Mood:  sad

I learnt a lesson today, a painful one.

I had thought that another step to bringing attention to Through The Storm is to get it publicised in the papers. I prepared a short press release and sent it to both Straits Times and TODAY paper, angling it such so as to highlight the novel ideas such as audio trailers and e-chat sessions that I have lined up.

The journalist from Straits Times replied saying that she only writes about books she has read. Needless to say, I mailed her a copy.

Having received such a cool response, I was pleasantly surprised when someone - I shall not mention names - of TODAY paper offer to feature my book under the Thursday column on what the newsmakers are reading. I sent a photo of my book cover, a photo of myself and a writeup about what I'm currently reading.

It was held back for two Thursdays because of a bumper issue of Valentine and CNY advertisements. So, when two days ago, I received an urgent note from him asking for an interview to feature me in an article on self-publishing, I readily - greedily, I might add - agreed.

He called and through a phone interview, got me to share with him on why I chose the self-publishing route, the costs involved, whether I have sought traditional publishers before and so on. All this information I gave, and more, thinking to help him get a better feel for a new writer's challenges, the new avenues I am exploring so as to increase the options to writers and readers. I told him it was a personal milestone to get the book to print as I wanted to experience the whole process first-hand so as to know what it takes for a publisher to push out a piece of work.

He asked for the costs I've incurred todate, the number of print runs I've had and so on. For the first question, I shared about how I used the Print-on-Demand route and hence have little upfront cost. For the second question, I said that it was confidential. On hindsight, I should have linked the two questions up. For POD, there are no print runs as it is printed to order.

To be fair to him, he wrote a very well-balanced article stacking up self-publishers with those traditionalists. He used the information I readily gave and I know the facts and numbers made his research much easier. Friendliness and openness was my modus operandi.

After a day of eager anticipation, I finally got to see the article in the papers dated 8th February. After reading it twice over, I turned to my husband and just alternated between saying,"I'm so angry" and "I'm so stupid."

That feeling stayed with me the whole day, making me think of scathing remarks  to say to him. What a smiling tiger! A double-headed snake. Cold censurous words were a good alternative.

But, as always, God is good. He sent someone to make me see light. This person is a recent acquaintance I met in the course of my new job and I had bumped into her in church just that Sunday before. So, while waiting for the train, she happened to appear at the same time and we got to talk.

This lady works in our communications department. She handles our dealings with the media including press and magazines etc. Through the train ride, she shared with me the things they normally do when prepping someone to be interviewed. She shared with me what type of media training was conducted so as to get someone ready to be interviewed. It was like light bulbs the way the synapses hit my brain. And I realized I deserved what I got in the papers today.

Here are the key lessons learned:

1) Not all publicity is good publicity. Find out the angle the article will take before agreeing to participate. Is it something you want to be associated with? Will it do any good to your image that you want to portray? Will it further your cause? Dig out more information from the journalist at that point in time because you haven't got any skin in it and they need you. You're in the position for negotiation. In this case, I did ask and the answer was that it would be on self-publishing. A small warning did come up in my mind on hearing it. But, the lust - yes, no other word is more accurate - for publicity made me squelch that uneasiness and press on. I have only myself to blame. My only saving grace is that my photo did not get featured in this article. The harm done would be quite terrible.

2) Prepare a list of key messages that you want to convey to the world - via the press. When the interview questions come, answer in such a way that these messages are delivered. So, in my case, I should have included, among other things, information such as experimenting new grounds, introducing first-time ever audio book trailer, using POD to preserve trees and lessen the upfront budget, reaching a wider audience through e-chats and so on. These are key messages because I wanted to project myself not as a loser who couldn't make the grade in the traditional arena but instead, a mature, pragmatic person seeking to break new ground.

3) Never let your guard down. The media will never be bought. Being friendly and helpful must always be tempered with a mental wariness that whatever you say can be used against you. So, always remember the key messages and stick to them. Do  not divulge more wherever possible. The media will never be bought on friendliness or a free lunch. I learnt this the hard way. My guard was down. I rattled away happily and helped him understand the writing world. That is the wrong mental position to have used, and now I know it.

4) Be prepared. What media training included is anticipating all the possible questions and getting the answers ready. And, as said earlier, the answers must always reinforce the image you want to project to the world and the key messages to home in on. Get someone to do several dry runs with you, pursuing the questions in a logical fashion and letting you practice your answers, always with your guard up.

5) Don't be rushed into an interview. In other words, don't entertain impromptu interviews. They work against you. Besides being unprepared, you may find yourself with little time to react to the draft sent for your review before it goes to print. In my case, the interview came without any forwarning, a call one day later to clarify some points and then the revelation that the article will be out the next day. To my credit, I did ask to see the draft. However, I had to finish my normal work and only managed to log in to check the draft at ten that evening. It was too late for any revision. See how you've worked yourself into a corner?

So, God is good. In that dark, angry moment, He sent someone to illumine me. Can you see the wonder of His way here? In one short train ride, I have gleaned the learning points on handling media and pursuing publicity. He had answered my questions about whether pursuing publicity might be detrimental to my job by working it such that Tan Su Yin is a faceless, almost unrecognizable author in the way my name is spelt with a hyphen. I am thankful that the only two in the office I told about this are one, my close friend, and two, my manager who is also from the same church as me. If my photo had appeared in the papers, would my colleageues and management be wondering, after all the glamor and attention is gone, that I have shirked my official duty to steal time to write. God is good and all is right with my world again.

In ending, I say this. I will not write to this journalist about the damage he could have done. On hindsight, I know now that his intentions were actually good, as shown in the draft. It was the editor who had a preconceived notion of self-publishers and repositioned his article to put down self-publishers ... of which I am one.

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 9:06 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 1 April 2007 9:24 AM EDT

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Mood:  happy

My marketing efforts todate

1) GentleCloud Online website, now with over 1000 viewership

2) A two-minute audio Trailer, a unique way to sample the book with the help of sound effects and punchy narration 

3) Up and coming interview on Radio Singapore, Mediacorp. The program is called the Write Stuff

4) Book announcement on TODAY newspaper this coming Thursday (1st Feb)

The next actions remaining after Singapore blitz would be to fan abroad, possibly from March onwards

Posted by gentlecloud at 3:13 AM EST

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Mood:  chatty

My book, Through The Storm, was born on 23rd Jan 2005, on a direct flight from Singapore to LA, enroute to Orlando. With fifteen hours and having finished a book I've bought, I penned my first two chapters and the flight turned out to be a breeze.

I finished Through The Storm in four months. It took me another twenty to get it to print. Hence lies the first of my learning points.

Writing is all about rewriting. How much rewriting depends on how skilled you are in writing. It is inversely correlated.  The more you know how to write, the less rewriting you need to do. In my case, I wrote using what I later learned as an omniscient POV (point of view). After such nudges from reviewers, I rewrote using third-party POV. The reading experience is more involved and intense if the third-party POV is well-handled. To know more about this, grab a good book on writing and learn what it is. It can save you some time in rewriting.

Among other things, you'll learn to 'show', not 'tell'. Again, this was learned after some kind reviewers pointed out the weakness in 'telling'.  If you study your own reaction when you read a book, you will find that you feel more satisfied when you arrive at a conclusion 'yourself'. You don't like to be spoonfed i.e. told that this man is sad. You want to 'see' his face, his body and his actions and conclude for yourself that he is sad.  eg. Sighing. Head bowed. Shoulders slumped etc.

Okay, second learning point.

Join a writing site to get objective reviews.  If you write in isolation, you will never know how your story is received by readers. Friends can be your reviewers. But, they are often too kind to be good for you. So, join a site for writers and over time, cultivate writing buddies who will be able to help you and you return the favor likewise.

Third learning point

Get plugged in to the writers' circle. It is good exposure. You never know who you will meet. It is good exposure. I met someone who does audio stories for children as a result of posting something on a writers' forum. If you have not done so, join BookCouncil as a member. Their website is http://www.bookcouncil.sg  A lot of useful information is there, including printers and publishers and bookshops. They also organize book readings, writers' meetings and writing classes. Very good for aspiring writers.

Finally, read a lot. Read books with a view to learning their writing styles, what works and what doesn't.

Posted by gentlecloud at 2:25 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 1 April 2007 9:28 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Sunday Times today had a very cute article written by Janadas Devan. Titled "Bada-bing! Looky-loo, it's in the dictionary", it introduces new words which I've never heard before. Here are two cute neologisms i.e. newly coined words, worth mentioning:

bouncebackability - able to come back after a setback. Thought to be first coined by a football club manager

bada-bing - an American slang suggesting something happening suddenly, emphatically,or easily and predictably, 'just like that', 'Presto!'.  Example from the movie 'Godfather', "You've gotta get up close like this and bada-bing! you blow their brains all over your nice shirt." LOL

bling-bling - diamonds, of course

The above is just for fun. On a more serious note, I feel that grasping not just the rudiments of English but mastering it differentiate the good authors from the rest.

When I met successful local writers like Catherine Lim and Shirley Geok-Lin, I felt so inadequate and exposed. Not just were they teachers or professors of Literature, their ability to speak eloguently helps them sell themselves and their work. How would non-entities in the literary world like me ever be like them? They're a different breed. They had too much of a headstart with their Arts doctorate and more compared to a mere Business Admin graduate like me!

After mentally wringing my hands at first, I now psyched myself to believe that what is lacking in form can be offset with substance. That's the part which all passionate writers can lean to if we are dreamers. For what feed dreams are our imagination and that is inborn and not nurtured. I've read books which are written beautifully with a normal storyline and others which are more minimalistic, spartan and yet have storylines that 'knocks your socks off'.

Anyway, I make it a practice nowadays to apply new words which I've come across in books. I challenge myself to use the new word in the latest chapter I'm writing. It works to increase my vocabulary and adds to the arsenal of words to tell a good story. Words like ichor, cathartic and flotsam are but a few of the new words I've added to my vocabulary this way. Try it.

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:52 PM EST

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Last night, I attended a Book Club meeting at Earshot. They were covering Colin Cheong's book titled "Stolen Child".

His first book was published at the tender age of twenty-four, eight years after he started. Imagine. He began writing at sweet sixteen. Gee, the feeling this piece of information evoked is similar to that when I first stepped into a cyber-games joint, totally intrigued with this new fangled world and wanting to play but wishing I could unwind my own internal clock twenty years.

Before I wallow in regret and drag anyone under in the process, let it be said also that many start much later. The writers' site I haunt has many writers who are in their sixties. Wouldn't they be even more desolate in the knowledge that they have started so late? No. Definitely not. They will tell you this. There is a time and place for everything. Life's experiences do count for quite a lot and these senior folks have the luxury of time on their hands to pen down their own legacy.

Anyway, back to the tips from the guru, Colin Cheong, who has twenty books, both fiction and non-fiction, to his name:

1) Deep emotions, be it anger, despair, lust, love, regret, are the best drivers for writing, its outpour onto paper rendered more powerful and arresting even as it is cathartic to the soul.

2) When to stop writing the next page of the novel? When you know what is ahead. Strange though it sounded, the rationale is that it actually builds up that burning desire to go back and write and hence, fuel the drive and passion.

3) To help build characters in the story, use real people to act in the movie in your mind. That way, you only transcribe what you see and the characters are more believable and alive because of it.  

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 7:34 AM EST

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Mood:  not sure

I've done a few things over the two weeks.

First, I had a flash of inspiration and created a marketing e-flyer, nicely embellished with photos and color. I thought the endeavour to be quite professional, if I might say so myself :) 

Then, in a blaze of pride and glory, I sent it to the forum for Writers' Guild ... and had my first lesson... Ouch! Never, never assume that everyone has broadband. Keep the file small to avoid unpleasant reminders. Gun for the pictures, for they are the main culprit, hogging the most mega'bites'. LOL. Prune these by recreating them in lower resolution. The effect is still good and blessedly, the file size cut down, in my first marketing pitch that became a hiccup, from 1 MB to a decent 0.4 MB.

And then, I had my second brain-wave *grin*  Why not try a new model of channel e-marketing. So, I created one and announced it to selected parties. One publisher responded in candid terms saying that the idea is actually some sort of an affiliate program which needs to be automated. The positive side of things was that he committed to getting an affiliate program running in two months. I'll definitely link up with him then. I've yet to hear from two others that I've approached. Needless to say, my friends just took it in good faith and became channels to publicise my book. Bless them!

With the pilots behind me, I have now announced the book to a slightly wider audience, including friends from a writers' class, SWCO, BookCouncil and also a fan forum. Keeping fingers and toes crossed :) 

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 9:56 PM EST

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:18 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

I finally met my church pastor today, three weeks after I left a copy of the book for her. She was standing there, waiting to greet the congregation filing out after the service. Having not heard from her, I was unsure what to expect when I shook her hand, thinking to step aside for others coming her way.

But, bless her, Rev Wendy held my hand tight, surprising me by not letting go for a long while! We just stood there, her smile and energy overwhelming me to the point that I felt both shy and elated at the same time. My goodness, this is my pastor and she is clasping my hand like ... like she wants to talk to me!

After my tongue became untied, I asked whether she had received and read the book, to which she answered yes! Then, in her own special way of speaking with that bottled energy of hers, she asked whether she could quote some parts of it in her sermon and then point to me as the author.

Whoa!! That caught me by surprise. I was both touched and bowled over by the thought. The first question that popped in my mind was what she was going to quote. But I didn't get to ask it, for I was so overwhelmed you see. I laughed - a little uncontrolled - and said she is welcome to quote anything from there so long if I do not get to be identified. It would be too embarrassing.  On hindsight, I think that perhaps, just perhaps, she was trying in her own way to publicise my work for me. Manna from Heaven which I did not pick up, right? Well, if God is willing, there will be more manna tomorrow...

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:22 PM EST

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Just came back from a self-publishing talk at YWCA. I am amazed by the turnout in spite of the lack of expensive advertisement. There must be a lot of aspiring writers even in a small city-state like Singapore, from this sampling alone.

I've been meaning to write a book on my experience at penning my first book. I think it would certainly cater to this segment of the market. Now, to find time to do it, besides gobbling up the stack of lovely novels I've recently acquired from MPH warehouse sale, writing the next chapter to my second book and finishing the final touches to "Storm". 

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com 

Posted by gentlecloud at 10:55 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:19 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

I learned something new today. I've found out that the weight of the paper matters to the shipping charges. The POD book I had weighed 253 g because I used 80 gsm paper whereas another normal paperback I'm reading (with roughly the same number of  pages) weighed only 187 g. It amounted to a savings of about US$1 for shipping charges. I'll make sure the printer uses lighter weight paper, not necessarily thin but lighter.

My website is now ready to take orders. I've added the pricing info, shipping charges and even a low-res snapshot of my book to make the access faster. Things are certainly moving.

I've chosen to offer payment mode via email Paypal. The online Paypal is sleeker but from what I've read, if not properly orchestrated, you may not be able to trace which customers have paid and their email addresses for confirmation. Hence, I've chosen the more manual route for now and see how.

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:24 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:20 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

Today, at church, I prayed to God for guidance on my book. I have a quotation from a printer for 1,000 copies to be printed. I was wondering whether to take the plunge. That's a lot of trees and a lot of money :)

For the past three weeks, I've brought my book to church hoping to pass it to Rev Wendy in person. She is a wonderful pastor, a bit radical, but her heart is in the right place. And she had agreed to review my book. But she was not around. So, finally, I handed it to the information counter to pass to her. I was a bit disappointed, for I want to hand-deliver that first copy to her.

That night, I received a Seal of Quality confirmation from a writing site I frequent. My prayer was answered. I will place the printing order!

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:04 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:21 AM EST

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