Tactic used by publishers to get their workbooks into schools

At first glance you might thought this is an exercise book used by students in schools.

However, if you look closely, this is a Mathematics workbook. Yes, this is the latest gimmick used by local educational publishers to get their books into schools. Well, I don't think it's bad at all. In fact, this is a rather smart and creative idea. This trend which is started by a publisher has been followed by others, even big players in the market.

I supposed this trend started after the Ministry of Education announced workbook ban in the primary level particularly Year 1 to Year 3 and the limited use of one workbook per subject for Year 4 to 6.

The main objective of the workbook ban is to make lighter schoolbags for pupils. Well, these new form of 'exercise books' are way lighter than the previous thick workbooks. And how about the pricing? Would you pay RM3 or RM3.50 for it?

how to bind your own soft cover book

I'm not sure if you are going to agree with me. Many bloggers (whether local or international) are writer wannabes. I mean they want to be a writer in a conventional way. Not just publishing their writing in the blogosphere but also getting their manuscripts published.

Hence, self publishing business is booming outside of Malaysia. Inside of Malaysia, this concept is nothing new to us but somehow the industry here is way slower.

Try asking for the printing cost from local printers who provide Print On Demand (POD), you are expected to pay about RM15-25 per book (let's say a 120 pages, B&W, A4 size specification). And you have not paid for illustration, typesetting, editing, proofreading, etc yet. So in the end, how much profit are you going to make from your book? Most importantly who's going to buy your book if the retail price of your book is so high?

Am I discouraging you from self publish your book? Not really. What I'm trying to suggest to you is why not print the book and bind it yourself to save cost? If your intention is to publish the books and sell it to your friends and family and a small number of customers, then I suggest you to engage with a reliable photostat shop who does B&W and colour printing and you do the binding yourself.

The cost for professional binding is not cheap. I've once asked a photostat shop and it costs RM5 per book for perfect binding.



I came across a great youtube video on book binding. It's quite easy and straight forward and absolutely suitable for soft cover book. If you have a manuscript, why not get the typesetting done yourself, then print it out and bind it yourself over the weekend. If you are a handy person, you might have a neat result.

The copy of the book is definitely suitable to be submitted to publishers along with your book proposal. Who knows you might get a deal soon.

job opportunity: editors for English, Science & Maths

Currently Penerbit Mega Setia Emas (PMSE) is looking for fresh or experienced English, Science and Mathematics editors on a full time basis. For your information, PMSE is an established educational publishing company that publishes many workbooks as well as textbooks.

If you are:

• willing to put in extra effort and doesn't mind working long hours (I mean really long hours especially when rushing for projects)
• an organized person who is able to meet reasonable deadline,
• willing to work in Kota Damansara,
• a person with excellent command in English and Bahasa Melayu with passion in writing, editing and education,
• doesn't mind working closely with authors, typesetters and graphic designers,
• creative and original,

then you are most probably the right candidate for this job.

Training will be provided. For your information, PMSE is the very few publishing companies in Malaysia that provides good remuneration and staff benefits besides bonus and company trip for their staff.

If you are interested in this job, kindly send a well-written cover letter and curriculum vitae to julie@setiaemas.com or hcfoo7@gmail.com. Only complete resume (state your education, qualification, job experience if any and position as well as subject that you are interested in) with contact numbers will be entertained and shortlisted for first interview.

Tips: If you receive a call for interview, kindly be prepared because it's a norm for publishers to ask you to sit for a short test to assess your grammatical skills and knowledge in the subject that you apply for.

If you have any enquiry, kindly email to me at hcfoo7@gmail.com. I hope I will be able to help you in winning this job!

want to be a freelance Science & Maths writer?

Anyone interested to start a freelance job in writing Science and Maths workbooks? If you are:

• looking for a writing job, working comfortably from your home and with attractive pay,
• an organized person who is able to meet reasonable deadline,
• in the educational industry (teacher, tutor, editor, writer, etc),
• well versed with the National syllabus particularly the Science and Maths subjects,
• able to present your manuscript neatly using the Microsoft Word;
• creative and original,
• doesn't mind working closely with the editors and accept their criticism,

then probably you should give it a shot. It is okay if you have not published any books before as training will be provided by the editors at Cerdik Publications. For your information, Cerdik is one of the strong players in the competitive educational publishing business. They are the sole publisher who has the rights and permission to publish past years examination papers.

For more information, you can send an email to me at hcfoo7@gmail.com or call +603 5637 9046 or +603 5637 9044 and look for Lai Yeen (Science and Maths editor @ Cerdik Publications).

freelance writing job - Science and Maths workbooks

Anyone interested to start a freelance job in writing Science and Maths workbooks? If you are:

• looking for a writing job, working comfortably from your home and with attractive pay,
• an organized person who is able to meet reasonable deadline,
• in the educational industry (teacher, tutor, editor, writer, etc),
• well versed with the National syllabus particularly the Science and Maths subjects,
• able to present your manuscript neatly using the Microsoft Word;
• creative and original,
• doesn't mind working closely with the editors and accept their criticism,

then probably you should give it a shot. It is okay if you have not published any books before as training will be provided by the editors at Cerdik Publications. For your information, Cerdik is one of the strong players in the competitive educational publishing business. They are the sole publisher who has the rights and permission to publish past years examination papers.

For more information, you can send an email to me at hcfoo7@gmail.com or call +603 5637 9046 or +603 5637 9044 and look for Lai Yeen (Science and Maths editor @ Cerdik Publications).

buying workbooks for your kids

Schools will reopen in two weeks. Parents will be busy buying textbooks and workbooks for their kids. And this means it's going to burn holes in their pockets. Hence, buying the right books (meaning good quality of books) are important. You don't want to spend your money buying books with lotsa typo errors, incorporating the outdated syllabus and have poor quality of questions.

As a professional (not that I'm good but this is one of my main source of income) educational writer and a private tutor for many years, I'm going to share with you parents on buying workbooks from certain publishers for cetain subjects.

1. Most importantly, get the past years questions (soalan-soalan tahun lepas) from Cerdik Publications. The publisher has the rights to publish the real past years exam papers from UPSR to SPM. Go to your nearest bookshops and they will assist you.

2. Bahasa Melayu - Sasbadi books (both KOMSAS, Tatabahasa and Pemahaman) are the most realiable. You can also use Oxford Fajar Bakti.

3. English - Pearson Longman used to be very good but in recent years Penerbit Mega Setia Emas is doing a good job. If you intend to buy English Literature books for your kids, you can look out for Setia Emas' Baby Steps series.

4. Science - Oxford Fajar Bakti is good. Their reference books is highly recommended compare to Sasbadi. Note: becarefully if you are buying Year 5 or Form 5 Science books. Some publisher did not follow the latest syllabus because it was the consequence of a rushed production. Choose your books carefuly.

5. Mathematics - Pelangi is the expert in this subject. So get their Math books. Note: becareful if you are buying Year 5 or Form 5 Math books. Some publishers did not follow the latest syllabus. For example a workbook published by Oxford Fajar Bakti made mistake in their last couple of chapters. Then there's another publisher called B* Publisher. The writer from this publisher couldn't even form proper sentences and the editor did nothing to correct the mistake. I complained to the owner of Bookway, PJ, and I don't see the book the next day. The bookshop owner told me a school (in PJ i think) actually chose B* Publisher's series to be used in 2007.

6. For arts subjects like Sejarah and Geografi, you can consider to buy reference books from Sasbadi or Oxford Fajar Bakti. As for workbooks, you can trust the books published by the above publishers.

7. As fo science subjects like Chemistry, Physics, etc, you can also rely on Oxford Fajar Bakti's reference books. You can also trust the workbooks published by the above publishers. Marshall Cavendish is okay as well.

How come I didn't mention publishers like Preston, Info Didik, etc? Well, it's not because their books are no good but the publishers mentioned above are more reliable.

Hopefully this simple guideline will help you in getting good quality workbooks for you kids and of course have your money well spent.

want to be a business and management book writer?

Any aspiring business and management book writer here in the blogosphere? If you are able to write in bahasa Malaysia, this is a golden opportunity for you. Read there following to understand how to can start to write for PTS (fyi, PTS is quite a significant publisher in the industry). Also I suggest you to join their workshop (check the info at the bottom of this post) to learn about KJ method, copyright, etc.

PTS Professional Publishing Sdn. Bhd. merancang untuk menerbitkan pelbagai tajuk buku bisnes sepanjang tahun 2006/2007. Jika anda seorang pengarang, pengamal (practioner), konsultant, ahli akademik dan berminat untuk menulis tajuk-tajuk bisnes, sila hubungi kami di alamat di bawah.

PTS Professional sedang mencari individu yang berminat menulis buku mengikut judul sebagaimana di bawah. Jika anda berminat sila hubungi kami di alamat di bawah bagi mendapat maklumat lanjut dan ‘booking’ judul buku yang hendak ditulis dengan segera.

En. Mohd Khairulanuar Manshor
Editor Perolehan
PTS Professional Publishing Sdn. Bhd.
No 3, Jalan Industri Batu Caves 1/6, Taman Perindustrian Batu Caves,
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Tel.: 03-6188 0316
Faks: 03-6189 0316
E-mel: anuar@pts.com.my
H/P: 012-2722392

Judul buku cadangan:
Usahawan Baru
1. Cerita-cerita Motivasi Usahawan Wanita
2. 101 Idea Bisnes di rumah
3. Kaya Dengan Pelaburan
4. Zakat Dalam Bisnes
5. Idea-idea Mendapatkan Duit Ketika Belajar

Memulakan Bisnes Sendiri
1. Memulakan Bisnes Restoran
2. Memulakan Bisnea Warung
3. Memulakan Bisnes Katering
4. Memulakan Bisnes Tuisyen
5. Memulakan Bisnes Ternakan Lembu/Kambing
6. Memulakan Bisnes Ayam
7. Memulakan Bisnes Ikan
8. Memulakan Bisnes Kedai Runcit
9. Memulakan Bisnes Kedai Runcit
10. Memulakan Bisnes Kedai Jahit
11. Memulakan Bisnes Perkhidmatan IT/Kafe Internet
12. Memulakan Bisnes Bengkel Motor/Kereta

Sales
1. Rahsia Menjadi Salesman Hebat
2. Teknik Berunding
3. Rahsia Sales di eBay
4. Menjual Produk Kurang 5 Minit
5. Cara Menjual Pada Syarikat Besar
6. Strategi dan Taktik Harga (Pricing)
7. Sales Menggunakan Emotional Intelligence
8. Membaca Minda Pembeli
9. Cara Meyakinkan Salesman
10. Sales Menggunakan Telefon, Emel, Faks, Surat dan Voice Mail

Kewangan Peribadi
1. Perancangan Kewangan Pelajar
2. Perancangan Kewangan Keluarga
3. Hidup Aman Tanpa Hutang
4. Cara Pinjaman Untuk Bisnes
5.Perancangan Kewangan Selepas Pencen
6.Pelaburan Yang Menguntungkan
7.Cara Terbaik Wanita Menggunakan Wang
8. Cara Pengurusan Kewangan di Zaman Umayyah, Abbasiyyah dan Uthmaniyyah
9. 1001 Ayat Financial Yang Perlu Diketahui

Pemasaran
1. Rahsia Menjual Lebih Banyak Produk
2. Pemasaran Secara Gerila
3. Seni Menentukan Harga
4. Brand Yang Menarik
5. Cara Menghadapi Pasaran Yang Kompleks
6. Strategi Marketing
7. Marketing Pada Sesiapa
8. Cara Marketing Pelbagai Bangsa

Perkhidmatan Pelanggan
1. Jenis-jenis Pelanggan dan Cara Mengatasinya
2. 101 Cara Hebat Melayan Pelanggan
3. Cara Customer Services Syarikat-syarikat Berjaya

Skil Eksekutif
1. Perbincangan Efektif
2. Pengurusan Projek
3. Soalan Lazim Ketika Temuduga
4. Pekerja Cemerlang
5. Bos Cemerlang
6. Masalah Pekerja dan Cara Mengatasinya
7. Tranformasi Tempat Pekerja
8. Motivasi Pekerja
9. Skil Presentation Untuk Eksekutif
10. Eksekutif 6 Sigma

Motivasi Eksekutif
1. Rahsia Kejayaan CEO
2. Pengurus Hebat
3. Kepimpinan Futuristik
4. Rahsia Cepat Naik Pangkat
5. Menjadi Bos Hebat
6. Tip-tip Untuk Eksekutif Muda
7. Eksekutif Berkarisma
8. Tip-tip Berbaik Dengan Pekerja
9. Bina Diri Sebagai Businessman
10. Bisnes Selepas Pencen

Target pembeli/pembaca:
1.Usahawan baru
2.Eksekutif dan Profesional
2.Pelajar lepasan SPM atau ijazah
3.Umum

Serahan manuskrip:
1.Tarikh akhir serah manuskrip ialah 3 bulan dari tarikh persetujuan
2.Manuskrip yang siap hendaklah diserahkan dalam bentuk hard copy dan soft copy

Hak cipta manuskrip & royalti:
1.Hak cipta atas manuskrip adalah milik penulis. PTS Professional hanya memegang hak eksklusif menerbit sahaja.
2.Penulis akan dibayar royalti berdasarkan jualan buku setiap tahun.
3.Kadar royalti adalah sebagaimana berikut:
7% daripada harga runcit buku (1 – 5,000 naskhah yang terjual)
10% daripada harga runcit buku (5,001 – 10,000 naskhah yang terjual)
11% daripada harga runcit buku (10,000 naskhah ke atas yang terjual)

Panduan untuk Penulis:
1.Manuskrip hendaklah ditaip dalam format berikut:
A4
1 ½ spacing
Times New Roman
Saiz 12
2.Jumlah muka surat manuskrip: (bergantung pada judul buku)
3.Gaya penulisan:
Berbentuk 'How to book' (panduan praktikal)
Berbentuk tip-tip pendek/petua/strategi (satu tip 1-3 muka surat)
Berdasarkan fakta
Memperbanyakkan contoh
Ayat yang pendek & mudah difahami
Sertakan kata-kata hikmat pendek (letak dalam kotak)
Perenggan pendek

Bengkel Penulisan Buku-buku Bisnes dan Pengurusan
Tempat: Taman Permata, Hulu Kelang, Kuala Lumpur
Tarikh: 21.01.2006 to 21.01.2006
Masa: Time : 10:00 Pagi to 5:00 Petang

PTS Professional Publishing Sdn. Bhd. akan mengadakan bengkel penulisan bagi buku-buku siri bisnes dan pengurusan. Mereka mensasarkan lebih 50 buah buku siri ini diterbitkan pada tahun 2006. Justeru, kami amat mengalu-alukan mereka yang berminat untuk menyertai bengkel ini.

Pengisian bengkel:
1.Teknik menulis menggunakan 'KJ Method'
2.Teknik adaptasi buku bisnes dan pengurusan sedia ada di pasaran
3.Hak Cipta untuk penulis
4.Pembentangan judul buku yang akan diterbitkan 2006

Penyertaan percuma. Makan minum tidak disediakan.Tempat adalah terhad. Hanya peserta yang mendaftar sahaja layak menyertainya.Untuk maklumat lanjut, hubungi Mohd Khairulanuar Manshor, 012-2722392 atau emel anuar@pts.com.my.