My first book was published in 2007 under the name “New York Love Stories”. The book was a compilation of a series of 50 entries from my blog. It was about my first love and experiences in New York during my college years. It was nothing serious or formal but rather just different entries that I shared with the online community. However, as the story progressed, it attracted more viewers. People started telling each other about it and the words got spread around. Within a short period of time, the number of viewers and followers of the blog jumped to the thousands. Instantaneously it became a internet sensation before the book was even finished. In August 2007, after receiving such positive feedback, I decided to put all of the parts together and turned it into a book. By the end of the same year, the book became a best seller. My book also was a source for controversy and debate because it was the first time in Vietnam that a book was ever published from blog entries. People were not used to the writing style and thought that it was unconventional. Many people also claimed that the book was poorly written because of the mix of English and Vietnamese throughout the book. Some people were upset that the book became a best-seller when it was written by a “Blogger” instead of a renounced or properly trained writer. Nevertheless, the book made its mark within a short period of time and was also very distinguished from other books in that fact that an audio CD was also enclosed with each printed copy, something that has not been done before as well.
Within 3 years since the first book was published, the book was republished for 4 more times until I decided that the 5th edition would be the last one to be reprinted.
By 2009, I published another book called “Not just a blog, but also…”. This time, the book is a collection of various posts that I have shared on my Yahoo 360 blog for the past three years. The entries are mostly about my family, my travels, photos and interesting stories that I experienced along the way. My only intention of publishing the book was to be used as a token to thank my wonderful family, friends and enthusiasts who have given me a great amount of support and encouragement throughout the years. The book was only printed once with 2000 copies and it is now completely sold out.
I plan to publish more books in the future yet I still don’t consider myself as a writer or an author. My writing style doesn’t have the technicalities of a “writer”. I just blog about my daily life, the things around me, and my experiences along the trips. My only purpose is simply to SHARE with people how wonderful and beautiful the world is.
