Sergey was born and raised in the USSR before moving to London and then to Singapore. He came to talk to us about his novel, which he describes as a partial autobiography, partial social history. The businessman, working with investing, began his journey in writing his autobiography when he told stories to his children about his very unique childhood. He described to us how he would use a powder instead of toothpaste, tried cereal for the first time at the age of 18, didn’t have access to yogurt, etc.
After realizing that his children had no clue who he was, he decided to start writing his novel. The first step he took towards this book was when he allocated 2 hours of free time where he isolated himself to write down facts and stories. The next thing he did was try and connect the stories by adding and removing stories. This took a really long time. Sergey revealed that he spent around 10% of his time writing and 90% editing. Following this came a one year period where he worked with an American publisher and editor refining the book.
Interesting facts:
-It was quite eco-friendly, they didn’t have many disposable items
What interested me about this was the journey he took writing his book. Contrary to my previous beliefs, you don’t have to take an English course in college to write a successful book and you definitely don’t have to make a career out of it. This is comforting because I have dreamed of writing a book but definitely don’t want that to be a full-time job or want to take a literature course in college.