S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 164

Winding down

Taking the time to enjoy the flowers at the park

I’m finishing up all the little things and winding down before REMOVED‘s launch in 10 days. Returning emails to book bloggers. Finalizing proofs and fixing the last few typos caught by readers. Writing up blog posts for the week of publication. Adding items to my to-do list and crossing things off I’ve done already. Every time I look at my to-do list I have another heart attack before chanting, “I CAN DO THIS,” in my head over and over. I’m so close to my first ever book birthday. It’s hard to believe it’s finally happening.

I’m gathering a lot of information on a big blog post I’m planning on Publishing to CreateSpace Using Scrivener. We’ll see if I get it done before the book publishes. If not, I’m saving it for the week after. I learned some really good but hard lessons this week about CreateSpace that I want to share with you all when I stop feeling so stupid Give me another week to get over myself!

I’ve also started editing Book 2! Wow, I missed this book. It’s my favorite of the series. New characters. New situations to handle. And plenty of drama. Plus, I’ve learned a lot about clean writing since I last touched this book. I’m making things right as I go along.

Reading in the sun while the kids play

In the meantime, there’s also lots to do at home. The kids start school tomorrow, and there’s prep work for that in progress. The weather’s been lovely, too, so I’ve been taking them to the park and playground to enjoy the sun and fresh air. It gives me the chance to sit and read or just watch them play and have fun. Summer’s almost over! Time to get back to work.

At Izakaya Tanaka

Sanaa has two best friends she’s known since she was a kid, Miko and Helena. Miko’s family owns an izakaya in Ku 7, the Entertainment Ward, that has been in their family three generations, and it’s there at Izakaya Tanaka that Sanaa spends her time with family and friends, eating, drinking, laughing, and socializing. When in need of a place for a date, Izakaya Tanaka is the place to go! The cozy restaurant offers delicious food and drinks and a subdued atmosphere perfect for good conversations and possibly a little makeout session in the back corner booth. It’s natural that Sanaa’s first date with Jiro is at Izakaya Tanaka, but there’s nothing subtle or subdued about the way she’s greeted when she walks through the door.

Sanaa’s arrival at Izakaya Tanaka

Please feel free to share this image and spread it around! It will also be on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr by the end of the day.

Only 2 more weeks until REMOVED is available! Don’t forget to queue REMOVED on Goodreads!

My most amazing week to date!

I didn’t expect much from this week, honestly. I managed to snag a babysitter for only two mornings, one day less than usual, and couldn’t go to yoga. I knew it was going to be crazy busy with the kids. I was resigned.

Then this happened!

My very first paperback!

My husband walked in the door with the package on Tuesday night after having put out the trash, and we both stared at it silently for a moment. He was smart enough to get out the camera and take video of me opening it, and I pulled out my very first book and showed it to my kids. Wow. There was a time last year when I thought this would never happen. I was stuck in the loop of submissions with very little feedback, and a YA novel I wasn’t sure about. Now, I’m publishing a New Adult book I love to death. And I’ve done it on my own!

First, let me say, that I’m really impressed with the quality of the book. The cover is glossy and nicely printed. The paper inside is of good quality, not mass market. I’m proud of all the design work I did. I designed the title and half-title pages in iDraw, exported the bulk of the manuscript using Scrivener, and stitched it all together.

The cover I designed in Acorn (which is the Photoshop alternative I bought this summer). Each book in the series has an iconic image associated with it. I decided not to put people on the cover on purpose. First of all, my characters are not white. They’re Japanese. Finding Japanese couples for a scifi romance cover is next to impossible! But I have all these photos that I took myself in Japan, so I decided on that instead. Besides, I think the covers are a little more accessible to a wider audience without people on the covers. I guess we’ll see if I’m right. REMOVED certainly stands out among all the other New Adult and Scifi Romance books out there.

I’ll be putting together a series of posts in two weeks on how to export your manuscript from Scrivener to paperback format so that you too can design a paperback to be printed from Createspace. Are you an independent author and are trying to self-publish? What was the hardest part of formatting your work? What do you need advice on? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll see if I can answer your question.

Ku 6 can be a rough place at night

Nishikyō at night is just like any other big city. The wards contain pockets of bright activity teeming with people, restaurants open till all hours, and trains that run 24 hours. But just around the corner, in a dark alley behind closed doors, illegal activities like gambling and prostitution thrive. Sakai and Jiro know which areas are safest, who has the best ramen, or where to go for a late night poker game. They are the two you want to stick close to when navigating Ku 6, the Japanese Ward, at any time of the day or night!

Ku 6 can be a rough place at night

Please feel free to share this image and spread it around! It will also be on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr by the end of the day.

Only 21 more days until REMOVED is available! I’m getting really excited

Paperbacks and Goodreads

Cover layout… almost done!

As the days tick by and the weeks diminish towards the date of publication, REMOVED slowly makes its way into the public eye.

Just this week I sent off the paperback version to Createspace! The book is 365 pages long (funny that if you read a page a day you could finish it in a year!) and it was all designed by me including the cover. I learned a lot during this process! Recto and verso paging, margins, and how to set up a paperback to compile from Scrivener. I hope to get a tutorial up on the blog soon about that. I’m sure you Scrivener folks will love it. Once I point out the margin pitfalls, you’ll see it’s really easy to compile straight from Scrivener to a print-version PDF. That software is truly amazing.

I woke up this morning to an email from Createspace saying my proof is ready to go! I ordered it and should get it next week. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands! Wow. Holding my actual book in my hands two and a half years after sitting down to write the first draft. My mind is blown.

The final price point for the book should be $13-$14. This is for the paperback version — the eBook version will be much lower — but even at the higher price, I know how important it is to some people (including me) that the option of a physical book be available. I’m glad I took the time to get it ready for launch day.

To make my day even brighter (though it’s been raining cats and dogs all morning), I asked the Goodreads librarians to add REMOVED to Goodreads and they did! I’m also a Goodreads author now too. Another wow! I can’t believe it! It’s almost official. Last step now is to finalize and publish.

Only a few more weeks! Still have some hurdles to overcome, more teaser images to post, and more ARCs to send out to friends and book bloggers. But I’m in the home stretch now!

Cherry blossoms in spring

REMOVED takes place in a domed city, Nishikyō (西京), built by the Japanese a thousand years from now, but the citizens’ connections to nature still thrives in their collected memories. Ancient scrolls, artwork, and textiles remind everyone of their original home in Old Japan. One of Sanaa’s favorite yukata, a summer weight kimono made of cotton, evokes longings for the old days before the Environmental Decline.

Cherry blossoms in spring

Please feel free to share this image and spread it around! It will also be on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr by the end of the day.

Looking for a kimono or a yukata of your own? I love mine so much! My favorite place to buy kimono and yukata (other than ebay) is Yukata Kimono Sakura Market! I’ve bought many from them and always been really happy.

Win an ARC of REMOVED!

What Japanese food do you love?

Good news! ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) of REMOVED are all ready to go! I have a list of people that get them automatically but I really want others to read it too before it’s available. So I’m doing a giveaway!

The rules are:

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win. (This widget is also on my FB author page)
ARCs will be provided in Kindle .mobi or ePub ONLY.
You must agree to review REMOVED somewhere online when the book is available (on or after Sept 16, 2013). Online review spots can include but are not limited to Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Shelfari, LibraryThing, your blog, etc.
You may NOT redistribute your ARC. Please do not pass it around or upload it so it can be pirated. That will make me very sad.
Remember that this is an Advanced Reader Copy. If you decide to quote from it for a review, please double check the final text as it is published after Sept 16, 2013.

This is an easy contest to enter! And I’m sure most of you already follow me on Twitter and Facebook so those are guaranteed entries! There are 20 copies up for the raffle, so lots of chances to win!

Additionally, there is a blog question component that you can do to get a few extra points. I want to hear from you what your favorite Japanese food is! If you’ve never tried Japanese food before, tell me what you’d love to try first, if given the chance.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REMOVED Inspiration on Pinterest

Every writer needs inspiration whether you get it from the world around you, other books, the news, online, etc. Some writers have a physical pin board at home they keep their inspiration on so they can always look at it. But for me, I don’t always write at home, but I do always write on my computer. For the longest time, I’ve used Tumblr to gather inspiration. I try to fill it with new items once per week and even the very hurried reblogging I do is inspiring! But recently I’ve wanted to look at all of my photos in one place, so I started a Pinterest board instead for REMOVED. I’ve been bringing over some of the photos I’ve accrued on Tumblr to my Pinterest boards and it’s been great to flip through them again.

As each novel in my Nogiku Series comes to publication, I’ll reveal each Pinterest board I have associated with it! If you want to keep up, follow my boards! You can find me there at http://www.pinterest.com/spajonas/

At the taiko drumming concert

One of my favorite scenes in REMOVED takes place at a taiko drumming concert inspired by the famous, world-renowned Kodo drumming troupe. If you haven’t seen them, you really must check out their videos on YouTube! I’ve included one here after the second REMOVED teaser image!

At the taiko drumming concert

Please feel free to share this image and spread it around! It will also be on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

Now, enjoy an amazing Kodo video!! There are a ton more on the KodoHeartbeat YouTube channel as well.

Proofreading continues

Proofreading with a snack at Starbucks

REMOVED has been in the hands of proofreaders for the past two weeks! I can almost see the end! I got back comments from my first proofreader, aka Mom, and she caught a bunch of things I hadn’t on my last read-through. Now I’m awaiting feedback from one other friend, and while I wait, I’m doing one last pass too. Catching all the little things is important to me. It’s worth putting in the extra time.

Here’s the good news! I’ll be offering a limited amount of eARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) late next week on my Facebook author page. If you haven’t already liked me there, you should! You’ll get exclusive offers through Facebook in the future including coupon codes for my books and others along the way. ARCs will be digital only (Kindle mobi or ePub) and I’ll require that you leave a review somewhere online for others to see. Reviews are so important! Most readers won’t buy a book by a new author unless they see it’s been read by others. I hope you’ll all pitch in when the time comes!

I’m composing blog posts for launch week, buying ISBNs, and ordering gifts for my giveaway in September. It’s busy busy busy around here.