Download Play It By Ear for FREE!

May 17, 2024 No Comments

Hello, friends and loved ones! It has (unfortunately) slipped my mind how one of my children turned five this week! FIVE! Oh my gosh, how time flies! (I’m so sorry Yihwan, it’s not you, it’s me.)

Anyway, here’s a quick weekend giveaway for everyone! Play It By Ear (Backstage Pass #2) is now FREE to download on Gumroad until Sunday, May 19!

Play It By Ear is the story of Jo Yihwan, a KPop rock band leader who reluctantly signs onto a talent-slash-reality TV show and meets a determined idol trainee who thinks this is her final chance at debuting. The book tackles the many struggles of idols and idol trainees in the KPop world, how they overcome these challenges, and sometimes, find love in little hidden corners.

Awesome, I’d LOVE a copy!

Already got/read the book? Thank you! <3 Could you spread the love and share this post to a friend or loved one who might enjoy Yihwan and Yoojung’s story? I’d really appreciate it. And if this is your first time picking up the book, I hope you enjoy reading!

Have a great weekend, everyone~!

Events, The Writing Community

Love Languages: Notes from the 2024 Philippine Book Festival

May 9, 2024 No Comments

After the January KOMIKET event at Market! Market! a few months ago, I wrote a blog post about Why I like hand selling books. Now, here I am again, about to share with you some nakakakilig moments of the time we hand sold #RomanceClass books at the 2024 Philippine Book Festival.

Organized by the National Book Development Board, the Philippine Book Festival is a free event that aims to showcase Filipino talent through various types of published work. Just like last year, the World Trade Center (official venue of #PBF2024) was divided into four “realms”: Booktopia (fiction and non-fiction books), Komiks (comic books, graphic novels, zines, and art), Aral Aklat (textbooks), and KidLit (children’s books). Book and publishing industry-related balks and workshops also happen throughout the day, divided among the different spaces such as the Main Stage and the Creators’ Lab.

This year we were given the chance to represent Filipino romance the #RomanceClass way at our very own booth, and boy, was it fun!

The Writing Community

LF: A Great Editor

April 16, 2024 No Comments

It always annoys me when “literary snobs” dismiss self-published work as sub-par, or something that’s just not worth their time. Sometimes it’s really just them looking down on certain genres (*cough* romance *cough*) because they think it’s “easy to write.” And sometimes, their aversion of all self-published work stems from reading or hearing their peers talk about a handful of badly edited ones.

Sad, but true.

As a reader, I can forgive a few minor grammatical errors in the books I read, but gaping plotholes, one-dimensional characters, and problematic narratives make me cringe and wonder: Who the heck edited this?

I cannot stress this enough: To every author, self-published or not, having a great editor is IMPORTANT. A good editor can spot grammatical or typographical errors for you, but a great editor can do that AND also flag problem points in your manuscript. Great (AKA experienced, skilled, and constantly improving) editors are able to tell if a plot point or character behavior doesn’t make sense and offer constructive insight on how you can make your book better. And the more you continue working with good editors, the better author you will eventually become.

But how exactly do you know if you’re working with a great editor? Here are some qualities that I think they must have.

The Writing Community

How much does it REALLY cost to self-publish?

April 3, 2024 No Comments

(TL;DR version: It’s less than P40,000.)

How much does it really cost to self-publish a book?

Recently, there’s been a bit of buzz around self-publishing practices here in the Philippines. Every once in a while, various conversations about the different issues surrounding self-publishing (quality of work, ~legitimacy, and costs, to name a few) arise in different social media platforms, and I want to somehow contribute to that through this blog, but for now, let’s focus on one aspect: COST.

I remember someone from a big book event last year who very specifically asked us how much money we spent to publish ONE BOOK. And I also remember the shock on her face when I blurted out some rough estimates (less than P20,000), which made me wonder if she’d spent more, or was about to.

Now before we go any further, let me be clear: I cannot speak for every self-published author out there. Everything I’ve written here is based on actual costs that I have personally spent publishing my books in the last nine years. Enumerated below are several items I usually budget for when I plan on releasing a book, including a price range for each.

Ready? Here we go:

Personal, The Writing Community, Writing

#TeamLabyu is back!

March 20, 2024 No Comments

It’s almost World Theatre Day, and what better way to celebrate that special day than by re-releasing my Philippine theatre-based romance novel, Waiting in the Wings! That’s right friends~by March 27, everyone who’s purchased the Kindle version of the book will be seeing its 2024 edition!

The 2024 edition of Waiting in the Wings has a new clinch cover featuring theatre actors Marynor Madamesila and Gio Gahol, photographed by Chi Yu Rodriguez and designed by Miles Tan. The story is tweaked a little bit, so you might find new things inside, but it’s essentially the same story set during pre-pandemic times (the original came out in 2017), and of course, our main couple still get their HEA.

I’m now taking pre-orders for paperback AND hardbound copies of this new edition for PH readers! If you’re interested to buy a copy of the book, fill out the form found here. The form will close on March 31, 2024, and books will be scheduled for pick-up or delivery beginning April 13.

For any inquiries, email me at author@tarafrejas.com.