I am looking for some advice on where in S.E.ASIA, or indeed wherever, to get my book published. I have a novel, 85% complete, about the three days of rioting (something I witnessed personally) in Jakarta in 1998 which lead to the overthrow of Suharto. The novel also looks at Indonesian life and attitudes and has to touch on the politics of course.
Now, before all the trolls jump in, this novel was not written from the safety of an armchair thousands of miles away in England. I spent the mid-nineties backpacking around Asia, then settled down, got married, and lived and taught in Jakarta for twenty years. I have spent the last three years here in Cambodia. I have only spent six weeks back in Europe in that time, so you can rest assured that this novel was written from experience, not speculation or assumption.
So if anyone has some advice about a publisher, or my next move, it would be most welcome.
I was thinking of including a short extract here to maybe wet some whistles, but I will wait and see what the reaction to this post is.
Thanks.

I would not bother with the conventional publishing route and self publish on Amazon.

I'm all for you posting one or several extracts here on CEO for a taste.

I don't know any publishers, but as a suggestion, the guy mentioned here from Saraswati Publishing may be able to help you, or at least point you in the right direction: cambodian-culture-and-language/new-book ... ng#p182574

Good luck with your book.

bobsboots wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:00 pm I am looking for some advice on where in S.E.ASIA, or indeed wherever, to get my book published. I have a novel, 85% complete, about the three days of rioting (something I witnessed personally) in Jakarta in 1998 which lead to the overthrow of Suharto. The novel also looks at Indonesian life and attitudes and has to touch on the politics of course.
Now, before all the trolls jump in, this novel was not written from the safety of an armchair thousands of miles away in England. I spent the mid-nineties backpacking around Asia, then settled down, got married, and lived and taught in Jakarta for twenty years. I have spent the last three years here in Cambodia. I have only spent six weeks back in Europe in that time, so you can rest assured that this novel was written from experience, not speculation or assumption.
So if anyone has some advice about a publisher, or my next move, it would be most welcome.
I was thinking of including a short extract here to maybe wet some whistles, but I will wait and see what the reaction to this post is.
Thanks.

Sounds great , I like that kind of thing. No idea where you could try but networking, google search may work. There was a Thai book about the 1976 demonstrations, something about rain, perhaps that publisher.

Rice without rain, Minfong Ho

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:34 pm Prehaps Cinnamoncat can help ya, she is a member here, cinnamoncat-u7602.html and she published a book on Cambodia recently.

Asia books in Bangkok sometimes publishes unknown writers, also Silkworm Books in Chiang Mai ...there also other publishers there.
good luck

Thanks

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:38 pm I'm all for you posting one or several extracts here on CEO for a taste.

I don't know any publishers, but as a suggestion, the guy mentioned here from Saraswati Publishing may be able to help you, or at least point you in the right direction: cambodian-culture-and-language/new-book ... ng#p182574

Good luck with your book.

Well. Since you asked Anchor Moy, here you go…….

THURSDAY MAY 14TH

AROUND MIDDAY.


It was a macabre carnival. On one side, the performers, all young, improvising their way through a scene on a stage that was unfamiliar to them. Joe could see no one above thirty in their cast. They screamed, smashed and burnt their way down the street, most not knowing why. On the other side was the audience, witnesses to a new show that they could never have imagined. The mothers and fathers, the grandparents, the children. They watched the free performance, bemused, but moved. They applauded the smashing of a window. The burning of a car brought out cheers. Some paused and brought food from the passing vendours, sate, bakso and fried rice. The street vendors with their portable kitchens had never had it so good. All the small eating places that lined the street were boarded up, some had been smashed up, so the vendours made the most of the unprecedented crowds that milled around. The larger restaurants, ones that the audience could never afford to enter, were particular favourites. They watched as the performers smashed anything that could be broken, steal anything that had the slightest value, and pass out food from the kitchen. The audience sat on walls, some even in the middle of the road; traffic had long since departed this scene, and ate and watched the show. It was as animated, colourful and intoxicating as any street scene in Asia, but for all the wrong reasons..
Joe and Desi had left the house, and walked the one-hundred metres down to the main road. Even when he had only made it halfway there, he could that sound, the sound of Jakarta today, and he knew he wouldn’t like what he was he was about to see when he arrived at the main road..
To his right, two-hundred metres away,he could see, hear, and smell the fire in the Mata Hari mall, A huge column of smoke seemed to block out the blue sky. About a hundred metres down the road to his left, in the direction of Phil’s house, four cars had been grouped together and set on fire. Crowds spilled across the road and even from this distance they made an evil sound. Selected buildings had become competitions to see who could break the highest window. Some stones missed and dropped down again, causing the mob below to retreat, then rush back again like an angry, determined wave
Joe felt an arm wrap itself around his elbow. It squeezed him closer. It was Desi. He looked back down the lane to the kost they had just walked from.
Silence. Nothing happening. An eerie contrast to the scenes on Jalan Suharjo..
Decision time.
Stay here in this area where many buildings were on fire, or head to Phil’s complex, only four kilometres south from here, where all entrances were manned by security guards.
Yeah right, usually two middle aged slobs in uniform carrying a white night stick and an army issue knife. That’ll really scare these mobs away.
He remembered Phil mentioning the vigilante groups now guarding his area.
“Joe?” Desi looked up, anxious for his decision.
He watched the faces of the rioters; saw their passion, their focus. He felt sure that here they would have no need to enter the back lanes. There were no Chinese, no Suharto assets to loot, but this was a full scale riot now, and the nearby shopping mall was now a towering five floor fire, so you could never be sure.
Anarchy is a beast that knows no borders, has no compassion except for its own cause. And no one seemed to be guarding the back lanes here.

Khmu Nation wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:25 pm I would not bother with the conventional publishing route and self publish on Amazon.

May I ask why ?
Doesn’t publishing on Amazon mean that your book just becomes an online book?
I would prefer to avoid that.
Old school, if you know what I mean.

It doesn't matter if you self publish or go the old school way,
you are not a REAL writer until you have bee republished by the photocopy mills at the Russian Market.


( or on CEO - thanks for the extract Bobsyouruncle, 4am and i am just about to make a second cup of coffee, put my feet up and tuck into a bit of gritty downtown Jakarta. Fab!)