L.I.T.E.R.A.L. #4: What will make you truly feel that you’ve made it as a writer?

L.I.T.E.R.A.L. is a weekly blog meme for authors hosted at Indie Books. We created it to serve as a support group for participants of the Author at Once workshops, but we welcome all writers (from anywhere in the world) who’d like to weigh in on the topics! 

Here’s our L.I.T.E.R.A.L. topic for the week of 19-25 November 2012:

“What will make you truly feel that you’ve made it as a writer? Seeing your byline? Holding the book in your hands? Seeing it climb up the charts? Your first book launch? What will finally get you to tell people that yes, you are a writer?”

There was this moment, in June 2009, when I first saw my book on an actual bookstore shelf.

But soon that wasn't enough, still didn't call myself a writer, or felt like one. I felt that I needed another moment to arrive, maybe that would make it seem more real. So the next "moment" was when I saw the first review for my book. And then it was my first fan email. And then it was the release of my second book. And so on. It was like I was expecting a change, but it was taking a while.

What I learned since then is that I shouldn't wait until that thing happens before calling myself a "writer." Writers write, so yes, I was doing that, and I guess that's what I always was.

(I just retconned my life there! You can do it too.)

Visit bronzeage.ph/indiebooks

An ebook is still a book (rinse and repeat)

So this is my stand now: If you read it, then it's a book. Maybe it has hard covers and a dust jacket, or it's 6 x 9 with cream colored paper, or it's tiny and fits in my bag, or it's large font on my e-ink reader, or it's reflowable on my iPad... if I read it, then it's a book.

(Arguable: if I listen to it in the car, is it a book? But that's another discussion.)

As a reader, I get to decide which format and edition works best for me. I used to prefer trade paperbacks, but now that I've got an active toddler at home, I never have two hands free to read them. I recently received the hardcover of The Scorpio Races from the people at the Filipino Readercon, but my reading progress was so slow because I can only really read it at home, and when my daughter's asleep.

And then one day I just said, why am I dragging my feet on this? I like the story, I'm really enjoying it, and want to read as much of it as I can. Why wait? So I got the ebook version, and now I'm reading it on my iPad outside, after work, as I grab a bite before heading home, on the cab line, and even at home, when my daughter's fast asleep and the lights are out. No delays.

Last night, while the iPad was charging up, I read twenty-five pages using the hardcover edition.

I understand why some readers feel that there are sides and they have to choose one, because they're being asked to pay twice, and usually the costs are competitively similar. But I hope they eventually realize that there are no sides, and that maybe in the future, purchasing one edition (maybe with a premium) allows a buyer access to all formats.

I was asked my opinion on this topic recently on the Facebook group of the Freelance Writers Guild of the Philippines, and I said something like: Writers very rarely get a say in how their book looks and feels. So loving the physical book, its pages, its cover, the font, the smell -- that is a bond made with the printer and publisher, rather than the writer.

As a reader, you choose the format that allows you to best enjoy the book.

As a publisher, you make sure that your books are available in all formats the readers want, and at the cost they're willing to pay.

As a writer, you appreciate and reward the people who enjoy your work and follow your career in whatever format your work appears in.

So anyway. I just wanted to say that an ebook is a book is a book. And if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to reading The Scorpio Races (on hardcover) while my daughter's still asleep.

Cover Reveal: Fairy Tale Fail, the Summit Books edition

Soon, at a bookstore near you (if you live in the Philippines):

Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra

Ellie thought she knew what she wanted in a guy: someone dependable, and someone she could bring home to her parents. In other words, a good guy to complete her happily-ever-after fairy tale. But when her good guy boyfriend all of a sudden dumps her in the place she least expected -- saying that she is "a failure at relationships" -- Ellie feels she has to fight harder to make her fairy tale come true.

But when Lucas, whom Ellie secretly calls Rock Star, enters her life and starts challenging everything she believes in, she has to face the truth about her goals and dreams. Will Ellie find the fairy tale she's always dreamed of? And more importantly, who will fill the swashbuckling shoes of Prince Charming to give her story the happy ending she so deserves?

(This is a cool rewrite of the book description, by the way. Kudos to you, you know who you are!)

Average Georgia: Grainy photo fame, I hate you

Heels v flats by mina-v-esguerra featuring high heel pumps

Georgia has another encounter with minor celeb "Scarlet," and concludes that the universe is punishing her for something. New Average Georgia now up on Wattpad!

Fiction recipes

A few days ago I shared some quick thoughts about plotting on Twitter, in case anyone doing NaNoWriMo would find it helpful. I've been following some WriMo posts about plot, and that just happens to be one of the more enjoyable parts of the writing process to me.

So this is how I worked on the plot of some of my books:

My Imaginary Ex is patterned after a heist, using flashbacks as a device to keep the narrative moving along. Knowing it was a heist (and Zack is what they were trying to steal) made this one of the easiest stories to write -- finished it in a month, and everything fell into place when I was writing the outline.

Love Your Frenemies is a take on the "one last job" trope, which of course means that the main character is doomed to fail at something. It worked for the story, which takes place in a short period and also uses flashbacks to explain things.

Fairy Tale Fail is a more deliberate attempt at using the fairy tale template, in this case Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folk Tale. Each chapter actually corresponds to one step in that stereotypical hero's journey, and those were supposed to have been my chapter headings, but I removed them at the last minute. Using this template made it easier to finish the story, after two false starts.

Interim Goddess of Love was written with the episode structure of TV show The Good Wife as inspiration. That show does a good job of drawing you in with a standalone case, but keeps you with the serial stories that stretch out over several episodes. When I get stuck on a scene, I think of how it would appear on The Good Wife. Weird but it helps.

I guess this is more of a discussion on how the story is told, rather than what it is. The common thread of all of the stories I've written has so far been romance, but how the story is told can be slightly different, or can grab from other genres. Put it all together and hopefully everyone has fun with it.

This is how I do print on demand (in the Philippines)

Even though ebooks account for most of my sales, I still get requests for paperback versions. There are people who just prefer it, and who am I to turn away a willing reader just because I didn't have a print copy of my book?

A company called Books On Demand has been printing the Philippine editions of my self-published books (they're the tiny paperbacks I started selling in November 2011, in case you have one in your possession right now). Prior to discovering them I was using CreateSpace, which is great too, except they were printing the books out of the US and I was spending a lot on shipping. Books On Demand is just in Ortigas! So so cool. (Update: I also work with Marikina-based JMD Copy Print! Their phone number is 919-3283 and they also print one copy minimum.)

Anyway, I just had a nice conversation with them today, and I think I should maybe post some of the questions I often get about how we work together. Because we think some people don't yet realize how easy and affordable it all is.

What does one need to do to get their book printed?

Prepare your book the way you want to see it laid out in print. They have some guidelines, which you can request, and they'll accept your PDF file. Send also your front cover, back cover, and spine images.

What I do: My books are simple and usually just text (with some illustrations), so I just send a layout done in Word and saved as PDF. Could it look better? Of course, but I do it this way to keep my costs low. So far my layout costs are zero. My covers are done by more artistic people, so I just get a hi-res JPG of them and email them over.

How many copies do they require an author to order and buy?

One copy.

Of course, it'll be an expensive single copy if you decide to do that, because they have to put some work into making sure your book looks good. As with most things that scale, the price per copy goes down the more copies you order.

What I do: I take pre-orders, and accept payment prior to delivery. This way my first order is always way more than 1 copy, so I can negotiate for a lower per-copy rate. And I don't end up paying for excess copies out of my own savings, nor do I have zillions of copies lying around waiting to be bought. I tried that and don't really have the space to keep that going.

How much does it cost to print a book?

My books are small, an estimated 4.25 x 6.75 in, and rarely go over 150 pages. I'm able to sell them at P300 apiece, which means it costs less than that to produce them.

I must mention that I don't make a lot of money from selling them at P300, so the markup isn't that huge. I've also started giving away the profit by offering cupcakes to the people who buy this edition. But it's not about profit anyway. (Business experts, don't yell at me.)

If the book isn't in the best shape yet, will they help out?

Books On Demand can help with the editing, layout, cover design and even the publishing legwork (getting an ISBN etc) for a fee. I don't use these services myself, but I've seen them do this for other client authors.

Can they ship a book order directly to the buyer?

Yes they can.

What I do: I tend to pick up the books myself, from their office in Ortigas, because I usually offer to sign the paperbacks ordered directly from me. They've offered to do the shipping for me and I'd actually recommend it. Shipping in many cases costs less than setting up a meetup, and more practical when the buyer is in a province or faraway city.

What kinds of books do they print?

A wide range of stuff. The thing to remember is that if it's a conventional enough book, then they can print it. You're in effect hiring them to print your book, instead of submitting a book for their approval. You're in charge.

So yeah, this is how I do it. This means I don't have that many copies of my own books at home anymore. When someone places an order, I just send off an email to Books On Demand and tell them to print my book. Sometimes they print five books at a time for me, sometimes just one. And then I pick it up, ship it to the buyer. And maybe buy cupcakes.

It's not that difficult. Writing the book, that's what's difficult. So go do that, and then get your paperback already.

(PS. Are they paying you to talk about them? They sometimes sponsor our Author at Once workshops, but no I don't personally receive anything to talk about them. Just a happy customer.)

Trick or treat

What you're looking at right here is the candy bar at my sister's wedding, my major contribution being the hauling of classic Pinoy candies Kendi Mint, Orange Swits, Flat Tops, and Butterball all the way to Texas, from Manila. Despite being maid of honor, I didn't get to do much maid-of-honorly things at all, because I was taking care of a fussy jetlagged baby the whole time.

What is a maid of honor usually expected to do? Definitely throw the bride a party, take over logistics so she can enjoy her day in peace, and assist her as she negotiates stairs and steps on the stilts she chose to wear. Did I do any of that? Nope!

It just occurred to me that Kimmy was a better maid of honor than I was. Eep! At least I brought candy!