Interview with Author Fida Abbott by Ramona Portelli

On October 16, 2019 Ramona Portelli has published her interview with author Fida Abbott on her special blog: Ramona Portelli. Ramona

Ramona Portelli

is a freelance writer. She started her career by interviewing local Maltese personalities such as television presenters and producers, singers and artists, as well as other important figure heads such as the Archbishop of Malta. Let's see what she wrote in her interview with Fida.

Fida Abbott is an award-winning author and blogger. Her two books received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from the National Association of Book Entrepreneur (NABE): Enthusiasm in the category of Novel for the Spring 2010 and Exploring My Ideas in the category of Short Stories for the Summer 2019. In 2011, she was chosen as a 2011 winner of 50 Great Writers You Should be Reading, presented by TheAuthorsShow.com. Her blog www.fidaabbott.blogspot.com received Honorable Mention from BlogNetAwards.com in 2009 and was a Finalist of Christian Indonesian Blogger Festival in 2008, presented by Jawaban.com.

Author Fida Abbott

Fida has been writing since she was thirteen. Her first short story was published in the Middle School Magazine in Surabaya, Indonesia, the city where she was born. Her first publication in the local daily newspaper was her poem she wrote when she was in High School. In 2002, she came to the USA and married her American fiancé. With her husband and her daughter, they live in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a city where she resides and expresses herself in her writings in English and Indonesian.

In the virtual world, Fida is a director of an online writing course, www.pelatihanmenulis.com, as well as KabarIndonesia, an online Indonesian news site based on the citizen reporter, www.kabarindonesia.com. She is also a certified Department of Defense Language Instructor for Bahasa Indonesia, serving United States Air Force (USAF) for online classes. In addition to writing, she is a motivational speaker covering writing and other topics. 

Ramona: Tell me more about your latest book!

Fida Abbott: Exploring My Ideas is comprised of ten evocative short stories that were crafted from my personal experiences and observations. Every short story is followed by my explanation how I developed an idea and wrote it into a short story. This book includes a simple and practical guide on how to explore and compose ideas into short stories, as well as publishing tips. This book not only gives readers easy steps to build a story from their point of view, but it also brings the readers’ imaginations to life. The readers will think, learn, practice, and be entertained by short stories about psychology, crime, relationship, family, horror, and others. Exploring My Ideas is an ideal book for those who love literary collection and all writers who write as a hobby or a necessity, especially for beginning aspiring writers.

Ramona: In August 2019, ‘Exploring My Ideas’ got Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from National Association of Book Entrepreneurs (NABE) for the category of Short Stories. What does this mean to you?

Fida Abbott: As an independent author, it means a lot. By winning an award, my book will get more exposure and is recognized among other book award winners. It shows that I have created a good quality content for my book. This gives me more confident to spread about my book and it becomes part of my journey in the writing world to achieve more challenges and successes.

Ramona: What is it like to be an independent author?

Fida Abbott: Honestly, to be an independent author I do a lot of work from publishing to marketing, but I gain a lot of knowledge and experience. This sharpens my skills in the publishing world. What I need to remember is that I have to be ready to lose money for book marketing. For me it is an investment for the future if I want to pursue a career as an author. As long as under my budget, I will fly away to take this opportunity to learn a lot as a self-published author. I might not get profit from publishing my books, but my name and my accomplishment get recognized, and it contributes the success to other significant fields, especially in contributing outstanding resume as an author, director for an online media and online writing workshop, language instructor, interpreter, and public speaker. It means as an independent author, I can also contribute profits to other significant fields that I have interest in.

Ramona: What motivated you to become an author?

Fida Abbott: I have been a blogger since on February 10, 2006. I also wrote to several online medias. Many people like my writings and I received many positive messages and comments, so these inspired me to write a book. I am happy I did it. I began to write an easy and simple eBook. My daughter inspired me to write this eBook entitled What Prayers Does Mommy Teach Me? I didn’t use professional help for this book. I created it using Lulu.com service and began to learn how to publish in the USA. From there I grew. I kept writing another eBook/book and another book till one day, I told my husband “It’s the time I write a novel and will use professional help.” This journey sinks me to be a real author with the same status as a self-published author. I dug more and more learning in the publishing world in the USA, how to market, and how to build network and use many tools in the virtual world. Here, I am now with a status: An Award-Winning Author. The long journey to achieve this, makes me deeply understand what the real thing to become an author.

Ramona: What brought you to write your books?

Fida Abbott: Every book I wrote, came from an idea or inspiration. The idea or inspiration pushed me to write my books. As I composed my idea into my writing and I publish it to become a book, I always hope that my book will bring blessing to readers. This strengthen me to keep writing and publishing. Besides that, my expectation is to bring my books to become a blessing to the community where I live, as I used to donate my books in a beautiful basket for fundraiser events or sending my books to the remote areas, especially in Indonesia which my book, Enthusiasm was published in Indonesia by an Indonesian traditional publisher, Yayasan Komunikasi Bina Kasih (YKBK).

Ramona: How many books have you written so far? 

Fida Abbott: My books are published by me, myself and by others including traditional publisher in Indonesia.

Books/eBooks that I published myself and are still in the market:

1. What Prayers Does Mommy Teach Me?, 2008
2. Chaiku Poem Anthology, 2015 (second edition)
3. Fabulous Leftover Turkey, 2009
4. Tumpeng, An Authentic Indonesian Food, 2010
5. Enthusiasm, 2010
6. Exploring My Ideas, 2018

Books/eBooks that are published by others including traditional publisher in Indonesia

1. Terhilang di Rumah Bapa (Indonesian, written by some Indonesia Christian bloggers), 2008
2. Antusiasme (Indonesian), 2012
3. Rahel Pergi ke Surga Sendiri, (Indonesian, written by some well-known Indonesia Christian authors), 2018

Ramona: What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

Fida Abbott: My book Enthusiasm had strong influence on me. I had strange experience during and after writing this book, including after I published it. I had very strong desire to write this book that I could not handle it. I felt a spirit had lived in my soul. If I began to slow down, I felt something whip me. I had to keep writing even though it was very late toward morning when the idea in my mind was full and it needed to be written. When it was published, one by one the door opens for me although not all of them succeed, but I could see the path that brought me to the brighter future. I was right. My book won an award, and then it was picked by an Indonesia traditional publisher and two years later my book was published in Indonesia. Eight months later after my book published in Indonesia, my brother passed away, and two months later after that, my father passed away. You can’t imagine how I felt at that time, even I could not describe it. They were in Indonesia and I was in the USA. One thing that I thank God was I knew they both had done reading my book, Antusiasme (Enthusiasm in English). After that I knew why my desire was very strong at the time when I wrote it. It seemed God tried to communicate with me through that situation before they both passed away, so they had a chance to read “my first published book”.

Ramona: What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Fida Abbott: To become a writer, it will be a long journey. None of the famous writers went through instantly. It will need determination. So, start small and keep writing. Do not forget to read, read, and read. Do not let anyone discourage you and do not shy to show your writing to the world. Write from your heart and do not plan on making a lot of money from your writing but seek out constructive feedback on your work. Always take opportunity to participate in the writing contest, writing workshop or other activities that is relevant with your writing needs. While you do those all, build your network.

Visit Fida Abbott book links:

Facebook Author Page: fb.me/theenthusiasmsaga; page message:  m.me/theenthusiasmsaga

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Fida-Abbott/e/B07PKV57DW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Weblog: http://www.abbottsbooks.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fidaabbott

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4487023.Fida_R_Abbott?auto_login_attempted=true  

Auhtor’s Den: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?id=126079

BookLife: https://booklife.com/profile/fida-abbott-32010

Reader’s Favorite: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/exploring-my-ideas

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exploring-my-ideas-fida-abbott/1128885443?ean=9781984518422

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/exploring-my-ideas

Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001178525

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Chat and Spin Radio based in the UK (Washington, England) will interview me about my books. Please, stay tuned for upcoming info. (While I'm posting this, I'm enjoying their music). Thank you for their interest.
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Meeting with A Local Children Author, Emily Rays

What a nice thing if author meets author. That happened with me last Thursday at Coatesville Area Public Library (CAPL). I met a new local children author, Emily Rays. We both attended Open Mic Night held every first Thursday of every month at CAPL.

In that event we both presented our literary works. She presented her first new children book, entitled The Lemon Day by reading the whole story of this book. In addition to be as the author of this book, she is also as its illustrator. Before the end of this event, she also presented one of her favorite own poems.

If Emily presented her children book and poem, I presented two-first paragraphs of my short stories. What did she comment about one of them? She said I wrote the beginning of the stories very detail so she could imagine how the characters took action and behave. Other attendance also gave another comment about my other short story. He said he felt like in the psychiatric room.

In the end of this event we both had a short chance to chit-chat before we left and headed to our cars. We exchanged our email addresses and the title of our recent books we had published. We hoped we will have another time to meet again and have more author's chit-chat.

If you want to take a look of her new book, you can visit Amazon. (*)

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Done 75%. Keep editing and doing revisions. It's not a big writing project but needs a lot of works. Target: it has to be done 100% by Sept 30 and then ready to be sent to the persons who will write foreword and endorsements.
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Author of Little Pigeon, "Coki", Talked About "Enthusiasm"

Several days ago I got a message from a reader of my novel "Antusiasme" (Enthusiasm in Indonesian version).  She said she would be the first person who would read my second book of Enthusiasm Saga if it was going to publish in Indonesia.  How did I feel when reading her message?  I just wanted to sit down many hours and writing.  Yes, just writing!  But the real world speaks differently.  I have to be wise to divide my hours among family, work, study, and some other activities including writing.

Yes, her statement has made me more enthusiastic to write and finish soon my second book.  More other sources which can make me more enthusiastic and confident to write the second book are from the result of the interviews I held last months.  Below is the second interview submitted in English that has made my days as a  writer and an author.

Feel free to leave a comment here or at facebook.

***

Last month, in February 2013, Abbottsbooks had big celebration.  We celebrate one year of Antusiasme (Enthusiasm in Indonesian version) and three years of Enthusiasm by interviewing authors who have read Antusiasme/Enthusiasm.  Who are they?  Below is the second exclusive interview with an Indonesian author, Yunita D. Harahap, presented in English version, with her children book in series, Coki.  

Also you're invited to read other interviews with other Indonesian authors who have read Enthusiasm/Antusiasme at Antusiasme blog.

Exclusive Interview

A: Your children book in series, Coki , seems very interesting.  Would you tell us the character about Coki and synopsis of three series of this book that have been published?

Y: Coki is a loving kind young pigeon carrier who is always curios about everything and dares to take a risk for its fellow sake. Coki has twin siblings named Roko and Riti. Coki’s friends are Tedi Tekukur and Kunyil Kutilang. (Tekukur and Kutilang are typical Indonesian bird which chirping a lot and love to sing) Coki lives at Roda Village, a bird village.

Coki, Roko, and Riti, the siblings.

By reading Coki’s stories we can see good traits of him as a young pigeon. As the main character Coki is not a super bird. He may make mistakes but willing to learn from his mistakes in order to become a better bird. In the first story, in order to help his father who was not well, Coki dared to take a risk delivering an important letter to Professor Burhan (an old big owl bird). In the second story, Coki took another risk to fly far away, looking for a medicinal leaves that would be used to heal Kunyil’s mom. Indeed through this journey Coki learned of his specialties as a carrier pigeon. In the third story, Coki was assigned to deliver an important letter and he learned to be responsible in accomplish his task despite of his friends’ invitation to play. In all of Coki’s stories we can see the nature of children in Coki’s heart.  He loves to play and is often tempted to delay his task in order he can play with his friends.

A: Why are you interested to choose Coki, a little pigeon rather than other kinds of animals?

Y: I intentionally chose a young carrier pigeon not a puppy, a kitten, or any other animals as the main character in Coki’s story, because carrier pigeon is very popular pet among Indonesian children. Whether in big cities, small towns or in villages, Indonesian children love to play with carrier pigeons. Besides in Indonesia we have some customs or beliefs on some certain animals, which bring controversy. For example, there are some groups of people who kill dogs for meal while many other people love dogs and considered it as loving pet. The other example is cat. Even though cat is adorable pet but for some groups of people’s belief cat is mystical animal. The other animal which controversy is pig. Carrier pigeon has a good reputation in animal kingdom.  Moreover Indonesian Postal Service uses picture of carrier pigeon as its institution symbol.

The decision to pick carrier pigeon as my main character was supported also by Letha Humes, my former teacher. She worked as a publishing consultant and editor in the same office I worked in Jakarta. She greatly encouraged me to get into children’s book writing seriously. My former director, Mr. H.A. Oppusunggu was also the best supporter for me to get involved in publishing children’s books.

A: As an author of children book, how do you get inspirations to write those three books?

Y: Inspirations or ideas for my stories usually came as I worked pondering the plot. Since I have notes of the characters and elements for the stories as well as the themes so all of them were blending together in my imagination to develop the stories. I used to manage myself reading information about birds as much as I can, whether from books, magazines, or Internet. This information also gave me insights to the Coki’s plot stories.

Sometimes I got ideas or inspiration just by walking at park or surrounding my house, listening to birds’ chirping or examining birds’ actions. As I heard birds busily chirping on trees, my heart was tickled and I wondered, wanted to know what exactly they were “talking” about? Or if I was outside the house and incidentally saw a bird flew fast at the sky above my head, my heart wondering, “What is happening? Why this little buddy flew in hurry? Is there any important message that it wants to pass to its friends?” My imagination and my observation were blended together to develop the stories.

Yoseph Jee, illustrator of Coki book in series, an Indonesian who lives in Australia.

A: Why do you want to be an author for children book?

Y: I am a children’s books lover. I'm always crazy about children’s books and never stop buying them for my collections. It’s because children’s books are like good friends. They always bring comfort, joy, with its simple stories and good teachings. Moreover, most of them have wonderful and delightful illustrations. The characters on children’s books mostly are cute, funny, and lively. That’s why I want to become a writer for children’s books.

I want to cheer up and to make children happy with my books/stories, create a character that can be a good friend to my readers, and they may see good traits of that character. Children are innocent, they never take suspicious or doubtful of information they get from the books they read. That is why we are responsible to write good and educated stories for children. And it is important that we will present the stories in simple way and fun.

I tend to create a main character with strong good traits such as loving kind; proactive, willing to help others without hesitate, able to solve his problem, and loves his country. Sounds idealist, right? Since I've written stories for Indonesian children, in my opinion, that kind of traits needs to be socialized among Indonesian children in this age.

A: What the important keys do you use to make the stories so interesting to be read by children?

One of Coki's fans is from USA.

Y: In all Coki’s stories I always begin the story with the setting at home, where Coki’s family members were interacting one to another. I did it intentionally since I wanted to leave an impression to my readers that family is important in our lives. Children basically love to be surrounded by their families, whether with their parents or just with their siblings. That’s one of the keys in Coki’s stories that will attract the young readers.

The other key is to add humor and fun things on the stories because children love to play and have fun. In each series I always add a simple game based on the story so the readers can have fun playing the game as well as enjoying the story. The other important key that make Coki’s stories interesting is its cute illustration. I am so blessed that I met Yoseph Jee, a talented and dedicated illustrator for children’s books. His illustrations are great, cute, and lively.

A: How is your participation to introduce your book to children?

Melkisedhek from Biak was so happy receiving COKI.

Y: When I was in Jakarta, I occasionally joined a ministry to an orphanage where we could do storytelling to the kids. I took that chance to introduce Coki to children at the orphanage. I also used to give Coki books to the street kids that I met everyday on the bus I took during office hours. Besides giving them some money to appreciate their songs, I added Coki’s books for free. The kids usually were happy to receive books. They never rejected books.

If I heard my friends would go to remote areas in Indonesia islands, I entrusted Coki’s books to my friends so they could bring Coki’s books to that area and gave them away to children there or to school libraries. In 2012 when Coki celebrated his 12 years anniversary, I invited Coki’s fans to participate on an event where they could donate books or Coki’s books to libraries in remote areas in Indonesia, or they just simply gave Coki’s books as gifts to children they knew.

A: What is your short and long plan as an author/writer?

Y: If it's possible I want to write the fifth series of Coki, which the plot is made up already. The fourth manuscript of Coki right now is already in the publisher desk. For the longer plan, in God’s willing I want to learn how to make illustrations for children books. I also want to write novel for teenager/youth.

A: Would you tell us how you had a chance to read Enthusiasm?

Y: Before I moved to USA, a friend of mine who lives in New Zealand introduced me (by e-mail) to Fida Abbott, an Indonesian woman who lives in Pennsylvania.  She hoped I might be friend with Fida in United States. I then learned that she is a writer and her novel entitled Enthusiasm was just got “Pinnacle Book Achievement Award—Spring 2010”. I was interested to read that book. Then my husband (who at that time was my fiancée) sent me that book from US in order I could read it. That was how I met Enthusiasm in person.

A: What the impressions do you get from reading Enthusiasm?

Y: Enthusiasm or Antusiasme is a novel with a simple plot, straight forward, but contains a strong message about courage to live or enthusiasm about live, which radiant brightly through the life of its main character. This novel is also informative, full of information of how dynamic writing world is, whether in cyberspace or in real life. The book is also showing us how literature brings great impact in our lives. The most interesting thing in this novel, I think, is the main character, the author, who is a very creative person, full of spirit and ideas, and diligent in studying everything surrounding her, in order to develop her intellectual and writing skill.

That kind of trait I think needs to be contagious to many people—especially to Indonesian women—so that they will keep enthusiastic about their lives, whether they are acting as housewife or not, or if they feel they don’t have any skills of gifts.

A: After reading Enthusiasm, what the things have influenced you in your writing activities and as a writer?

Y: Be an enthusiastic person is what a I want to apply in my writing activities. If God has given me the gift of writing, I have to do it diligently. I have to dedicate my time, thoughts and strength for writing. God  has a plan for me through this activity.

Yunita and Enthusiasm

A: From enjoying Enthusiasm, what the most interesting story do you like, and why? 

Y: I like the description of the author’s simple daily life, especially relating to her plan to start writing a novel. As she loves to write and enjoy teaching people how to write, she felt God wanted her to write a novel and published it in English. She was pretty convinced of this desire, moreover her husband gave her a new laptop to support her writing activity.

She set up a small desk at the bedroom next to the bed, so that she could work on her novel anytime. She also disciplined herself to write everyday even though she had to take care her young daughter (who surely needs her attention very much), as well as her husband and her house. In order she would not miss any newest worldwide information and to improve her writing skills, she diligently surfed Internet to support herself. The challenging of using English for her novel didn’t make her give up. On the other hand she kept moving on until then she got support and help from her husband.

A: To whom you would like to recommend Enthusiasm, and what is your reason?

Y: Firstly, to my friends, writers, so that they can exchange experience with the main character, how to manage gift, skills, time and strength in order they may keep writing creatively. Secondly, to my friends (especially women).  I hope they will get new insights from the main character’s experiences—that is if we have enthusiasm in our lives, our gifts, our hobbies, then we will experience a big and positive changing in our ways of life, which gives impact not only to us but also to other people around us.

A: Now, we come back to talk about your book. To whom you would like to recommend your book, Coki in series, and where the readers can get them?

Y: I am highly recommending Coki’s series to parents or families who have children at home and they've just learned how to read. Ideally, Coki’s story is to encourage children who started to learn how to read and want to read more, again and again. I also recommend it to the school librarians to provide Coki’s series at their collections. Coki’s series also can be used as a “Read Aloud” book.

We can order Coki’s series directly to Yayasan Komunikasi Bina Kasih publishing house, Jl. Letjen. Suprapto No. 28, Cempaka Putih, Jakarta 10510. Phone (62-21) 4209586; Fax (62-21) 4250357; E-mail: info@penerbitbinakasih.com; Text message to: (62) 089653506988

Author Profile

Yunita D. Harahap was born in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 14, 1966. She started to write stories and articles for children and youth since she was in High School. Her writings mostly were published in national mass media such as Sinar Harapan newspaper, Suara Pembaruan newspaper, Bobo and HAI Magazine. She was graduated from Jakarta Science and Political Institute (IISIP), on Journalism faculty. She also served as an editor and writer at Kompak Magazine (GKI Kebayoran Baru church magazine for youth in Jakarta). In 2000 she wrote a series of children stories manuscripts for children program at YASKI broadcast, Tangerang, Indonesia. Before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., she worked at Yayasan Komunikasi Bina Kasih publishing house (http://www.penerbitbinakasih.com). As to obtain more knowledge and skills in writing for children, she got several scholarships to attend some international writers’ conference (especially for children’s books), held by Highlights for Children Foundation (http://www.highlightsfoundation.org), Pennsylvania, U.S.A, Cook Ministries International (http://www.davidccook.com), Colorado, U.S.A. and Media Associate International (http://www.littworld.org), Illionis, U.S.A. (*)

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Arranging one more author interview will be published soon. She is from USA. about 1 minute ago from web

Interviewing My Online Co-Worker and Future Co-Author

As you know if last month, in February I have FOUR BIG CELEBRATIONS: My birthday, my 7th year blog anniversary, my 1st year novel Antusiasme anniversary, and my 3rd years of novel Enthusiasm anniversary, I have been busier than before.  Besides my routine activities, working, studying, leading the online writing course, I also interviewed some authors who had read Antusiasme/Enthusiasm.

My brain is kind of messed up little bit, hehehe.... too heavy handling many tasks at the same time. But thanks God, my work runs well, my duty as a mom and wife run well, the online writing course runs well, my study runs well, too--even I got score 100% for the recent test--but it seems I will be little bit late for the next assessment and I have to study harder to get very good scores.  I still have many modules to study, and now I'm still in the 5th module that  has many assessments and 4 tests.  Three tests more to go for this module, and then I have to finish two more modules to finish this study.  In these three last modules  I have to interact with practicing by using MS Office in new version.  I'll study detail again for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. So glad to pick this study. I need them.  As long as I follow my heart, I believe I won't do a mistake.  Thank you God for this opportunity.  You have guided me to choose the right choice.     

Heni as a bride

Well, I think it's better I would like to present the 4th interview here.  The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th are written in Indonesian and the 4th is available either in Indonesian and English.  You're invited to read other interviews with other Indonesian authors who had read Enthusiasm/Antusiasme at Antusiasme blog.

Several more interviews are coming soon, so please stay tuned to read them so we can learn from what they have shared.  Enjoy!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH HENI KURNIAWATI, the author of Meraih Impian Merengkuh Cinta (MIMC).  In English version means Achieving Dream Embracing Love.

A:  As an author of MIMC, what idea had pushed you to write this story?

H: The idea to write this novel came from my desire to write my own biography. I am sure that my experiences in life will be useful for others, especially those who want to reach their dreams. Novel is one of literary works that I like the most. So, I wrote it based on my own biography in the form of novel.  

A:  What message do you want to tell to the readers?

H:  If we have a dream, fight to reach it. Never give up, try anything we can. One day, the problems will find their solutions and all struggles will come to the end. Be patient, persistent, sincere, and say NO to desperation. Self development and continuous prayers will take us to successes in our life. 

A: What the most interesting comment do you get from the readers who have read MIMC?

H: I got two interesting comments from readers. The first is from the Dean of Faculty of English Literature, Dr. Soetomo University, Surabaya, Mr. Syamsuri Aribowo.  He had been very touched with the story on relationship between Naila and her father. The second is from Herwandi, a reader from Kalimantan (Borneo island)) who bought MIMC at Gramedia book store in Samarinda. He sent me some short text messages and said that the story of MIMC was kind of similar to his life story. He also has big dream as like the main character, Naila.

A: From MIMC front cover, what is your idea to present the pictures of snail?
H: Naila, the main character of novel MIMC starts her struggle to reach her dreams from the beginning, really from no one to someone. Begin with her profession as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant to be the one she wants to be. She continuously struggles to develop herself, slowly step by step but never stops. Snail has similar character with her struggle. This is the main reason of why I use it as a symbol in this novel.

A: As a self-published author, what bad and good experiences you have to market your book?

H: Well, thing that I like is I have freedom to do what I want with this novel. I myself determine the price which means the value of my works. Meanwhile, thing that I don’t like is I cannot rely on a book distributor for marketing. If I want to hold some promotion events, I myself should arrange them. I also work hard to sell this novel to the customers of my online shop, Bening Koleksi. For me as a self-published author, I should be ready to work hard. It’s no problem, this is the challenge. I get more experiences to strengthen my marketing skill.

A:  In the competitive book publishing world, what do you think of the best thing to do as a self-published author?

H:  Qualified manuscripts. Physical appearance of the books should be eye-catching and represent the content of the book. Another important thing is promotion to inform others about the books. Author must help to sell his book and does not only rely on book distributors. Come to readers and give them information about the books. Self publishing does not only need a manuscript, but also a good sense of business. A self publisher is the author and also the one who owns the money. Therefore, his books must go to the readers’ hands. 

A:  Do you have any other self-published authors who have inspired you?  Who are they and what’s your reasons?

H:  No, I don’t have any. One reason why I choose self publishing is the fact that major publishers need long time to evaluate a manuscript. Moreover, they only give small royalty to the writers. Some even only give 8% from the book price that cannot be determined by the author. Meanwhile, I also want to try a new business, calculate profitability, estimate market probability, and etcetera. I also want to learn anything about book publishing. 

A:  As one of Enthusiasm readers, how did you get a chance to read this book and what interest did you have to wanting to read this book?

H: A colleague lent me this novel in English version. The most interesting from this novel is the author’s discipline that should be followed by new writers. Time frequently becomes a new writer’s main reason for not to write. Meanwhile someone is the best time manager for himself.

A:  From enjoying Enthusiasm, what the most interesting story do you like to share it here?

H:  The characterization of Wanda, a little fascinating girl who always obeys her super busy mom.

A:  To whom you would like to recommend Enthusiasm and why?

H:  To everybody who has a dream and passion to make it come true. They should learn from this author’s hard work. 

A:  We come back to talk about your novel, MIMC, to whom you would like to recommend it and how to get it? 

H:  University students, senior high school graduates, all people who want to reach their dreams, and people who have complicated problems in their family.  You can get this book at Gramedia Book Stores or at my online store, Bening Koleksi or send SMS to +62 815-5302-5569.

Author's Profile

Heni Kurniawati was born in Pare, a district of Kediri regency, East Java, Indonesia. She was married to a man from Bangil, Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia. Heni is a graduate of the Faculty of English Literature, Dr. Soetomo University, Surabaya. She has begun writing since Junior High School. Some of her short stories were broadcasted by a private radio station in Jombang, East Java, when she was in Senior High School. After moved to Surabaya and studied in English Literature, her English articles were published by Hello English Magazine in 2000-2002. She won some writing contests as a favorite winner for an East Java Essay Writing Contest held by her campus in 2002. After that she did not write for quite long time because of her business in working and studying. In 2007, she, again, started her writing career and became the third winner of a Profile Writing Contest. She was also the first winner of writing contest on the subject of The Most Beautiful Experiences in Ramadhan Fasting Month, held by the Indonesian Online Daily News (www.kabarindonesia.com) . Since that moment on, many of her articles and short stories have been published in this media—based on the citizen journalism. Her poem entitled Pengantin Padang (The Padangnese Bride and Bridegroom) was nominated as the best 75 poems at a Poem Writing Contest “Kado Untuk Kota Padangku Tercinta 2011 (a Gift for Our Beloved Padang)” held by Padang Dalam Puisi. Now, aside of her profession as a costing analyst for a global shoe manufacturer, she is also appointed as a mentor for a fiction online writing course held by PMOH, www.pelatihanmenulis.com.(*)

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My bathrobe always makes me so warm while working at my office that's colder than the other rooms. Sometimes I turn on the electric fireplace to make me warmer, so my brain can work much better. about 1

REVOLUTION: Relationship Between Authors and Readers



My first self-published novel, http://www.abbottsbooks.com/

Since Internet has boomed in 1999 in Indonesia--the first time I learned Internet after six years graduated from University.  Since then I thought it was so easy to reach something we never read or see before around the world--we just need one click.

This high technology tool has brought something different in the writing world.  We know about book on demand.  It means a book will be printed after someone did a purchase through online process.  This will happen when book is self-published.  Since then, the self-published author has boomed.  Some traditional publishers even change to become a company that gives a service for self-published authors or they will run both in the same time, as a traditional publisher and a company that gives the service for self-published authors.  Amazing how the Internet has changed many things.  


Published by a traditional publisher in Indonesian version
http://www.novelantusiasme.blogspot.com/

 
With the presence of self-published author, it contributes the change for the relationship between the authors as the writers and their readers.  In traditional publishers, they take full control for the readers and the authors don't know well their readers.  This view is so very different if we talk about self-published authors.  They know well their readers and can interact well with them in many ways, especially in online social media, their online websites or blog, even personal email.  So, no surprise if the self-published authors will greet their readers freely through online media, advance their networks, or even they can meet and do the work together.  The readers are the most potential asset for self- published authors since they have a main problem of the lack of marketing budget. 

Are you a self-pulished author?  You can meet me in my account at facebook and share about the experiences being the self-published authors in USA or other countries.  If you don't mind, you may also leave the message under this post.  I have so many experiences and love to share.(*)

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So glad to hear my father was reading my book, Antusiasme (Enthusiasm in Indonesian version).  I wonder what he will say after reading the whole chapters. 
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Are You Ready for Valentines Day? (Part II)

Dear my fellow readers,

If you read my last post, I'm sure you wonder what the second alternative I would like to recommend you for Valentines gift. This time is not for young adult or adult but for the kids. If you have children or nephews or nieces or any member of family/children under 10 years old you would love to give a gift for Valentines Day, please, check this children book below.

"Coki Periksa Lagi!" (Coki, Check Again!) is written by Yunita D. Harahap, a talented author special for children and teenager books.  This educated children book has been published last month, in December 2011 and can be found at Gramedia, Gunung Agung and all Christian book stores in Indonesia.  This is the third book after "Coki Bisa Apa?" (Coki What He Can Do?) and "Coki Mengambil Risiko" (Coki Took the Risk).  She also wrote an educated teenager book: "Maafkan Aku" (Forgive Me).

I had read two of them: "Coki Bisa Apa" and "Coki Mengambil Risiko" and "Maafkan Aku". My daughter got them (Coki) as Christmas presents in 2010 from her (and "Maafkan Aku" is a gift for me). As a result, I had to retell them in English so she could understand the stories were about. We both love the picture of Coki--a little pigeon--especially his cute face--with chubby cheeks, hehehe... The stories are interesting and very educated, easy to understand and the illustrations are beautiful.

The special thing about these books beside I mentioned above is the author now resides in US, the illustrator now resides in Australia after he finished his study in art design in US and the publisher is from Indonesia. It is intercontinental project.

As a children and teenager book author--as I know--she has read many books including novels, too.  One of them is "Enthusiasm".  She becomes fans of it after reading it and even has good friendship with its author.  You can read her comments about "Enthusiasm" in Indonesian here (click). 

And what about with my little daughter comments after having those two books? She said one day she would like to write a book like Coki. Hehehe . . . it is contagious, isn't it? But then what I see now she even writes many girly and mysterious stories, hahahaha!!! What an opposite--my cute little daughter!!!

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