I never set out
to write a book. I’m not a reader, so books aren’t part of my everyday life.
But now that I’ve written five novels, it’s fun to look back at how it all
began. Here’s a countdown from the beginning on my publishing journey.
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10. I had a story
rambling around in my brain. One night, I got off of the treadmill, opened my
laptop, and began to type.
9. Two months
later, I thought maybe I had written a book. I Googled the words: “What do you
do if you think you wrote a book” and devoured the answers. I read blogs. I
ordered “How To Get Published” books.
8. According to
the blogs and books from #9, I had done everything wrong. So, I tweaked my
manuscript.
7. I hired an
editor to do a manuscript review. She had good feedback! And she had a major
suggestion: change the manuscript from first-person to third-person.
6. I rewrote the
manuscript; hired another editor; hired a cover designer and interior
formatter; hired a director for a book trailer. I incorporated a business and
bought domain names.
5. And this is
when I started working on book #2. And book #3.
4. I wrote query
letters to agents. “Send five a week,” the reference books said. I sent out my
first five and stopped. Why was I trying to get an agent? Self-publishing was
easier. Faster. Everything was at my fingertips. I had full control. My own
ISBN’s, hundreds of editors and cover designers for me to choose from, and all
potential book revenue would be 100% mine.
3. I quietly
enlisted friends to read and I listened to their advice. I made adjustments.
2. After a final
manuscript review with a professional editor, I uploaded my first book to
CreateSpace (Amazon), IngramSpark (Barnes and Noble and libraries) for print
and eBook, and then iTunes and Kobo for eBook only.
1. And then three
years after opening that blank Word document, I wrote a Facebook post
announcing to my friends that I had written a book. They were all shocked but
were more surprised when I said that I had already written the second. And then
I blew their minds when I announced I had already written the third. That
announcement was one crazy-fun way for a non-reader to launch a trilogy.
DEBBIE K. LUM is an unlikely author, a non-reader who was inspired by a self-esteem ad campaign encouraging little girls to dream big. Her romantic suspense novels feature fun, flawed characters with steamy and complicated relationships (and plenty of surprises!) Lum’s latest novel is I CAN HANDLE HIM, a romantic suspense story set in San Antonio. Her last novel, THE DOCTOR, THE CHEF OR THE FIREMAN, was called “A quick, satisfying romantic mystery.” by Kirkus Reviews. In 2016 she debuted PLEBEIAN REVEALED, PLEBEIAN IN DANGER and PLEBEIAN REBORN, a series about a married woman who finds sudden fame with her ex-boyfriend. Debbie spent her 28-year professional career in marketing and special events. She’s a native of Tampa, Florida and splits her time between Florida and Texas.
Website: https://www.debbielum.com/
Twitter: @Debbie_K_Lum
Facebook: @authordebbielum
