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6th July 2008
Yuan-tsung
Chen
In this article, I would like to recall how I
got my manuscript through to the publisher's
desk
First, of course, I had to write a saleable
book, a book that could attract a broad
readership. Many of the historical events
described in my book, RETURN TO THE MIDDLE
KINGDOM: One Family, Three Revolutionaries, and
the Birth of Modern China, have been recorded
in numerous books and articles. Reading them
helped me form the big picture, and through the
family history my late husband, Jack, recounted
to me, I found each of the Chens' place in this
big picture. My task was to let the readers see
them as real people, real human beings, warts
and all, whom the readers can identify with.
This also applies to the supporting characters
in this story, including historical figures
such as Chiang Kaishek and Zhou Enlai. Some of
them I knew, some of them I got to know through
talks with my family and friends who had known
them and some of them were described to me by
Jack. Throughout the book, I present revealing
anecdotes about these supporting characters, so
they could spring to life and become
three-dimensional.
By blending biography with history in this way,
I believed I could make the characters and
places come alive, and dramatize the facts, so
the book would read like an intriguing history
fused with an extraordinary three-generation
family saga.
Second, it is important to work with a literary
agent who sees something in what I intend to
write. My agent, Regina Ryan, is based in New
York, a fact I consider important. New York is
the center of publishing world. She was the one
to guide my manuscript to a publisher whom she
thought most suitable for my book. It was not
plain-sailing. My manuscript nearly got drowned
in a storm when the first publisher who
accepted it suddenly went out of business. I
could not possibly salvage it since I knew next
to nothing about the publishing world. It was
Regina who finally negotiated my manuscript out
of the first publisher and found a new, good
home for it.
At some stage I needed to work with an editor.
Again Regina knew which editor might like my
type of book and put me in touch with Michael
Denneny. Michael started by helping me write
the book proposal. A good book proposal is key
to a publisher's door. During the process of
writing the book proposal, I discovered Regina
had found me an editor with whom, for the most
part, I could see eye to eye. Michael helped me
articulate my intention and coached me with
understanding, imagination and skill.
As soon as the manuscript reached its final
destination, Regina advised me to buy a few
how-to books about publicity. Publicity is
essential to making the book sell, and I take
it very seriously. I decide to do my best bit,
although my publisher is really pushing for my
book. Nowadays, internet campaign is king, and
I use it to spread the information about the
new book as far and as wide as I
can.
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