How Metro Writers Works

As a company specialising in book-length projects for premium clients, we take a systematic and creative approach in making sure our books are written well, written quickly, and express exactly what you have in mind. Preparing a book is no small task, and it can be an overwhelming project if you don’t know what you’re doing – which is why our closely-integrated team of creative professionals is prepared to make every effort to ensure things go as smoothly as possible from start to finish.

In our business, we have one overriding rule – this is your book. We know how to write a good story, and we know how to produce something that people will want to read – but the overall creative control is always yours. You talk, we listen, and we write your book the way you want it written. We prepare the majority of our books for Vietnamese nationals who want to make a big impression on their readers, whether it be people in their own family, industry colleagues, members of the public, or readers overseas. Whatever the subject or nature of the book, it must first satisfy you before it satisfies the world – and it must convey your own voice, especially if you wish to retain all authorship rights to the manuscript. Best of Both Worlds Unless otherwise requested, all of Metro Writers’ books are published in both Vietnamese and English. This is done to ensure that the full maturity of international writing and publishing techniques is brought to your publication, as well as to preserve the Vietnamese context in the local edition. It’s our experience that this method manages to convey a truly Vietnamese meaning – even in the English version of the text – and yet still produces an international-standard quality of writing that Vietnamese-only publications do not typically capture. In order to achieve this balance between the Vietnamese and English editions of your book, we employ staff who are exceptionally fluent in both languages. This includes a number of overseas Vietnamese writing professionals, expat students of the Vietnamese language with experience in publishing abroad, and local Vietnamese-born writers with an exceptional literary talent in English. It is through the coordination of this highly-skilled team that Metro Writers books consistently hit the target in both languages. The Creative Process As a client of Metro Writers, you will be the focal point for all research. Typically, you will be interviewed in your own language by a professional, bilingual researcher, a process that usually takes four hours per chapter of your finished book. These interviews will be digitally recorded, and you will have access to these recordings at any time on request – otherwise, they will remain strictly confidential.

Our research will usually involve a number of further interviews with other people of relevance to the project either by the same researcher or by another member of our production team as appropriate. You may nominate the individuals with whom we’ll need to speak, or you may designate a point person to coordinate the interviews and to provide any documentation of relevance to the research. Either way, you will retain full control – we won’t speak to anyone without your prior authorisation, and we’ll only publish material you’re comfortable with including in your book. The chapter drafts will be written by a native English speaker in collaboration with the researcher assigned to your book project. Our foreign staff are published writers with years of experience in Vietnam, ensuring not only international-standard writing, but also a sensitivity to the Vietnamese point of view. A Vietnamese version of the same text will be produced concurrently by a bilingual Vietnamese professional, and once the writing is complete, you’ll be presented with the draft for your revision. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to review the content of the book before the final version is written, and our staff will be happy to make any adjustments you require. The Complete Package Every book is different, and any additional services you need will depend on the nature of your project. We offer additional design and publishing services, and we’re able to meet any demands you may have regarding the production of your book – whether you’re looking for a small number of prints for private distribution or a massive print run for international sale. Our full range of services includes:

Physical book & cover design
Full layout of text and photographs
eBook formats (PDF, EPUB and MOBI)
Professional photography by foreign photographers
Printing and publishing arrangements according to your specifications on the number of copies, binding method, paper quality, colour, size, and so on
International and/or local distribution
Promotional materials (such as brochures, posters, and leaflets advertising your book)
Revisions of the text prior to publishing, and for further editions later on