Category Archives: Fun Facts
Life After Publication, Tips
Most writers have issues coming to terms with the full extent of what happens after their book is published—at least, for those who are new in the business. Well, at the risk of deflating your hopes, the first thing to remember is that writing is a business. It is a creative endeavor, sure; but if you want to live off it, then you have to accept the fact that writing, much like any other means of living, is an enterprise. And it’s OK. There’s no need for you to be nervous. Soon enough, you’ll find that the publishing side of things is quite simple.
My second collection is about to turn a month old this coming week; but if I have learned anything about book publishing (both as a self-published and published author) it’s that you need to BELIEVE in your work. The rest is … well, marketing.
Below are 10 steps which I have discovered to be crucial in the event of promoting or marketing your book after it’s published. And these steps apply to those of you who are both published by other houses or your own.
- Get A Publicist – if no one is assigned to you, then you need to go get one. A publicist can be your best friend, your sister, your brother, your mother, your father, your cousin, your nextdoor neighbor, or someone you hire professionally. What they do is put things in perspective for you. This is your go-to person. Someone who can represent you, your book, and everything in between.
- Prepare A Press Kit – this usually comes in the form of a folder/envelope that contains one-pager of everything: bio, q+a list, synopsis, early reviews, and whatever you want the press to get a whiff of. Be creative.
- Create A Website – the first thing readers usually do after reading a particular book is find out more about the author. In the old days, authors like to hide in remote places away from their readers. Today, this is the equivalent of career suicide. Unless, you’re one of the brilliant ones who can write a recipe of your grandmother’s favorite meal and still sell it for millions of copies. So, put yourself out there. Let readers reach out to you. Be sure to thank them for their patronage.
- Plan A Launching – if your publisher is kind enough to set up a book launching for you, you still have to get involved in the planning. You need to at least approve of the following: venue, seating, number of guests, and (if it’s an option) F&B menu.
- List Your Media – together with your publicist come up with a list of media people who may be interested in generating the buzz for you and your book. Your publisher will probably have their own list; but it’s always good to have a back-up list that you have access to.
- Direct Communication – writers are great communicators … on paper. This isn’t the time to sit and observe; you need to raise your voice and get things done. Communicate with the people who are helping you market the book, and do it often. Confirm and reconfirm on the important details.
- Don’t Be Extravagant – if you’re a new author, go for the simplest, most effective, and less costly option to market your book. If you’re a self-published author, you wouldn’t want to lose money before you make money; and if someone is publishing your book, they would prefer to stay on the safe side of things. So: simple, effective, less costly. Elegance isn’t always expensive. Again, be creative.
- Be Social – this isn’t the time for you to sit at your desk. Once your book is published, you have to get the word out and, you know, mingle. Whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, or at a friend’s party … get the word out without being obnoxious about it. Introduce yourself, shake hands with people, tell them your latest achievement, and be proud about it. Your book is only as good as you think it is.
- Sum Up Your Work – people will ask you what your book is about and what you wish to get out of it. Prepare your answer. Memorize it. Stay consistent. It’s important for an author to build his or her credibility in order for the book to have its own credibility.
- Get Help – don’t be shy about it. Marketing a book isn’t an easy job. Even if your publisher is sending out a troop to do the job; you still have to do some legwork of your own. So get your friends and family to help you out. Trust me, they’ll be more than happy to help. All you have to do is ask.
Now, Have FUN. This is the experience of a lifetime. Try to have fun. You can afford a laugh, a smile, a hug, a certain kind of pride. I wish you a best-selling career!
Movie Dirty Dozen (Blogfest)
I’m late. I’m always late. But here’s my Dirty Dozen list.
For as long as I can remember my life has been largely moved and inspired by books, films, and music. So far, it has also been rather impossible for me to narrow down a specific list of such books, films, and music which I consider to be the most influential in my life. But in light of this blogfest, I will try to narrow down a dozen of the ultimate films I can never get enough of, and which I have watched—religiously—for more than five times. They are:
- BIG – I saw this movie for the first time when I was in my early teens, and I remember sharing Tom Hanks’ character’s curiosity towards what adult life is all about. I also remember thinking how cool it was to be able to taste adulthood, its perks and fanciful dreams, only to be convinced, at the end of the film, that everything has its own time and pace – and no matter how much you want something, you have to wait until you are ready for it. Since then, I’ve been watching this film at least once a year. And every time I see it, the sentiment changes, because I grow older, and so I share different parts of the film than I had, let’s say, when I was twelve. However, each time it enlightens.
- THE PAPER – Among many other things, when I was younger I had a dream of becoming a journalist. This film, in a funtastic way, confirmed that dream. So I became a journalist, even though as I got older my preference is to first become a writer, then a journalist. Now I am a little bit of both: and looking back at the dream I used to have through this film is somewhat of an irony. Nevertheless, rest assured, Ron Howard’s ambitious take on the business of running a newspaper plays a significant role in the shaping of my current career.
- BOYS DON’T CRY – I first fell in love with the true crime novel by Aphrodite Jones, titled “All She Wanted”; not in the way I have fallen in love with books of literary merit, but in the way that I sympathize with the characters in the book, and the unfortunate way that their lives unraveled. It is the first and only crime novel I have ever read. It’s so powerful that when the movie came out, I had to see it. And it just got even more powerful. It taught me that people, regardless of their sexual preference, are people nonetheless. And humanity shouldn’t come with conditional precursors.
- A FEW GOOD MEN – This is the first work of Aaron Sorkin that gave me an inkling of how talented he is (which led to my obsession with West Wing). More than anything, this film taught me the many different ways a writer can change its audience’s life by creating thought-provoking dialogue and challenging issues.
- BACK TO THE FUTURE – Though I love the trilogy, I can never have enough of the second installment. It’s the future! I am a sucker for time-traveling fiction…and this one definitely takes the cake.
- NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Patrick Marber is a crazy playwright with an acute ear and brilliant sense of pace for honest, raw, and explosive dialogue heavily ridden with true emotions. I think that says enough about why I love this film so much.
- THE GOOD GIRL – I grew up watching Friends and many other popular series of the same quality and genre. Like many other girls, I fell in love with Rachel’s quirky attitude. More than any other actress in the history of popular sitcoms, I think Jennifer Aniston nailed her role here dead-on. I did not recognize her Rachel-ness, if you will, and that is a great feat as an actress. Plus, Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant in there.
- 500 DAYS of SUMMER – A fairly new indie movie. It’s funny, heart-breaking, and inspiring at the same time. Those are three things you rarely find in a single movie. And even if you do find them, they rarely work as well as they do in this film.
- FINDING NEMO – In a time of overstocked cartoon animations, of Disney-esque happily-ever-afters, one of Pixar’s earlier films is a charming and very inspiring adventure. This film, I believe, started what Wizard of Oz did back in the 1930s. A new era? Something like that. Something big and powerful. The world has not been the same since.
- L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOL – A friend recommended this film to me because we share a very important experience with the film’s protagonist: roaming strange lands and turning it into a home for a while. A lot of what is said in the film is very true to the spirit of finding comfort outside of one’s home country. Suffice to say, it is a profound film that speaks to many people in my generation.
- ADA APA DENGAN CINTA – One of the most well-executed Indonesian films to come to the surface following the decades of what many perceived as the death of Indonesian cinema. The film is nothing extravagant, but the fact that it managed to override the jinx that had for at least 20 years plagued the industry … it’s worthy of a place here.
- SIX FEET UNDER – I realize that this is not a movie so much as an HBO series. But it should be made into a movie, and it contains within its brilliant storyline and dramatic arc something that not only resembles a movie, but bigger than any movie-making technique can achieve. If you don’t believe me, you should give it a lookie. Try the pilot episode. Try the whole season. It’s worth every soundbyte and more.
Long Bio(graphy)
* Note: If you’re from the media and would like to read the official biography, please go here.
Maggie Tiojakin is born in Jakarta in 1980. When she was eight, she had a dream to one day become a lawyer, because they look incredibly cool cross-examing witnesses and screaming the word “Objection!” without wincing. Then, she realized that the cool part only existed on TV, and that it wasn’t law that attracted her so much as it was L.A. Law. In those days, she spent much of her time glued to the family TV, enjoying American shows, and getting pretty chummy with her TV set when ‘Saved By The Bell’ was on. By the age of 10, Maggie had already become a cult follower of pop-slash-American culture; although she was equally intrigued by Japanese programs. In particular, Goggle V and Doraemon.
Growing up with an older brother gave Maggie little opportunity to play with dolls, or to play chef. She and her brother loved to play with little figures and figurines of characters they regularly watched on TV. They built ships out of cardboard boxes, styrofoam cases, and each figure/figurine would have a name and storyline. It was Maggie’s first taste of creating a world of fiction.
The first film she fell in love with was Ghost (1990) starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Though, she could care less about the scene where Demi Moore is molding clay. The first TV series she fell in love with was Beverly Hills 90210—and the first Hollywood man to ever capture her heart was Luke Perry. Moreover, the first books she ever read, translated into Bahasa, were by Enid Blyton. And the first teen (book) series she couldn’t get enough of was Girl Talk, translated into Bahasa by Zara Zettira. Nevertheless, the first books (in English) she ever truly loved were the first ten books by Danielle Steel. And the first book that inspired her to write was—get ready for it—John Grisham’s A Time To Kill.
Speaking of firsts, the first time she wrote semi-serious fiction was at the age of 14, four notebooks filled with stories of ‘what if’s’ as requested by friends who had dreamed of marrying stars like Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, or Keanu Reeves. And Maggie first became a published author a year later, at the age of 15, when two of her short stories were published in two consecutive editions at a national teen magazine, Anita Cemerlang. Her first paycheck was IDR 90,000 (US$9)—and she spent it treating her father to lunch at Wendy’s.
Her most favorite thing to do in high school was hang out with her best friends. She dreamed to one day write about her life with them alá Sisterhood of Traveling Pants.
The first novel she ever wrote was at the age of 16, titled NIBOR, which is the opposite of ROBIN, who is the main character in a story about love, deception, and murder (written in Bahasa). The novel came to over 700 pages, typed in WordStar67, divided into 48 chapters. She doesn’t know where that manuscript is now. The second novel she ever wrote was at the age of 18, titled EASTERN ROCK (Karang Timur), which is about love and forgiveness (also in Bahasa). This one came to over 450 pages, typed in Microsoft Word, divided into 40 chapters. She still has the manuscript.
She thought she’d never write another novel, because she fell in love with the short stories. But in 2011 she published Winter Dreams, her first novel; and is currently at work on her second book and story collection (whichever comes first). Ha!
At the age of 20, Maggie left Indonesia to experience life abroad, independently. She chose Boston because she loved New York City but was too afraid to live there. She figured it was best for her to be able to access New York City without actually having to live in it. She would have probably survived NYC, but she wouldn’t trade the six years she spent in Boston for anything in the world.
Six years isn’t a long time, but it was enough to make her feel at home in Beantown. There was something about living in America that made the dream of America a little less glamorous, yet a whole lot more profound. Six years isn’t a long time, but Maggie grew the most during that period than any other time in her life. It was also during this particular period that she decided to experience (many of them for the first time) musical theatre, new media editing, soliciting short stories, niche marketing for children’s books, selling ‘wacky’ objects, becoming a left-hand specialist (though she isn’t left-handed), and sleeping on a couch for three months. It was in this world that she discovered beautiful friendship(s) and lost parts of herself she would never get back. But that is what living is all about, so in that sense she did achieve her goal.
At the age of 26, Maggie returned to her hometown and rebuilt her sense of culture. She discovered the city she had spent the first 20 years of her life living in had changed so little and yet so much; and she also discovered new friends.
Throughout all this, she has been writing. Dreaming. More writing. More dreaming.
In June 2006, Maggie self-published her debut collection under the flagship of Mathe Publications, titled Homecoming (and other stories). The book was well received; however, it had a limited distribution. In 2007, she translated Jason F. Wright’s Wednesday’s Letter for Gagas Media. In 2008, she published a film-adaptation novel Claudia/Jasmine based on Awi Suryadi’s screenplay. In 2010, her second collection, Balada Ching-Ching, will be published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
And in the midst of all that she has also been editing, writing, and proofing numerous other writing(s).
Though technically she has spent over 15 years writing, Maggie had always been hesitant about claiming herself as a writer until recently. It seems to be a very prestigious profession she has no right to be a part of. But maybe she is learning to embrace it. Or as a mentor used to tell her, “If you don’t believe in it, no one else will.”
She currently lives in Jakarta, Indonesia.
