not-so satisfied body guard, whom you last threw his cousin into jail for delibrately saving your life; or e. your business partner, who's all out to grab your business away from you... It's hard being rich !!!

7. Coup of the century : It's a dog-eats-dog world out there.. so you better watch your back... Tells about two rivals desperately trying to beat each other in a bid to own a Doberman...

8. The resistance : A lady forsees a deadly terrorist attack... but who would believe her... or will she be too late... ( This is the only sub-par story among the others... )

9. The maid : A cleaver in her hand... and a dead maid on the floor smothered in blood... Who killed the maid on the kitchen floor??? The housewife killed the maid on the kitchen floor... who she... yes she... couldn't be... but it's TRUE !!! ( insert music for the song ' Who took the cookie from the cookie jar...' )

10. Grave error : What if, one day, you wake up and suddenly find yourself in your own grave??? What would you do??? Who, do you think did this to you??? Are you really DEAD ???

11. Incident at Monkey Gorge : Three suspects. All girls. All related to the murdered in differnet ways. All of them were there when he died. Question : Who killed him and who's telling the truth??? Or is there more than meets the eye ?

12. Monster : Which is worst : A kid who gives both his parents tons of problems and is extremely ill-disciplined, a father who tries desperately to teach his kid a lesson and finnaly resorting to the help of kidnappers, or kidnappers who take things into their own hands and keep the kid to themselves for other 'purposes'???



According to the author, of these twelve, two are based on urban legends, one is a tribute to Edgar Allen Poe and the other nine are made up.... so which is which???

Read and decide for yourself...
But, I can gurantee you that it's worth every cent you spend on it... ( RM 29.90 )
Plus, it's Malaysian !!! The stories are closely related to our everyday life... all our miseries and sorrows...
Out of 5 ... it'd give it a 3.5 ....
But that's just me...
La la la la la....
( P.S. I tried retrieving the front cover of the book... but unfortunately, I couldn't find it... It was, however, previewed in The Star newspaper twice in the past 2 months...)

posted by The Easy Man at Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Marshaling Publicity

Ha, I'm back from overseas. Honestly, I don't like travelling so much, but what can I do? :(

How does one get press for one's book? Well, usually the publisher gives the press each a copy of your book and hope they review it/give it publicity. But more often that not, unless your publisher knows someone in there, the press won't pick it up. Sad but true. But you are competing with hundreds of other books out there? Why should they pick you above all others?

That's when you, dear author, have to come in.

It does help if you write for the very press who are going to be the ones to give your book publicity. At the very least you are guaranteed a review. But what if you don't know them?

This is where having a 'really thick skin' comes in.

I write for a newspaper and a couple of magazines. And even then, asking them to give me publicity is difficult. First, you can't control what they write. Next, you can't control when it comes out. You can't keep calling them either, because they'd get tired of you :) So you just give them what they need and hope for the best.

And what about the newsies and mags you have no affiliation with? If your publisher doesn't either, then it's up to you to march up to their offices and ask them very nicely if they'd do a feature on you. And yes, that is exactly what I did. Never mind if I don't know them - I went up to introduce myself. And in the process, I have made new friends.

A process goes like this:
ME: Hi, I'm the author of Dark City.
PRESS (aghast): No, you can't be.
ME: I am. Really.
PRESS: Uck! I can't believe you wrote that book.

My main problem on doing publicity for my book is that I'm a pseudonym, and I refuse when they want a picture of me. For them, no picture = no interview. And so I strain myself coming up with angles on how they can feature me. For the press, it's all about the angle of the story, otherwise you'd have to contend with a book review.

Note that all my publicity so far has been book reviews and an article I wrote myself in The Star.

I'm still trying to come up with the other angles they can feature me on without having to photograph me. Ideas, anyone?

Bestseller Lists

I was at MPH 1 Utama today, and voila! Dark City is on the bestseller lists!! They said it was a compiled list for the month of May, and they'd be changing it soon. Still, I'd better enjoy it while I can...who knows if I'd be there next month...

Anyhow, who would know more about being on the Bestseller List than Yvonne Lee at www.theskyiscrazy.com? And exactly how many books do you have to sell to get on that bestseller list?

Note that the bestseller lists in the newspapers like Star and Sun reflect only the sales tally for ONE bookstore for that particular week, in Star's case MPH MidValley and for Sun, Kinokuniya. Popular has its own bestseller list tallying everything they have sold from all their stores.

(Estimates that to get on a bestseller list for that particular bookstore for that particular MONTH = you have to sell circa 100 books.)

What drives a book to a bestseller's list? The answer: concerted publicity in one concentrated period of time from the bookstore/media. Miss that time period, and you might never get on it again.

Let's listen to the guru herself!

"I think it's true that which genre ( Fiction or Non) your title falls into can make a difference. Mine was under Non-Fiction on the Kino BS listing. It was there for about a month, from no. 8 to 6 to 4 then no. 2, I was told. (Lucky thing I got hold of the paper which stated it was no.2)

But in Popular, it was best-seller under Fiction (?), together with all the Mat Salleh best-sellers. In all honesty, I wasn't able to find out how many copies sold in a week to be named BS.

Local books, if you want to compare with international bestseller, a bit susah laaa. When Tash's book came, with so much hype, of course his books sold like hot cakes. It has all to do with publicity and the fact that it is an international BS.

That also made stores anticipate by ordering by the hundreds. Here, if one local book is ordered by a hundred, can say the store is very " hor bin" or very confident of the author oredi ;) But that has its season. Whatever naysayers say about a title being a hot-for-the-moment thingy or not, if you can hit it off when it first comes out, it's better than never to hit it ever, betul?

But for the record ( some people are curious and ask about this), my title sold 6000 copies in over 8 months and is going for the 4th print run ( btw, if you see the fresh print, please check the additional endorsement page! Some more got my favourite cartoonist's endorsement, hehehe...)

Then again, I was told that 6000 reflects the copies taken by the retailers from our distributor but how many books actually left the stores to readers, must wait for ALL stores to tally their latest updates together (very susah....even the stores themselves don't update the computer on how many books sold by weekly basis, some stores, I mean. some are frank to tell me that they didn't update yet!)

PS, I think a good rule of thumb of whether a book has been a b/s or not is to check the copyright page. See the date first published and the gap between first print and subsequent reprints. The more frequent, the healthier laa. I think).

The lesson here is, book selling involves too many 'moving parts'. There must be synergy from all parties, author's gungho attitude, active distribution, retailers who are active in paying the distributors on time,in order to get their stock, the display effort in stores, the promotions by 1)author 2) publisher 3)stores 4)media.....oh, yes, one more, I personally believe that book cover is VERY VERY important."