Wait for the world to discover you and publishers to beat a path to your door and you'll wait forever.You've got to get your words out there ... somehow. And then maybe ... just maybe ... the world will begin to sit up and take notice.
And then maybe ... just maybe ... ask for another serving.
At the reading on Saturday I acquired a couple of self-published books.
The first is a hand-made chapbook of poems by Sharanya Manivannan: a beautifully produced little publication. The work is attractively laid out on the pages, there are illustrations and a front cover trimmed with sari ribbon. There are even quotes from other poets on the back ... glowing recommendations for her work. Saturday afternoon she sat during the reading gluing the whole thing together, so I guess my copy was "hot off the press", and I'm going to treasure it because one day Sharanya will be famous.If you want a copy you can pick one up at the Indie Scene Cafe in Bukit Bintang, and directly through Sharanya.
The second book ... well I felt just like teacher spotting something being passed around at the back of the class. It turned out that Vovin had brought along a few copies of a self-published book called Kudeta.
Don't speak Malay? Say it out loud. There you see, you got it.
This nicely produced little book is a compilation of fiction (what they call centrilog, short for cerita entri log) written by six bloggers who I guess are bent on world domination. It costs RM15. You can check out their work online:BukunotaVovin, if you're reading this, please stop by and tell us a bit more about how the book came into being and how the world can get copies.
Vovin
Op
Amir Mukhriz
Sinaganaga
Jigo
I like the idea of writers selling their books at the readings, so bring those copies along in future.
9 comments:
i predict that one day, self-published books in limited editions will become collectors' items that will fetch millions at auctions, especially those by unknown authors. all it takes is for someone to start collecting them, Guardian or NYT to write about it, and voila!
i'm sure they will. just imagine if stephen king had started this way and you owned his first self-published effort.
btw - books published by small presses in malaysia in small numbers can become pretty valuable overseas.
Anything that's not mainstream is interesting. Long time since I heard the word "indie" (from your main post about where to get Sharanya Manivannan's book)!
Hello sharon.
Thank you for promoting Kudeta. It's a collaborative effort between six of us, putting what we love most - writing (story, poem, thoughts,).
The idea occurs because we simply wanted to publish our writing. Since it's hard to get any well established publisher, then why not opt for self-publish?
But we had to bear in mind, self publishing is not about getting rich, making money or stardom. It's about passion for writing and some sort for...well..literature.
Unfortunately, the last copy of Kudeta has been sold yesterday. In other words: SOLD OUT. We printed around 100 copies only and i don't think we planned for a reprint.
But we do plans for our next project, maybe around January.
I'm also planning for my own solo work (my own self-published semi-novel).
I will keep you posted for any new projects from me or my group. Or maybe can contact me at vovin_realm at yahoo dot com or just drop by to my Malay or English blog.
Thanks for the support.
And i do hope more people will consider the idea of self-publishing because it's fun, either in Malay or English.
Thank you.
Yup the day you think about the money is the day the quality goes out the window. It should never be about the money.
Thanks, Sharon. :) I should add, though, that Iyari is by no means in lieu of a book-length collection of poems, and I hope I'm able to find a publisher for that soon.
if i had money sharanya i would want to publish you ... *sigh*
Sharon, thanks so much for this post. I'm with Chet when he says anything that's not mainstream is interesting. I love the look and sound of these self-published books - I hope they all do well!
Everyone has money, it's just a matter of priorities. That's the truth isn't it ? that we all look out for #1.
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