Writing & Publishing in Malaysia, Part I:
Yesterday afternoon, I attended Lydia Teh’s book talk, I’m Proud to be a Malaysian, held at MPH Midvalley. There was a decent turnout of the usual Sunday crowd out to do their Chinese New Year shopping. Besides Lydia, I met other local lit-bloggers, namely Eric Forbes, he of the (only good) book reviews and Spiffy, sweet and charming. It’s refreshing to see them in person; we’re not hopelessly attached to our machines after all - we can get out there and socialise!
Here’s a wonderful bit of marketing: Given the title of her new book is Honk! If You’re Malaysian (edited by Eric), Lydia had her youngest son Tze Ren go around the bookstore with a placard announcing the talk and - get this - honking away by squeezing on a rubber-and-brass horn. Genius.
She began the talk by asking the audience for traits of a Malaysian. As a reward, Tze Ren would throw a mandarin orange for each response (very festive this, though some of us were afraid of a speeding Gong Xi missile and a resultant Fa Cai lump on the forehead). I loved the lady who answered first with “Mamak!” Darn right. Food is what we live for, eh?
Of course, Eric and I thought it hilarious when she proceeded to collect more and more oranges with her enthusiastic answers, perhaps to make an orange salad later? (Someone suggested Malaysians are kiasu, but we all agreed that this is more a Singaporean original. Perhaps the only original idea they’ve had, honestly. Who told them they could claim Ampang yong tau foo as “their” local delicacy? O Anthony Bourdain! how you’ve been deceived!)
During the rest of her talk, as she read out several excerpts from her book (which drew huge roars of laughter, not least of all from yours truly), I pondered the nature of writing and publishing books in Malaysia. The journey really doesn’t stop there. Perhaps the most important and oft-neglected part lies in the marketing of the final product. We just do not have the same budgets that foreign publishing houses have to push their books up the bestseller charts.
This is where a little ingenuity comes in. Besides the examples I’ve mentioned above, Lydia has also employed various zero-budget strategies to market her book. Emails are wonderful so long as they go out to real readers and not just the faceless masses; no one likes spam. As an avid blogger, she draws readers to her blog and subsequently interest in her books. It’s heartening to discover the little banner I designed for her mushrooming all over the blogosphere. Where will it turn up next? Here be the power of word-of-mouth marketing.
The lesson being, if you want to write and publish books, you better be prepared to market them. Unless you’d like to see them gathering dust on the shelves of the bookstores, or worse, every writer’s nightmare, have the books end up remaindered. Now that’s a fate scarier than meeting a pontianak along the highway at midnight though, if you wrote about it, it’d probably sell like hot!hot!hot! goreng pisang.
Next: Part II - A Cover Issue.
48 Comments
Kenny, this is a wonderful write-up. You write well indeed. This account is better than the one I put up at my media gallery. Sorry the pix aren’t that clear.
Can you pls email me at tehlydia@yahoo.com? I have a proposal for you.
wonderful write-up…i cudn have done better. ;o) aww…thnks for putting in the ’sweet and charming’ part bout me. heheh… =D
Lydia,
I guess you were writing from the author’s perspective; me from a reader/audience perspective. I must say your talk has made me really appreciative of a live reading. I must attend more in the future! (And bring/drag friends along too!)
Spiffy,
Well, you were sweet and charming! I truly enjoyed our chat. Hope you had fun at your friend’s birthday party. Maybe we can catch up at future lit-events.
Book talk sounds fun. The way you write about it makes me feel like I was there myself.
Can’t wait for Part 2
And that part about Antony Bourdain and ampang yong tau foo is so true lah, feel like we Malaysians got cheated!!
Richard,
The book talk was fun! Lydia has a very lively manner about her, and as she mentioned in her blog, I’m one to guffaw loudly. But I’m sure she was okay with that.
As for Mr. Bourdain, well, I’m leaving that issue well alone for now. (This only means I’m busy plotting some form of insidious revenge…)
Yep, Spiffy is sweet and charming, and pretty too I might add.
Kenny, local authors will be so glad for your support at book talks. Foreign ones always seem to have no problem in getting a big crowd.
BTW your boisterous laughter was very much appreciated. I like the “gong xi missiles and fa cai lump” - it’s hilarious.
Oh Lydia, what are you suggesting?
(Though I should have asked her if she is single and available, ha ha.)
As for giving support to local authors, I will do my best. After years of denying myself the pleasure of writing and getting involved in the local writers community, I’m all for indulging myself in this my passion.
And Tze Ren was quite the shot, I assure you! The problem was we the audience weren’t quite as good at catching!
Kenny,
thanks…i enjoyed the chat we had too. the bday party was alright..nothing crazy happened. heheh…yeah, we shall do that. =D hmm, if u were to read my blog then u’ll probly figure out if i’m still single and available. lolzz.. =P
gosh…thanks for the compliment Lydia..u ppl are making me blush la…;o)
Oh, Lydia and I are only observing what we can see before us… No exaggerations, we promise!
I bet I will like Lidya’s book. Just the other day I browse through another hillarious Malaysian writer’s book, Manglish. I was in a hurry so I didn’t get the author. Now at least I know that I am a “Chapalang”… hehehe…
Dear Kenny sorry again I couldn’t make it last Sunday.
Lidya, I’ll make sure I catch you at Borders after CNY. Kenny is very persistent about it
Brava, Nisa! I knew I can “convert” you just as I did many others. And it’s not just Lydia’s books but those of other Malaysian writers as well.
Would this be an inopportune moment to announce publicly your love of Kam Raslan and Amir Muhammad? See, you do support local writers!
Oh and Lydia, I’ve made another banner promoting the Borders event. Feel free to distribute it.
Hello there! Pretty nice of you (if not bold) to warp by my domain. Heh heh heh.
A very nice point in case highlighting the - after the manuscript is finished…now what?! - situation.
As to answer your question:
The band I would listen to would be:
Children of Bodom, Cradle of Filth, Kreator, Therion, Lacuna Coil, Tiamat, Tristania Or any gothic metal or death metal band.
Yeap indeed I’m in love with their work. Can’t wait for Kam’s book.
As of Amir Muhammad’s Films, interestingly I am now doing a study at “Bahagian Penapisan Filem”. Haven’t found the right person to ask on why the banned his movie. Did I mention all the lembaga members are old? Well they are.
ps: Check this out…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVVcvTGLNUk
Hey there, amaruhizat!
Oh dear, the only band I’ve heard of is Lacuna Coil. I’m beginning to feel like one of those “older” people I used to frown upon when they had no clue what I was listening to.
These days, I guess I’ve given up being “hip” or “cool”. I’m 28. I’m young (though I may frequently disclaim otherwise). I’m gonna enjoy this while it lasts, haha.
Nisa dear,
Thanks for the YouTube link. For the rest of you who are curious, it’s the trailer to Amir Muhammad’s Apa Khabar Orang Kampung, his new documentary.
I love the ayam jantan berkokok, the fighting cocks.
Eh, he got blog ah?
Never mind, Nisa - I googled him and he has a blog at Komunis & Kampung. I’ve added him to my Bookmarks page. Ooh, easily the most political-sounding blog link I have.
*shivers with undisguised pleasure*
Kenny, thanks for making the banner. Don’t see it here.
Spiffy is still single and available, wah!! I like to play matchmaker but never been successful
If anyone from here do get hitched with some help from me (hint-hint), don’t forget to invite me to the wedding ah! I know I’ve got a fertile and wild imagination. Kenny, you can delete this comment if you so wish.
Nisa, Kam Raslan is *wicked*! Heard him during a Writers Circle talk. And his bro also very hemsome.
Lydia,
The banner’s on my sidebar, but don’t worry - I’ve just emailed the image to you too. And oh, I know you are making Nisa all hot and bothered…
He he dat’s my Valentine’s Day present for you Kenny dear, single oso nice mah can have adventure and go hunting for girls.
Glad you liked yor stall, eh how come you stay in Malacca then can go down and see Lydia Teh?
FireHorse,
Go hunting for girls? At my age? I fear I might break a bone or two. (Either that or I’ve been doing too much yoga.)
I do love “Kenny Mah’s Super Satay Celup” - what a fantastic hawker stall to have! And while I’m Malaccan at heart, I live in P.J. actually (though our cool Spiffy did come all the way from Seremban for Lydia’s talk).
super satay celup? macam tasty aje… whats ur special recipe?
hahaha….yes Lydia, i’m still single…. no one wants me la. lolzz…=P
k la…i’m feeling shy ady…u had to mention the part bout me coming from Sban for the talk huh, Kenny..hahaha…i dun mind, really. no biggie..;o)
Firdauz,
That’s just FireHorse/Fatty Poh’s idea of a blogroll: local hawker stalls. Most of the usual suspects were taken up already so I went with my favourite Malaccan specialty. (It was either that or cincaluk but this isn’t really hawker fare, more makanan rumah.)
As for my secret recipe, wouldn’t you like to know? Haha…
Spiffy, O Spiffy,
I wish I had known earlier. Would have asked you out tonight! Are you still available for dinner?
hahaha…Kenny, ur not joking are u?? lolzz.. i am indeed free for dinner..=P
(There are times when I am speechless and let the fates lead me. Also known as: better keep this private and call her instead, snig, snig, snig.)
hahahahha……
ooooi! bruder dating dating online ke? hehehe…….
Firdauz,
Oh no. Not online anyway…
Kenny and Spiffy, you two are making me grin from ear to ear. There’s hope yet for this wannable MM (you should know what the initials stand for, kekeke.)
Lydia dear, I’m at a complete loss for words. You better turn to Spiffy for some answers…
Let’s just say tonight turned out to be much, much better than I’d hope for…
hmmm….. interesting… i guess another young malaysian writer is on the way…
ermm…i’m at loss for words too Kenny.. hahaha.. all i can say is, Valentine’s Day this year has been quite interesting and fun..not the usual lovey dovey(i seem to b using this word alot.hehe..)environment..candle lit dinner, which i assure u Lydia, we did not go to. hahahh…
it was more of a hang-out dinner for 2 single souls who din really wanna hang out with a bunch of other singles and who din wanna go home and look so sad…lolzz..
do i sum at least part of it up Kenny?
Hi Keeny, regret I miss Lydia’s book talk. The festive
Hi Keeny, regret I miss Lydia’s book talk. The festive queve is enough to drive me miles away from that place. Wah, so your effort paid off and what more got match-making….hor. I am no writer but a good and attractive cover can get my attention. Then we look for “that something” before we buy the book. So what Lydia did with her publicity on her book is great. And ahem ahem, did you have memorable VD?
zewt,
The question is: on the way where? Haha.
Spiffy,
Glad you had a good time. Also, much safer for you to recount the night… Lydia more likely to believe you.
Julie,
No worries! She’s having another book talk at Borders Bookstore, The Curve on March 3 (Sat). It’s 3-4pm and there’s something extra too, but I won’t spoil it for you… Just go lah…
Kenny..
hmm…u’ll never noe…she might just not believe the 2 of us…lolzz..
Julie,
I completely understand. Most of my friends felt the same way about Sunday/CNY traffic. On the other matter, it was memorable, assuming the VD you are talking about is “Valentine’s Day”, and not “venereal disease” or “Victoria & David (Beckham)”, yes?
spiffy,
Oh she’ll have to. I’m not revealing much more other than the “book/film” discussions (which I’ll post later lah). Mesti tahan nafsu kucing. (A cat’s curiousity?)
hahaha…u cheeky lad u…trying to keep everyone in suspense huh? oh, well..it’ll be interesting to read wht ur gonna write bout.. ;o)
Yes, ma’am! Suspense is almost a literary genre, is it not? And are we not LitBloggers United? Okay, I’m no longer making much sense here.
*runs off to write, write, write*
You should rewrite this blog as a full-length article and send it to Quill!
Hey there Eric!
Thanks for dropping by. That sounds like a great idea. Wish I had thought about it. I was thinking about writing Part III (adoi, why so many parts one, I can hear them crying out already) after CNY, so maybe I can combine the three parts together and clean the whole thing up.
Will let you know as soon I finish it. (How did I go from having nothing to write, to 2-3 assignments on my desk? Good grief.)
You might also like to compare the American and British covers of Percival Everett’s novel Wounded (published in the U.S in 2005 and in the U.K. in February 2007). Happy reading and writing!
Also check out the British and American covers of Jane Smiley’s new satirical novel, Ten Days in the Hills (2007).
Also check out the new covers of Naguib Mahfouz’s The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk (1956; 1990), Palace of Desire (1957; 1991) and Sugar Street (1957; 1992).
Will do, Eric!
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