Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a 16-year-old Vietnamese studying in Singapore under ASEAN scholarship. I am passionate in writing things that can help other people, which is the main drive for me to write and publish my first book “From teen to teen: How to attain your best life”. Hope you will enjoy reading it!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest and only book is “From teen to teen: How to attain your best life”. The main drive for me to write the book is to write a guide that is helpful, practical and realistic to help teenagers overcome their problems in life and achieve their goals. Another motivation that pushed me to write the book is the fact that there are many self-help books in the market but only a few of them are written for teenagers, and most are written by adults, so their view and experience may not be helpful or applicable to teenagers nowadays. Hence, from my own experience as a teenager as well as additional research, I’ve written and published my first book “From teen to teen: How to attain your best life” and I can’t wait to write more in the future!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing short stories which I came up with myself since I was in primary school. Most of them are quite simple and funny but there is always a moral lesson behind each story, and it’s fortunate that my parents still keep them pristine until today, which is a precious piece of my childhood.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the book “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie. He’s just a master in interacting with other people, and I hope to be able to write such masterpieces one day which can truly help other people and change their lives.
What are you working on now?
Currently I’m focusing on my study since my final years of high school are approaching, but definitely I will keep up with my writing passion and I aim to publish another book before I enter university. This time I will write a more friendly book with small anecdotes, and I will write it in Vietnamese first, then translate to English later, unlike my first book which I wrote originally in English.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think Awesome Gang is the best site to promote your book. Not only they have a free promotion option, you can also pay a reasonable amount to get your book promoted and see great results. You can also try promoting your book on social media, which requires a lot of effort, but I think the result is really worthwhile.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep on writing, don’t give up! You will never be able to climb the mountain of success if you don’t take the first step. All authors have been through the same hardship you’re going through, and believe me, their success is the result of their tremendous amount of blood, sweat and tears.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Finishing writing and publishing a book is only half of the journey. Promoting and selling it is the other half.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading “The lean startup” by Eric Ries. Although it’s not that appropriate for my age I still find the lessons from the book somewhat applicable to my life.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As I mentioned earlier, I intend to write another self-help book soon, but it’s going to be a funny one filled with anecdotes, a different style which I really want to try out.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“The Greatness Guide”, “The Alchemist”, “Deception Point”, “Once upon a cow”
Author Websites and Profiles
Vuong Pham Amazon Profile
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Goodreads Profile
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