Thanks to technological breakthroughs, everyone can be a published author. Among the scores of up-and-coming writers who have realised their dreams through self-publishing are Jasmine Lau and Benson Wong Lok-man. Jasmine, 18, took HK$20,000 from her piggybank to get Symphony of Dreams - a collection of her literary works and life reflections - published last October. Mr Wong, 23, a drama tutor and production assistant with TVB, released his debut science-fiction book Human, Demon and God two years ago. The series is now in its fourth issue, with its fifth and sixth issues due out next month and next July. Becoming an author is a dream come true for the two aspiring writers. 'I have always loved reading books. I was thrilled when I first saw my book in a book store,' says Jasmine, from Hong Kong International School. Mr Wong's creative spark was first ignited as a teenage computer gamer. 'I loved a virtual reality game so much that I wanted to portray the whimsical world and flesh out the mythical characters in words,' says Mr Wong. With the characters inhabiting an imaginary kingdom where they have to learn martial arts and many other crafts to outwit their rivals, Human, Demon and God is a suspenseful story exploring human greed and intrigue. 'Although the price of paper has risen a lot, publishing costs have plummeted due to wider application of computers and advanced printing machinery,' says Gary Leung, director of Red Corporation Limited. 'In 1993, a debut author [would have to] publish a minimum of 60,000-70,000 copies. Now, our cheapest package involves 500, 160-page black-and-white copies and costs only HK$17,000.' When asked whether his martial arts series has brought in enough money to cover the costs, Mr Wong is upfront about the sales of his works. 'Profit is my least concern. It has more to do with the realisation of my dream,' he says. 'I would visit book fairs where my books were displayed and sneak around the booths pretending to be a shopper. 'When I saw people buy my books, I would go up to them and reveal my identity and sign my books. 'The satisfaction from seeing people purchase your works is beyond description.' For those aspiring to be an author, Mr Leung offers a few tips which might help them break into the intensely competitive book market in Hong Kong. 'Fiction is the most difficult to sell since readers usually choose well-established authors over new ones,' he says. 'Practical tool books like primers on the stock market are much more well-received. Those who target niche markets, like doll-making, also have good prospects.' Although he has yet to make a profit from his publishing venture, Mr Wong is optimistic about his career as an author. 'My first book sold only around 80 copies which were mostly bought by my friends,' he says. 'The sales of my recent books have tripled. Some readers actually wrote to me asking when the next one would come out.' For those who want to get their books published, check out http://www.red-publish.com/index_publish.htm
