Apr 5, 2017

Updates, Faoii! Listen up!

I won’t lie, faoii. This is an incredibly difficult update to write.

Remember how I told you once that I’d given up on The Last Faoii ever getting published? (The journey to this point is a long, beautiful that I detail on my blog HERE). It’s true. I worked for years trying to figure out the publishing world, and failed. Over and over. I was young, naive. I dug holes that I couldn’t get back out of and stumbled through the literary world with ungraceful feet. Ultimately, I put Faoii-Kaiya and her story on a shelf and walked away from it. I had prepared to let The Last Faoii die.

Then I found Inkshares and I figured "why not give it one more try?" At this point, what did I have to lose?

Never did I suspect to get so much support. An entire army picked up swords to make this book a reality. We were backed by syndicates and strangers. We almost made it to the top of Inkshares’ biggest contest. Every step of the way was hard work. I wanted to give up several times, but how could I let so many warriors down? And I kept hearing that voice in the back of my head: This is Faoii’s last chance. Take this hill or surrender. So I kept going. I kept going when Thane Studios dropped us right at the beginning of the contest. I kept going when Inkshares changed their royalties without announcement unexpectedly (that was a hard blow--I have probably spent more on editors and promotions now than I will make in return. And yet, it’s still worth it. This book was never about the money). I kept going even as I got sicker; as life got harder. I kept going because every single one of you stood behind me and worked to make this happen. And all you asked in return was a signed copy of the book I created for you.

Well, as it turns out, Inkshares has now decided that it’s not cost-effective to send out signed copies anymore. Poof. Done. Just like that. All the promises I made you apparently mean nothing. I’m putting more money into the project to order bookplates now so that I can at least give you SOMETHING to make your $20 pre-order worthwhile, and if you live in MT I’ll obviously still sign your book(s) when they come in, but all my promises of signed copies? I can’t guarantee that anymore and that hurts me greatly.

At this point I understand if you decide to drop your sword. Pull out of the fight. Demand a refund. No one deserves to be treated poorly, and I would not blame you if this was the last straw. You have fought honorably for this book-- you deserve to be respected. 

But, the beginning of this update still stands true-- I am completely aware that this is Faoii’s last chance. Either I keep going as I have been-- either I keep fighting until there’s absolutely nothing left to fight for-- or Faoii dies with me.

So the march continues.

I’m sorry, faoii. I wish I had better news for you. The book is still coming. You WILL still be able to read it. It’s just, I feel like I failed you, and there was nothing I could do about it.

But what else can we do? Shields up.

Faoii-Tahani