Special MFA Thesis Novel Signed Pre-Order With Bookmark and Sticker!!!!

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Update: The Special Limited Pre-Order for MFA Thesis Novel is over, but you can still order a signed copy and get a free bookmark! See my webstore for updated info.

Many of you have been asking about the best way to get a signed copy of MFA Thesis Novel when it comes out on April 19th.  Others have been asking how to buy the novel in the way that gives me the largest amount of royalties.

Whelp, you can kill two birds with one stone during the Special Limited MFA Thesis Novel Pre-Order Period!

Order a copy of the novel through my webstore by clicking here, and not only will I sign it and write you a cool personalized message (if you want one), but you’ll also get some super-cool FREE swag, including…

  • A limited edition MFA Thesis Novel bookmark designed by Jessica Bell!
  • A 3″x2″ You Don’t Pay Me to Care sticker inspired by the But I Also Have a Day Job blog!
  • The satisfaction of knowing that more of your money went toward supporting me as a small-press indie writer and not toward Jeff Bezos sending billionaires into space! (Technically not swag, but still important!) Continue reading »

How MFA Thesis Novel Went From Word File to Actual Published Book

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Most people never consider how books get made.  We have that idealized image of the grizzled writer sitting at a typewriter then delivering a hearty stack of clean pages to the publisher, who waves a magic wand and PRESTO, out pops a cleanly printed book with cover and crisp inside pages.

Nowadays, that fantasy involves a Word file and email instead of a typewriter, but the disconnect between writing and bookmaking still seems to be there for a lot of writers.  Truth be told, I had no idea how much work and how many steps go into publishing a book, which is why it was cool to learn the process when my own novel got made into an actual hard-copy book (Spoiler: I’ll show pics at the end!).

Here’s a rundown of how that process went, how much work it took from me and the others at Vine Leaves Press, and where the novel stands now. Continue reading »

Here’s What I Got Done in 2021

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It’s been a long year, but it’s finally almost over….

That’s been my mindset for a while, since I’ve realized that I’m suffering from some pretty serious burnout due to taking on too much.  Thankfully, though, the year’s almost over, I’ve got a 2-week (!) break coming up for Christmas and New Years, and January on the Japanese university circuit is set to be pretty chill.  That means I’m almost out of the woods at last (hurray!!!!).

As such, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I did and didn’t accomplish in 2021, how things look differently now than they did last year, and where I’m set to go in 2022.  And there’s no better way to do that than with a year-end summary, both for those who may have missed my news, and as a personal reminder that things aren’t all doom and gloom ;-)

So without further ado, here’s what I got done in 2021: Continue reading »

Cover Reveal for MFA Thesis Novel!

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MFA Thesis Novel cover Ian M Rogers

*Drum roll please*

The cover for my upcoming MFA Thesis Novel is finally ready!  Many thanks to Vine Leaves publisher Jessica Bell for the awesome design, and for her willingness to go back and forth with me about some key elements. (Behind the Scenes Look at How the Sausage Gets Made: one of them was the meaning of the Korean word on the neck tattoo!)  If you want to check out more of Jessica’s awesome cover designs, you can find them all on the press’s book page. Continue reading »

The Developmental Edit for MFA Thesis Novel is Done!

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A lot of work goes into a novel before it hits bookshelves: it needs a cover, ISBN info, back cover copy, reviews from more established authors, and a whole lot of checking for mistakes.  The biggest of those steps, though, is the developmental edit.

I last talked about my own developmental edit back in June, when I went through the manuscript of MFA Thesis Novel one more time doing word tweaks, trims, and making a few small additions.  This was a solo run in preparation for sending the new draft to my awesome editor, Melanie Faith, who’s been INCREDIBLY supportive throughout the entire process starting from when my novel first got signed with Vine Leaves Press.  I wanted to make sure that Melanie got the best draft possible, so I made this final pre-developmental edit part of my summer plans.

My actual developmental edit was slated to run from June 15th to September 21st—three months where Melanie and I could go back and forth getting the manuscript into the best shape possible.  I sent her the new draft on the morning of June 15th, and we made a plan for moving forward. Continue reading »

Fall 2021 TRAM Issue Now Online!

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The latest issue of the TRAM (Toyama’s Random-Ass Magazine, a.k.a. that indie zine I work on in Japan) is out, so you should totally give it a read.

This is actually my last TRAM issue as co-editor, and probably the last edition of my Let’s Talk About Japan Books! column where I write about the novels of Natsume Soseki, Japan’s most well-known novelist.  That’s because I left Toyama and the JET Program a few months ago, and the TRAM zine is very much a project for current JETs.  So, as difficult as it is, it’s time to move on…

This might also be the last TRAM issue ever, because COVID-related delays to incoming JET members have led to a shortage Continue reading »

March Novel Progress – Knee-Deep in the Excitement of Drafting

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I promised you all updates on my new novel a few weeks back, so here’s how it’s going…

I’m a decent way into drafting Act I, and a lot of the scenes are starting to come together in a way that feels really natural.  It’s like the more I work on the novel, the more I’m able to mentally fill in information about the characters, their backstories, and the plot, so that areas that once felt like a confusing void feel clearer.  Now, when I’m at my Day Job, in the shower, or working on something else, I feel ready and excited to sit down and write.

Simply put, the more I work on this novel, the easier the process becomes, and the more I want to work on it. Continue reading »

Check Out the Winter 2021 TRAM Issue I Worked On!

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As many of you know, here in Toyama, Japan I co-edit a cool indie zine called the TRAM—a.k.a. Toyama’s Random-Ass Magazine.  It’s a cool project that features writing and art from around the Toyama JET community and beyond, and we just released a new issue last Friday that you check out for free here.

(Fortunately because we put it out on March 19th, it’s still technically the Winter issue ;-)

This latest issue features a TON of cool art, a beginner’s guide to Japanese sake (which I found incredibly informative!), real-life misadventures from the Japanese dating scene, some Michelin-star restaurant recommendations from around Japan, and original prose and poetry.  Two pieces I was particularly proud to feature from outside the Toyama JET community were a photo set inspired by the movie Amelie by Japanese photographer Maplens and model Amy Davis, and an article about Naomi Osaka and mixed-race Japanese athletes we reprinted through a collaboration with AJET Connect magazine, which covers all of Japan.  Both required some networking on my part, and served as a cool way of flexing my editor muscles ;-) Continue reading »

Novel Progress Update: Let the Drafting Begin!

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Lately I’ve been writing.

Like, not writing shorter pieces or book reviews or essays, but working on the actual new novel I blogged about researching but not yet starting a few months ago.  I’ve been working in larger chunks of 2-4 hours one or two days a week, which is a pretty good rate for me with all the things I have going on.  So far in 2021 I’ve set aside six of these writing sessions where I sat down at the computer completely free of distractions and just wrote, which also feels really good.

Now let’s get one thing straight: I’m not the kind of person who usually brags (or blogs) about his writing progress, especially in terms of word count—which is why I’m not posting my word count here.  I don’t post my word count because all too often it can come across as bragging—like the number of words someone puts down on the page are an indicator of their self-worth even if all those words suck hard.  Other writers can read that and feel discouraged and inferior that they aren’t producing the same number of words—I know because I’ve been there.

I once read an interview with the writer John Banville where he talked about sometimes spending an entire day getting a single sentence exactly the way he wanted it.  John Banville writes some pretty beautiful sentences, but the point is that Continue reading »

Come See Me and a Bunch of Other Cool Authors Read Online!

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Quick plug for anyone interested: On Thursday, March 4th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm EST I’ll be reading a five-minute excerpt from MFA Thesis Novel online via Zoom as part of a reading with seven other authors from Vine Leaves Press!

The reading is one I’m co-organizing with fellow writer Gina Troisi for the online SMOL Small Press book festival.   Our theme is Commercial Meets Experimental (which we took from the Vine Leaves Press mission statement), which I liked because both of these labels get a bad rap even though they can both do awesome things. I’m not sure which section from MFA Thesis Novel I’ll be reading yet, but I imagine it’ll be one with lots of jokes.

The whole thing is free and open to the first 100 people.  Mark your calendars, and save the Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/y6zqdrcu Continue reading »

Fall TRAM Now Online, Plus Thoughts on Editing a Cool Indie Zine

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The TRAM (a.k.a. that zine I work on in Toyama) has a new issue out, one that I’m particularly proud of because of the quality of the material.  This was also our first new issue since our long hiatus earlier this year, and it has a mix of stuff that I’ll sincerely recommend here.

Those outside the Toyama JET community will be most interested in Mind Your Mindset, an article about Growth Mindsets vs. Fixed Mindsets by recent JET alum Rikio Inouye that shows how opening up to personal growth can lead to greater happiness and success.  I’d recommend anyone interested in improving their perspective and taking on new challenges check this one out.

I also put together another edition of my Let’s Talk About Japan Books! column, this one covering two nonfiction books about the JET Program itself.  While Bruce Feiler’s Learning to Bow isn’t worth getting excited over (despite its popularity, I didn’t like the book all that much), the centerpiece is my review of a book called Importing Diversity: Inside Japan’s JET Program by David McConnell, a for-serious academic study about the early years of the JET Program. The book leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the problems faced by ALTs and is incredibly relevant to anyone currently working on or considering JET. Continue reading »

I’m Getting Ready to Write a New Novel But Not Actually Writing It Yet—Here’s Why

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My writing’s been in this weird state of transition for a long time now.  That’s because, for the first time in nine years, I’m not actively working on some sort of novel.

Instead I worked on querying MFA Thesis Novel to publishers for ten months, and in between queries worked on some shorter pieces in various states of completion.  Having time to focus on these other projects has been great, but I’m realizing how badly I miss having a bigger, more involved project to work on, and how much I want to get back into the creative process of working on a novel.

But, as I wrote about in my post a few weeks back, I’m having trouble starting.

That’s partly because this novel idea is particularly ambitious—it’s like nothing I’ve ever written, and writing it the way I’m imagining it is going to take every bit of my writing skill, in addition to a lot of skills I’ve yet to get a handle on.
Continue reading »