Mina V. Esguerra's Blog, page 16

Totally Engaged (Six 32 Central #4)

Here is the cover, and soon the buy links, for my next book!

Book description:

Rose Alban, 41, has been happily living alone and single in Manila. When her entire family moved to the US she became responsible for their house and since then she’s transformed it into her home, her sanctuary, and base for a new and more fulfilling career. She was even able to convert the garage into a studio apartment, that she’s now renting out to her friend’s brother Pascal Cortes, 39, former MBA professor who’s now heading operations at an exciting education startup at a nearby business district.  

That’s not enough for her mother and well-meaning relatives, who want nothing more than to see her join them in the US by any means necessary. When they surprise her with a visit, Rose knows the only way they’ll finally stop plotting to get her a green card is if they see her settled down—so of course she asks the hot prof next door to pretend to be her fiancé.

Cover credits: Designed by Tania Arpa, photo shoot directed by Chi Yu Rodriguez/RomanceClass Covers, models Kirsten and Dre.

Buy links: [soon!]

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Reflecting on Hello, Ever After

Writing about tragedy is not my lane. I may have tried it once or twice as a younger writer, but when deciding on a writing career, I chose—and stayed—in the romance lane. It’s a misconception that these books are all sunshine and rainbows, but I will argue that it’s about that light and hope that we have to find and maybe create in darkness.

When the darkness and the tragedy is absolutely based on reality, I often don’t want to write about it. Last year, as quarantine and lockdown started, and we were starting to see the effects of it on our lives, part of me did not want to acknowledge its existence. I wrote a whole entire book set in 2019, digging deep into a story idea I really wanted to write that did not at all have anything to do with Covid. And then I and several other #RomanceClass authors did the opposite and wrote about Covid.

There is, I can say now, a common anger, sadness, and grief to the episodes that we ended up writing and producing. Because we chose characters we’d already created and released into the world as published work, there were very specific voices we used to channel our feelings. Depending on where and who the characters were, the idea of a lockdown life was different. These scripts and episodes weren’t workshopped. I had finished my script first, so I just shared it with everyone participating so they could see the format. At most our scripts were edited for length (to fit a 10 minute running time when produced), and revised to be on the right side of medical information as we knew it then. (Good thing we had a pathologist, Dr. Celestine Trinidad, among our authors.)

As I write this in April 2021, things have gotten worse in terms of the health care system being stretched; the number of cases per day has risen to new higher defaults; the extreme version of community quarantine was imposed again; businesses have closed; public education has suffered; politicians and rich people flaunted multiple times how the rules don’t apply to them; many loans granted in the name of Covid were announced but people are jobless and hungry; our vaccination rate hovers at 1.1% and people are dying before getting their first shot; the vaccines we have were acquired in a fraught and corrupt process and even as our lives are theoretically being saved, we are made to accept less than we deserve.

But also (because it’s in my lane to find slivers of light, don’t tell me it’s a futile exercise) of those vaccinated, many of them are our healthcare workers and senior citizens, as prioritized. I’ve gotten my first shot, because of a health condition considered a “comorbidity.” As government systems fail us, communities and very specific public servants step up. The Office of the Vice President has been a light, as has been the very recent community pantry movement. It also was the network of communities, in our own neighborhoods and others, that got essentials for us during the worst of the lockdowns. There are so many stories of what formed to fill gaps.

Hello, Ever After was a community effort and it’s often my instinct to downplay it. In this space, let me talk it up—I’m proud of what we were able to do.

Episode 1, my episode Make Good Days, features Ben and Naya from my book What Kind of Day. Ben is a senator’s speechwriter, and would have been right in the thick of things but on the government side, but here I had him reflect on a eulogy he has to write for someone he hasn’t met, now that Covid’s death toll has meant eulogies are part of his job. Naya had a tour business, and was joining a bigger firm as their travel consultant (a career move I had actually written into the book) but now that job is no longer on the table and she’s worried about her future.

Episode 2, “We Will Be Okay” by Celestine Trinidad, is about Cris and Nathan from her book Ghost of a Feeling. The book is already a careful portrayal of the mental health toll of their jobs for people who work in health care, and the episode takes this couple (a doctor and a pharmacist) and places them right in the storm of the long shifts, vigilance against misinformation, the stolen moments for meals and video calls.

Episode 3, “Safe Space” by Miles Tan, features her characters Carlisle and Mateo from Finding X. This one is about the responsibilities conveyed on the “quarantine pass holder”. Who takes care of the people taking care of an entire household? What do they need? (Donuts and samgyupsal can work.)

Episode 4, “Happy Endings, Please, and Thank You” by Tara Frejas, features Audrey and Pio from her book Like Nobody’s Watching. Pio is an actor who’s away on a “lockdown shoot” and his girlfriend Audrey’s helping him rehearse his script from home. The movie Pio’s doing is dark and triggering, and Audrey questions why this is the kind of entertainment he has to make—and why this is the art that gets funded—while people are sick and worried and exhausted.

Episode 5, “Lab Notes” by Six de los Reyes, shows Kaya and Nero from her book Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions. This conversation is about how a long lockdown feels for people who actually didn’t mind the isolation before—that maybe there is a limit, and our relationships and friendships help us cope.

Episode 6, “Midnight Melodies” by Carla de Guzman, is about Adam and Isabel from her book How She Likes It. Isabel is a CEO dealing with the pressure of safely bringing her business back up when there has been no mass testing or support for the business sector—and that’s through midnight stress baking and watching Netflix with Adam.

Episode 7 is “Favorite Alarm” by Jay E. Tria, with her characters Ringo and Kris from You Out of Nowhere. This is a too-early video call, with Ringo already at work, because he’s “essential” and work-from-home doesn’t apply to him. It’s about that reality of people who have to keep going to work, and small business owners like Kris who have to adapt.

Episode 8, “No Giving Up” by Ana Tejano, features Nico and Faith from her book Keep the Faith. Nico and Faith are disaster relief workers, who have to keep working because disasters still happen in a pandemic. On a regular day their work takes a toll on their well-being and mental health. The long days and lack of government support in a pandemic is a lot—or too much.

Episode 9, “Kalad-quarantine” by Bianca Mori, has her characters Mags and Luke from Chasing Waves. Mags and her son were in La Union when lockdown was announced, suddenly making her relationship with Luke go from office romance to LDR. Spending quarantine in a sunny beach resort and being in an industry where working remotely is a standard, Mags gets to experience the lockdown in relative comfort and she and Luke are still employed, but that doesn’t mean they’re unaware of the world crumbling for others who aren’t as lucky.

Episode 10 is “Reconnected,” by Angeli E. Dumatol with her characters Alexa and Theo from her YA book Heartstruck. In this episode Alexa and Theo are trying to study together for online class, through internet connection troubles, and talking about the prom they likely won’t get to have.

Episode 11 is “Hugs You Can Hear” by Fay Sebastian, featuring her characters Liam and Erika from her story All About That Bass. Liam’s affected by the lockdown more than he thought he would be, and he’s worried about family members too. Art—and love—helps him cope, and in this episode he and girlfriend Erika bond over composing a song that may help others too.

Episode 12 “That Damn Mouth” by Katt Briones, stars Vinnie and Cholo from Chasing Mr. Prefect. Vinnie as a character has always been parts fire and privilege, and we get to see it in action during lockdown as she tells her boyfriend Cholo how her rage (and her grandmother’s name) helped disadvantaged people against an inept local government—and how messed up and dangerous it is that this is even necessary. But there’s also a birthday cupcake, and the promise of HEA.

This was all created and produced in a few short months. Our rage and sadness and hope captured pretty much in the moment, supported by friends (every expense was covered through crowdfunding) and supporting friends (actors and artists and authors showing up). I’m always proud of #RomanceClass but maybe this is a project that I’ll treasure a little more than others, and still I can’t wait for this to just be “that thing we did in 2020 that’s no longer relevant” because we’re in a better time.

Still, there may be things we can’t unsee or undo now. I do feel this rage and need for accountability will always show up in some way in what I write, and maybe that’s okay. At least now we know that we can write kilig even amidst all this, even as we acknowledge the anger and grief. This is power. And hope. That’s still my lane, our lane.

Apart from the authors who wrote the episodes, Hello, Ever After’s creative team: Tania Arpa, Mina V. Esguerra, Tara Frejas, Miles Tan, Ana Tejano, Layla Tanjutco, Jef Flores, Carla de Guzman. Actors: Raphael Robes, Rachel Coates, Jade Albert, Jef Flores, Gio Gahol, Samantha Aquino, Fred Lo, Gab Pangilinan, Carlos de Guzman, Nikki Bengzon, Davy Narciso, Jam Binay, Migs Almendras, Sofia Santelices.

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Better at Weddings Than You – audiobook edition

I intend to produce an audio edition of every book I’ve ever published and here’s audiobook #3 — BETTER AT WEDDINGS THAN YOU. This book was the first I’d written for my contemporary romance series in alternating POV, and will be the first audiobook I produce that has two narrators. (If that kind of info is interesting to you haha.) Very excited to have Rachel Coates and Gio Gahol working with me on this one!

As of April 15, we’re still in production, but you can listen to Chapter 2 narrated by Rachel Coates here:

Better at Weddings Than You audio edition – Chapter 2

Ebook and Print Edition Links:  Amazon Gumroad Google Play Apple iTunes Kobo B&N Nook
Book Depository Barnes & Noble Print (Philippines)

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Talk: Reading and Teaching Filipino Chick Lit and Contemporary Romance (for Sari-Sari/AdMU)

Sharing with you all my script for the lecture Reading and Teaching Filipino Chick Lit and Contemporary Romance (Like You Care, Like You Mean It, Like You Respect It). This was developed after, let’s admit, several Twitter and Facebook rants about how our books are being taught in schools. Thank you to the Filipino Department of the Ateneo de Manila University for having me! I prepared this for the lecture, recorded on Zoom and broadcast on Radyo Katipunan, and read this mostly verbatim. A Q&A (no transcript available) followed, where questions were in a mix of Filipino and English, and my answers were a mix of languages too. Part 1 of our recording was broadcast on April 14.

Hello, my name is Mina V. Esguerra and I am here to talk about reading and teaching Filipino Chick Lit and Contemporary Romance, Like You Care Like You Mean It Like You Respect It. I am a romance author and publisher. My first book was published in 2009. Since then I have written and published 25 standalone books mainly in the subgenre of contemporary romance, in English, and my work often features Filipino characters.

My background: my degrees are AB Comm, Ateneo de Manila University and Masters in Development Communication, University of the Philippines. Before releasing my first book I had already worked 10 years in editorial and web publishing, including a career as a consultant tasked to build international online communities for development. I’ve been a published author for 12 years. I’ve been a publisher of romance books for 11 years. I founded the writing community #RomanceClass 8 years ago, and my latest “job” is that I am now a media adaptation agent, representing books written with the romanceclass community, by Filipino authors. 

Before I proceed I am going to define some terms that I will be using. When I say chick lit, I mean that the book has a female main character and the plot is about her life, her goals, her happiness. 

When I say Filipino chick lit, the main character of the book is Filipino but it may be written in English. When I say Filipino contemporary romance the main characters are Filipino and the main plot is romance, but the book may be written in English.

When I talk about romance, it means that the book has romance as its main plot. Not subplot, not accompanying plot, but the main plot. And it has a required “happy ending” meaning the characters choose each other in the end. In the industry that has been called “emotional justice.” 

The 21st Century Contemporary Philippine Literature modules I’ve seen have featured my book under “Chick Lit” which is no longer relevant if it means the candy-colored genre of books released in the early 2000s, because Philippine publishers have stopped publishing this entire genre. When invited to speak at a DepEd teacher training session for Senior High School at PNU in 2017, I talked about this and said that to keep this part of the module current, they’ll need to consider contemporary romance and young adult, which is what publishers and authors of chick lit moved on to by 2012. 

Now most of us write romance. I founded a romance writing community in 2013, and it’s called #romanceclass. Since then we’ve helped over 80 Filipino authors write and publish over 100 books. We write in English and we sell these books in print and digital and audio, available to a worldwide audience. 

Romance is a billion-dollar industry worldwide, with a readership in the reported millions. In the Philippines, we have a readership in the hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions. We can know this because reports are available: book sales, surveys, and analytics from sites like Wattpad. In 2020, during lockdown, I released a new book and experienced my best ever release day numbers. In 2020, My Wattpad account gained 24,000 new followers, most of them following me during ECQ. In terms of books written, books sold, and books read, romance by Filipino authors is thriving and I see that in every publishing space that I’m present in. The genre and its authors deserve a place in the study of 21st Century Philippine Literature. We also deserve respect.

For a romance reader and writer the disrespect can be avoided if you join the right communities, which is why we’ve formed ours and keep it as welcoming and safe as we can. The disrespect we routinely experience is coming from classrooms, and all connected to it. It’s in class discussions where people routinely discuss the validity of a genre they obviously don’t read. It’s in writers workshops where romance authors are not invited to submit romance. It’s in awards where there are no romance categories or romance doesn’t get to compete. It’s in faculties where no one teaches or specializes in romance scholarship. It’s in class assignments where books are chosen for convenience rather than content, and copies are not provided. It’s in modules where the activity doesn’t require reading, but a report that “predicts the ending”—because they don’t intend to supply the full book or even read it. What’s the point? 

…Am I expecting too much? If you teach this differently, and you actually already care, and respect the work, then thank you. It’s possible that I’m seeing the worst version of this because I attend these events and often have to hear the complaining about popular literature, and I write a popular genre. Maybe it’s because I’m also seeing it from my email inbox, when students email me asking for help with their assignments. I used to think they were lazy, but after a while I noticed that the requests were too similar. One common request was “What’s the ending of My Imaginary Ex?” That’s my book, and that question was sent to me more than once. I have a Google Alert for my book title and that question appeared in online forums where students crowdsource answers for their homework. That led me to find at least two schools using modules where indeed, there was 1 chapter of my book and then an assignment to “predict the ending.” Because the book was never intended to be provided or read. I don’t know if the teachers have read it. I am currently the only publisher of My Imaginary Ex, and I have not received any order from any school that apparently is teaching my book to their senior high school students.

Is it too much, to expect that a school have a copy of a book they’ve included in their subject? To expect that the teachers at least know how it ends—because there’s no need to “predict an ending” in a romance. Knowing the genre’s definition gives you the ending. What is there to predict? Is this an unreasonable thing to ask for? 

Apart from my own personal experience, there is a documented disrespect of the romance and chick lit genres, and people have suggested strongly that it’s because it is associated with women writers. If the genres are included in a course about Philippine literature, and people teaching it feel that they can even though they haven’t read it or studied it, then that is a problem, because you might NOT be qualified to teach it. Maybe other genres have this problem, and we can find solutions today to build capacity for not just my genre but others too. I don’t actually expect every single literature teacher to be a romance genre expert, but there are ways to help. 

Some of my suggestions, if you are not an expert:

Choose books with intention. I have 25 published books, and the book of mine that is included in modules for several schools is not what I would have chosen as a representative text for Filipino Chick Lit. I believe it was chosen out of convenience, or the original module author’s familiarity with it, and I’m thankful for the inclusion but it’s not what I would recommend as an impactful and representative book. I know many good books and I am willing to give everyone who asks a list, based on your goals for your class and their age group. 

Understand the genre. I mentioned at the beginning the basics of chick lit, and romance. It would be great if that was how every discussion starts—so people are not studying books looking for things that it’s not meant to have. 

Recognize the gaps in material you’ve been given. I am willing to provide or find recommendation lists, copies of books, speakers, workshops. We can try to do this in a way that is least stressful. My community has pre-recorded author talks, some of us have put entire books free on Wattpad, or can provide copies and discussion questions. Students don’t have to email us asking for copies or answers.

I also have some suggestions for the activities and discussion section of this course, because again I find it useless to ask students to “predict the ending” of a book that actually HAS an ending. There are other discussion questions that also miss the point. For example:

Can you relate to the main character? This kind of question invites judgment and moralizing. Our books are known for its focus on relationships and empathy. Maybe, let’s teach it with empathy. It’s better to ask students HOW and IN WHICH WAYS they relate to the main characters. Similarities rather than differences and judgments.

Was the main character selfish? If the book is chick lit, and the main character is a woman, who as defined by the genre is on her own personal journey, in discussions it never fails to come up that she is being “selfish.” Again, please remember that these books were written with the intention of exploring a woman’s choices. Make your classroom a space of safety and empathy when discussing these books. 

Was there too much romance? A grad student did a paper on me, and asked me to send her a selection of my books. I did that, and she got back to me saying did I have anything that didn’t have too much romance. She noticed my books had too much romance. I am…a romance author. When a book fulfills its genre requirements, then it does that. When it doesn’t, then it’s a failure. I hope we’re not disrespecting books that actually fulfill their main goal—hoping that it fails its genre to be liked by you misses the point.

When we get stuck on basic basic topics then we don’t have time for more interesting ones. I’ll give you examples of some better discussion points right now. How about: 

Is this man a romance hero, or just a decent human being? Can we tell the difference?

Is this true love, or do they have no other choice in an abusive environment?

Is this an empowered choice, or only a fulfillment of unfair obligations?

Who is the villain of this story, and what does this say about the power structures in our lives? What does the story say about giving in, or fighting back?

This is just a few of the many, many more interesting discussions we can have once we treat chick lit and romance books with respect. This part of the study of 21st century Philippine Literature can be an exciting, wonderful space to discuss books that are very accessible and loved and are about issues of identity, coming of age, sex, the patriarchy, family obligations, society’s expectations, functional relationships, mental health, and so much more. These are things that matter so much to your students, that’s why they’re the largest demographic for our books everywhere, all the time. I also teach and hold workshops, but mostly outside of this particular classroom setting, but as I said, I’m willing to help make things better and easier. I’m glad to have been invited here today and will take your questions and requests if you have them.

The post Talk: Reading and Teaching Filipino Chick Lit and Contemporary Romance (for Sari-Sari/AdMU) first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.

What a #RomanceClass working weekend looks like

1. Livestreamed #RomanceClass Podcast season 4 episode 5, where we did fan casts for books by Ana Tejano, Brij Bautista, Suzette de Borja, and Bianca Mori.  I’m proud of my suggestions lol I think we have several excellent love team blockbusters (Fall Like Maine hehe) and before you freak out about my Tom Holland as Suzette’s Sam the expat international school teacher THINK ABOUT IT FIRST. Just think about it. You will come around. Thank you producer/director Tania Arpa for coming in at the end when my internet kicked me out haha.

2. We did our first @romanceclasscovers Zoom shoot with two models in separate locations, this time for a new Jay E. Tria book. We could have shot this separately but maybe it adds something to the energy that we can all see and hear each other, and I think this was super fun (considering it was done in the middle of an infections surge and ECQ–but everyone was home yay). Thank you, D and M, D’s awesome fake girlfriend, M’s real husband and mom. Thank you, Jo, for introducing us!!! 

3.  I don’t have a photo for this but we did a “#RomanceClass Cafe” writing sprint and I was able to write 701 words in an hour. Yay! Hang out at our Discord to see when the next one will be!

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Twitter Q&A Bonus: Writing Sex Scenes

Q from my DM that I’ll eventually get to! I enjoyed the discussion we had (in DM) and will figure out how to make a for-public post about it. Anonymous upon request. Give me some time to compose this! Thank you for the question pic.twitter.com/TvMZnWRPdd

— Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) February 26, 2021

On February 26, I did a Q&A on Twitter, answering questions about writing and romance for National Arts Month. I received one question as a direct message, and it was a good question! We had a little discussion in my DMs about this and with the sender’s permission I’m posting a version of the question and my answer.

First of all, if you’re an author who isn’t yet comfortable writing sex scenes: Please know that you don’t have to! There is absolutely an audience for entire romance books featuring adult characters who do not have sex within the story. If this is your writing preference, know that there are readers who prefer this! We don’t even need to make assumptions about these readers. They exist! They want these books. Their reasons vary and are valid. We developed a definition of heat levels in #RomanceClass so we’re clear when writing about the sex content on the page, and the reader knows it too and can make reading or buying choices accordingly. An author can write at a “lower” heat level their entire career and there will be readers who want exactly that.

OK, now that I’ve said that: On to writing sex scenes. I love that the person mentioned fanfic, because as I thought about how to respond, it clicked for me that methods I picked up from reading and writing fanfic (yes I did that) would form my main advice for writing sex scenes.

Mainly that when I develop my main characters, part of what I think about is their sexual history. What they find hot, what they’re attracted to, what they desire, what they’ve done, what they want to do, what they haven’t done yet, what will be different when they’re having sex with this person who will be their HEA. It’s an exercise that’s strengthened by writing fanfic or being familiar with the concept, because we’re used to speculating about the unsaid, unseen parts of an established character’s lives. Like that, but for characters I made.

The person who sent the question referenced Kiss and Cry, and I’m glad I could use that as an example because I really did put a lot of thought into establishing how Cal and Ram would have sex. Part of the character histories for example was that Calinda was not allowed to date (and consequently did not have sex) in her early twenties. When she finally did, it was a situation she made sure she had control over. Ramirez never stayed very long in Manila, and actually had a friend he was casually seeing and hooking up with when in town. Cal and Ram consider each other “the one who got away” so that was the set-up for how “different” their moments would be together. From there, I decided that together they would be adventurous, playful, somewhat intense, maybe because they’re motivated by regret and not wanting to waste a second chance. The sex scenes would come from knowing that this is how the characters will act. Other characters of mine aren’t motivated this way, so their scenes will be different.

That said, I consider every intimate moment part of this arc, and not just sex scenes. I think someone who isn’t yet comfortable writing on-page sex but would like to eventually get there can write a whole range of intense or quiet or emotional moments that are just as intimate. I love writing the scenes right before characters have sex, and also the ones immediately after. I still love writing those and consider them love scenes too.

I love crafting those scenes and I’m proud of getting through it but I still completely freeze when those scenes are read out loud in front of an audience, so know that some level of discomfort is probably always going to be there, maybe because society tells me to feel that or it’s a natural reaction to a private thing being shared to people. I think those are feelings we can sit with, maybe take time to figure out. Writing this has to be our choice. It’s better when we write it knowing what we need the scene to say.

Some authors I know are probably ready and willing, but are worried about what people in their life will think or say. If it’s that, then that’s when we find writing communities we trust, and maybe publish with pen names. Personally I’ve gotten over this, and just make sure I include a heat level definition at the beginning of my book. My titas who still buy my books and read past that page? They know what they’re getting, and maybe that’s what they wanted all along.

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Suddenly an anthology: TropeTastic2021

I wrote a short story! And right now, it’s only available in the #RomanceClass #TropeTastic2021 anthology. This was put together to raise funds for orgs doing important work right now that we want to support. This was suggested and organized by author Ansela Corsino, and we met as a group (on Zoom) in December 2020 to decide things. Would the stories have something in common? (Yes, a shared setting, as suggested by Carla de Guzman.) It would be easier if we assigned tropes as writing prompts, right? (We’d assign it by roulette, as suggested by Dawn Lanuza.) We all had January 31, 2021 as a deadline, and by that day we received submissions from 15 authors.

#amwritingPTMY #RomanceClass #tropetastic2021 pic.twitter.com/Nd10gp0KiR

— Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) January 6, 2021

My story is the anthology is called “Pleasure To Meet You,” starring Natasha and Julio, who meet when they’re both cast to be each other’s dates on a cable reality show. But Natasha actually recognizes Julio for a very specific niche thing he’s kind of famous for. My assigned trope was “Minor Celebrity.” This was a little project that I had lot of fun writing! I hope you enjoy reading it.

This anthology has 15 all-new romance stories, by Filipino authors who are part of #RomanceClass, and costs $5 or the price you set. Get it at kilig.pub/tropetastic until April 14! We’re donating all proceeds, and as of typing this we’ve already received $857 (PHP41,000). The orgs we are supporting are Project Propel, Gantala Press, and Rock Ed Philippines. If you’ve purchased the anthology, you’ll receive a detailed update on the donations.

Our anthology cover was designed by Tania Arpa, with art by Carla de Guzman, and photography by Chi Yu Rodriguez, featuring models Jef Flores and Jeanne San Juan. Each story has its own critique group, with authors and readers and editors working quickly to help meet the January 31 deadline. Support from #RomanceClass readers and friends online has boosted the order page and what we’ve raised so far—and throughout this—will be because of all of you. Thank you for caring!

Get the RomanceClass TropeTastic Anthology here (until April 14, 2021): kilig.pub/tropetastic

We launched the anthology on YouTube (and it’s also the season premiere of #RomanceClass Podcast season 4!):

The post Suddenly an anthology: TropeTastic2021 first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.

Sometimes it takes 12 years

I rarely write a post about a book while I’m still writing it, but I’d like to get this out of the way about my upcoming release before I fully commit to the story and the choices I have to make there.

From a pep talk I wrote for the Filipino Nanowrimo group in 2010:

The first adult romance manuscript I ever tried writing featured a twenty-something main character whose family had recently immigrated to the United States, but without her, because she had “aged out” of the family petition. That is not at all familiar if you’ve read my first published book My Imaginary Ex, because that manuscript was never actually published. It was kind of there, but not there, and then too much—the last email thread on the matter in 2008 with my editor Ines was that it was 15,000 words over and we would need to cut it down. At that point I quit haha. I told Ines I was withdrawing the manuscript and will instead work on another one. (That was eventually the one that got published.)

This is from the book no one else saw:

Did I really quit this though? Did I? (I guess not lol.) I didn’t know this then, but in the next ten years I would keep writing, and find much fun and joy and purpose writing the small and specific story. This, to me, had always been a fascinating, specific story, that seemed small but was connected to big things. I don’t want to look at the shelved manuscript again, but what I wanted to say lingered. Gnawed at me for, apparently, 12 years.

In 2020, I started writing it again.

#amwritingTE632C pic.twitter.com/Cq0rmjafvJ

— Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) March 18, 2020

The problem with going back to the original manuscript and just publishing it as is, is that they can’t be twenty-somethings anymore. The law has since been changed so “aging out” the way my main character did now rarely happens, or happens differently. The people who’ve gone through this very specific thing are a certain age. So in this renewed attempt to write it, I made the main character 41 years old.

Picking up a shelved project twelve years later—when you’ve spent the years in between still writing romance—can be a cool thing. By now, I’ve written a lot of twenty-somethings and have happily moved on to older characters. I’ve done my time experimenting with what’s popular vs what needs to be written and have figured out what one book can and can’t be. I also confirmed that yeah I still like this trope a lot, there’s something to it!

These two manuscripts are different but ultimately say the same thing. Twelve years later I’ve collected more words and ways to articulate the feeling.

I’ve put a pre-publication preview of my next book TOTALLY ENGAGED, on Wattpad. Here’s what it’s about (if I don’t change it in revisions haha):

Rose (41) has been happily living alone in Manila. When her family surprises her with a visit, she knows they’ll finally stop plotting to get her a green card if they see her settled down—so of course she asks the hot prof (Pascal, 39) next door to pretend to be her fiancé.

The post Sometimes it takes 12 years first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.

#romanceclasscovers update: How, in 2020 (and a cover reveal)

To recap: Yes, we want to see Filipinos on covers too, and it has been this kind of journey.

1: Collabs and acquiring photos from fashion/style content creators.

2: Organizing our first shoot with Migs and Katrice.

3: Crowdfunding and organizing subsequent shoots with Rachel, Jef, Fred, Vanya, Gab, Gio, AJ, Cora, Bibo, Celine.

4: More shoots, with Bibo, Graie, Biel, JP, Alex, Liane, Rap, Sam, Jeanne, Ranjil, Carla, Jef.

What I learned after organizing over 10 shoots with photographer Chi Yu Rodriguez, and seeing photos from those shoots being used as covers, or reference photos in illustrations, in 28 published books (and more out soon!):

1) It’s not impossible to find people who can be our characters on our covers. (Scheduling a common time for 6 to 10 busy people was the pain but we got it done over 10 times.)

2) What is a little more difficult, but not impossible, is finding people who match our characters even if they don’t fit a “type” considered, for better or worse, to be employable in the modeling field. But we wrote characters like us; we know real people like them exist. Ideally they’d also know how to work in front of a camera, as many real people cannot. (Like me, I am such a person.) But so far we have not had a problem finding people the camera loves; people have the talent. What they don’t have most likely is professional careers in modeling, or adequate representation, or advocates who get the word out that they’re around and looking for projects that make them feel centered and valued.

*In some cases the photos we took were commissioned/purchased as references for illustrations. I’m still thinking about that process, because it makes sense to me that the inspiration for a cover also gets credit/compensation/consents to being illustrated. But that’s a conversation for another time and with other people.

Your mileage may vary of course, and we’re able to put all this together because this is a community of authors contributing what they can–from taking the photos to doing the makeup to styling to casting to crowdfunding. We did a panel on the behind-the-scenes of #RomanceClassCovers here:

But how now, in 2020? With a pandemic, and stay at home orders? We miss shoots…but we actually started doing them again.

2020 shoot with Janus (directed by Chi Yu Rodriguez)



2020 shoot with Carlo, Biel, Alec, and Deanne for an anthology by Suzette de Borja, Celestine Trinidad, Angeli E. Dumatol, EK Gonzales

How are shoots happening, you might ask. They’re happening remotely, with everyone in the team (including the models) at their own homes. There’s a new list of tech and equipment requirements. Some props have to be delivered. Models have to do their own makeup and styling. What’s the same: There’s a lot of laughing and realtime kilig. What’s different: Shoots go way faster without the traffic. Raining? No problem. One of our models was in New Zealand and it wouldn’t have occurred to us to work with her if we hadn’t shifted to this.

We miss shoots, but we’re learning how to do them, 2020 style.

And we revived the collabs. These are technically not our shoots, but involve books we’ve released:

hello hello thanks for the One Night At The Penthouse Suite cover love!! It's indeed so pretty; quick story how it came together during ~pandemic tiemz /1 https://t.co/5gqqX4P5iZ pic.twitter.com/DjJQ0eECWi

— Bianca Mori (@thebiancamori) November 8, 2020

2020 collab shoot with Rashmi (for one of my works in progress)



2020 collab with Rachel for Brianna Ocampo’s book

The collab with model Rachel Coates is for an upcoming #RomanceClass book by author Brianna Ocampo. Designed by Miles Tan, here’s the cover for Truth or Dare:

Truth or Dare by Brianna Ocampo should be available worldwide in early 2021!

More about #RomanceClassCovers at instagram.com/romanceclasscovers.

The post #romanceclasscovers update: How, in 2020 (and a cover reveal) first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.

How I write and publish (as of 2020)

Of everything ever posted on this blog, the most popular page/s are the ones that have to do with how I write and publish.

This entire blog has been a document of how I’ve been doing that for ten years now, but I understand that it can be overwhelming if you want to just know how something can work for you. It makes sense to have an update every now and then, so I’ve made this post, updating my process as of 2020’s wild new world.

But know that while it’s easy to start, and many resources are available and free, it is definitely going to be hard work to do this right. It’s always going to be a little overwhelming.

This is how I publish, and the process hasn’t changed, though the moving parts in each stage have changed over time.

From my How I Publish talk, available in video with a copy of my script at http://gum.co/howipublishtalk

WRITING. I still write using the 3-act structure I gave to the first #RomanceClass in 2013, and that I share with every class since then (we’ve done 9-ish so far?). Even when my stories are longer like the Interim Goddess trilogy, or shorter like the Scambitious mini-series, I plot with an Act 1/2/3 in mind even when it’s not formatted that way. The #RomanceClass “textbook” with that guide is available here: gum.co/romanceclass.

EDITING. I work regularly with 2 editors: 1) a developmental editor who reads my manuscript and then comments on what the story needs, what it doesn’t need, and how to fix it in either case, and 2) a copy editor/line editor who, once the story is “fixed” in terms of message/emotion/heat/etc, proceeds to help me make sure that logic follows, timelines fit, names are consistent, things aren’t missing. Before I even send them anything, I would have first done a self-edit, consulted people as I was writing, or asked beta readers to read an entire draft or specific parts of it. I don’t know if every editor expects authors to have done this, but your relationship with your editor will be better and more productive if you do this work beforehand, so they can focus on the manuscript itself. At the end of everything, a separate proofreader will also be helpful.

Here are people I admire and trust talking about beta reading and editing:

Dawn Lanuza, KB Meniado, Layla Tanjutco

PUBLISHING. My publishing strategy right now is to “go wide” in digital and print, so each title of mine will be available on as many platforms as I can get them on: Amazon KDP, Gumroad, Ko-fi, Scribd, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Overdrive, Smashwords, Bookshop, Indiebound. In the Philippines, my books can be ordered from bit.ly/mvebooks or romanceclassbooks.com.

I do my own formatting for ebook and print via Vellum.

My book covers are usually designed by Tania Arpa, using cover photography by Chi Yu Rodriguez of RomanceClassCovers.

We did a panel on cover design this year here:

We have had to become creative with cover photography and also organized our own shoots, because our Filipino characters are not properly represented in stock photo photography or romance book covers in general.

We did a panel on RomanceClassCovers cover shoots here:

In the Philippines, my books are printed by JMD Copy and Print Shop in Marikina. My international editions are printed and distributed by Amazon/formerly CreateSpace. (There are other options also.)

I have started working on audio editions and distribute through Findaway Voices.

I experiment with serializing my books on fiction apps after I publish them, on Wattpad and Radish.

Here’s a talk my friend Ansela Corsino did on writing serialized fiction (available to paid subscribers of the RomanceClass Twitch channel):

“MARKETING” BUT IS ACTUALLY COMMUNITY. There are real resources for book marketing online and in genre communities but I’m unfortunately out of touch with all of them. I’ve let this part of the process slide because I replaced it with developing the #RomanceClass community and all that it entails. So that’s why I don’t have marketing advice for anyone, and if people ask me, I instead talk about community.

I think seeing readers as more than buyers helps us write better books, but it definitely requires an investment of time/resources/emotional labor that few business experts will approve of. What ROI? LOL. But I’m going to say it’s worth it, especially when you are creating things that don’t have an established audience, or is invisible to the established audience. There is work needed to find readers, and make sure they know our books exist.

I talk about how being in a community saved my 2020 as a creator when everything else in publishing here was shut down.

BONUS TOPIC: How to write with a community, based on how #RomanceClass asks authors to do it. From my RomanceClass intro talk on Twitch in 2020:

What does “are we your audience” mean?

Do you read romance by Filipino authors?
Do you read romanceclass books?
How will you feel about being asked to revise your story based on feedback from romanceclass readers and fellow authors? *Some of our most trusted critique partners are readers.
…Do we exist to you? (LOL we should)

Here’s something that many visitors to my site/send me questions through email actually need to think about first, before publishing, because it may solve many of the problems and mysteries held in the WRITING, EDITING, PUBLISHING, AND MARKETING stages. Who is this book for?

Who is its audience? And once you’ve decided who it is, do you know where they are, what they read, who they’re reading? If you don’t know, why don’t you? How can your book address this audience’s needs if they have not existed to you until now? Is this book for them, or only for a specific subgroup within? (Don’t underestimate small groups!)

Sometimes we say we wrote the book for ourselves, and that’s fine—but we shouldn’t be surprised when readers aren’t interested.

I use romanceclass as an example but this may apply to any community really: Respect communities and see them as people always, not customers first or only. If your book doesn’t resonate with the community you say it was for, then these questions may hold a clue as to why.

OK that’s a lot of work. But as always, do your thing, do your best, open doors for people, and have fun out there!

The post How I write and publish (as of 2020) first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.