Mariah Friend

Progress is progress! I've been working on my new novel in 30 minute increments, sometimes that's just a few paragraphs, sometimes I'm just doing research. It all counts!

Cheers to 25 year old me who was brave enough to quit my job as a nurse in the ICU to backpack around the world in search of a life that belonged to me.

Without you, THE PATTERN SHOP wouldn't exist. 🦋

www.mariahfriend.com/thepatternshop

#travelstories #solofemaletraveler #adventure #backpacking

When There's No Guaranteed Payoff Navigating creative uncertainty after leaving nursing

One of the hardest things about pivoting from nursing to writing and trying to make a career of it is the financial uncertainty.

In this essay, I reframe what it means to take risks in our creative lives and find success. 😊

#creativewriting #writersky

thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/when-there...

THE PATTERN SHOP is about a young nurse who realizes she can't save her family or her patients, so trades her stethoscope for a backpack and a one-way ticket to see if she can still save herself. 🦋

#WIPsnips #literaryfiction #nursing #comingofage #booksky

Mariah Friend (@mariahfriend) Takeaways from selling my book, The Pattern Shop at an art market this weekend: 🦋Books sold = 4 🦋Stickers sold = 1 (+4 gifted after donating to TIRRC) 🦋New email subscribers = 7 🦋New Instagram fol...

Takeaways from selling my book, THE PATTERN SHOP at an art market this weekend:

🦋Books sold = 4
🦋Gross sales = $70.96
🦋Vendor fee = $23.17 (30/70 artist split)

Read more 👇💗

substack.com/@mariahfrien...

#writingcommunity #selfpublished #author #indieauthors #writersky #selfpub #litfic

Notes for my new novel, ODESSA alongside notes from my 3 ½ year old who wants to learn how to write like mommy. 😊💗

#creativewriting #motherhood #writingcommunity #MIS #literaryfiction #inspiration

I love this painting!

With funding increasingly scarce for the arts, it's incredibly important to support #localbusinesses and makers. If you're in #Chattanooga, I'll be there selling signed copies of THE PATTERN SHOP this Saturday at the art market.🦋

Come stop by and say hi!

#artmarket #supportlocal #indieauthor

Hi! My book THE PATTERN SHOP is literary fiction but I also write poetry and personal essays. 😊

What's "hand-selling" and why does it matter for indie authors?

Learn how to leverage sales in your favor and build an author platform with intention in this tell-all about the *actual* math of self-publishing!

thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/the-actual...

#selfpub #indieauthors #writersky

Thanks, Moran! I'd love to stay connected. 😊

Thank you! And sure! I'm a ways away from editing, only about 10 pages in on the first draft but I'd love to stay connected!

It is February,
the shortest month
of the year
Covered in white,
frozen in time
it is always the longest
in my mind

-Mariah Friend, excerpt from "February"

#poetry #february #winter #poem

A novel where the landscape is the main character. Beautiful, haunting, immersive.

P.S. If you enjoy emotional stories where place comes alive with rich, sensory details you might like my debut novel, The Pattern Shop, too! 🦋

mariahfriend.com

#booksky #debutauthor #magicalrealism

So they don't have to stumble over all my typos and first draft blunders. I'd like to give them something a little more polished!

Not yet! When I'm further along (after a few more revisions) I definitely will!

Thank you! It's got a lot of themes I think will resonate with people, especially in this political climate!

My MC is Eleanorah, a young nurse with intense emotions she tries her best to keep at bay...until it all starts unraveling. It's a #comingofage literary fiction that spans her life from 21-25 as she searches for home, and maybe redemption.

www.mariahfriend.com

#litfic #indieauthors #writersky

#MondayMotivation
#WritingCommunity

An honest look at book sales, self-publishing costs, and profit margins ten weeks since launching The Pattern Shop! 🦋

A must read for any writer considering any form of publishing.

thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/the-actual...

#publishing #indieauthors #writersky #writingcommunity #selfpub

Balancing promoting THE PATTERN SHOP while writing my new novel, ODESSA is hard! But I'm proud to celebrate writing ten pages of new material!

It took me 10+ years to write my first book, here's hoping it takes less time for the second! 😂

#indieauthors #writersky #writingcommunity #litfic

It's literary fiction with a historical bent! Here's the logline: Two women, a century apart with one choice: stay or leave?

Beautiful!

My latest newsletter breaks down everything I’ve spent, earned, and learned since self-publishing my debut fiction, THE PATTERN SHOP.

The more we know, the more power we have to change the system moving forward. 🦋

#writersky #writingcommunity #selfpub

thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/the-actual...

From one writer to another, it's ok if the quality of your writing various (widely) from day to day.

It's less about perfection and more about building the habit of writing. Think of it like muscle memory and don't be too hard on yourself. 😊

#writersky #writingcommunity #indieauthors #authors

"She was probably falling for him then. She certainly was now."

-The Pattern Shop

For those who love messy love stories and the meet cute of a lifetime 🥰

#WIPSnips #literaryfiction #travel #writersky #writingcommunity

Maybe! Probably not after the first draft, though. I'd want to be kinder to my beta readers. 😂

I'm the debut author of THE PATTERN SHOP, a book about understanding the difference between "home" and belonging, faith and fantasy, and fixing vs. healing.

It's a coming of age literary fiction perfect for old souls with wanderlust! 🦋

www.mariahfriend.com

The *actual* math of self-publishing $3,964 invested, 30% to break-even, and what I've learned in 10 weeks post book-launch!

The tell-all from a #selfpublished author you've been waiting for!

📊 Total Investment: ~$3,964 in book production costs 💰 Net Sales (10 weeks post-launch): $1,238.72 📈 Progress to Break Even: 30%

thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/the-actual...

#writingcommunity #indieauthors #litfic #writersky

Heartbeats | Mariah Friend | Substack Heartbeats is a nurturing community for creative caregivers (even if you're only caring for yourself!). Subscribe for reflections on motherhood, creativity, and mental health. 💗. Click to read Heartbe...

I’m sharing a tell-all of the math behind self-publishing The Pattern Shop in a newsletter tomorrow (2/19)! 🦋

Make sure you subscribe to Heartbeats so you don't miss it!

thebarefootbeat.substack.com

#selfpublishing #creativebusiness #selfpub #indieauthors #writersky #writingcommunity