Johnny Yip, author Age: 50-something.
Career path: I was born in Shanghai and came here with my parents when I was about five years old. I went to the Chinese New Methodist School. I have always loved reading and writing my own stories so there was never any doubt in my mind that I would be a novelist. My first novel was published when I was 17. It was a best-seller and was made into a Mandarin movie. Since then I have published 300 books and have been called the Chinese Barbara Cartland because a lot of my books are love stories. Many of them are based in old Shanghai or during the days of the ancient dynasties. My biggest market is mainland China, although my books are sold in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinatowns around the world. I also write travel columns for local publications and a food column for B International, a local English-language magazine. I am not married.
Yip's day: I travel for about seven months of the year because I can take my work with me. Being in different environments and countries gives me inspiration for my stories. One great thing about being freelance is that I can manage my own time. As long as I meet my deadlines, I can be anywhere, anytime.
I handwrite my novels in Chinese - it's still quicker than using a Chinese typewriter, and I find it easier to express myself with a pen. The advantage of this is that I only need to take my notebook with me. For years I wrote at night and slept during the day, but now I work office hours from 9 am until 4 pm or 5 pm. I try to keep to this schedule wherever I am. When I first started writing books I had to be sitting at my desk, it had to be quiet, the chair had to be right ... But after so many years I can write anywhere now.
I usually work on more than one book at a time. The planning stage takes the longest; once my thoughts are clear the writing is easy. I finished one book in six days, but usually they take a few months. I never re-read a book because I'm never satisfied with the result.
I rarely eat when I'm writing, but I drink a lot of coffee. In the evenings I may go out for dinner or a wine tasting, and on Sundays I like going to the beach early in the morning.
Salary: Never less than $50,000 a month.