Finn Mack

I originally published Qubit back in 2013. I decided to go the indie publishing route. I did some promotion, but I didn't really know what I was doing. Marketing is marketing, but each market is a bit different, and publishing is no exception. That's one of the gotchas of indie publishing. At any rate, the book didn't sell well. I took the advice of many other authors and focused on my next book. Which I'm still working on.

I more or less forgot about Qubit. In time, I gained some perspective on the story. There were some changes I wanted to make. Maybe one day I'd go back and make them. In the meantime, I was focused on my next novel.

And then along came the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, inspired apparently by the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, and generously organized by Hugh Howey and Duncan Swan. I decided to submit Qubit, which, in turn, spurred me to make those long-contemplated changes. I revised the story, published it as a second edition, and submitted it.

Qubit is among the 300ish novels that made the “slush pile”. That inspired me further to update my Web site, log back into my Twitter account, and revive this blog. Which I needed to do anyway. I've learned a lot about writing and indie publishing and I can share those things here. And, of course, I can share updates on my work. I've even considered sharing excerpts from my upcoming novel. Or publishing it as a serial.

Whatever happens, I am grateful to all the people involved in making the SPSFC happen. Promotion is arguably the hardest thing about indie publishing. And for a well-known author like Hugh Howey—himself an indie published author—to use his platform to help draw attention to unknown authors is commendable. And, hopefully, it will make it that much easier for indie authors to get exposure in the future.