Robert Raymer's Blog, page 24
March 27, 2011
Big Fish Small Pond, Small Fish Big Pond
I'm not sure when I first heard the Big Fish Small Pond or Small Fish Big Pond analogy. I do remember it was in a classroom setting either in my high school, Newark Senior High (Ohio) or more likely at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. It made an impact on all of us as we debated the merits of each. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and each can lead to success. Of course, some of us preferred another option "Big Fish in Big Pond".
I considered Ohio a small pond and right after graduation, after a three-month backpacking stint in Europe, I left Ohio for Colorado where I began working for K. Graphics or Kinko's in Boulder, a cool place to live, where I met my first aspiring writers and editors, people with big pond dreams. Then I was offered a chance to be a manager of a Kinko's in Madison, Wisconsin and made the leap to a much larger city. Soon after, I began setting up stores in other cities, some small, some big, and in other states.
Within the company, as a regional manager in charge of eleven stores in three states, I started to feel like a Big Fish, especially after giving a well-received presentation at the national Kinko's conference in Santa Barbara, California. When I left Kinko's to try my hand at writing, three of the top six stores in the country were mine, and we had over 600 stores at that time.
The United States, by the way, is a pretty big pond. But then I left that big pond for Malaysia, a much smaller pond. Publishing my first books in Singapore and then Malaysia, I soon found out, limits your scope. The books don't seem to get outside of those two countries, so it was impossible to break out of the small pond, whether you're a big fish or not.
Some Malaysian writers, albeit based overseas, like Tash Aw, author of the Whitebread winning novel The Harmony Silk Factory and Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, showed us that Malaysians can gracefully enter the Big Pond of writing and even get nominated for major awards.
Then Preeta Samarasan's Evening of the Whole Day and Shamini Flint's Inspector Singh's series, both published overseas, attracted a lot of attention. Even Shih-Li Kow's Ripples and Other Stories, with a small pond publisher, Silverfish, was shortlisted for the 2009 Frank O'Conner International Short Story Award. That was exciting. And it showed that it's possible to break out for other writers based in Malaysia, myself included. It also got me thinking, why am I still a small fish in this small Malaysian pond?
When Lovers and Strangers Revisited (MPH 2008), first published by Silverfish, won the 2009 Popular Star Reader's Choice Awards, I began to feel like a slightly bigger fish. In 2010 my profile was raised when I was named "One of the 50 Expats You Need to Know" by Expatriate Lifestyle and then featured on the TV program Kuppa Kopi . The Expat also profiled me in their magazine. But still the reality is the Malaysian market is rather limited. Other Malaysian authors constantly tell me, "You can't be a full time writer living in Malaysia."
Still I kept submitting my short stories to overseas markets and entering my novels to novel contests in the US, and although some have met with some success, it appears I still have a ways to go. Yet, I also feel I'm close to breaking out of this small pond of Borneo where I now live in Sarawak, which is even further removed from mainstream Malaysia, let alone mainstream USA, or mainstream the world book publishing market.
Getting one of my books,
Tropical Affairs
, reviewed in Europe last week is a step in the right direction, and so is having another book, Lovers and Strangers Revisited, getting translated into French. Having a French blog set up for Trois autres Malaisie with an additional French translation of "Transaction in Thai" has already made a big impact in my blog hits. This morning when I work up, my blog total for the day set a new personal record, a 32% jump over my previous best, and the bulk of those came from France. France, by the way, is a bigger pond.
One of the disadvantage of bigger ponds is you have a lot more competition, and even if you are a big fish in your own small pond, once you cross over to the bigger pond, you start at the bottom again, as a small fish. But a small fish that's going somewhere, and that can be all the difference. You're a small fish on the move. How far you go will be determined by your own belief system. Do you feel you have what it takes to breakout in a bigger market? In order to do that, you need to step up your game, and that is what I aim to do. Step up my writing game. I have to. For me, as an American writer based in Malaysia, it's time to take a serious look at those bigger ponds in Europe, which I first glimpsed all those years ago as a wide-eyed, fresh fish graduate seeing the big fishy world for the first time.
There are a lot of ponds out there, so where will you make your mark, as a Big Fish in a Small Pond, or as a Small Fish in a Big Pond? Bear in mind, you can only become a Big Fish in a Big Pond by making that small pond to big pond transition, which is a lot easier these days thanks to the Internet. Of course, there is no right answer. Just ask yourself, what feels right for you? Whatever you choose, whether Big Pond or Small Pond, I wish you luck. —Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer[image error]
I considered Ohio a small pond and right after graduation, after a three-month backpacking stint in Europe, I left Ohio for Colorado where I began working for K. Graphics or Kinko's in Boulder, a cool place to live, where I met my first aspiring writers and editors, people with big pond dreams. Then I was offered a chance to be a manager of a Kinko's in Madison, Wisconsin and made the leap to a much larger city. Soon after, I began setting up stores in other cities, some small, some big, and in other states.
Within the company, as a regional manager in charge of eleven stores in three states, I started to feel like a Big Fish, especially after giving a well-received presentation at the national Kinko's conference in Santa Barbara, California. When I left Kinko's to try my hand at writing, three of the top six stores in the country were mine, and we had over 600 stores at that time.
The United States, by the way, is a pretty big pond. But then I left that big pond for Malaysia, a much smaller pond. Publishing my first books in Singapore and then Malaysia, I soon found out, limits your scope. The books don't seem to get outside of those two countries, so it was impossible to break out of the small pond, whether you're a big fish or not.
Some Malaysian writers, albeit based overseas, like Tash Aw, author of the Whitebread winning novel The Harmony Silk Factory and Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, showed us that Malaysians can gracefully enter the Big Pond of writing and even get nominated for major awards.
Then Preeta Samarasan's Evening of the Whole Day and Shamini Flint's Inspector Singh's series, both published overseas, attracted a lot of attention. Even Shih-Li Kow's Ripples and Other Stories, with a small pond publisher, Silverfish, was shortlisted for the 2009 Frank O'Conner International Short Story Award. That was exciting. And it showed that it's possible to break out for other writers based in Malaysia, myself included. It also got me thinking, why am I still a small fish in this small Malaysian pond?
When Lovers and Strangers Revisited (MPH 2008), first published by Silverfish, won the 2009 Popular Star Reader's Choice Awards, I began to feel like a slightly bigger fish. In 2010 my profile was raised when I was named "One of the 50 Expats You Need to Know" by Expatriate Lifestyle and then featured on the TV program Kuppa Kopi . The Expat also profiled me in their magazine. But still the reality is the Malaysian market is rather limited. Other Malaysian authors constantly tell me, "You can't be a full time writer living in Malaysia."
Still I kept submitting my short stories to overseas markets and entering my novels to novel contests in the US, and although some have met with some success, it appears I still have a ways to go. Yet, I also feel I'm close to breaking out of this small pond of Borneo where I now live in Sarawak, which is even further removed from mainstream Malaysia, let alone mainstream USA, or mainstream the world book publishing market.
Getting one of my books,
Tropical Affairs
, reviewed in Europe last week is a step in the right direction, and so is having another book, Lovers and Strangers Revisited, getting translated into French. Having a French blog set up for Trois autres Malaisie with an additional French translation of "Transaction in Thai" has already made a big impact in my blog hits. This morning when I work up, my blog total for the day set a new personal record, a 32% jump over my previous best, and the bulk of those came from France. France, by the way, is a bigger pond. One of the disadvantage of bigger ponds is you have a lot more competition, and even if you are a big fish in your own small pond, once you cross over to the bigger pond, you start at the bottom again, as a small fish. But a small fish that's going somewhere, and that can be all the difference. You're a small fish on the move. How far you go will be determined by your own belief system. Do you feel you have what it takes to breakout in a bigger market? In order to do that, you need to step up your game, and that is what I aim to do. Step up my writing game. I have to. For me, as an American writer based in Malaysia, it's time to take a serious look at those bigger ponds in Europe, which I first glimpsed all those years ago as a wide-eyed, fresh fish graduate seeing the big fishy world for the first time.
There are a lot of ponds out there, so where will you make your mark, as a Big Fish in a Small Pond, or as a Small Fish in a Big Pond? Bear in mind, you can only become a Big Fish in a Big Pond by making that small pond to big pond transition, which is a lot easier these days thanks to the Internet. Of course, there is no right answer. Just ask yourself, what feels right for you? Whatever you choose, whether Big Pond or Small Pond, I wish you luck. —Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer[image error]
March 26, 2011
Two Brief Writing Interviews, One Session Holding a Toddler
Here are two interviews, my first forays into YouTube, split from the same impromptu session, back in 2008, after a reading in Kuching at Bing! My website designers, Nic and Krista from Redbox Studios, were in town, so I asked them to attend the reading and then roped Krista into reading something from one of her blogs, which she naturally blogged about.
After reading an excerpt from "Transactions in Thai", which has just been translated into French from Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Nic approached me about the idea for a You Tube interview for his website. I was carrying Justin at the time, as everyone including my wife Jenny, was busy saying their goodbyes, so we found a quiet place alongside Bing! As Nic asked me a handful of questions, I tried to think of suitable answers while hoping Justin cooperates. Like any toddler, he can get restless and throw a tantrum pretty fast. We both managed to get through it, in one quick take, and that was that.
Over the years I kept coming across various versions, some better than others. Then today I realized that there were, in fact, two separate interviews, split from that one session, with appropriate headings and questions added in. I'm sure I must've known about this, but at the time, I may have been distracted with marking exams, blogging The Story Behind the Story series, and writing, with two small children clamoring for my attention to notice. After seeing the different versions out there, I thought it's about time that I post the two that Redbox Studios created for their website.
Here's the first "My Website Got Me Three Book Deal" (two books actually) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mo5Q13-Ob0&NR=1
And "Going Online Gave Me Tons of Publicity" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EFeofDpFTk[image error]
After reading an excerpt from "Transactions in Thai", which has just been translated into French from Lovers and Strangers Revisited, Nic approached me about the idea for a You Tube interview for his website. I was carrying Justin at the time, as everyone including my wife Jenny, was busy saying their goodbyes, so we found a quiet place alongside Bing! As Nic asked me a handful of questions, I tried to think of suitable answers while hoping Justin cooperates. Like any toddler, he can get restless and throw a tantrum pretty fast. We both managed to get through it, in one quick take, and that was that.
Over the years I kept coming across various versions, some better than others. Then today I realized that there were, in fact, two separate interviews, split from that one session, with appropriate headings and questions added in. I'm sure I must've known about this, but at the time, I may have been distracted with marking exams, blogging The Story Behind the Story series, and writing, with two small children clamoring for my attention to notice. After seeing the different versions out there, I thought it's about time that I post the two that Redbox Studios created for their website.
Here's the first "My Website Got Me Three Book Deal" (two books actually) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mo5Q13-Ob0&NR=1
And "Going Online Gave Me Tons of Publicity" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EFeofDpFTk[image error]
March 25, 2011
Expatriate Archive Centre's Book Review Tropical Affairs—22 March 2011
Two good news for Tropical Affairs: Episodes of an Exapt's Life in Malaysia. One, a book review appeared on Expatriate Archive Centre's blog. Expatriate Archive Centre is also one of the libraries that I mentioned in a recent post. This is, unless I'm mistaken, my first book review outside Malaysia/Singapore! Thoughts on Robert Raymer's "Tropical Affairs" Written by Amanda Potter Narrative essays collected into a book are a little like the predecessor to modern blogging. Robert Raymer's "Tropical Affairs", a collection of previously published non-fiction narratives about his life and times in Malaysia, almost reads like one (in a good way). Through his years of essays we learn a little about Robert's life as an American living in Malaysia for more than 20 years, sympathize with his struggles, and cheer in his successes. Tropical Affairs collects essays from Robert's own life through relationships, work, children, and hobbies and after 20+ years in his adopted country, it's clear that Robert loves Malaysia and the people who call it home. The book is organized into a series of themed sections with a little something for everyone to relate to. Personally, I found the expatriate, writing, and "being myself" sections the most interesting, but parents and even movie fans will find entertaining and thoughtful morsels as well. Humor and candor play equal parts in Robert's writing, reflecting the complex and multicultural experience of living abroad.
However, although the essays are interesting, often entertaining, and sometimes even inspiring, I was left wanting a stronger central narrative to carry the book as a whole. I had hoped to learn a little about Malaysia through Robert's experiences, but without any prior knowledge of the region, the essays didn't lay the groundwork for me to fully understand his encounters. In addition, I found the way the essays "time traveled" back and forth through is life to be a bit jarring; especially when there were two essays written about the same exact event but not placed side-by-side.
Ultimately I found "Tropical Affairs" to be best read by simply flipping the book open and selecting a story at random. Each on its own is sweet and filled with experiences that anyone can relate to. And I like the slightly provocative title which encourages you to have a short, fun affair with each story, but maybe not a long term relationship.
Robert Raymer is also the author of (the equally provocative) Lovers and Strangers Revisited, a short story collection about Malaysia. He writes for several publications and also blogs and maintains a website at borneoexpatwriter.com. * * *The second good news, I just got the Tropical Affairs royalty statement, though not as high as I'd like it to be—is it ever?— but it did mention a second printing around June 2010. That's good because I recently added buy links on all my 2009 Tropical Affairs excerpt posts, which I accidentally left out. Several of these, particularly on Indochine and Paradise Road, continue to be my most popular posts, maybe because of the cool costumes that I get to wear in the films. [image error]
Creative Writing Workshop—Comes to Kota Kinabalu
Using Critical Thinking Skills to Turn Personal Experiencesinto Narratives and Short Stories
with ROBERT RAYMER
When: Saturday,9 April Time: 2.00-6.00pm Cost: RM100 Who: 13-90+ years old Where: 7th Floor, Wisma Anglican, Karamunsing Next: Email or sms your name, contact phone number & email address to.................
Contacts: Jude Day – 014-3514298 / jude.day@gmail.com Farida Shukoor – 016-8486874 / fshukoor@hotmail.com
Critical thinking for surprising results! Jumpstarting ideas – creating stories!
You don't have to be a writer – but you can inspire yourself to write! Brainstorm and tap into your creativity – the results can amaze you!
Robert Raymer's 4-hour Creative Writing Workshop covers the following areas:
How to organise a story – using colours, fears, objects, sensory details, what-if, festive occasions, unusual experiences, people and locations, feelings and emotions – things to avoid when writing – writing a story
Q&A Session
Robert Raymer will also bring copies of his books – so you can buy autographed copies! Selling at Rm25 and Rm33 each.
Find out more about Robert on his website: www.borneoexpatwriter.com/
*Here's a link to Getting Started with Pre-Writing Techniques.
Organised by the KK Theatre Group, SPArKS www.sparks.org.my
with ROBERT RAYMER
When: Saturday,9 April Time: 2.00-6.00pm Cost: RM100 Who: 13-90+ years old Where: 7th Floor, Wisma Anglican, Karamunsing Next: Email or sms your name, contact phone number & email address to.................
Contacts: Jude Day – 014-3514298 / jude.day@gmail.com Farida Shukoor – 016-8486874 / fshukoor@hotmail.com
Critical thinking for surprising results! Jumpstarting ideas – creating stories!
You don't have to be a writer – but you can inspire yourself to write! Brainstorm and tap into your creativity – the results can amaze you!
Robert Raymer's 4-hour Creative Writing Workshop covers the following areas:
How to organise a story – using colours, fears, objects, sensory details, what-if, festive occasions, unusual experiences, people and locations, feelings and emotions – things to avoid when writing – writing a story
Q&A Session
Robert Raymer will also bring copies of his books – so you can buy autographed copies! Selling at Rm25 and Rm33 each.
Find out more about Robert on his website: www.borneoexpatwriter.com/
*Here's a link to Getting Started with Pre-Writing Techniques.
Organised by the KK Theatre Group, SPArKS www.sparks.org.my
March 24, 2011
A French blog for Trois autres Malaisie and a new translation for The World of Suzie Wong!
A French blog for my upcoming collection of short stories Trois autres Malaisie has already been set up by my publisher Editions GOPE for some advance publicity. Soon the translation of 'Transactions in Thai' from Lovers and Strangers Revisited will be available free from the blog.Also Editions GOPE is giving new life to Richard Mason's The World of Suzie Wong by launching a new revised, unabridged French translation. Chapter two, you may remember, takes place in Malaysia, in a rubber plantation.French translations of The World of Suzie Wong and Lovers and Strangers Revisited (Trois autres Malaisie) will soon be side by side. I like that. The World of Suzie Wong was not only an international best seller, it ran for many years as a play on Broadway and in London, and the movie version won Nancy Kwan a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in the role of Suzie.
Is there a film version for one of my short stories in the making? Or maybe my Penang-set novel The Expatriate's Choice, now that I finished rewriting it for the Faulkner-Wisdom novel contest. First, I need to find a publisher and perhaps a French translation! It just dawned on me that the opening scene for The Expatriate's Choice begins on the ferry to Penang, and the painter Robert Lomax met his muse Suzie Wong on a ferry in Hong Kong. Hmm...
* * *Editions GOPE: The World of Suzie Wong (In French) Rediscover one of modern English literature's most famous novels in a revised and unabridged French translation! Hong Kong 1957: Rickshaws fill the narrow streets, sampans are swarming in the bay…
Robert Lomax, an undiscovered painter, comes here seeking his muse. He finds her in a seedy hotel bar: Suzie Wong, a young and bubbly prostitute, an independent and self-sufficient mother with big dreams for herself and her toddler son.
As Robert paints Suzie's portrait, over and over again, the model falls in love with the artist, and he with her. But can she escape her job? Can he escape his Western prejudice? Her story is about a journey from poverty to wealth, about the fascination of the West with the East and also about the identity of the city of Hong Kong itself.
Can true love overcome race, culture and the social status divide?
Richard Mason (1919-1997) was a British writer who realized enormous success with his most notable novel, The World of Suzie Wong. His Pygmalion story of the artist who falls in love with his model ran for years as a play on Broadway and in London. The movie version won Nancy Kwan a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in the role of Suzie. In Suzie Mason has created an unforgettable character, at once strong but yielding, selfish but generous, happy as well as sad. Suzie is unforgettable.
Éditions GOPE, 460 pages, 13x19 cm, 24 €, ISBN 978‐2‐9535538‐2‐6
Tél.: +33 954 880 459 - Email: lemondedesuziewong@gmail.com
March 23, 2011
When You Work, Work; When You Play, Play
Last night I was reading with my children, trying to get Jason to concentrate since he is still struggling with reading. Justin, however, kept playing the fool, trying to distract him, and Jason seemed more interested in playing with Justin than reading, so I stopped.
"There's a time to play, a time to study, a time to read, a time to eat and a time to sleep. Don't mix them up," I told them. "When you do, those are the times you get scolded or punished."
If I'm not being productive during the day, why not? Am I working, or playing via surfing the internet, or replying non-essential emails that I should be doing after hours or being a busybody on Facebook to see what others are up to? When the children come home from school and I'm still trying to squeeze in more work, I get frustrated and angry with the boys, and so do they.
"Where's Daddy?" Justin asks.
"He's busy doing his homework," Jason replies.
"Speaking of homework," I remind him, and we all groan.
Then I thought, this is stupid, "There's a time to work, and a time to play." So now I tell myself, once they reach home and until I put them to sleep I will not work. It saved a lot of frustration. Now my time and my mind are not divided. I help Jason with his homework and I help Justin with his playing. I also help in the kitchen so we can eat on time, then I help with the dishes and help getting the boys to bed and then reading with them, which I find is really relaxing for me, too. It's also a great time to bond with your children, and it creates great memories for them too that will last the rest of their lives.
Once those lights are out, I'm free, with a clear conscience, to return to whatever I was working on, or I'm free to answer those emails and check in on Facebook. Then when it's time to go to bed, I'm free to play a little there, too or to just talk with my wife, undistracted by children and computers.
How are your days, are you mixing up playing at work, and then working at home to play catch up, when your children and spouse need you the most? Don't mix the two up! Work when you work, and play when you play. If your mind is always somewhere else, you're not going to be effective at work, nor having fun at home. What applies to children, applies to adults. That's a lesson I'm learning from my children before it's too late, before they grow up and move away. Now I help Jason with his English lessons and make sure all the other homework is done properly, and Jenny helps him with his BM.
Somehow we all get through another day as a family, and that's a nice feeling.
-Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer
"There's a time to play, a time to study, a time to read, a time to eat and a time to sleep. Don't mix them up," I told them. "When you do, those are the times you get scolded or punished."
If I'm not being productive during the day, why not? Am I working, or playing via surfing the internet, or replying non-essential emails that I should be doing after hours or being a busybody on Facebook to see what others are up to? When the children come home from school and I'm still trying to squeeze in more work, I get frustrated and angry with the boys, and so do they.
"Where's Daddy?" Justin asks.
"He's busy doing his homework," Jason replies.
"Speaking of homework," I remind him, and we all groan.
Then I thought, this is stupid, "There's a time to work, and a time to play." So now I tell myself, once they reach home and until I put them to sleep I will not work. It saved a lot of frustration. Now my time and my mind are not divided. I help Jason with his homework and I help Justin with his playing. I also help in the kitchen so we can eat on time, then I help with the dishes and help getting the boys to bed and then reading with them, which I find is really relaxing for me, too. It's also a great time to bond with your children, and it creates great memories for them too that will last the rest of their lives.
Once those lights are out, I'm free, with a clear conscience, to return to whatever I was working on, or I'm free to answer those emails and check in on Facebook. Then when it's time to go to bed, I'm free to play a little there, too or to just talk with my wife, undistracted by children and computers.
How are your days, are you mixing up playing at work, and then working at home to play catch up, when your children and spouse need you the most? Don't mix the two up! Work when you work, and play when you play. If your mind is always somewhere else, you're not going to be effective at work, nor having fun at home. What applies to children, applies to adults. That's a lesson I'm learning from my children before it's too late, before they grow up and move away. Now I help Jason with his English lessons and make sure all the other homework is done properly, and Jenny helps him with his BM.
Somehow we all get through another day as a family, and that's a nice feeling.
-Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer
March 22, 2011
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Ok, I admit I'm feeling a little disappointed that The Boy Who Shot Santa did not advance to the Quarter Finals of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. I thought I would even make it to the semi-finals on the strength of the whole novel, knowing how much effort I had point into this and all the rewriting I did in the months leading up to it. But it didn't, so that's a step back for me, a time to re-access….For those who did get through, congrats! For those who didn't, or didn't even get this far, or are struggling to make their writing or their lives more successful, then this is for you (and a reminder for me). In 2009, I was at T. Harv Eker's Guerrilla Business Intensive seminar in Singapore eating lunch with four other people I just met, some from Singapore, Canada, Australia, and myself the lone American. All five of us looked relatively successful judging from our clothes, our appearances, and the fact that we shelled out a considerable amount of money for this five-day event in Singapore, most of us travelling just to get here, from Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. There was a pause in the meal and I caught their attention by asking a simple question, "What personal adversity did you have to overcome that led you on the road to success?"
I went first to set the tone and talked about my divorce and custody battle and a lot of fallout that transpired during that rather difficult time in my life. Another couple took turns discussing their own marital breakups, a business going bust, dealing with bouts of depression, one on the verge of suicide. A woman then broke down and cried as she related how she was assaulted and battered by a boyfriend and ended up in the hospital. Even now she is struggling with trust and intimacy issues in her relationships.
Another, the son of a multi-millionaire, admitted that he had gone to prison because of excessive driving violations. Singapore is rather tough in this area. One of those violations wasn't even his. He was covering for his now ex-wife during a traffic accident, claiming he was driving when she was (and drunk at the time), so she wouldn't accumulate excessive violations herself. He lost his driver's license, and then with less than a week to go, he got caught driving without a license, and because of those additional points, he now had to spend two weeks in prison.
Later, I spoke to his father and he said it was an important lesson for his strong-headed son. He had advised him not to drive without his license and not to marry that woman in the first place; she was trouble and was always getting him into trouble. Since their divorce, he had turned his life around and has his whole future ahead of him.
All of five of us had reached rock bottom in our lives, and the point that I wanted to make by posing the question in the first place, was that, despite those setbacks, or maybe even because of them, because we had been through all that—the shame, the indignity, the frustrations—we were determined to make a success out of our lives. To turn it all around, which each of us gradually did, and found ourselves at the same place having lunch together during a break at this seminar in Singapore.
What personal adversity have you gone through that has in fact made you stronger, more determined to succeed? Are you looking back, focusing on what all went wrong and blaming everyone else, or are you looking ahead to what you can still make right? In life, we're going to have our setbacks, our disappointments—some major, some minor—but it's how we pick ourselves afterward that matters. Life is often a series of two steps forward, one step back. Learn from those 'steps back' and apply that knowledge for your next two steps forward. So long as, at the end of the day, you're determined to keep moving forward, that's all that matters. Just take all of your setbacks in stride and keep focusing on your goals.
That's exactly what I'm doing right now, itching to get back to another novel for another contest and considering other routes to publication to add to the three books I have in the marketplace and a fourth, a translation, on the way. The rules to publishing has changed drastically in the last two years (e-publishing is taking off and bookstores are closing) and it's time to explore these options for my next two steps forward.
2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Ok, I admit I'm feeling a little disappointed that The Boy Who Shot Santa did not advance to the Quarter Finals of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. I thought I would even make it to the semi-finals on the strength of the whole novel, knowing how much effort I had point into this and all the rewriting I did in the months leading up to it. But it didn't, so that's a step back for me, a time to re-access….For those who did get through, congrats! For those who didn't, or didn't even get this far, or are struggling to make their writing or their lives more successful, then this is for you (and a reminder for me). In 2009, I was at T. Harv Eker's Guerrilla Business Intensive seminar in Singapore eating lunch with four other people I just met, some from Singapore, Canada, Australia, and myself the lone American. All five of us looked relatively successful judging from our clothes, our appearances, and the fact that we shelled out a considerable amount of money for this five-day event in Singapore, most of us travelling just to get here, from Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. There was a pause in the meal and I caught their attention by asking a simple question, "What personal adversity did you have to overcome that led you on the road to success?"
I went first to set the tone and talked about my divorce and custody battle and a lot of fallout that transpired during that rather difficult time in my life. Another couple took turns discussing their own marital breakups, a business going bust, dealing with bouts of depression, one on the verge of suicide. A woman then broke down and cried as she related how she was assaulted and battered by a boyfriend and ended up in the hospital. Even now she is struggling with trust and intimacy issues in her relationships.
Another, the son of a multi-millionaire, admitted that he had gone to prison because of excessive driving violations. Singapore is rather tough in this area. One of those violations wasn't even his. He was covering for his now ex-wife during a traffic accident, claiming he was driving when she was (and drunk at the time), so she wouldn't accumulate excessive violations herself. He lost his driver's license, and then with less than a week to go, he got caught driving without a license, and because of those additional points, he now had to spend two weeks in prison.
Later, I spoke to his father and he said it was an important lesson for his strong-headed son. He had advised him not to drive without his license and not to marry that woman in the first place; she was trouble and was always getting him into trouble. Since their divorce, he had turned his life around and has his whole future ahead of him.
All of five of us had reached rock bottom in our lives, and the point that I wanted to make by posing the question in the first place, was that, despite those setbacks, or maybe even because of them, because we had been through all that—the shame, the indignity, the frustrations—we were determined to make a success out of our lives. To turn it all around, which each of us gradually did, and found ourselves at the same place having lunch together during a break at this seminar in Singapore.
What personal adversity have you gone through that has in fact made you stronger, more determined to succeed? Are you looking back, focusing on what all went wrong and blaming everyone else, or are you looking ahead to what you can still make right? In life, we're going to have our setbacks, our disappointments—some major, some minor—but it's how we pick ourselves afterward that matters. Life is often a series of two steps forward, one step back. Learn from those 'steps back' and apply that knowledge for your next two steps forward. So long as, at the end of the day, you're determined to keep moving forward, that's all that matters. Just take all of your setbacks in stride and keep focusing on your goals.
That's exactly what I'm doing right now, itching to get back to another novel for another contest and considering other routes to publication to add to the three books I have in the marketplace and a fourth, a translation, on the way. The rules to publishing has changed drastically in the last two years (e-publishing is taking off and bookstores are closing) and it's time to explore these options for my next two steps forward.
March 21, 2011
Libraries, a Wonderful Place to Find Your Own Books!
A friend introduced me to Worldcat.org where you can find books in world libraries, including your own. Just out of curiosity I punched in my name and after eliminating a few others with my name, including one who wrote about mining in several Western states back in the mid-40's, I found some surprises, like Silverfish New Writings 4, that I edited, is in the University of Michigan library and the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. Tropical Affair is in National University of Singapore and as I blogged before in the Expatriate Archive Centre in Holland.The Heinemann Asia version of Lovers and Strangers is in such places as Harvard, Yale, Cornel, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ohio University, as well as in two branches of the British Library. Lovers and Strangers Revisited is in some of those same places, plus UCLA, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Columbia University, and of course the Library of Congress. So is The Spirit of Malaysia, but since it's new it has yet to make its way to the libraries yet and Trois autres Malaisie.will soon be in French libraries.
But right now I'm picturing some student in Harvard or Yale picking up that old version of Lovers and Strangers Revisited and thinking, wouldn't it be cool to move to some tropical island and write books. -
March 20, 2011
Got Some Writer Envy—Get Some Editing to Improve Your Own Writing!
When I first heard that a certain Malaysian author had great sales with her first book, I felt a twinge of jealously—it's human nature. I was like, wow, how did she do it? Someone mentioned that she's good at online marketing, and I thought, OK, I need to do more of that. She also goes after the media instead of waiting for the media come to her. Ok, I should do more of this too. Then she did something that really caught my attention. She contacted me to help edit her next book. That's what successful writers do; they seek out those in the position to help them.
That's exactly what I did when I first began to write, I hired an editor to point out all of my mistakes in the short stories that I was writing, not knowing that I was even making any mistakes! To be honest, I was looking for validation. Brilliant—don't change a word! I learned an awful lot and realized I had an awful lot to learn about writing. Gradually I transformed these early stories, draft after draft, into a collection, Lovers and Strangers (Heinemann Asia 1993)
Twelve years later, I did it again for Lovers and Strangers Revisited when I first revisited my short stories. I approached an editor that I knew and hired her to edit my stories that's already been published several times. Although there were no grammar mistakes or glaring errors, she did point out several areas in each story that needed to be tightened. She questioned details, word choice, trite expressions, and any ineffective writing that needed to be reworked. She pointed me in the right direction, and the rest was up to me.
Basically, I hired a fresh pair of eyes to catch mistakes before I send it to the publisher. Of course, the publisher will assign you an editor, but mostly they'll catch mistakes that somehow got through (usually from last minutes corrections that created new mistakes), but some errors (and a lot of bad, lazy writing) still end up in print! Did it pay off? Lovers and Strangers Revisited did win an award and it is now getting translated into French.
Yes, editing does cost money, but consider it as a writer's business expense and as an investment, as I did. You're investing in not only yourself as a writer, you're investing in your own education, so long as you take the time to learn from your editing mistakes and the editor's comments. This way you'll be more aware and less likely to make similar mistakes in the future. You'll also learn how to make your writing more effective.
Like other editors, I offer a basic line-editing service, catching any and all grammar mistakes and other related errors (for years I taught advance grammar to English teachers at USM, and also line-edited my writing students' work). Unlike academics, I offer an advance editing service that takes you into the mind of a published author and creative writing instructor, adding insights into your writing, whereby your word choices, your turn of phrases, and your writing style does matter if you really want to be successful as a writer, but so does your organization, your transitions, your point-of-view, and your underlying logic, especially in fiction and creative non-fiction (memoirs). Is it plausible, believable, or is your story full of holes?
After I edited two sample chapters, this already successful author replied, "You're so super efficient! I love the way you gave me details about why certain phrases didn't work. Very thorough work in such short time. A Perfect teacher! Thanks a lot Robert! Really appreciate the care and time you had given to my work :)" Notice the smiley icon that she added. That made me smile, too. This is exactly why this writer is so successful; she not only knows how to write and market her work, she's not afraid to ask for a fresh pair of editing eyes and even shows appreciation!
And this is after I caught her making some silly and couple of glaring non-grammatical mistakes that we all tend to make when writing in a hurry. She wasn't angry or embarrassed. Maybe a little, but if the mistakes are there it's far better that I (or another editor) catch them than thousands of your readers! More importantly, she's willing to learn how to write better so her future books will continue to be best sellers. That's rather admirable, don't you think? Cool, too!
And yes, I'm still a little envious of her sales, but having gotten to know her and working with her, I feel she thoroughly deserves it. She's also going places with her writing, and I find that very exciting and am glad to be a part of it. This is someone who is seriously trying to break out of the Malaysian market from inside Malaysia. Some of her books have already been translated into other languages.
Being jealous or envious of other writers won't get you very far in your writing life, unless you use that as your motivator to write better (and more often). Bottom line: if you want to be as successful as other writers, do what successful writers do. A good place to start is to get some serious help with your editing to lift your writing (and your education as a writer) to a higher standard, so you'll become that best-selling, award-winning writer that will be the envy of everyone else, myself included. Good luck. -Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer[image error]
That's exactly what I did when I first began to write, I hired an editor to point out all of my mistakes in the short stories that I was writing, not knowing that I was even making any mistakes! To be honest, I was looking for validation. Brilliant—don't change a word! I learned an awful lot and realized I had an awful lot to learn about writing. Gradually I transformed these early stories, draft after draft, into a collection, Lovers and Strangers (Heinemann Asia 1993)
Twelve years later, I did it again for Lovers and Strangers Revisited when I first revisited my short stories. I approached an editor that I knew and hired her to edit my stories that's already been published several times. Although there were no grammar mistakes or glaring errors, she did point out several areas in each story that needed to be tightened. She questioned details, word choice, trite expressions, and any ineffective writing that needed to be reworked. She pointed me in the right direction, and the rest was up to me.
Basically, I hired a fresh pair of eyes to catch mistakes before I send it to the publisher. Of course, the publisher will assign you an editor, but mostly they'll catch mistakes that somehow got through (usually from last minutes corrections that created new mistakes), but some errors (and a lot of bad, lazy writing) still end up in print! Did it pay off? Lovers and Strangers Revisited did win an award and it is now getting translated into French.
Yes, editing does cost money, but consider it as a writer's business expense and as an investment, as I did. You're investing in not only yourself as a writer, you're investing in your own education, so long as you take the time to learn from your editing mistakes and the editor's comments. This way you'll be more aware and less likely to make similar mistakes in the future. You'll also learn how to make your writing more effective.
Like other editors, I offer a basic line-editing service, catching any and all grammar mistakes and other related errors (for years I taught advance grammar to English teachers at USM, and also line-edited my writing students' work). Unlike academics, I offer an advance editing service that takes you into the mind of a published author and creative writing instructor, adding insights into your writing, whereby your word choices, your turn of phrases, and your writing style does matter if you really want to be successful as a writer, but so does your organization, your transitions, your point-of-view, and your underlying logic, especially in fiction and creative non-fiction (memoirs). Is it plausible, believable, or is your story full of holes?
After I edited two sample chapters, this already successful author replied, "You're so super efficient! I love the way you gave me details about why certain phrases didn't work. Very thorough work in such short time. A Perfect teacher! Thanks a lot Robert! Really appreciate the care and time you had given to my work :)" Notice the smiley icon that she added. That made me smile, too. This is exactly why this writer is so successful; she not only knows how to write and market her work, she's not afraid to ask for a fresh pair of editing eyes and even shows appreciation!
And this is after I caught her making some silly and couple of glaring non-grammatical mistakes that we all tend to make when writing in a hurry. She wasn't angry or embarrassed. Maybe a little, but if the mistakes are there it's far better that I (or another editor) catch them than thousands of your readers! More importantly, she's willing to learn how to write better so her future books will continue to be best sellers. That's rather admirable, don't you think? Cool, too!
And yes, I'm still a little envious of her sales, but having gotten to know her and working with her, I feel she thoroughly deserves it. She's also going places with her writing, and I find that very exciting and am glad to be a part of it. This is someone who is seriously trying to break out of the Malaysian market from inside Malaysia. Some of her books have already been translated into other languages.
Being jealous or envious of other writers won't get you very far in your writing life, unless you use that as your motivator to write better (and more often). Bottom line: if you want to be as successful as other writers, do what successful writers do. A good place to start is to get some serious help with your editing to lift your writing (and your education as a writer) to a higher standard, so you'll become that best-selling, award-winning writer that will be the envy of everyone else, myself included. Good luck. -Robert Raymer, Borneo Expat Writer[image error]
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