Another winner! That Kind of Guy giveaway

One more person is getting a copy of That Kind of Guy!

I opened up the giveaway another week, and received these lovely entries. (Hope you take the time to check each out.)

1    Joie  Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 5:51 PM
2    April Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 9:48 PM
3    Ula Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 10:55 PM
4    Tricia Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 12:03 AM
5    Roseann Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 3:01 PM
6    Monique Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 11:03 AM
7    Agay Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 11:32 AM
8    Chris Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 1:31 PM

Random.org screenshot...

And then clicked on "Generate..."

Tada!

 

 

Congratulations, Roseann! Please email me your preferred mailing address!

Thank you all for participating. I loved reading your entries. (They were, in fact, very inspiring -- and that means a lot since I'm a romance writer. Not that I was planning to write my next story about any of you. Or if I were, I'd ask for your permission!)

That Kind of Guy - Cover Reveal and Giveaway winners

My new book, published by Summit, is coming out this month. And here's the cover!

 

That Kind of Guy

Good girl Julie never expected her hot former-player boyfriend to propose marriage. But when he did, she turned him down for reasons even she couldn't figure out. Will she settle for a nice, safe guy instead? Or will she let him find his way back into her carefully guarded heart?

As a treat for the mailing list subscribers, I also offered free copies of That Kind of Guy to people who blogged about their kind of guy. And here are the winners!

Lee, the kind of guy who never forgets

Leia, who likes them witty and caring

Tina, looking out for a reader (and that's not all!)

Chachic, whose kind of guy should know what to do with a bookish wishlist

Thank you for participating! I loved reading the posts. Please email me a mailing address. You're all getting the book as soon as it comes out. :)

But wait! I think I can give another book away... so I'm opening up the giveaway to all of you. Here's how!

1. Post something cute/interesting/revealing/scandalous (maybe not scandalous) on your blog about the topic "My Kind of Guy." Is he tall, dark, fictional? Have you met him? Are you already with him? Feel free to include That Kind of Guy's cover in your post! You have until April 16, Monday.
2. If you are a guy, by all means, post about what kind of guy you are. In a relationship. You know what I mean.
3. Email a link to the post to minavesguerra@gmail.com.
4. I will be sharing the links sent to me on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, and picking a winner via random.org.
5. Winners based in the Philippines will get a copy of the book in print, when it comes out. If you win and you happen to be based overseas, I'll send you the Kindle version, when it comes out.

Have fun with it! I appreciate every post, I really do. :)

Interview with GMA News Online

Recently I met with Meann Ortiz (writer for GMA News Online), and then this happened:

Mina V. Esguerra: Young publisher in pajamas

PS. -

I've lost a few of those notebooks. :( Or rather, someone lost them.
Katrina Ramos Atienza's book that started it all was Pink Shoes.
Before I ended up on Amazon, I considered releasing the book as mobile phone content. (Still open to that.)
Interim Goddess of Love will be in other online ebook retailers in April.
More info about That Kind of Guy will be sent to my mailing list -- on Monday!
Based on my informal survey, half of my reader respondents found me through bookstores. (Still accepting responses. How did you find out about me? People who send in answers become part of a giveaway!)

Props to Barnes and Noble and Nook owners

I don't mention Barnes and Noble all that much, when I talk about publishing my ebooks. Even though some of my books have been on their Nook store for over a year, the sales weren't significant enough (less than 5% of total) for me to sing their praises.

2012 has been a different story so far. Without any special marketing targeted to Nook owners, my books have been doing very well on Barnes and Noble this year. On some weeks, even better than Amazon. A mere two months ago, I had all but written off my B&N presence -- I live in the Philippines, and we can't even buy books from the B&N site. Who else would buy a contemporary romance novel written by a Filipino there? 

I don't know the answer to that yet, but they are buying.

This just shows me, again, that I was wrong, but I am glad to be wrong in this case. Ebook publishing is still the Wild West in many ways. 

What I should do is give props to B&N and the other retailers. It cost me nothing to place my books on Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iBooks, Sony, Goodreads, Flipreads... Even just one sale is a good thing. That means someone took a chance on me and my books, and that was the original goal, really. For people to read the books. 

So thank you, and here, have some hugs!

Love, 
Indie Author from the Philippines

What would Ellie wear? (office romantic)

Ellie Manuel (of Fairy Tale Fail), styled by Katrina Ramos Atienza.

I guess I never thought that much about it before, but the romance, the practical but girly gear, it all makes sense. How did you imagine Ellie?

Ellie by kratienza featuring summer dresses

Paul Smith summer dress, $545
Dries Van Noten longsleeve shirt, £420
CALYPSO ST BARTH long shirt, $225
Pleated skirt, $50
Stuart Weitzman high heels, $365
NV London Calcutta leather handbag, £135
Ben Amun glass necklace, $75
Kate spade bangle, $59
Jamie Joseph rose ring, $860
Yellow gold bangle, £70

Pajamas Tip: Become an ebook retailer affiliate

Another way to earn while in pajamas. Or your choice of sleepwear.

There's a column in one of my ebook sales reports that I always see, but never really thought about: Affiliate Sales.

Smashwords, the incredibly helpful publishing/distribution platform for ebooks (I use them for all of my independently-published books), also offers their members to option to become an affiliate. Meaning anyone -- through websites, blogs, or social media accounts -- can earn money by successfully referring an ebook to someone. The standard percentage is 11%, but it can go higher depending on the author/publisher. This is credited to a Paypal account.

I understand why some will decide against doing this, but if you actually are, and as an affiliate you've been responsible for helping my sales go up, please tell me about it? I would like to say thanks.

Signing up as a Smashwords affiliate, by the way, means you can earn from referring any Smashwords book, and not just mine. (For the record.)

Amazon also has an affiliate program, although I don't get any reports from them. But all the same, if you're an Amazon affiliate and you've actually helped sell my books, tell me, please!

Love Your Frenemies on Smashwords
Fairy Tale Fail on Smashwords

The Lam-Ang Experiment

Not sure how many couples do this, but you know what my husband and I talk about while stuck in Makati traffic? Stories. Novels, short stories, screenplays, you name it. They're always in the idea stage, and sometimes they can get wildly impractical and crazy.

For example, the idea of retelling Filipino epic poem "Biag ni Lam-ang" as a sci-fi graphic novel. My husband Mike has a thousand and one ideas like this, and for this particular story he actually knew what he wanted to do and how he was going to write it. But it sounded like such a wacky project. How could we even get that off the ground? Who would draw it? How would it even get distributed and printed?

And then, lo and behold --

A year after I first heard his story outline, likely somewhere along C5 or Buendia, it is here, and it is called The Lam-Ang Experiment (Book One: Alan M.G.). Written by Michael A.R. Co and illustrated by the talented guys at Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines, this is just the first of three graphic novels that put the Lam-Ang story in space. 

Since its release on Amazon last week, it has made it to #1 on Amazon's Hot New Releases chart for Sci Fi Graphic Novels a few times. And yes, I'm very proud. :) 

Thank you for the support!