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Thursday, March 23, 2017

Faith Blum's Publication Story + Q&A

It was a dark and stormy night. Or so many pretend stories start. This one, however, started differently. And it's real.

My publication journey started with a Facebook message from a friend of mine. She told me about a writing contest. The winner would get their book published by WestBow Press. I didn't win the contest, but that book was a semi-finalist. The contest spurred me on to publish my book. I had recently made a couple of online friends who had independently published books of their own. They helped answer some of my questions.


I won't go into all the details, mainly because I don't remember many of them. I hired someone to design the cover. I definitely recommend that unless you are super good at knowing all the intricacies of book cover design. I also hired a formatter because I had no clue how to format a book, especially a paperback. At the time, I didn't hire a proofreader. I had my mom and sisters do that for me.

My biggest mistake with the first book was that I rushed it. My book was good, but not great. It still had many typos and a few loose ends I should have tied up. Those have now been corrected.

Since my first published book in November 2013, I have figured out at least a little bit of a routine of writing, editing, editing, more editing, and publishing. The marketing part is still coming. Slowly.
If I had it to do over again, I would delay the publication of my
book for a few months to make sure it was truly and fully edited. I would hire a proofreader to go through it and I would learn a little more about the craft of writing.

It's been an eventful journey, but one that I would gladly do all over again if I could.
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I would like to open the floor now for questions. Feel free to ask Faith any questions you might have about writing, her writing, her writing process, or anything else you can think about. She'll be around sometime today to answer them!

10 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your story, Faith! Can one evvverrrr do enough proofreading?? :D Haha! I see that the book above is first in the series? How many more do you have written?

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    1. You're welcome, Tammy! Haha! Probably not.

      I have published five books in that series, six in the spin-off novella series, two standalone books in other genres, and one in my newest series.

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  2. WOW! If I were to start somewhere, which of your books would you recommend first? It know, it's probably hard....like choosing a favorite child!

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    1. It is hard. I guess I would suggest starting with one of my permafree books.

      A Mighty Fortress (Western): www.books2read.com/amightyfortress

      Heaven's Jubilee: And Other Short Stories (Futuristic): www.books2read.com/heavensjubilee

      Faith is the Victory (Contemporary short story): www.books2read.com/faithisthevictory

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  3. Thanks for sharing your story! I'd like to know, what led you to choose historical fantasy as your genre of choice in which to write?

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    1. I've always loved history, so it was an easy choice to write Historical Fiction.

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  4. It was neat to your about your publication story, Faith! And I found it cool that you were spurred on to publishing by a contest you didn't win, because the same thing happened to me - though I haven't actually published yet, the contest I didn't win definitely spurred me on. Thanks for sharing! <3

    ~ Savannah
    scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh, wow! That is so neat! I hope your publication journey goes well!

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Hi! Now that you've read my post, hast thou any opinions that thou wouldst like to share? I'd love to hear them!