Yesterday I was notified by Matahari Books, a local book publisher, that "he or she" had banked in a payment into my personal account. Nothing sinister here, I can promise you.
Before the money trail goes cold, let me explain. The money from Matahari was, to use the language of the lawyers, a consideration for having my two stories published in their upcoming book "The Asrama Anthology", a compendium of hostel happenings. The book has been slated for launching on 4 August. If you're still uneasy or in doubt, let me assure you that it is a real, bona fide book with ISBN code and all, and will be available at all serious bookstores. Buying this book will go down as your best decision this year, better than booting out BN.
My two period pieces in the anthology hark back to the early 70's. That long ago. Hostel life those days began with rickety railwagons dropping us off at railway stations. Remember that dark and disturbing train scene from the Nazi flick "Schindler's List"? And the wardens? Hostel life today begins with overpaid GLC executives in overpriced Mercedes dropping off their overweight boys toting iPhone X and debit cards. Get the book now.
I'm not going to tell you how much I'm paid for the stories. But I can confirm it's not one million ringgit and it's not important. I'm happy enough that my work will be jostling for shelf space with Coelho and Murakami at Kinokuniya.
So I'm a published author now, just like J K Rowling, who's also a published author, in case you didn't realize it. In fact Rowling and I have a lot more in common (well, you don't have to believe all this).
Rowling writes in English. I also write in English. Admittedly not as good, but, technically, English. I mean English words and sentences and expletives. She studied in an English school, probably because there were no Chinese schools in England. I also went to an English school at Tiger Lane (very English name, you see) in Ipoh. Rowling and I both did Sixth Form and A Levels (mine called HSC), but different years, of course. We both failed to get into Oxford for our degree. She applied but was rejected, I didn't bother. What else? Yes, our works were first published when we were unemployed. She was on welfare benefits, I was bleeding my EPF, well, not really similar, but so close.
She's now a billionaire. That's where and how the similarity ends. She has so far sold 500 million copies, plus another 500 million in print, and another 500 million Chinese knock-offs in circulation. Her Harry Porter character gripped the literary world and created its very own genre. Thanks to Rowling's flights of fantasy, nobody read stressful and silly spy stuff "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" anymore (I hope I've got the sequence right).
I'm just starting up and I'm not sure how many copies of the Asrama Anthology will sell. Probably one or two thousand with a bit of marketing, like what I'm doing now. Malaysians generally don't read. The habit is declining, or maybe shifting, I don't know. With the new government people have stopped reading altogether. They're busy tracking the first 100 days.
The veteran journalist Datuk Kadir Jasin recently suggested that the longer you write, the less people will read you. What a pity. When I read Agatha Christie forty years ago I didn't want it to end. The days of lugging thick tomes at airports are certainly over. Reading is tough because you've to think, feel and, maybe, do something nice. It takes a bit of your precious time, not to mention your ego. Whats App and Instagram are a lot easier.
So, at this rate, what lies ahead? Will I get to be a billionaire anytime soon? Hahaha. Not in this world. Jho Low is a billionaire and bloated, and I bet he wouldn't mind trading places with me now. I'd be happy just to continue rambling on like this, and occassionally get published and paid a penny.
The trick is to write short. Like this one.
My two period pieces in the anthology hark back to the early 70's. That long ago. Hostel life those days began with rickety railwagons dropping us off at railway stations. Remember that dark and disturbing train scene from the Nazi flick "Schindler's List"? And the wardens? Hostel life today begins with overpaid GLC executives in overpriced Mercedes dropping off their overweight boys toting iPhone X and debit cards. Get the book now.
I'm not going to tell you how much I'm paid for the stories. But I can confirm it's not one million ringgit and it's not important. I'm happy enough that my work will be jostling for shelf space with Coelho and Murakami at Kinokuniya.
So I'm a published author now, just like J K Rowling, who's also a published author, in case you didn't realize it. In fact Rowling and I have a lot more in common (well, you don't have to believe all this).
Rowling writes in English. I also write in English. Admittedly not as good, but, technically, English. I mean English words and sentences and expletives. She studied in an English school, probably because there were no Chinese schools in England. I also went to an English school at Tiger Lane (very English name, you see) in Ipoh. Rowling and I both did Sixth Form and A Levels (mine called HSC), but different years, of course. We both failed to get into Oxford for our degree. She applied but was rejected, I didn't bother. What else? Yes, our works were first published when we were unemployed. She was on welfare benefits, I was bleeding my EPF, well, not really similar, but so close.
She's now a billionaire. That's where and how the similarity ends. She has so far sold 500 million copies, plus another 500 million in print, and another 500 million Chinese knock-offs in circulation. Her Harry Porter character gripped the literary world and created its very own genre. Thanks to Rowling's flights of fantasy, nobody read stressful and silly spy stuff "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" anymore (I hope I've got the sequence right).
I'm just starting up and I'm not sure how many copies of the Asrama Anthology will sell. Probably one or two thousand with a bit of marketing, like what I'm doing now. Malaysians generally don't read. The habit is declining, or maybe shifting, I don't know. With the new government people have stopped reading altogether. They're busy tracking the first 100 days.
The veteran journalist Datuk Kadir Jasin recently suggested that the longer you write, the less people will read you. What a pity. When I read Agatha Christie forty years ago I didn't want it to end. The days of lugging thick tomes at airports are certainly over. Reading is tough because you've to think, feel and, maybe, do something nice. It takes a bit of your precious time, not to mention your ego. Whats App and Instagram are a lot easier.
So, at this rate, what lies ahead? Will I get to be a billionaire anytime soon? Hahaha. Not in this world. Jho Low is a billionaire and bloated, and I bet he wouldn't mind trading places with me now. I'd be happy just to continue rambling on like this, and occassionally get published and paid a penny.
The trick is to write short. Like this one.
