Silverfish - Writings

This article, written by Shiv Das, appeared in The Malay Mail on the 23 of September, 2008. It is reproduced here for those who missed it for some reason or other.

This lawyer-cum-writer took his first short story to Silverfish Books two years ago and it worked. Encouraged, he said he had more but it was only two years later that he submitted them.

And even then, they were presented in hand-written form, much to the amusement (or dismay?) of the publisher.

They were fine, said publisher Raman Krishnan, but handwritten? Enter Thomas' wife who came to the rescue and had them typed properly, an act that was duly and gratefully acknowledged at the launch of the book, Tales from the Court and other stories earlier this month.

So point one. If you have something to publish, your best bet may be Silverfish. You could be glad just like Thomas.

Point two: The launch does not have to be fancy. The publisher's store in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, will do nicely. And if you are one who likes to keep things low key, you can get your best friend to do the launch, as Thomas did.

That friend was Mohamed M Keshavjee, himself a lawyer, working for the Aga Khan, the Ismaili spiritual leader who has dedicated himself to humanitarian health and education programmes and preservation of heritage and environmentally friendly architecture.

Keshavjee flew in from Paris to do the needful. Time and space hadn't prevented him and Thomas from maintaining their abiding friendship of more than 40 years.

Keshavjee has an Afterword rather than Foreword in the book. The two had fashioned their friendship while in London studying law, one at Grey's Inn and the other at Middle Temple.

The book, a compilation of short stories, is set mostly in the Kuala Lumpur of the 50s and brings out the essence of the characters "playing the little games in life, made up of illusions, craftiness, ego, hope and aspirations."

There are also accounts of the author in London in the 60s, all written in an easy yet compelling style.

Point three. If in writing the book, you have a son or daughter who has artistic talent, get him or her to design the cover and other illustrations, like Thomas' son Aaron did.

Point four. If you have a relative, a prodigy of sorts, it is possible to entertain the gathering at the launch. That will be another big plus appreciated by all present. Andrew Sanjay, 11, a grand nephew of Thomas, gave an impromptu rendition of Leonard Bernstein's Tonight, the theme song of the musical, West Side Story.

Already an accomplished singer, he is a member of the KL Children's Choir.

The bottom line. If you have the yen to write and have stories to tell, just do it because chronicling life’s journey and experiences helps preserve our rich Malaysian heritage.

For more information on the book, which sells for RM30, log on to www.silverfishbooks.com

The Malay Mail

Labels: Publishing

Edward Russell-Walling writes in Publishers Weekly, in a story called Every book counts that while '... the giants slug it out, huge tracts of territory are won or lost ... nipping between the tanks and the shell-bursts are nimble squads of guerrillas, partisans and secessionists -- the independents.' He is, of course, writing about the publishing industry, not the retail end. The latter is another story. (There too, the independents who after being clobbered for decades by the 800-pound gorillas are now resurgent in a small way. The fact is, the 'war of the worlds' scenario between the King Kongs is also taking its toll: Borders might be looking for a buyer and Barnes and Noble has been mentioned as the possible one -- though it lost money last quarter. Be ready on Ebay when the bidding starts. In the same breath, Waterstone's continues to reduce in size. What's going to happen to book retail in Malaysia? You guess.)

There are reports of bloodshed on the publishing front as well -- the 5.6% drop in sales and earnings of Random House last year -- but the story is not about that.

The story says that in UK the independents are those not one of the 'Big Four (Hachette, Random House, HarperCollins and Penguin) or the Not-Quite-So-Big Three (Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury and Simon & Schuster).' The Independent Publishers' Guild in the UK is said to have 460 members and a GBP 500 million turnover with the numbers increasing, with the cost of entry getting lower and lower. (Theoretically, anyone with a computer can become an independent publisher.)

The wonderful thing about being independent is that you can choose to publish anything you want -- they can be as exclusive and precious to the max, or as leze faire as they want and publish anything that will sell.

"The bigger you are, the more you're affected by the market. If you're small, you make your own success," Tim Hely Hutchinson, CEO of UK Hachette Livre UK is quoted as saying.

Big publishers have to spread there risks across the whole spectrum of the market. Ironically, in that process they avoid risks and stick to safe territory, publishing books on tried and tested subjects and authors. While independents can almost live, if not on fresh air and sunshine, on very low profits while they wait for one big-one to lift them out, large players need to be constantly on their toes, seeking to maximise profits not only for shareholders' returns but also to pay massive staff costs and other overheads. Not surprisingly, independents also have more fun.

Atlantic Books managing director Toby Mundy says: "It irritates (the big publishers) that most of the best publishing people are outside the conglomerate sector ..."

So are the more interesting books published by independents? Every year during the Booker silly season, commentators will take pains to point out the number of independents on the shortlist. Perhaps, there will come a time when we will be more surprised when major publishers get on the list.

Does it make a difference to the book buyer? The answer to this type of questions is always an irritating 'yes and no'. If, as a normal book buyer, I am looking for a particular author, or title, the answer is no. I would not care who the publisher is -- though the quality of production, cover design and price could decide which imprint I choose. Most book buyers will fall into this category. This is the 'sugared water' end of the industry which the big boys operate in. (And many independents, too.)

However, if as a book lover, I want to try something new, I would allow an imprint to influence me somewhat (unless something comes highly recommended.) These are some of my personal prejudices and knee-jerk reactions (possibly misinformed): Faber: hmmm ... I wonder what this is like ... sounds interesting. I will risk it. Ditto Cannongate, Harvill, Serpent’s Tail, Saki Books, and several others. Vintage and Picador ... mmm ... maybe. Harper Collins: rice and sugar merchants, not worth the bother unless it is for a specific author I am looking for. Penguin: good for classics, otherwise 'boring'. And so on. So, as a book lover, imprints do make a difference, though quite small.

How about as a bookstore owner? As a book buyer for Silverfish Books, all the prejudices above do apply. My buying is about 70% based on imprints and 30% on authors and titles. (For those who are not familiar with us, we don't stock best-sellers, self-help and management. So there.)

I have often wondered how much an author thinks of which imprint he (or she) would like to be published by. But I suspect that these are merely short-lived fantasies. I mean you might think how wonderful it would be to be published by Faber (for example). But reality has a way of putting an end to those type of dreams pretty quickly for most new writers. (The established authors, naturally, will have more choices.) You grab the one that makes you the best (or any) offer although, logically, an independent publisher specialising in a specific genre would be your best bet, for not only will they know how to present and develop you, they will give you a longer shelf life. The big boys will give you three months, if that, and if you don't make it in that period, you die. You're remaindered.

(I do not mention any of the Malaysian imprints for obvious reasons: self-preservation.)

Publisher's Weekly

Labels: Publishing

Yes, yet another Malaysian, Tan Twan Eng, has been long-listed for this year's Man Booker Prize for his first novel The Gift of Rain. Without any reservation, congratulations are in order. This will make it three in three years for this country -- Tash Aw made the long-list in 2005 and won the Whitbread Prize for the best new book, Vyvyane Loh was on the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2006.

While basking in the glow of vicarious glory, one cannot help but notice something: all these writers live outside the country. Why? Are Malaysians only able to get anything done when they leave the country? One can't help feeling that there are so many more successful Malaysians outside the country than inside.

How many times have local journalist asked me in the last several years about the next big local writing sensation? I cannot help but feel angry. "The latest local writing sensation? Are you kidding?" I want to say, "They haven't stopped congratulating themselves after that one published short story yet, and it will be ten years soon." Doesn't anyone die of embarrassment when someone asks, You are a writer? So, how many books have you written so far? (But it is also true that several of them are now into other forms of writing.)

That brings me to another point: why do we Malaysians like to congratulate ourselves when there is nothing to congratulate ourselves about? Is it cultural? Whether it is about our football team or leaks in the Parliament (did one Minister actually suggest using plaster ceilings to mitigate leaks?!!!), we seem to be unable to do anything right. Sure, that is not our fault -- we don't play football nor do we repair roof leaks, right? But think again while organising that major celebration for the world's largest ketupat (clap, clap, clap!): why does this cultural trait run through almost everything we do, or am I simply imagining it? Should we (or can we) blame it on our love of the 3-hour-teh tarik talk-a-thon or the16-ringgit-cappuccino yada yada? When we have universities that congratulate themselves for being within the top 200 in the world (when the one in a neighbouring country is in the top 20), I think we should feel embarrassed. The way things are going, Brunei will probably have a Nobel Laureate before we do.

Is the lack of Malaysian writings the fault of our education system, then? Sure. Who hasn't heard of the many disturbing stories about our schools and the teachers? If it is, then how does one explain the writers mentioned above? Did they not attend the same local schools when they were here? Maybe they went overseas for their tertiary education, one might say. That could be it. But then how does that explain the 'failure' of those who come back from overseas after their education? No stimulus? No peers to push them on? It cannot be that we have no talent. The writers mentioned above were born here too.

So what is this Malaysian malaise? Malas?

Labels: Publishing

In his story Turning the Page, Jonathan Heawood writes in The Guardian blog: "People used to worry about the death of the author. Now they worry about the demise of the publishers, agents, booksellers and other middlemen who convey books from writers to their readers. These middlemen -- poor souls -- are being placed under considerable pressure in the newly globalised literary economy." The story further reports a debate (with no one offering a readers point-of-view) in with literary agents, publishers and retailers defend their turf and their positions in the food chain. Some of it is quite funny. I mean like publishers claiming "that the brand value of a great publisher is the key to their gatekeeping facility." Seriously. How? By swallowing up all competition? By establishing virtual monopolies? With buckshot publishing? By flooding the market with crap?

Is the book in no danger of being declared obsolete? Again? In the sixties and seventies, debates raged worldwide on the effects of television on reading and books. In the eighties and the nineties the villains were the computer and the internet. Yet more books are published and read today than anytime in history.

Fingers are now being pointed at the likes of Amazon or Google who are uploading millions of searchable texts online. Bloggers, print-on-demand and e-books also stand accused of subverting the art of reading and the cherished 'book'.

One can see how online searchable text, while being a boon to the researcher, will give some publishers a severe migraine. Firstly, why pay for something when you can get it for free. And secondly, let's face it; it is much easier to look for stuff with searchable text than skim and scan a tome. The education and academic market has been dominated by a handful of publishers, a virtual "education market mafia", for too long, and one would think not too many people will be shedding tears on their account over fears of their possible demise.

Bloggers threatening books? Not likely. Some blogs provide news and comments - sometimes alternative (but not necessarily accurate) view points to those expressed in the mainstream newspapers, some are no different from magazine, tabloid, or coffeeshop gossips and some are merely personal ego trips to be taken with a pinch of salt or, better still, ignored. One fails to see how these affect the publishing industry.

The current state of publish-on-demand is no different from vanity publishing. Vanity publishing existed before the computer. Remember Minerva? Now, with the advent of the internet "anyone can publish" and, sadly many who shouldn't, do. The future, of course, is wide open. Say a 'big name' writer - say Margaret Atwood - and publisher decide to go POD, and sell directly to the consumer. Costs could go down (or not). Agents will still feature somewhere. We suppose the retailer will lose a little in the equation. But will he really? The bookshop is the author's storefront, and far more books, except for the next Harry Potter, are bought on impulse whilst browsing through a good bookshop than any other merchandise (barring, maybe, dresses and shoes). So can the author and the publisher survive without the storefront? Nope, POD doesn't look like the death knell of the industry either. Not right now at any rate. On the other hand it looks like a brand new opportunity.


Ditto the ebook.


So is this the end of publishing as we know it? One thinks not. The Guardian story says that Stephen Page of Faber admitted during one of the debates that "these discussions have something of the air of a phoney war." A bit difficult to cry for HarperCollins and Random House, one should think, now that they - poor souls - are facing competition from even bigger online mafia ... I mean monopolies. Maybe one day the digital era will level the playing field enough for books to become objects of value again instead of commodities.

Full report: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jonathan_heawood/2007/04/authors_of_their_own_death.html

Labels: Publishing

by Wena Poon

Last year, I had the great satisfaction of self-publishing my sci fi novel, Biophilia, and retailing it worldwide through Amazon.com.

The entire process only took a month or two, from first submission to retail on Amazon, because it is completely automated. Anyone who is Web savvy can do it.

Best of all, it only required a relatively modest personal investment of US$500 for the entire process.

There are many companies who offer self-publishing services today. The company I used was BookSurge.com, a subsidiary of Amazon.com. I chose BookSurge because I have had good experiences with Amazon and hoped that their subsidiary would also deliver quality service. I was quite happy with the result.

Book Surge offers print on demand (POD) technology. POD means that the book is not printed until someone clicks to buy it online.

To start, have your completed manuscript ready in MS Word format.

You open an account with BookSurge with a credit card. You will get your own username, login, and personal account page. You can pick your book font, book cover template, upload your own cover art, and upload your MS Word manuscript. After a week or two, the company will email you proofs. You go through an automated online correction process, and approve the final proof online.

You will then receive a few complimentary printed copies of your book and then have the pleasure of seeing it available on Amazon.com.

The advantages of this type of publishing are many.

I was able to share my work with friends around the world because it is available on Amazon.

I make 25% royalty from all Amazon sales, and the royalty is paid monthly by direct bank deposit.

The paperback I produced is extremely high quality by self-publishing standards. It looks no different from a "real book" available in a bookstore.

I grew up in Singapore in the 1980's and even as a teenager wrote many novels which I couldn't get published locally. Even today, Singapore writers find it hard to publish their work because of the small number of publishers.

If you have many completed manuscripts sitting around and do not want to wait years for Random House or some agent to call, try POD self-publishing. It is the fastest way to get a nicely packaged product into the hands of your eager friends and family.

If nothing else, the wider readership you attain will help your writing through invaluable reader feedback. Good luck and do try it!

Wena Poon is a Singaporean writer living in San Francisco, California. Her fiction and poetry has been anthologized by Penguin, Silverfish New Writing, Landmark Books, and other publishers in Asia and Australia. She is writing and self-publishing a sequel to Biophilia, her first POD book.

Labels: Publishing