A Sneak Peak...
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| Draft No. 1 of book cover! |
It is the first draft of the cover, and I intend to revise it 10 times at least before it is published. I have issues with the font but I am uber happy with the design. Thanks so much to my designers and photographer! *.*
The very initial plan around six months ago was to do self-publishing for a small group of friends. However, this group seems to grow larger and larger with time, and I never expected so many Asian friends to be curious about Helsinki. It was therefore only recently that I considered getting a Finnish publisher.
Here are some of the frequently asked questions I get on a regular basis:
"Where are you going, Wan Wei? Sweden?"-- some would ask. Or,
"What's in Helsinki, Wan Wei? Just Santa Claus right?"-- Or,
"Hm but isn't there nothing in Helsinki? Just snow?"
And after talking to MORE curious folks about this book, they started to get really interested, and asked if I could host them in Helsinki. Off-hand over the last six months, I have hosted 3 Singaporeans and 1 Japanese family from my network, just by telling them that Helsinki is more fun than Sweden.
LOL.
Anyway, I digress. My point is that I realized from this experience that the group of curious Asians is HUGE, and I am convinced that they would LOVE Helsinki if only if they knew where to go, what to do, how to go...effortlessly! Currently, the Helsinki Tourism Board's budget for Singapore/South-east Asia tourism market is a grand total of zero, for instance. My Singaporean mom thought Nokia is Japanese. What's new?
But I do understand the tourism board's constraints very well, and because I love Finland, I hope this book kick-starts a whole wave of interest in Helsinki with much love from Asia. And via my recommendations as a fellow Asian shopaholic, I hope my book makes it easy for fellow Asian cosmopolitan travelers to navigate in the city. Currently, I'm exploring the opportunities for publishing with a Finnish publisher because I feel that Finns should read my book too.
I really hope this book can be sold at major Finnish bookstores. Because this is a book on Suomi afterall. =) It'd probably take 1-3 years to write but I hope it can be worth it!
I feel so happy writing this book, because I feel that Finns really love their country and flag. I hope all Singaporeans can one day say with 100% pride and conviction that we love our country and flag! Singapore is after all such a young country and our culture is constantly being moulded and remoulded!
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| Never knew my friends were such book worms 8-) |
Okay I gotta run, talk to you guys later. But feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment about this draft cover. I read and appreciate every comment, because essentially, this book is written for you!!
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