Tag: Publishing

I think this is what I wanted all along

There is a part of me that is almost embarrassed at the fact that, after having written and published one book, and having three translations published, with two more scheduled in the next year, I am JUST NOW realizing that hey, maybe I’m not just faking this? Maybe I’m in the book business?

I have been a reader since, well, ever. I think I started reading when I was five, and by the time I was in first grade I was burning through the library. Books were just… There. They were a fundamental building block of my identity. It’s not even something I consciously thought about, but hey. I love books and the reading (and purchasing, borrowing, lending, touching etc. thereof) about as much as anything I can think of.

And of course I always toyed with writing, the way a cat toys with a mouse that it never really intends to eat. “Someday, I shall pounce and then success will be mine!” I would think, while my prey sneaked away, limping but triumphant. Because, of course, writing takes perseverance and dedication and effort, and I sometimes fail to find those virtues in stock.

But now that I am not only someone whose name is on book covers, but someone whose name is familiar to PUBLISHERS and AUTHORS (a famous horror author just posted a pic of his ARC of Strange Pictures, with my name on the cover!!!), I think I can finally admit… This is something that I’ve wanted, without really knowing it, all my life.

I think I must have always wanted to be a book person. A writer, an editor, a guy in the biz. And I think that’s what I’ve got now. I’m visiting a book publisher and two international rights agencies in Tokyo at the end of the month. When I mentioned I would like to visit, they all said “Great! We’d love to meet! When?” rather than “Who are you again?”

The feeling of that. The—admittedly ego-centric, selfish, privileged, yes, I am so privileged and lucky but still—DAMN GOOD feeling of it is something else. I don’t deserve to have this good a life, but it’s here. So I guess I’ll live it.

Anyway. Feels good to get that off my chest.

You know what also feels good? My name in a starred review in Publishers Weekly.

By the way, please maybe consider buying my book, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake. And the ones I translated that are also kind of mine. Thank you!

Discovering Yamaguchi Sake – Errata

Despite my best efforts, I am still merely human, and I made mistakes in my book. Some are simple typographical errors, while others are the results of misunderstanding and miscommunication. I am keeping in touch with the publisher about hopefully getting these fixed in future editions (fingers crossed) but for now, here is a list of errors in Discovering Yamaguchi Sake.

  • Page 63 – Typo
    • Error: “with only the toji, Harada, and his hashira
    • Correction: with only the toji, Harada, and his kashira
  • Pp 100, 102, 103, 104 – Miscommunication
    • Error: Ikuyamakawa
    • Correction: Ikusanga
      • I feel like this one warrants explanation. The name of this sake label 幾山河 is both used in a famous poem and as a traditional kind of aphorism, both meaning “all the mountains and rivers of Japan.” In the poem, it is read “Ikuyamakawa,” while in the traditional phrase it is “Ikusanga.” The sake shop where I buy it uses the first, but I just found out that the brewery prefers the second.
  • Page 135 – Miscommunication
    • Error: “I actually went to university with Nagayama Takahiro…”
    • Correction: “I’m actually the same age as Nagayama Takahiro…”