I write sweet and steamy rom-coms with tear-jerker happy-ever-afters.
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This is where we talk all about writing.


I'm still new to indie / self-publishing, but if there's a question you'd like to ask me, please feel free to do so. 
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My Road to Publication

For Filipino Authors: Scribd and the New KU

6/30/2015

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Okay, technically KU didn't change but rather how Amazon pays KU authors did.
Selena Kitt on The New Kindle Unlimited - What It Means for Authors and Readers
Hugh Howey on Why KU Short Fiction Still Makes Sense
The Guardian on Amazon's Pay-Per-Page Plan Could Alter Writing As Well As Royalties
David Daughran on The Great Amazon Hysteria: Part 31
Now, me, my knee jerk reaction was - I hope this doesn't make readers eventually think quantity = quality (in terms of the book's length). But then I got to read other people's reactions - saw how they perceived it in a different way, and yes, I do see their points, too. Some people think, for instance, consider the new payout scheme is a great thing because authors who write real page-turners are rewarded more than those who, well, don't. 
BUT...
Remember when movies couldn't yet be downloaded online illegally? When there weren't pirated movies you could buy easily (or at least it's still so in Third World countries like PH)? Before movie piracy, there were video rental stores. Back then, I was one of their loyal customers. Sometimes, I'd end up paying them a visit more than once a week, and I'd usually borrow several so I can take advantage of their 4 + 1 free promo.
Anyway, there'd be times when I'd borrow Titles A, B, C, D, and E, but because of one thing or another, I'd only end up watching 3 out of 5. Now, do I get a refund for the two ones I didn't get to watch? Nope. And that's okay. It's only fair, IMHO, which is also the same reason why I don't think the new payout scheme is completely fair. 
Of course, I also know it's early times yet. Moreover, we saw how things eventually worked out for brick-and-mortar video rental stores. Could be Amazon doesn't want the same thing to happen to KU. And I totally get that, too.
Secondly, there's that new change over at Scribd, which announced its intention to rotate romance titles in its catalog. Two things I can't help thinking about this---
EITHER 
A) Scribd saw that KU would be earning more with their new payout scheme and thought that they should change their policies, too, to ensure they're still able to compete in the long run.
OR
B) KU foresaw what was coming for Scribd and took the necessary preventive action to avoid having the same thing happen to them.
And just so we're clear - those are only my guesses. (I feel it's too big a coincidence that these two major changes are taking place at about the same time.) 
Since I don't have any books on Scribd (or Oyster either, for that matter), I don't consider myself in the position to speak about how this would affect its authors. I just hope it eventually works out for everyone. As for KU...I know that their new payout structure is also meant to weed out books that were written solely to game the system (e.g. creating 10-page "books" so that merely opening to Page 1, which is equal to 10% of the book, will earn them a dollar).  I'm all for that but, personally, I'd rather Amazon offer KU authors a choice - higher pay-per-page rate vs. a low but fixed rate for the number of times your book's borrowed up to at least 10% (basically the old rule). 
I just feel this would be fairer. Getting paid per page will make KU worth it for authors with, say, longer novels or those who believe they've more to gain from it (i.e. they know their books are read cover to cover).
As for those who opted for a lower fixed rate, these authors may earn less per book but at least they also don't need to worry about whether readers who borrowed their works actually have time to read them, too.

What does this mean to Filipino authors?
I used to advise new or aspiring Filipino authors to give KU a try so they could enjoy added exposure / visibility for their titles. I also encouraged them to write serials - if their story allows it and they're comfortable writing it (like I am. I'm sorry, but I just love the high I get when writing a cliffhanger). 
However, due to these changes, I personally think it's best you hold off from enrolling in KU just yet. Let's wait and see how much the pay per page is after July (we should know mid-August).  You can publish your new book whenever you want, but just keep in mind that KU + new releases tends to work better than KU + old releases. Since with your first 30 days, you have a shot at getting on the Hot New Releases lists, you're likely to get more clicks if you're in KU while your book's ranking. 

P.S. Everything above is only my opinion. You're entitled NOT to believe it's right, and you're entitled to your OWN opinion, too. Also, I only have a few books in KU and they're not my biggest earners. I have little to (directly) gain or lose, regardless of how the new KU payout scheme works.
P.P.S. Today (July 1, 2015) is Day 1 of KU's new payout scheme. Let's see how it goes. Also, remember that you can un-enroll your books from KU anytime between July 1 and Sept. 30.


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ACCOUNTABILITY

6/29/2015

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If you haven't any idea about the lawsuit involving a self-pubbed book titled A Gronking to Remember, then you might want to read this first. 
I feel it's important to tackle since a recent discussion with another writer reminded me that there are still a lot of people - especially here in PH - who aren't aware of the ins and outs of self-publishing. More so when it comes to the legalities.
If you've read the article, then you know that the more pressing issue hasn't anything to do with the book at all. Rather, the big question is the outcome of this lawsuit could change the definition of 'publisher' where companies like Apple and Amazon are concerned.
(For the record: I do not consider Amazon et al as publishers. I'm the publisher of my own books, and they simply provide me with a platform or services to distribute my books to readers)
In any case, if you are self-publishing / have self-published your work, it's best to play it safe and consider yourself SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for everything that has to do with your book. If you don't take care with your choice of cover, use of copyrighted material in your book or marketing materials, you might very well be sued and imprisoned as well as fined for it.
If you are new to self-publishing---
  • Always make sure you have the RIGHT to use a photo or illustration that you want to use for your book's cover. You may or may not have to pay for this right. 
  • Even if you were the one who took the photo, it's also possible that you're not allowed to use it for your book cover (e.g. a photo of a celebrity). Same goes for your own illustrations (e.g. a drawing or even a caricature of a real-life senator, Mickey Mouse, or Sam Smith).
  • You are almost always not allowed to use lyrics - no matter how short - of any song in your book without express permission. You may or may not have to pay for use. Same goes for excerpts for most books, plays, articles, and essays (basically any work created by someone else).
  • You are definitely NOT allowed to include any company logo or trademark in your book cover without permission (e.g. Nike's check symbol or BMW's logo).
Last but not the least, when in doubt, ASK, and be sure to ask the right person/s (not me, though).


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LIFE IS GOOD EVEN WHEN OTHERS THINK YOU SUCK.

6/8/2015

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  • Say one of my readers' most frequently asked questions is if I’m going to write about X and Y. I answer this on my website’s home page and FAQ section, my Facebook’s About and FAQ page, and I have it on my newsletter’s header and footer. Now, a reader emails me. Am I going to write about X and Y?
You know what I do?
I answer: Yes, I am. Hope you can wait for it. :)
I don’t berate the reader for asking the question because honestly, why should I? In the end, readers are why I’m able to do what I love. Readers who cared enough to ask about X and Y are readers I want to stay with me forever. So, yes, if I have to type the same answer over and over, it’s cool. You won’t ever hear me complain about it.

  • Say one of my readers write to me asking if I could please change the ending of Book X because it hurt too much. Say one of my readers ask if I can just write about X instead since I write too much about Y, which bores her to death. 
Now, how do I react?
Well, one thing I won’t EVER say is that since it’s my book, my rules. I won’t ever say MYOB. Because readers writing something like that means I did my job. I made them care. I made them feel. Granted, it’s not exactly what I wanted them to feel, but I’d rather have readers hating my work than having them damn it with faint praise. 

  • Say a reader writes to me, saying she’s absolutely disappointed with my latest work. It was shitty. It was boring. It was anti-feminist. It was gross. It was THE worst book on the planet, and I should be ashamed that I ever wrote it. She loved all my books except this last one. 
What do I do with this kind of email?
If I feel that silence is the best answer, then I opt for silence. I can't blame a reader for feeling the way she does. It's her right. If I've known the reader for some time, then I apologize that the last one's disappointed her or made her feel whatever, but I also tell her I hope that she'd still read my next one and maybe I could win her back then. I say these things because I do mean them. 
Every reader you have as an author is precious, and I never let myself forget this. I never let myself forget the time I had still been unpublished and I'd have killed to even have just ONE reader (who isn't related to me) reading my work and liking it. 
As an author, one of my personal philosophies is to live and let live, write and let review. I can't control what other people say about me or my work, but I can control what I say and do. 
Before I react, I try to think about where the reader's coming from. I think about where I came from when writing what I wrote. Lastly, I remind myself that at the end of the day, no matter what people say about me or the books I write, I'm still lucky to do something I love.
When I remind myself of this, when I let myself recall how much my life has changed because of how my books have found homes in other people's shelves, Kindles, and smartphones - all the negativity just disappears. 
I remember that life's good. Today may be shitty, but tomorrow's another day, and there's always a new book I can write that could make readers happy. :)
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FREE READS: AN INTRODUCTION

6/6/2015

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So, this is the first of what I hope would be a series of short stories, essays, or poems designed to get me out of a writing funk. It's not that I don't know what to write. It's only that I fear to write the wrong way. Some of these would be new, others would be old and lifted off notebooks I've kept around for over a decade. Well, some of them may be almost two decades old. And boy, did that thought make me feel ancient. >.<
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FREE READS (YOUNG ADULT): COOL

6/5/2015

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Picture
What you'll read below is something I wrote on my organizer (that's how we called planners back then) sometime in 1999 (17 years old). Everything's written as it is with the exception of a few grammatical corrections and structural changes. :D 

I'm sitting next to Tim and across Eliza and Ariel.
I had told Eliza I kissed that girl in the basement. I had been able to keep it quiet for two days but after that I had to tell her. When I had, she hadn't said a word, but now, we're together but separate.
I should feel more terrible but I don't. Last weekend, I saw her do something. If she comes down too hard on me, well, I've got my ace.
I take out a pen and write Eliza a note on my napkin. If I could read your mind, would that be a good thing?
She reads it. Then she shakes her head, slowly. No.
A bunch of seniors head our way, and one of them slows down to smile at Eliza. When they're gone, I ask, "Who is he?"
"Don't know," Eliza says.
Like that's remotely true.
Suddenly, it's too much. I'm jealous, frustrated, and I hear myself asking, "Are you going to take me back?"
"I did, Ben. Right after you asked me to, practically."
"You did, but maybe you really didn't, inside."
"That's true," she says.
It's terrible, hearing that she can't like me as much, that she never really took me back. Then I see Eliza checking out the other guy. "You like him now?" I ask while wondering how many after-school-burger-and-torture-sessions a guy can take. 
"Maybe, I do." Her eyes flash. "Because maybe I can trust him."
"You can trust me---"
"No." She looks away. "We need to be cool."
"What's that, be cool?"
"Like, I can say hi to a guy if I want and you can say hi to girls like you already did and we'll just see."
My ace, I think. It's my chance to use it, and so I do. "Like how you kissed Matt at Bo's party?" I say to Eliza. "I saw you and him upstairs. I saw you go for it."
Eliza looks down. "He says it was kissing music."
"I get it. Maybe we're even." The words don't make me feel any better.
"Maybe." Eliza gets out of the booth. "I have to go."
Too many maybes. I watch Eliza smile at the other guy.
Great. We're so cool I'm shivering.
"Cooling it could be okay," she tells me.
And even though I hate it, I get it. I started it. We're cool, you know? 
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TOMORROWLAND IS WHATEVER YOU WANT IT.

6/4/2015

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Just got back home from watching Tomorrowland with fam & the boyfriend, and honestly, I've seen the mostly mixed to negative reviews and I have no idea why that is. It has a budget of $190M but if you add advertising costs, it's close to $300M and yet it only earned - so far - less than 50% of its costs. All in all, a flop in most people's estimations, which is a sad thing because I 100% loved the movie. It had such a huge impact on me, made me reassess not my life really, but mostly on how I see and do things now versus how I used to see and do those same things.
This 2015, for personal reasons, I've set myself a seemingly impossible goal - basically, an ambitious monthly income target. So far, I'm on track BUT since it means having to work very hard every month, I also had to struggle with added stress and pressure. The result: I don't get to enjoy my work as much as I used to.
And that's bad.
However, I used to think it wasn't. I used to think that dealing with stress and pressure was normal and that it comes with the territory, since I have such lofty goals to accomplish.
But after watching Tomorrowland - after seeing how much fun things could be just by dreaming, by believing in the possibility that you can do anything, well...it made me realize how I've lost that belief in myself and in what I do. In many ways, I've even lost the power to dream and allowed facts and figures to tie me down.
And yeah, that's not just bad. That's SUPER bad. Losing the ability to dream, IMO, is actually the WORST thing that can happen to anyone. 
It happened to me, but thankfully, it's never too late to get it back.
 So, yes, I'm going to start over again. I'm just going to work as hard as I can every day but I'll also make sure that I enjoy my work. Now, this very moment, I'm dreaming again. And I believe in that dream. People may think I'm crazy for believing in such dreams, but I know it can happen, God willing.
And as for you - well, just keep believing, dreaming (and, yes, praying). And it WILL happen.
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    Welcome!

    * Starting February 1, 2014, this blog will be dedicated to providing publishing tips for aspiring Filipino writers.
    * This blog is also where I share my theological views and how it affects my life and work as a writer. I consider myself an open-minded Catholic as I also have an uncle who's a Christian pastor. Luke 9:50 Jesus said to him, "Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you."
    I believe with all my heart that it is our personal relationship with God that saves us and NOT RELIGION.
    * Readers, the stuff you want may be found here.

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