Mina V. Esguerra's Blog, page 5

People chose these RomanceClass books. Thank you!

I wanted to talk about books that “move.”

I want to talk about it even if I feel weird about the term, because I’ve only ever been in a conversation about it with my publisher because they have a problem with my books not “moving” enough. Personally, a book not moving is the publisher’s problem, not the author’s. When a publisher or their representative mentions this at a meeting with the author it should always be from the position of, this is a reflection on the publisher’s performance and this is what they will do to make it better. Is the author a corporation that has a distribution network? No. Whose job was it again to publish the book which includes of course making sure it sold? The corporate entity OF COURSE.

When it comes to my self-published books though, a title moving is absolutely my problem. This also means that I’m the boss and I get to set my own targets…and depending on my time and energy these targets tend to not be very high. Working with other self-published authors (via RomanceClass), I do see how authors just let go of this part. Why worry about it? Letting go and not worrying about it is great for our mental health, not so great for selling books.

Still, I think we can find a balance here.

In 2022, RomanceClass started our consignments with Komiket (events and online) and Mt. Cloud (Baguio). We recently got our sales reports back from both, and I wanted to share which books “moved.”

This is not a “bestseller” list. By the way, I hate when publishers list their bestsellers. Publishers should make an effort to sell every title they acquired to the best of their ability, and not give themselves a pat on the back for 10 titles that sold well. What is this world???

Anyway. These are RomanceClass self-published titles on consignment that “moved” from 2022 to early 2024 (ish):

Alta by Carla de Guzman, Bianca Mori, Suzette de BorjaBeginner’s Guide by Six de los ReyesBetter at Weddings Than You by Mina V. EsguerraBlooming Love by Carla de GuzmanBlossom Among Flowers by Jay E. TriaFeels Like Home by Angel C. AquinoField Guide by Six de los ReyesFirst Time for Everything by Mina V. EsguerraFlipping the Script by Danice Mae P. SisonGhost of a Feeling by Celestine TrinidadHearts and Sciences by Celestine TrinidadHeartstruck by Angeli E. DumatolHow She Likes It by Carla de GuzmanIf the Dress Fits by Carla de GuzmanInterim Goddess of Love by Mina V. EsguerraKeep the Faith by Ana TejanoKeeping Miss Kalila by Tara FrejasKiss and Cry by Mina V. EsguerraLike Nobody’s Watching by Tara FrejasLove to Meet You by Jay E. TriaMy Imaginary Ex by Mina V. EsguerraMy Quarantine Diary by Ines Bautista-YaoNo Two Ways by Chi Yu RodriguezPlay It By Ear by Tara FrejasPromdi Heart by Agay Llanera, Ines Bautista-Yao, Chris Mariano, Jay E. Tria, C.P. Santi, Georgette GonzalesRaya and Grayson’s Guide to Saving the World by Catherine DellosaScambitious by Mina V. EsguerraScandalized by Tara FrejasSecond Wave Summer by Six de los Reyes, Tara Frejas, Jay E. TriaSo Forward by Mina V. EsguerraSome Bali to Love by Carla de GuzmanSongs of Our Breakup by Jay E. TriaSongs to Make You Stay by Jay E. TriaSongs To Your Beat by Jay E. TriaSongs You Come Back To by Jay E. TriaStart Here edited by Ronald S. Lim and Brigitte BautistaSummer Crush by Six de los Reyes, Tara Frejas, Jay E. TriaSwept Off My Feet by Ines Bautista-YaoTake Two by Kaith CimafrancaThe Bye-Bye Bouquet by Chi Yu RodriguezThe Doctor Is In Love by Angeli E. Dumatol, EK Gonzales, Suzette de Borja, Celestine TrinidadThe Queen’s Game by Carla de GuzmanTotally Engaged by Mina V. EsguerraWaiting in the Wings by Tara FrejasWhat If We Fall in Love by Tara FrejasWhat Kind of Day by Mina V. EsguerraYes to You by Jay E. TriaYou Out of Nowhere by Jay E. TriaYou, Me, US by Brigitte Bautista

These are 49 titles that “moved” on consignment at our retailers. Is this just every single RomanceClass book? No, because there are over 100 RomanceClass titles now. When I talked to the authors about having books consigned, I recommended that they send their “starter book” and their latest book. I have 28 titles, and other authors have five or more. They didn’t have to send stock of every single book. The idea was that many of the buyers at Komiket and Mt. Cloud would be encountering our books for the first time, so we should focus on what would catch their attention. Something new, or something good-to-start-with.

Is this just every single book consigned? No, so there’s work that needs to be done still in highlighting the titles that are there. But moving 49 titles is awesome, it’s great. What I want to cultivate here is that every book that is available will find a reader. The more attention we give a book, then more readers find it.

Is it our distributor’s job to move all our books ever? No, actually. For us, digital (Amazon and others) is still going to be responsible for most of our titles moved. A purchase at these events or stores is only the first step, to ordering on Amazon/other retailer or direct from us. What we expect from Komiket and Mt. Cloud is to introduce us to new people, and the publishing process that each individual RomanceClass author has set up for themselves will do the rest.

If you’ve bought our books from Komiket and/or Mt. Cloud, thank you!

*This does not include books at Magdamag Market Cafe. Magdamag plays a different role for us as a space and seller and I may write about it in a future post!

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We’ve moved to Greenhills Promenade Basement 2

If you’re looking for print edition RomanceClass Books (romance in English by Filipino authors), our Greenhills (little) store has moved to CAB 12, Collective Base Complex, at basement 2 of Greenhills Promenade. How long will our books be here? As long as I can afford the rent for the cube! If it’s not obvious, this operates on love and commitment to community rather than oodles of sales. I will keep this little store around for as long as I can afford to, but of course buyers buying things will help!

The way it works for the kind of books we publish is that we authors will sell more books and reach more people with the least amount of expense and effort on the ebook retailer sites like Amazon and others. I would recommend doing that first, or alongside something like this. Sell print only if you can afford to do it, or you can split costs with fellow authors you share an audience with. Yes we sell more on digital, but it’s good to be present in the spaces for print also. Just be ready to do it for love and commitment to community for a bit.

Our books are also at Magdamag Market Cafe, Mt Cloud in Baguio, Tibok Bookstore online/pop-ups, Book Store at 9506 in Koronadal, Komiket fairs whenever and wherever they are this month + their online stores. Where else should we be? (Indie friendly dapat please!)

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Currently #16

1. This week’s big deal: my pen name Mina V. Esguerra is now a registered trademark. After sending my application, I was asked to submit additional paperwork, and that included my use of this name, my dot com, news articles, all that and notarized too. I got some questions from authors about this and I’m also very averse to paperwork (and performative paperwork) so I won’t just say yes do this too. Get advice from someone versed in IP and is familiar with your IP too.

2. It is also 15 years since the publication of my first book! God it was so long ago that I announced it on Blogspot. (That was my first ever Internet space using my pen name, and all those posts have since been copied and hosted here.) To celebrate this milestone, My Imaginary Ex is free here until June 9: https://ko-fi.com/s/8f1f4d2cab

Writing and releasing My Imaginary Ex with Summit Books changed my life. Made me an author. Introduced me to people I work with (fun work) to this day. Introduced me to readers who still buy my books! And some are now authors too!

I’ve kept this book around and accessible; it receives new purchases on Amazon, new reads on Wattpad, new library acquisitions through Overdrive to this day. And it’ll go through a cover change again soon!

3. Spent some time (not in a bad way) putting together a huge order for RomanceClass books. This is just half of it. It’s SO satisfying to work on something like this. (Place an order at sales @ romanceclassbooks.com if you want books by different RomanceClass authors! And here’s my own order form for Philippine residents.)

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Post-Event: Dumaguete Literary Festival

I got to spend the weekend in Dumaguete for the Dumaguete Literary Festival. It was an amazing experience, one that reminded me of what I can do for the writing community in the Philippines, and we were already making plans for next year before my scheduled panel even started.

This was, by the way, my first plane ride since 2019. I spent weeks watching YouTube videos on packing for travel–I had forgotten how to do this! I had intended on carry-on only so I pulled the travel backpack out of the depths of my cabinet, bought new packing cubes, filled up my toiletry kit with new products, bought new essential first aid medicine, etc. Still I forgot to pack a hairbrush [lol].

The flight was delayed but otherwise smooth, I walked out of the DGT airport easily because no checked baggage, and my airport ride (a local tricycle!) was ready and waiting outside. Kuya Lorenzo talked about the city as he drove. Was it my first time there? No, actually my third now. (I had to look up when my last visit was and it was 2015 pala, also to give a talk at Silliman.) So he started talking about what had changed in the last ten years, like the reclaimed area, the condos (medium rise but still!), and all the new establishments.

I’m glad that even though my flight was delayed, I still got to catch Ines (Bautista-Yao)’s first panel that day. As in as soon as I was brought to the hotel I just dropped my bags and then went to the event venue which was just down the road. Made it!

The Dumaguete Literary Festival was held at the Arts & Design Collective Dumaguete. The space itself was a heritage house (think of everyone’s lola’s house). It has wonderful little shops, including Libraria, an indie bookshop (and co-organizer of the festival). It looked so cozy and magical?!

Day 2 started with brunch with other panelists and the organizers, where conversation very quickly went to “do you want to come back next year?” and me saying “RomanceClass has an annual April event, can we do it here???” Yes we can and we are! Save the dates April 4 to 6, 2025, RomanceClass. Tsinelas was the recommended footwear talaga by the way.

My panel was on Writing the Romance and it felt special to me because it was with Georgette Gonzales (who writes Tagalog romance as Edith Joaquin) and Beryl Delicana. Gette and I met for the first time during my visit to Dumaguete in 2015; she was living there at the time. Beryl naman has joined RomanceClass before, and has been a long-time reader of my books. I hope she finishes and publishes her own book soon, nudge nudge.

Gette lives in the US now and joined via Zoom. We talked about our influences (Sweet Valley High, Sweet Dreams, category romances), the genre’s requirement (HEA/HFN pa rin!), the state of publishing (you know me, I’ll always say just self-publish lol).

After a panel I always feel like I should have said more, and here’s that thing: I hope anyone in the audience who was thinking of writing romance knows that it’s wonderful to write romance about your community, and set in your community. Please do that. I’ve encountered many authors over the years asking if readers “will be interested” in a romance that isn’t set in Manila or whatever city people are into and I tell you, the way you write about the community you love will be what gets a reader interested in it. You don’t need to gloss over your community/city/town’s problems too. The way you passionately write about what you love, and what needs to change, is already what will make it special.

I feel like a version of this was said at practically every panel. It’s a good thing when such a diverse group of people writing different things is on the same page about this thing.

Sometimes though, I feel like the odd one out when listening to a panel or questions from the audience, especially when they discuss problems that I feel I could help them with. I only spoke up at the Q&A for Writing From the Regions, but I’d like to expand on my thoughts here (use if applicable).

On the topic of being unsure how to label yourself as an author: Are you Filipino? Or from the regions? Or do you throw that out because why limit yourself? I mentioned at the Q&A that as a self-publisher I see “labels” as metadata. If my book is romance, contemporary, set in the Philippines, set in Manila, with a Filipino author, in the English language, high heat, friends to lovers, m/f, I should use all of those tags and keywords because people searching for things need our metadata.

I too felt conflicted over whether to call myself a “Filipino author of romance.” Colonial mentality dictates that people will only be interested in me during heritage months or to performatively contribute to diversity discussions by namedropping me and my work. But then every single year some tweet will go viral asking “where are the Filipino authors and characters in romance?” The labels are used to dismiss me (kasi Pilipino lang ako), but if I stop using the labels I also erase that part of myself from the global conversation. It sucks! But for now, please, just use every label where needed, so we can be found.

On the problem of publishing: I blog periodically about How I Publish and recommend self-publishing to anyone who is starting out, especially if your intention is to reach fellow Filipinos. I think authors need to be honest about their goals, because the feeling of having fulfilled a goal depends on the path chosen. While I recommend self-publishing, I don’t recommend paying to do it if you don’t already know who your readers are and how many books you can sell. Do the work before spending to publish, specifically:

Write a book you can be proud of.

Read other books in the genre. The good ones and the bad ones, and enough books to be able to have strong opinions on the good and bad. (If they’re all uniformly good and bad to you, you’re not there yet because you can’t differentiate style and substance and nuance.)

Look at your peers in the genre and see who their readers are. What’s the age group? Where are they located? How does word get around about the books? Which online spaces are they present in? How much are they willing to spend for their fave author’s books? Are they still reading 1, 2, 3 years later? Do they support an author through multiple books and not just the first one?

How does your book measure up to your peers in terms of skill, themes, characters, etc? Where do you need to be sold/available/accessible so the right readers find you?

Do all of this work first, before self-publishing. Beware of companies that take your money but do not actually know how to position your book and who your readers are. Look at their track record, how successfully they help an author in the same genre. Actually, beware of publishers that do this too!

On establishing a publishing community: If you’ve decided to self-publish and are intimidated about doing this alone, you actually don’t have to. You as an author and reader are already part of a community. How do you take that and build your publishing support?

Be in community with readers. Read local, find local readers, encourage the community to read within. There should be more readers than writers in any group that tries to be a publishing community. If there are more writers, then make the writers read more. Discuss what people are writing. Post about it on social media. Be the first to support a new local author. The more successful the writer, the more responsible they should be for reading local and reading new writers. (Sorry but this is how it has to be, otherwise you enable an environment where writers use the community as a stepping stone and never give back or look back. The well will dry up.)

When you read and talk about community writing enough, you will start to see who is good at commenting, pointing out issues in the work, who is willing to edit, and whose editing leads to work that is widely praised. Train up good editors from this group! They will be essential to the publishing system.

Use digital distribution (Wattpad, Instagram, Amazon, other online retailers depending on the kind of writing) and then do print on demand to minimize expenses and waste. Literally print only when needed.

What about marketing? Again this is about how to support authors in local communities, so don’t think of it as marketing. If your writing is happening within a community, reviewed and edited and discussed by a community, this community will also be your first readers, cheerleaders, and advocates. A diverse enough group will have ties to schools, other literary platforms, other publications. Their love for your work will be better than marketing and more long-term and reliable, because it’s genuine praise, and not empty hype.

Start this work right now by reading local and talking about it. Let people find you.

I’m grateful to the organizers of the Dumaguete Literary Festival (pictured: Tara, Gayle, Ian, Renz, Ernest) for creating a space that places value on the writing and the community. I feel so energized from encountering everyone. I offered to help people publish or form publishing communities, so if you’re into that, follow the Dumaguete Literary Festival on FB and dumalitfest on IG to see what’s next and participate if you’re able to.

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Currently #15

I am currently…busy. In a good way!

1. On April 13 – #RomanceClass had #AprilFeelsDay2024 at Magdamag Market Cafe.

2. April 15 – Was very late but still made it to the launch of Ines Bautista-Yao’s My Lola’s Love Letters at Ateneo de Manila

3. April 20 – I will be the keynote speaker and then part of a panel at Women Writing PH’s Love, Sex & Women workshop.

4. April 22 – Said yes to a thing.

5. April 25 to 28 – My books + RomanceClass authors and books will be at the Philippine Book Festival at World Trade Center. I won’t be there but if you love romance books and actually any other kind of book do drop by!

6. April 27/28 – I will be at the (first) Dumaguete Literary Festival! My panel is on Sunday, April 28, on writing romance, with Georgette Gonzales (aka Edith Joaquin) who’s joining via Zoom.

7. Just a heads up that the signups for WRITE AWAY 2024 (October in Baguio) are now open! This is the retreat I do with Aurora Suarez and Samantha Sotto and slots are going fast.

8. My book What Kind of Day is just $0.99 at Amazon and Gumroad until April 30.

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On year 15 I say: go indie, stay non-exclusive

2024 is my 15th (!) year of being a published author. My first book My Imaginary Ex, my author name “Mina V. Esguerra,” and my author blog debuted in 2009. I’ve since written 27 more standalone books, a dozen or so short stories, participated in different publishing projects, did traditional publishing and self-publishing. Been in countless meetings with publishing teams, retailer teams, reviewed and participated in publishing offers and collabs from trad pubs, digital pubs, book apps, retailers. All of my books remain available, copyright mine, and many are in various stages of development either as new editions or new forms and new media.

I have this freedom and my older books remain relevant because I self-publish.

Filipino Authors, if you ever need my opinion on publishing anything, here’s the 2024 version: Self-publish everything first. Stay non-exclusive.

If you want a longer story lol:

If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, like say since 2009 when I started documenting my publishing journey, you’d have seen me go back and forth between recommending being indie, traditionally published, and hybrid which is a combination of both. Since I started self-publishing all of my books and then partnering with corporate later for wider distribution (which is what makes someone a hybrid author), I’ve seen several cycles of corporations courting authors for publishing projects, and then letting the authors down or dropping the project all together. It’s predictable.

A quick recap of my publishing history: Started as traditionally published in the Philippines with Summit Books, then self-published on Amazon, then hybrid via Summit Books, trad on digital via Flirt Publishing, hybrid via Anvil, completely indie when my 5 years with Anvil were up. In between I did various projects for apps/retailer sites like SmartEbook, buqo, Rising Tide, TypeKita. This year I’ll go hybrid again with Komiket.

I can do this because I own all rights to every story I’ve written. And I’ve said no or negotiated when contracts with corporate entities asked for all rights. (Copyright is different from all the other rights publishers ask for when offering to publish your story.) This is how my books remain available to purchase. My first book turns 15 years old next month and it’s still being read and purchased today.

Many authors who sign on to work exclusively with a publisher at the beginning of their career will not even have the freedom to go hybrid over and over like I do because they started out with selling their intellectual property (our books/manuscripts are our IP) to a corporation that will own it or make it hard for them to get it back. I used to think there are situations when this is okay, or offers that could make it okay, for authors to sign exclusive contracts and sell their IP. Seeing how fiction websites/apps and even writing programs reveal again and again how quickly they’d sell our IP to a bigger corporation or to feed into AI — I’m done.

I said: Self-publish everything first. Stay non-exclusive.

What does this mean? A lot of things, but some examples:

Your digital edition should be available in more than one store/retailer. Amazon, sure. But also the sites that accept more Pinoy-friendly payment options. (Related: Your audio edition should be in more than one store/retailer.)

Your print edition should start as print-on-demand. Most of us who self-publish are watching our costs and making budgets. When your book is print-on-demand, you don’t spend for printing until you know for sure there’s a demand (and payment). Printers are suppliers. Work with several printers at the same time even. I have a printer in the Philippines and a network of printers worldwide. This has ensured that my print book can be purchased any time in all of those countries covered. And if for any reason my usual printer can’t supply the order I need, I’m free to work with someone who can. Because printers are suppliers.

Your corporate partnerships, like with publishers or film producers, should expand your reach and introduce your books to new markets. Partnerships with authors should result in the author being paid to join, not the author paying to join. Money exchanged shouldn’t mean they now fully own the IP.

An example of what I want or look for in a print publishing partnership: Payment to the author (advance, or talent fee); acknowledgement that author owns copyright; deal is limited only to the rights that author gives (print and Philippines only, for example); NO right of first refusal for next manuscript (if publisher is awesome they will always get first look, if publisher is terrible they’ll use this clause to prevent you from leaving); timeline for release and automatic reversion of rights if not released by deadline; end date of the contract is clear and does not automatically renew. And then of course, actual payment of royalties through bank transfer and not check pickup.

I started writing this post as a reaction to seeing how creatives who sign into exclusive contracts get screwed over time, because I’ve seen that cycle repeat all too many times. I know that any author asking me for advice has this in the back of their mind: they’d rather go for the insta-validation of a prestige publisher, over my years of actual experience as an indie. Maybe they don’t realize the world has changed, and it’s not either-or. The question of protecting myself against a bad corporate partnership still applies to me because I’m still in the industry, and I’m still creating, and I’m still vulnerable to a bad deal. In fact, what I do as a self-publisher gives me more negotiating power to enter a partnership, because I already know the value of what I’m bringing to the table. Good partners know this.

That I’m in this position at all is because I self-publish first, and stay non-exclusive. In 2024 I’m going to recommend this over any other path. Check in with me again three years from now.

But what about the fabulous corporate-backed careers of [Author] and [Author]? Of course they exist and are very successful. But here’s something I also realized recently too: The rare, token success doesn’t change the industry. Arguably it makes an unfair system stronger because now you have more people lining up for them when the takeaway should have been, we don’t need them. When the door is opened for us, we help out another person or twelve. Wherever you are, make it easier. This post is me doing that, and your success doesn’t have to be about lining up behind me, to learn from me. (I don’t have time and also my experience is very genre and demographic focused.) Decide what your story contributes to the industry/conversation/world, find the people who care about that, create together. Then tell us what you learned and which doors are open now.

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Writing beside books (the dream)

The dream used to be that I would run a little bed and breakfast with a cute and cozy reception area where I’d hang out and write. But also consider that work. After that I experienced managing a rental property and…I didn’t want to do that anymore. So the dream evolved into a cozy book shop, with me writing by the reception area or cashier. All day. Maybe I’ll also read or watch a movie or eat at my desk.

One might say I’m dabbling in being an indie bookstore owner. I’ve always sold my own books. I rent a glass cube column in a hobby shop in Greenhills, where two of four cubes display romance books by Filipino authors. I’ve consigned Filipino romance books with a distributor that organizes selling events every month in a different part of the metro. Sometimes I get a table, and “mind the store.”

Last weekend at Komiket March 2024 was probably the closest I’ve come to the “dream” and it didn’t disappoint. I thought Komiket would be too chaotic for me to write anything, but I was able to power through by doing revision work first and then writing when I got warmed up. (I need warmup time to write.) It felt great, writing while beside the books.

It might have discouraged some people from talking to me because I looked busy at the table and I really should work on that because I’m a buyer who likes to be left alone so even as a seller I assume that buyers want to be left alone. (I’m going to fix that at the next event by offering the option for interaction or no interaction!)

The next RomanceClass event I will be more chatty and will interact more because it’ll be April Feels Day 2024 at Magdamag Market Cafe, April 13, Saturday, 2 to 5 PM. This is when we launch new books, announce new projects, and catch up with everyone. We’re in the middle of #RomanceClass2024 and I hope we get to meet the participating authors there! RSVP here: kilig.pub/AFD2024.

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Currently #14

1. My heist romance/con artists in Manila book SCAMBITIOUS is $0.99 until March 31! I released these as short stories through 2013/2014 and may have had too much fun researching various frauds. I’m proud of this and especially the last one, because election grift is probably the most satisfying y/n. Get it on Amazon, or Gumroad.

2. For some reason my post about “historical romance set in the Philippines” is always among my top posts on this website, after all this time, and look, there just isn’t a lot of it (in the romance in English world). I have an ongoing challenge to Filipino authors to write historical romance, and my offer is to sponsor the publishing costs of a historical romance set in the Philippines that fits RomanceClass guidelines and IF the author chooses to self-publish, but I haven’t received any submissions yet. I’ve said that I think any Filipino author who wants to write historical romance should read Beverly Jenkins, Jeannie Lin, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, Lydia San Andres, and Sherry Thomas — to help untangle the knots that I feel we all see when we look at our history. I’m going to add another book rec to this list:

I’m still in the middle of reading The Earl’s Egyptian Heiress by Heba Helmy, but a couple of things–or ten–have already popped out of the page and right at me. The MMC who makes an effort to speak her language. The swipe at the consul who serves a colonial master, and not his people. Some scene where a door is opened and a bagong paligo man is on the other side. Come on now. This book, and the books of the other authors I listed above, excite me as a Filipino reader.

Last month, right before Valentine’s Day, I gave a lecture about RomanceClass at Ateneo de Manila University and received a question about how I deal with cliches. I asked the student if she reads mostly US romances, and if the cliches that she’s thinking of all pertain to US romances. (She may have said yes.) I said don’t worry about a cliche in a US/UK/”Western” romance because that doesn’t apply to us writing our stories. Relocating Pride and Prejudice to, say Los Banos (see Well Played by Katrina Ramos Atienza) breaks a “formulaic” story right at its foundations; putting it back together is art.

3. The 21st Ateneo National Writing Workshop this year will be all romance, and they’re accepting applications now. The deadline is April 6. RomanceClass is working with the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices to do this and let’s all do what we can to give Filipino romance authors more. More support, more opportunities, more more more.

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I will be at Women Writing presents: Love, Sex, and Women

I will be doing the keynote speech, a panel, and Q&A sessions at Women Writing presents: Love, Sex, and Women on April 20, 2024. Details and registration link below. And here’s the program!

This program looks super fascinating and I have so much to say about writing kilig, intimacy, and sex as a romance author. By now I’ve already written more than 10 books with higher heat levels (sex), but like many authors I’ve met while teaching RomanceClass, I tried to avoid writing this.

I used to have a post on this very blog justifying why I will not be writing sex or anything too intimate. I had emailed a favorite author telling her thank you for writing the stuff I can’t, and she said oh but you can. Another author friend encouraged me to take the heat level of my books higher because I was already hinting at it, and I said that’s not me, and she said just try it. I was self-conscious about what people who know me would think, if I would be any good, and it seemed easier to just not try. Of course every author is on their own journey and I can’t speak for you if this is your struggle, but I…got over it. I figured out that I was getting in my own way.

And I’ve been having so much fun exploring this kind of writing, what it means to be open and vulnerable about (my characters’) intimacy, and what it means to a reader to see a character maybe much like themselves so vulnerable and so cared for. [See also RomanceClass podcast episode Writing Heat Level 3 When You’re Filipino]

It’s also, amazingly, the 10th anniversary of the first story with sex scenes that I’ve written. I wrote Wedding-Night Stand for the buqosteamyreads RomanceClass project in 2014, and it helped me get over myself and my hang-ups. Get it here by using the discount code “womenwritingapril2024” upon checkout. It’s free (along with my other short stories) until April 17 which is the deadline for registration to this event.

If you’ve signed up to join this event, I hope you get in touch with the organizers and let me know in advance what age group and issues you’re concerned about, so I can focus on specific examples. Still, in case anyone is interested, here are three books I’ve put on special discount covering some very specific intimacy situations. And represent what I’ve learned and applied to my work over the years.

That Kind of Guy is manang type good girl with player type guy. The main character is in her 20s. Get it for $0.99 only here when you use the code “womenwritingapril2024” at checkout until April 17.

Kiss and Cry features a figure skater and hockey player, who were not allowed to date when they were younger. Now they’re in their early 30s, and he’s retiring from hockey and leaving Manila for good, so they agree to spend his last weeks in town together and do all the things (including some very specific intimate acts). Get it for $0.99 here when you use the code “womenwritingapril2024” upon checkout until April 17.

First Time for Everything has a 41-year-old main character who has not yet had sex who asks a trusted friend (and her college crush truth be told) to be her “first.” Get it for $0.99 here when you use the code “womenwritingapril2024” upon checkout until April 17.

SAVE THE DATE!

20 April 2024

What does it take to write a great love story?

WOMEN WRITING PRESENTS an array of smart guest speakers, including romance novelists and a sex therapist, to speak on the hot topics of love, sex, women’s experiences, and the craft of writing the romance novel. Join us for a full day of discussions and writing exercises that will be useful to your practice, whether you are already writing romance or are exploring the possibility of doing so. Learn from each other’s experiences and build lasting connections within the writing community in a safe and nurturing environment.

LOVE, SEX & WOMEN

An All-Day Writing Adventure for Women

Saturday • April 20, 2024

9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

The Roof Deck, Sunshine Place Senior Recreation Center

56 Jupiter Street, Brgy. Bel Air • Makati City

Register for this event at https://bit.ly/WW2024Apr

The post I will be at Women Writing presents: Love, Sex, and Women first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.

How I exist in this world of creating, selling, and katipiran in 2024 (Komiket BGC)

Your mileage may vary as an author/publisher/bookseller, but this is how it is for me and most of RomanceClass:

1. We sell more on digital, on most days. Regular days, special days. “Pre-pandemic” and still today, in this age of pandemic-but-we’re-outside.

2. Our best ever book event sales were at MIBF 2017 (via a free booth from a book org), and usually AprilFeelsDays and FeelsFests, which are events that we organize. Meaning we only do exceptionally well when the event attendance is extremely large, or extremely targeted.

I’m primarily a digital buyer myself, so I understand what it’s like to visit a book fair or convention and gravitate toward buying titles I already know (because I heard about them online or maybe read them even). I understand what it’s like to see an interesting book and want to buy it, and then not buy it because it’s too expensive. I’ve seen creators say that this is a sign of an audience disappearing, but I can’t co-sign that because I was always careful with my purchases. I’m big on advocating for Filipino authors but I also can’t afford to splurge indiscriminately and fully expect others to be practical about their book money too.

So how do I live in this world of creating, selling, and also katipiran:

1. My publishing strategy is digital first, and whatever is accessible to the readers. I’m on social media, I update this blog, I’m on Wattpad. Students and teachers get free books. If anyone is reading this or has followed my career and considered me successful, please know that many people who have read me probably never paid for one of my books. At the same time, the people who’ve bought the most print books are also the ones who have many digital or free books.

2. I didn’t plan to start a romance writing community, but that’s what happened after the first #RomanceClass, and having this community is why I’m still at this! It’s exhausting and repetitive to keep talking about your own books, and many authors will eventually stop doing it when they get busy with other things, and/or feel that people are no longer interested. Being able to help another author while I’m not working on my own thing is refreshing, and good use of my time.

3. Because I’m busy with other things (family, job, writing, etc), I’m picky about public events I have RomanceClass participate in, and one huge factor is that the event should have more readers than authors. If the authors are also readers, awesome. If the authors don’t read (you know this when you’re in the room with them and it’s not great lol) then everyone is selling, some books may be bought, but no books will be read. Sayang oras.

4. Being an author and self-publisher and community founder for this long, I get invites, opportunities, and partnerships that work better when the community and the other authors are part of it. It’s easy and seamless to extend the opportunity to other RomanceClass authors because we’ve agreed already on what our books stand for (romance with HEA, Filipino characters have agency, depict consent in all aspects of the romance).

All of this, plus I actually love handselling books and talking to readers and observing buyers, is why we’ve been doing Komiket.

Enjoyed my three-day weekend selling books at Komiket BGC, in Market Market, where high school students were browsing at 10 AM on a Friday (bakit??? lol), but also families and office employees and tourists and every age group of person and their pets walked by our table. It’s so exhilarating. I think as an author who publishes books it’s important to actually see who is buying your books and what makes them notice a book to begin with. (Hint: anything clearly a queer romance is going to get noticed, then picked up, browsed, returned to with a friend who will say “bilhin mo na,” then bought.)

If you, too, are figuring out how to exist as an author, selling things, and also trying to be practical about money: do your thing online, find people who are on the same journey as you and believe in the same things, create and sell things with them (not just to them), and when doors open bring people inside with you.

See you at the next event!

The post How I exist in this world of creating, selling, and katipiran in 2024 (Komiket BGC) first appeared on Mina V. Esguerra.