As some of you would know, Goody Books’ office lease agreement ended and so we have to move to another office. As I was packing my stuff, I came across ring files that contained the direct orders in 2005. Do you know that in 2005 and 2006, I had to meet up with customers in MRT Stations to pass them the books? They were good memories!

When I just started my writing career, there was only one option for my customers then—meet-up. They had read my story online and wanted to purchase the physical copy that I printed myself. I will never forget the day when I met my first customer in Somerset MRT Station. Her name is Yan Fei (or Yen Fei?). I SMSed her that I was there, and took many deep breaths as I waited at the back of the MRT Station (somewhere near Singapore Power building?). When I saw a lady about my age (I was 19 then) approaching me, I said, “Hello! You’re Yan Fei (Yen Fei)?”

She nodded. She took out cash and I, being new to authorship, took out a pen and signed on the first page of the book (seriously, now I am still wondering if she had wanted the book to be autographed or not!). She passed me the money and I passed her the book. She then went off without any word. My heart was beating so fast that I forgot to ask her what she thought of the book.

During that time, Jurong Point had a library at the top level. I SMSed my second customer when I was in the train. She told me she was in the library—near the fiction shelves, and  she was wearing black. I actually spotted her first; she did not leave the fiction shelves area whereas others in black merely flitted through the area. But I decided to hold my book and walk around there, as if I was looking for someone. She approached me. As we were in the library, we exchanged less than three sentences. She paid, I passed her the book and I hurried out of the library. I can’t remember her name—I just know it starts with S.

And so, as more orders came, I created a system. Everyday, I would go to about four to five MRT Stations, as my polytechnic concession pass allowed only up to four trips per day. I was so used to meeting customers that all it took was a look and I would know which person was my customer. I had templates in my Nokia handphone then, and one hour before the meet-up time, I would send the template. I spoke like a robot when I approached them. I could memorize the positions of all the MRT Stations in the green (EW) and red (NS) line. Sometimes (actually, quite often lah!), the customers would be late. Sometimes, they would ask for a lower price. Nevertheless, what matters is that they like the book!

Today, of course, I no longer need to meet customers in MRT Stations. They can conveniently purchase my latest book, For That Day ( http://www.goodybooks.com/forthatday.htm ) from bookstores. I wonder how these customers are now—do they still remember me? Well, I still remember some of them. Jing Jin (or Jin Jing?) is a small quiet girl who lives in Toa Payoh and brings exact amount. Apple (or Angel?) is two heads shorter than me, works near City Hall MRT Station and tends to bend her knees as she searches for money in her purse. Augustine lives near Chinese Garden MRT Station, studied at NTU then and is a lean and friendly guy. There are thousands more!

Without these readers, I would not be able to write full-time. I may have worked very hard in the last six years, but without them to give me the push (while parting their money for the first print of the books which have really ugly covers), I might not have taken the first step. In fact, up till today, whenever a new book is published, I will still receive SMS from some of them, requesting to meet up in MRT Stations. Unfortunately, I have to reject them as it is too time-consuming.

Therefore, this post is for them. Thank you for fulfilling my dreams. Without you guys, I can’t spend my waking hours doing what I love! If you are one of these readers (in our database, many of them just left their HP numbers), please feel free to email me at lowkayhwa85@gmail.com and tell me if you still remember our meet-up!

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Recently, I was invited to be a judge for a creative writing competition in a secondary school. Without prior permission from them, I will not disclose what school is that. Anyway, as I read the top entries, I was pleasantly impressed with the quality of the entries.

However, one aspect struck me, and that inspired me to write this blog entry. It was a creative writing competition; however, a few entries were written like a GP essay. Though I have never taken A-level before, my degree course requires me to write essays somewhat like GP essays and I am currently helping a junior college student with her GP since the beginning of this year. Despite these entries being written with good arguments and evidence, I could not give more points. Instead, I emphasize a lot on creativity.

As the school has an Integrated Programme, the students might have been trained in writing GP essays. That comprises extensive general knowledge, concise writing and good reasoning. However, I have to take into consideration that the emphasis is about creative writing. Creative writing is all about thinking out of the box; it is about using imagery to conjure a picture, instead of using several denotative adjectives. For example, one of the entries uses two stories to portray her point: one a child and one a mother. Instead of conventionally using “he” as a pronoun for the child, the writer uses “it”—suggesting that the narrator (in that case, God) is no longer seeing the child as a human. That entry got my vote. This, my readers, is creativity.

My main interest is in creative writing. Once, a school counsellor sought advice from me about writing a self-help book on dealing with difficult situations. I told him that though I am a full-time writer, my interest is not in non-fiction writing. It is creative writing. I don’t know if he was perplexed; nevertheless, it is inevitable that people have this misconception: “If you can write a 60,000-word novel, you can write a 60,000-word self-help book too.”

Of course, in whatever we do, we don’t usually write creatively (unless you’re a novelist like me!). Instead, we use write formally. In my current school (I’m doing my English Language and Literature degree on a part-time basis now), we have to write many formal essays. Ironically, we have to analyse creative writing, like novels or poems, and complete many concise essays about it.

Most of us have to, in one way or another, learn how to write formally. You cannot use figurative language to compose a report for your boss. Nor can you start a sentence with “but” or “and”, because English teachers or people who believe in prescriptive English will baulk at you for starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction.

Therefore, there is a distinct difference between creative writing and normal, formal writing. A writer’s forte can be both, or just one of them. For me, as a full-time novelist, my interest is in creative writing. So asking me to write a self-help book is like asking a chef to do auditing!

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Hi,

I have good news for readers who could not find For That Day ( http://www.goodybooks.com/forthatday.htm ) in bookstores as it was out of stock: Most bookstores have restocked. Go ahead and get the book before it runs out of stock again!

Responses from readers for the book have been generally positive. We have made another delivery of For That Day on 30 June 2011 to our distributor as they nearly ran out of stock (bookstores made bulk orders!). They told me that many readers and some bookstores are requesting us to put my previous titles in bookstores as well. I had a long meeting with the directors of my distributor. Despite a strong demand, I will not put my previous titles ( Book 1 to 8 ) in bookstores. Why, you may ask.

Firstly, over 33,000 copies of my previous titles have been sold. That being said, should the titles be in bookstores, it may not sell well as a new title. People have already got the books. Secondly, I am a perfectionist: If my book is going to be in bookstores, I expect it to sell well. Thirdly, according to our business plan, we intend to sell only new titles (i.e. from For That Day onwards) via bookstores. This is planned a long time ago; changing the plan will require us to do a lot of homework.

Therefore, to conclude, only new titles will be sold via bookstores. Old titles will be sold only online and retail boxes. Have I made the correct decision?

I remember that many times, I asked myself this question. Have I made the correct decision? Some of my friends, when seeking advice from me, will also pose that question to me. I will say, If we have the ability to know whether we have made the correct decision, then where’s the challenge in making decisions? Life is a matter of little choices we make daily. If we know the results of our actions, we will forget how regret feels. Isn’t negative emotion like regret, guilt or depression building blocks of our continuous learning journey?

So, let me reiterate the point: Only the latest titles (from For That Day onwards) will be sold via bookstores. It’s a decision I made, and let’s see if I will regret my decision!

Anyway, for an updated list of POPULAR Bookstores, please go to https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/main_page/store_location.jsp . I have readers telling me that they couldn’t find the branch in Jurong East MRT Station or West Mall; there is no longer a POPULAR branch in Jurong East MRT Station, and West Mall POPULAR is no longer operating from July 2011 onwards! And do remember to send a picture of the For That Day you have purchased and the receipt to info@goodybooks.com before 18 July 2011 to get a free book cover jacket ( http://www.lowkayhwa.com/?p=471 ) !