For one whose knee-jerk reaction to writing a book had always been a vehement NO, I am amazed for saying YES to Fuen Yee. (If by any stroke of luck you succeed in saying no to her, please share how you managed to get that far! 😂 )

I was told by Fuen that there will be 6 women authors for this book premised on audacity. I soon learnt that this book collaboration meant I was amongst the minority ‘have-nots’ in this group of ‘haves’ who are those who have written book/s before. I was puzzled how I was going to even do one page, let alone four chapters. However, the nervous flutter together with low self-confidence was purely my own concoction.

In a very short time it was apparent that this mighty group of women led by Fuen Yee, from Freda Liu, Norlida (Oli) Azmi, Chartered FCIPD, Syireen Rose to Bavani Periasamy were most forthcoming, each willing to guide and share in whichever way they knew best. The best part was that now each of us knew 5 people, either newly, better or much better, depending on who already knew who within the team.

With our book HowDareThey launched over the weekend (it was memorably exhilarating ❤️) and up for sale at Borders Malaysia, I reflect on my growth in the last one year, not just from a non-writer to a coauthor but also as a person. Truly grateful for the YES to Fuen Yee .

For any who may still be dragging their feet on this one, here are some bookwriting pointers to help you take the first step – based on my experience and as guided by mentor Fuen Yee:
1. mentor/s – to help you get clarity and direction
2. deep reflection – what really touches / matters / moves you
3. sharing – bounce your thoughts with others – speaking out gives you ‘auto-clarity’ as you need to make sense to others
4. discipline – commit to what works for you based on total number of words eg 100 words a day
5. write first – let your thoughts flow as a writer, do not bring out the ‘grammar teacher’ in you every minute and keep editing – that will only disrupt your flow
6. back & forth insanity – move forward on your writing each day instead of ‘dreaming’ endlessly of a newer, better version, and going back and making endless changes (or do it, if the aim is to get crazy yourself and to drive others up that coconut tree)
7. objective – always revisit and stay true to the objective of your book

Of course there are many more pointers. Just make a start.
If I can, you definitely can!