FEW Monthly Meeting July Theme/ Publishing In Japan

Thursday, July 09, 2009

How to be published in Japan: Tips and Tricks for Writers of Books and Articles
Event Description

Cindy Mullins, Hugh Ashton and Miki Noguchi

Time:

7pm start

Venue:

Tokyo City Club, Canada Embassy B1F, 7-3-38 Akasaka

Price:

3000 yen for members and 6000 yen for guests

Our last meeting before the FEW summer break will feature a panel of three from the publishing world.

Cindy Mullins will address how to get a book published in Japan. Cindy will explain the book publishing process, how to woo agents and publishers by writing a killer book proposal that will grab their attention. She will also talk about ‘Priorities, Passion, and Publishing: The Secret Formula for Creating a Best-selling Book or Successful Career’.

Hugh Ashton will tell us about independent publishing. He will concentrate on the process of self-publishing via the online PoD service route, rather than the ‘print it yourself and get a crate of sliced dead trees’ approach. Kathleen Morikawa covers this approach excellently in her book, ‘Self Publishing in Japan: What You Need to Get Started’:http://tinyurl.com/qxc721
 
Miki Noguchi will discuss freelance writing in Tokyo: how to get articles published in magazines, print or online. She will explain how you’ve gotta hustle because it’s all about making contacts.

So, if you’ve ever had dreams of becoming a published writer of books or articles, we’ll see you there.

Speakers
Cindy Mullins has been involved in the publishing industry in Japan for over 20 years. After working as production manager for The Asia Foundation, she incorporated publishing consulting firm 4M Associates in 1994, which gave her the freedom to pursue her passion for learning everything possible about her chosen career while also raising two young daughters. Clients have included Charles E Tuttle, Kodansha International, The Japan Times, J@pan Inc, John Wiley & Sons (US, UK, and Germany), Harlequin, and Kikkoman. Cindy completed a Master’s in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland, in 1997. She is also a literary agent for several forthcoming titles, and has a new online imprint in development.

Hugh Ashton arrived in Japan 21 years ago to write manuals for musical instruments, and since then he has made his living chiefly through writing (technical writing, speeches, journalism, industry reports, etc.). He has always written fiction in his spare time, and felt his third completed novel, ‘Beneath Gray Skies’, was good enough for commercial publication. Despite his agent’s and his efforts, the publishing world did not agree with this judgment, and accordingly he decided to take the independent route, using an online service to produce books on demand and distribute through Amazon, etc.

Miki S Noguchi is a freelance writer for several magazines in Tokyo; she is a contracted supervising editor at the Asian Development Bank Institute in her day job. She is a regular contributor to Being A Broad and Tokyo Journal magazines, and previously wrote a column for Weekender magazine. Her online work includes her own blog (http://www.mikissima.blogspot.com) and contributor to photoblog GlobalThemes.org, as well as several projects ‘in the works’ (as per usual with freelancers). Miki graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Service (US Foreign Policy and European Economics) from The American University in Washington, DC, and earned her editing stripes at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.