New website!

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www.natasjaeby.com

19/20

Hello my lovelies!

Those of you who have been following me know that I had set myself a goal of having 20 published works in 2020. I can't believe I'm saying this, but right now, including the 3 pre-orders I have up on Amazon, I'm actually at...19! You can read about my upcoming novels here.

Let's look at some covers!!

I design all my covers myself, with input from trusted friends. There's certainly a learning curve to designing covers, but I'm really enjoying it and I love the outcomes. How do you think I'm doing so far?

My vision for the Onepian Chronicles covers was a lot of stars and silhouettes to give an air of mystery and other-wordliness. What do you think? This particular one came out darker due to the nature of its story line.

I've played around with this series a couple of times. When it came time to design the third cover, I scrapped the concept I had for the first two, redid them with people, and came up with this. Do you prefer people on covers like I do?

I still have a bit of writing to do to reach my goal of 20. Right now, I'm working on a few different things, so I'll have to see which one will come first. But if all goes well, I'll publish one more thing by December 31st.

I still need some help with one of my books, by the way. I'm running a contest to see who can come up with the best band name to put into my new Swapped Lives book My Brother's Wedding Singer/The Art of Being a Girl. If you want to enter the contest, go here. You could even win one of my e-books!

As always, huge shout out to the people who have supported me along my journey. Without you, I would not have made it this far and it's possible none of my stories would have ever seen a bookshelf. Thank you!

- Natasja 

Take the Knockout Girl personality quiz!

If you've ever related to the characters from my Knockout Girl series, now's your chance to find out just how alike you are to them! Take the 2-minute quiz below to find out. Feel free to share your result on your favourite social media platform!

I would love to hear feedback on this quiz. If you liked it enough, I'll probably make more for my other serieses, so please let me know. Happy reading!

- Natasja

The Art of Cover Art

Have you ever wondered why I post my covers all over all the time? Well, let me tell you why: because they're hard! I mean, not only the actual aspect of putting them together, but there's so much to think about. Does it fit the tone and genre of the book? Is it eye-catching/esthetically pleasing? Are the fonts nice and readable as a thumbnail (important for ebooks)? How's the blurb on the back cover? Did you manage to get the j and the t to both fit on the spine?* Now the fun part - getting it to upload properly to whatever publisher you're using and making sure it looks right.

I'm actually not here to complain, but rather to say that I'm proud of how hard I work on that stuff. And not only that, but there are about 5 or 6 people that I'm constantly pestering with questions and observations and to whom I send a million different copies of the same cover with minute differences in them. To those people I say a huge THANK YOU. I've said it before and I'll say it again: there's no such thing as self-publishing alone. 

Alright, here's another look at my covers, because why not? 

My Best Friend's Brother/The Summer I Turned into a Girl. This one is special to me because it was my very first one and my BFF designed it for me. She took such a load off my shoulders by putting it together for me. I still love it, but ended up redesigning it so I could make it match with its sequel.

MBFB take 2. This is the new cover I designed. It was both fun and frustrating to do because no matter what I tried, I couldn't please everyone. I started off with paler colours and it looks better like this. I started with too many fonts and without knowing what to do where, I fell back on the font that I've been using for my Knockout Girl Series. (More on that below). Finally, I came up with something good enough - though I'm still not sure it's perfect.

My Brother's Best Friend/Learning to Sing Like a Girl. This one I ended up liking a little bit better than the first, although maybe that's just because I was so tired of trying to design these covers that I was willing to sacrifice a lot for it. Still I like it and the tone it conveys and I like that they're now a matching set.

And of course, there's Knockout Girl. This was the first time I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe I should put a person on the cover of my book." I think it turned out well and it started a trend for the rest of the series. Those of you who have been following me will have noticed that I added a laurel to this book after I won a couple of awards for it. I like it because Elli really does deserve a laurel on the cover. Major props to my sister and bro-in-law for helping me with the full cover. The title font is called EDO and I love it.

Ah, Standup Guy. A coworker of mine suggested making a cover that matched Knockout Girl by finding a model in a similar pose but on the other side of the book so that when they're side-by-side, Elli and Julian are back-to-back. I think it works quite nicely actually. The problem with that is that this is a flipped image so all those numbers were backwards. Bro-in-law came through for me again and fixed them, but he also at one point hilariously superimposed his own face onto Julian's. Ha ha. This is what I get for free labour.

My next release, The B-Boy has been getting a lot of compliments for how stunning it is. But I have a secret for you. Lean in close. Pay attention... It's just a stock photo with a filter on it. But it does look really nice, doesn't it? In all honesty, I couldn't find a couple that really screamed "Red and Zara!" at me, but I love this couple. The pose is great and the tone is just right for a summer book.

I did a lot of searching around for the perfect cover for Rinkside. I actually was searching for a specific European city (huge spoiler, so I won't say which one if you don't know it from the picture). Low and behold, I found this model casually strolling in several poses through said city. She had a perfect Cherry look, so I grabbed at the chance. I also wasn't originally going to do a paperback version...but then I found a perfect picture for the back cover and that convinced me.

Congratulations on making it to the end of this post! (Unless you scrolled down just to enjoy the pictures. In which case, I applaud your laziness.) And since you're already here, I'm going to show you some full covers, because really. It's so. Much. Work.

Thanks you for going on this crazy adventure with me! You guys are awesome. Happy reading!

- Natasja

*You'll notice all caps on the spines for the Knockout Girl Series, because I can't with all that stuff hanging out the top and bottom.

News - My Brother's Best Friend

Hey all! So earlier this month, I re-released My Best Friend's Brother/The Summer I Turned into a Girl with a brand new cover and a ton of new edits. I also left you with the first chapter of a sequel that I really hope you guys will enjoy as much as you enjoyed MBFB. 

In two months from today (June 29), I'll be celebrating the 7th anniversary of MBFB and consequently my 7th year as a published author. I figured, what better day to release the sequel! I'm going to give you a first look at the cover and a working blurb, so you know what you're in for. Cheers!

My Brother's Best Friend/Learning to Sing Like a Girl

It's been almost four years since Colin and Jess' weird body swap, but they hardly think about it anymore. They're happier than they ever were, even though Colin's graduating soon while Jess has one more year of high school.

Ian and Cassidy, on the other hand, can't stand each other. Once an inseparable couple, they were scorned by unspoken differences between them. Then one day, they butt heads—literally—and find themselves inhabiting each other's bodies. The worst part? Ian's got a huge soccer game coming up that could get him a good scholarship and Cassidy's got an audition for the lead in a musical. How will they switch back before then? 

Hope you guys enjoy this one as much as the last!

- Natasja

More Books, More Hugs

So, two weeks ago I announced that Standup Guy is now officially available on Amazon (in paperback, ebook, and on KU). If you read and enjoyed Knockout Girl, then you definitely won't want to miss this super satisfying conclusion. If you have not had a chance to read Knockout Girl, no worries! But when you're finished, please leave me a review on my Goodreads page  or on Amazon (and I'll love you forever and ever!) 

If you've read Standup Guy, you'll have noticed I left you with another first chapter to a new book. Don't worry! I don't have an official release date for that one right now, but I do plan to publish it sometime this summer. If you would like to keep updated on anything new I'm coming out with, I've just recently started a mailing list. I likely won't send out too many things but if you want to join, click here or click on the "subscribe" tab above.

I have some more really exciting stuff planned for this year, including a redesign and re-release of My Best Friend's Brother/The Summer I Turned into a Girl. Take a peek at the unofficial new cover:

Before I sign off, I just have to say how incredibly grateful, proud, and happy I am for all of the people who have helped me along my self-publishing journey. As I always say, there is no such thing as "self-publisihing." Whether you helped with the actual writing, editing, or design process, or you just "liked" my posts in support, or you were just there to say "Tasja, calm down, everything is okay," then I want you to know I will never be able to adequately express my grattitude. I hope we stay friends for a long, long time and that someday, I may be able to repay you.

Thank you! Here's a virtual hug (physical ones can be given to those within hugging distance).

- Natasja

News - Knockout Girl - Part 2

The great thing about self-publishing is that I could literally be sitting on my couch in my pyjamas and a sweatshirt under a Paw Patrol blanket doing this right now and you'd never know it! (You totally do now though, don't you?)

The thing about "self"-publishing is there is no such thing. So, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all the people who helped me get Knockout Girl out and into the hands of readers! If you ever answered any of my ridiculous questions, if you read my book and made suggestions/corrections, if you were just there during my darkest times of self-doubt, please know how very much loved you are. I cannot express this enough - there is no such thing as "self"-publishing.

Having said that, my latest self-published novel is now available on Amazon!

And here's a list of links for you to enjoy:
Facebook
Instagram
Goodreads
Amazon

 

How to Make a Book in 7 Steps

I've had a few people ask me about my experience either writing or self-publishing a book. I'm not exactly an expert on either of those things, but since the question is about my experience and not my expertise, let me lay it out for you.

Spoilers on screen

Step 1: Write a book! I know, I know, sounds easier said than done. But this is by far the best part of the process. Obviously. I feel like that goes without saying. I'll do a post on the writing process at some point.

Step 2: Edit the book! Not the most fun part of the process, especially if you have a hard time looking at your own work critically. This is where it helps having a best friend who's a copy editor. I'm just saying. (If you don't have one, find one and feed him/her coffee and sushi. Should do the trick.) Seriously though, edit the book at least a million times before you let strangers read it. I'll do a post on self-editing tips later.

Step 3: Beta reading! This is a part of the process I discovered last year. A beta reader is someone who reads a mostly-polished unpublished mauscript and gives their impressions. Think of them as guinea pigs. Nice guinea pigs, who volunteer a lot of their own time for free to help you out. Don't forget to be nice back to them.

Step 4: More editing! At this point, you might opt for a professional edit if you didn't already do that in step 2. I've personally never had a professional edit done because I have so many editors, teachers, and writers in my life helping me out. But if I ever do that, I'll share my experience of that, too.

Look! A cover ^

Step 5:  Do you have a cover? If you feel comfortable enough designing one yourself, I say go for it! I used Canva to design my cover for Knockout Girl and I love it. I also got a lot of good feedback from it which is super important, too. What I didn't love was putting the front cover together with the back cover and I did have to have a lot of help with that. Again, helps to know people who may be good with photo editing programs. Oh! Don't forget that you're going to need an awesome back-of-cover blurb. This blurb might be repeated in a lot of places (such as descriptions online) and it's your audience's first introduction to the story.

Step 6: Have you formatted your interior? This is just as important as having a good cover because no one wants to open what looks like a great book to find garbage formatting inside. You can find a lot of tips online for how best to lay out a book, what fonts to choose, how you want everthing to look. And most self-publishing companies, such as Kindle Direct Publishing, will give you a template to use which is a life-saver. KDP will also check over the manuscript (and cover) you upload to make sure everything is in place. Again - and I can't stress this enough - knowing people who are good at these kinds of things truly helps. Alternatively, you can find paid services for book interiors and exteriors.

Step 7: Upload everything. Hit enter. Watch yourself get richer. I mean, I'm half-serious but actually I find this part pretty easy after all the rest is done. I'm publishing through KDP and everything is pretty clear. You set your price (dependant on how much you want to earn in royalties), upload your manuscript and book cover, and then away you go. It's published! Yay! You are officially an author.

Did you notice anything missing from these steps? If you said "Yes, where's your marketing plan?" then you're correct! The reason I didn't include marketing as one of the steps is because marketing is kind of just this ongoing thing that you always have to think about. Writing a book? Post about it! Looking for betas? Post about it! Did you make an awesome cover? Post it everywhere for the world to revel in its glory! Are you set to publish/have you published it? P.O.S.T. I.T. Marketing is important and I'm not great at it or in any position to be giving advice. But I'm always learning new things to try and I hope that means I'm getting better at it. Just remember - you're awesome, your book's awesome, and you need to let everyone know.


Thanks for coming along for the ride with me, folks! And don't forget - Knockout Girl is out this Wednesday, October 3rd!

- Natasja

News - Knockout Girl

October 3 ^

"My life has always been absolutely beautiful. Amazing. Perfect. Floating in the salty ocean, lying on endless sandy beaches, school, surfing, boys, beach parties, night dips. Everything has always been exactly as it should be. Until one day it all came crashing down.

Picture yourself—not on a boat on the river—lying on a towel, stretched out on white sands, the sound of the ocean waves calming you as a breeze filters through your salt-tangled hair. The palm trees sway back and forth, offering you occasional shade from the hot rays of light.

Then you leave forever, because the next day you’re on a plane bound for Canada in the dead of winter. And you just keep wishing that you’d wake up back in the real world. You keep wishing that you never had to leave. But you do. The stupid plane keeps heading farther and farther north.

Obviously this story is about me, and not you. But you get the idea."

Thus begins Elli's journey in my new novel called Knockout Girl. You've already read about it (if you haven't, click the link), and you've been treated to the cover reveal through my social media. So I'll keep this short and sweet.

If all goes as planned, Knockout Girl will be released as a paperback and an ebook on October 3, 2018 on Amazon. I'm going to try to give some more updates and maybe a few more excerpts before then, but for now, mark your calendars! This is a story you won't want to miss, I promise.

- Natasja

My Best Friend's Brother/The Summer I Turned Into A Girl - Excerpt

I have been asked in the past to post an excerpt of MBFB and with its recent release as an ebook, I've decided to do just that. I had a hard time picking the part I thought best represented the book without giving too much away, but I hope this'll do the trick.  

That night, Jess and Colin met and worked separately on their “homework.” Jess gave Colin an entirely new list of moves to practice over and over, while Colin set up some markers for Jess to practice her kicking aim.

“I don’t know how you do all this,” Colin commented as he twisted Jess’ body into shapes he’d never known existed before.

“Do what?” Jess asked as she lined up some soccer balls.

“All of it,” Colin said. “I mean, I’m exhausted from all of the rehearsals and pretending to be happy and perky with your friends.”

“I don’t have to pretend to be happy for my friends,” Jess said calmly, kicking the first ball and missing the target by a lot.

“You have to keep your leg directed at where you want the ball to go,” Colin pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah. Work on your forms,” Jess said, her voice edging on frustration.

Colin went back to the list of moves Jess gave him. Some of them were stand-alone while other ones melded into new ones. It was the transitions that he had the most problem with. Sometimes he just didn’t know when to move into a new form or really how he should look when he did. Now he understood why there were mirrors all over the dance studio.

Colin was so focused on what he was doing that he was startled when Jess grabbed him around the waist from behind and started guiding his movements. Colin tensed up but Jess didn’t seem to notice.

“See, it’s like this,” Jess said. “Just sway your hips to the right, extend your left arm.” When Colin didn’t move, she repeated, “Extend your left arm.”

Colin cleared his throat nervously and did as Jess instructed. What was wrong with him? Jess was like right behind him, practically breathing in his ear and he just couldn’t handle it. He turned around and took a couple steps back.

“Colin, what’s wrong?” Jess asked innocently.

“N-nothing,” Colin stammered. “Just keep your hands to yourself, okay?”

Jess narrowed her eyes at Colin and then she burst out laughing. “Are you embarrassed or something? I was only trying to help you.”

“Yeah, okay, it’s fine,” Colin said. “Go practice.”

Jess gave him one last smirk and then went back to kicking soccer balls. She didn’t know what had Colin all riled up, but she had a pretty good feeling he wouldn’t tell her anyway. She only half-concentrated on what she was doing because she kept looking back at Colin to see how he was doing. And she had to admit – he didn’t look too bad. He just lacked the knowledge. She had no idea how she would ever get him to memorize all of the dances by Friday.

Colin knew Jess was watching him, but he decided not to let on. He wanted to ignore her but after the way she’d held onto him and moved his hips that way, he was keenly aware of her presence. He hadn’t wanted to admit to her that he’d liked being touched, because it would just make their already awkward predicament even more complicated. Plus it just felt weird.

“Ian told me he was going to ask Cass out,” Jess said after they’d been practicing silently for a long time.

“Um, yeah,” Colin said. “Actually, he already did.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, she told me he did it at the mall today.”

“How do you feel about it?” Jess asked.

“I didn’t really get a chance to say anything to her,” Colin said. “It was kind of a quick mention before she went home with you and I haven’t seen her since.”

“That’s not really an answer to the question,” Jess commented.

“I don’t really like it,” Colin said, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. “But I didn’t know how to tell her without sounding like…me.”

“Do you…” Jess paused. “Do you want me to talk to her? For you?”

Colin dropped the stance he’d been trying to perfect and turned to look at her. She had also stopped kicking to watch him. “You would do that?” Colin asked.

“If you want me to,” Jess said. “I mean, she is my best friend, and you know Ian better than me. I could give her a little warning, I guess.”

“You really have no qualms about meddling in her business?” Colin asked uncertainly.

“I’m already lying to her, remember?” Jess turned back to the soccer balls.

“Hey, pass me one of those,” Colin said, nodding at the other balls on the ground. Jess leaned over to pick one up, but Colin said, “No, not like that. Never touch a soccer ball with your hands.”

“Sorry,” Jess muttered. She haphazardly kicked the soccer ball in Colin’s general direction but it went wide by about two feet.

Colin lifted an eyebrow at her. “Did you even think about that before you did it?”

Jess shrugged. “What’s there to think about?”

Colin shook his head. “I know you think jocks are stupid and stuff, but there are a lot more cognitive skills involved in sports than you probably think.”

“Okay, the fact that you used the word ‘cognitive’ has my attention,” Jess said. “So educate me.”

“You can’t just kick something and expect it to read your mind,” Colin said. “I mean, it would have even helped if you were looking at me while you did it, but you weren’t.”

“Yes I–”

“You weren’t,” Colin said. “You can’t lie to me; I know what I look like when I lie.”

“Okay, okay,” Jess said. “So, I have to look at you. Fair enough.”

“And there’s a lot of angling involved. Ever play pool?” Jess shook her head and Colin added, “That’s okay. My point is that every time you kick the ball, you literally have to make sure you leg follows through in the exact direction that you wanted the ball to go. If not, you’re doing it wrong.”

“Okay…” Jess said slowly.

She went over to the next ball, lined it up exactly where she wanted it and then kicked it in Colin’s direction. She had so much follow through that she actually kicked her leg right out and fell backward on her butt. Colin laughed out loud at her, and she lifted her head to glare at him.

“I’m sorry,” Colin said, laughter still in his voice. “But look! You got the ball right to me.”

“I did?” Jess asked, sitting up.

“Yup.” Colin grinned.

“Woohoo.” Jess smiled back at him.