We received an email
yesterday with the subject, "I am Alvin Tan, the man the media loves
to hate." Yes, the same Alvin Tan who uploaded pictures of himself
and his girlfriend on the internet and got into trouble in Singapore, and the 'buka
puasa' photo, which got him into trouble in Malaysia. (The
email was BCCed to Silverfish Books, so we assume he has sent it to
other publishers as well.) He also sent several links to newspaper
articles about the ... er ... his events, in case we didn't
know who he is. I couldn't help but smile. It seemed like this guy
now wants to make some money out of it all (maybe to pay his legal
costs). The email was about a proposal for a book (yes a proposal, not a manuscript) he wants to write, with chapter headings and links to Facebook notes. I would have normally rejected emails like this outright, because I'm only interested in completed manuscripts. But I decided to look at his Facebook page, because such people are often immensely talented, and I am really not interested in their personal lives, no matter what I think about them. Maybe we'll discover a new literary genius, I thought.
Unfortunately, not. Aiyoh! Our friend is a regular Aunt Agony, lah! His writings are on parenting, self-improvement, media management, social skills, dating, etc. A bit ironic, that. But that's not the reason we sent him a rejection letter. We don't publish self-help, or motivation, or business.
When I told someone about this inquiry I was met with the response,"Why would anyone even consider publishing a book by 'this stupid child'." Why not? Who am I to judge him? Hey, I don't care if he's a porn star if he writes well! As a publisher, our friends often decide what type of books we publish, or don't.
A shopkeeper's life isn't easy either. Our customers like to decide what we should and should not sell. One customer, who came last week, said that he attended one of our events some years ago and left with the impression that Silverfish Books was a 'lefty' hangout! He was appalled at the anti-government rhetoric. "They can only see it from one point of view." Oh boy! I wanted to tell him that not all our events, or customers, are like that, but decided not to say anything. As a shopkeeper, I had to shut up, no matter what, and keep my thoughts to myself. And, let him think I agree.
We have a few customers who do get carried away sometimes, especially at events. They are a minority, but noisy enough to send out wrong signals. The truth is whatever they say. This was particularly scary just before the last general elections. Hey, this is Bangsar, okay? I was afraid I'd get beaten up if I had a contrarian view about anything, and I was certainly not going to tell them that some of my very intelligent customers were ministers and wives from, yes, the blue half! (Even, if they leave me gob-smacked a week later, due to some statement in the press.) I have met some lovely people from that group, but don't tell them that. (Oh dear, are some people going to stop coming?!)
As a friend, we sometimes feel that we're not entitled to an opinion, and that we should agree no matter how wrong and silly the argument. Boo hoo hoo, how can you say that? I thought you were my friend. You should agree with me. Well, you should try becoming a shopkeeper then, particularly of a bookshop. Have you read this, have you read that, what do you think? If it is a local book ... you die, man, no matter what! Tell me now! Right now! What's you're opinion of this? And it had better be the right answer!
Bookshops and publishers are the sum total of whatever their customers think they are. We can't possibly have another opinion, or, God forbid, disagree. That would not be allowed.
Life is so-oo difficult.
