Indie
Spotlight is our monthly column on
self-publishing. Here, Raelee Chapman talks to prolific indie author Professor Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, from the Cultural
Centre, University of Malaya
Professor Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof used Partridge Publishing Singapore, an
imprint of Author Solutions LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, to publish two
works on culture/theatre and three creative literary works in 2014 alone. I
asked him about his play The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great, and his short
story collection Tok Dalang and Stories of Other Malaysians. Both
express his identity, and his concerns, as a Malaysian writer who writes in
English, and both are must reads for fans and students of Southeast Asian
literature. These works, and all Professor Ghulam-Sawar Yousof’s other titles,
are available from Amazon, and are listed too on the Partridge website.
Please tell me a little
about your short story collection Tok Dalang and Stories of Other Malaysians
and your play The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great.
Tok Dalang and Stories of
Other Malaysians in a collection of nine short stories written over
the years. Each of them is a distinct attempt to get into the “soul” of a
segment of Malaysians. I have focused on minorities such as Tamil Muslims,
Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims, and Indonesians in about half the stories. The stories
have all come from my own personal background as an Indian-Muslim, or
Pakistani, and as an expert in Malay culture and traditional theatre.
The Trial of Hang Tuah the
Great deals with an important Malay hero. It’s a play in
nine scenes that confronts the idea of the hero in Malay/Malaysian society both
in terms of history as well as of recent developments in Malaysia, particularly
since the May 13 1969 race riots. The play combines several highly important Western
theatre techniques of writing and staging that come from the movements
initiated by Grotowsky (Poor Theatre) and Antonin Artaud (Theatre of Cruelty).
In that way this is a ground-breaking piece of dramatic writing. Once again the
inspiration came from local ideas as well developments within Malaysian
society, which in some manner are “confronted” by the play.
What made you choose
Partridge Publishing Singapore to publish your varied works?
Given national policies in
Malaysia, which are extremely restrictive when it comes to support in any
language but Malay, as well as circumstances including attitudes of publishers
who can think in terms of nothing but profits, a Malaysian creative writer in
English has almost no chance to get published in the country. Then, there
is also almost no readership in the country for serious creative writing per
se. This can be easily be gauged from the lack of titles even in the biggest of
bookshops, as well as in the libraries. Much that is written thus remains
unpublished.
Given that I have written
so much, and continue to do so - both academic and literary work - I had no
choice but to self-publish. I have previously published some work with small
publishers. But that brings with it other problems, the most serious being that
of distribution.
I decided on Partridge to
do a book of papers on Malaysian culture and then have gone on to publish four
other volumes, all five within 2014.
Their affiliation with
Random House and Penguin Books gave me a good impression of the company to
start with. I saw two advantages - almost instant publication, as well as good
distribution through the internet and so on. My work became accessible to the rest
of the world. Tok Dalang was all done and on sale within four days on
amazon.com and other online distributors. For that, and my play, responses have
been positive.
How would you describe the
self-publishing process through Partridge from start to finish?
The process is relatively
simple. Once the text is ready a package is picked and work begins. There has
to be some measure of direct involvement on the part of the author. This
involves editing and proof reading, which can be tedious for a non-expert.
Everything takes place through email with minimum direct contact between author
and staff at Partridge. At times this can be unnerving.
What kind of support have
you received to market and distribute the book?
As far as I know Partridge does
not distribute hard copies in Malaysia. So copies are not available in
bookshops. I have found this to be a disadvantage. Partridge expects authors to self-promote their books and even sell them, totally without any
assistance from them. Copies have to be directly ordered from Partridge and
paid for in advance. Booksellers can order direct, but I’m not aware of the
terms and so on. Books take a couple of weeks to arrive. I have found all this
to be a problem. On the whole I do not expect good sales in Malaysia. In some
ways I am not concerned given the attitude I mentioned earlier - the lack of
interest and so on. I am happy if my books reach a world readership.
Would you recommend self-publishing
as a path for other aspiring writers as opposed to the traditional route of
trying to get published through a conventional publishing house?
Yes, I would, given the
situation and circumstance that have been outlined above, in countries like
Malaysia. Things may be different elsewhere, such as in Singapore, where there
is a lively book industry and international exposure for new works. Above and
beyond this I would add, that strictly speaking, I would still prefer academic
writing to be published by established publishers, given all the concern with credibility,
university rankings and so on. The only problem is that established publishers
may take years to get a book out.
What are you currently
writing?
I have several ongoing projects. Right now I am
working on a revised and updated edition of my well-known book, Dictionary
of Traditional Southeast Asia, first published by Oxford University Press
in 1994.
Then there is a volume on the Ramayana characters
in the Kelantan shadow play. Other projects include translations of ghazal
poetry from Urdu to English, and a fun book called One Hundred and One
Things Malay. I also hope to publish another collection of my poetry as
well as another play. There is plenty to come in 2015 and beyond.
Partridge
A representative from
Partridge Publishing Singapore has confirmed they are custom building a
dedicated website for Professor Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, who has five works due
for release in 2015. Partridge provides editing, layout and design, online
distribution, copyright registration, and marketing services to indie authors.
For more information about their self-publishing packages please click here.
Book of the Lunar Year
Please vote in the poll to find Asian Books Blog's Book of the Lunar Year. See here for details. Currently, Bamboo Heart is in the lead, with A Madras Miasma second, and The Book of Sins third, but there is still plenty of time for that to change.
