How to Finally Finish the Book, with Debra Hunt

What does it take to finally finish the book that has been living with you for years?

In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by Debra Hunt, author of the contemporary women’s fiction and domestic suspense novel Unlikely Hero. 

Debra’s story is such a wonderful reminder that it is never too late to return to a long-held dream, build the support you need, and bring your book into the world.

Unlikely Hero follows Jesse, a woman trying to rebuild her life after a devastating loss, with only her loyal dog by her side. The original spark for the novel came from Debra’s own curiosity about working dogs, loyalty, and trust. She began wondering what might happen if a powerful dog had to choose between obeying a trainer and protecting the person he truly loved.

That question stayed with Debra for years. In fact, her earliest notes for the novel date back to 2002. Like so many writers, she worked on the story in starts and stops, sometimes putting it away for years at a time. 

Eventually, the unfinished book began to feel like a personal failure. She had always wanted to become an author, but she kept asking herself: Where was the book?

Everything began to change when Debra joined my First Book Finish program. She already had a draft, but the structure, accountability, coaching, and community helped her stop treating time as unlimited. 

Instead of endlessly revising as she drafted, she learned to finish the whole story and then approach revision step by step.

Debra shares how beta readers helped her strengthen the plot, deepen her characters, and expand what was initially closer to novella length. Just as importantly, their feedback helped her realize that other readers were often far kinder than her own inner critic.

We also talk honestly about self-publishing. After spending roughly 25 years with this story, Debra knew she didn’t want to wait through the traditional publishing process. She wanted the book in readers’ hands. 

She discusses what she learned from using a publishing-services package, why she might choose a more à la carte approach next time, and why authors need to understand which parts of publishing they want to handle themselves.

Of course, publishing the book introduced a whole new challenge: marketing it. Debra talks about building a street team, connecting with local bookstores and libraries, collaborating with fellow writers, creating a newsletter, pitching podcasts, and slowly becoming more comfortable with social media.

What I loved most about this conversation was Debra’s definition of success. It isn’t about phenomenal sales. It is about being able to say, “I did this, and you can do it too.”

This episode is a beautiful conversation about consistency, accountability, courage, and finally allowing other people to read the work you have carried for so long.

Transcript

Intro:

Well, hey there, Writer. Welcome to The Resilient Writers Radio Show. I'm your host, Rhonda Douglas. And this is the podcast for writers who want to create and sustain a writing life they love. 

Because let's face it, the writing life has its ups and downs, and we want to not just write, but also to be able to enjoy the process so that we'll spend more time with our butt-in-chair getting those words on the page. 

This podcast is for writers who love books and everything that goes into the making of them. For writers who want to learn and grow in their craft and improve their writing skills. Writers who want to finish their books and get them out into the world so their ideal readers can enjoy them. Writers who want to spend more time in that flow state. 

Writers who want to connect with other writers to celebrate and be in community, in this crazy roller coaster ride, we call the writing life. We are resilient writers. We're writing for the rest of our lives and we're having a good time doing it. So welcome, Writer. I'm so glad you're here. Let's jump right into today's show.

Rhonda:

Well, hey there, Writer. Welcome back to another episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show. I'm really excited today to be talking with Debra Hunt. Debra writes contemporary women's fiction that explores the resilience hidden in ordinary lives.

She's drawing from her years as a social worker, advocating for vulnerable populations and understands how people find strength they never knew they had. And that insight shapes every story she tells, including her debut novel, Unlikely Hero.

She spent 10 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force before earning her degree in social work from Arizona State University and her career focused on working with individuals facing their toughest moments.

And she earned a postgraduate certification in the connection between animal and human abuse, deepening her understanding of trauma healing and the bonds that sustain us.

She's an admirer of working dog breeds like the German Shepherd and has spent countless hours training her own strong-willed dogs in obedience and protection ah working. this is a pursuit that has taught her patience, persistence, and the art of earning trust.

When she's not writing or promoting her work, Debra can be found making pottery, volunteering in animal rescue, and exploring the vistas of Costa Rica. She believes in the importance of mind-body balance, which she practices through yoga and quiet reflection. And she shares this life with her husband, Mark. Welcome Debra delighted to have you.

Debra:

Thanks for having me Rhonda I appreciate it.

Rhonda:

So um the book Unlikely Hero my copy came a couple weeks back now. um And of course I already read it because you were in my First Book Finish program. talk to me about the inspiration for this novel. Did it come out of your work with dogs or did it come out of something else?

Debra:

Actually, it came out of my own concern about maybe someday living by myself and thinking that I might need a big scary looking dog by my side. And I started to wonder if such a dog would obey a trainer who might turn out to be a bad guy or would he choose his loyalty with his owner, me, or the protagonist in this case. And so that was a question that was rattling around in my mind for many years before I actually wrote the story.

Rhonda:

Okay, and... Talk to me a little bit about Jesse the protagonist and how she came to you and how you developed her as a character?

Debra:

Well, Jesse was a person who I conceived of as having experienced a big loss in her life and struggling to return to some kind of normalcy with this companion animal by her side. Turns out that she was left alone essentially with only the dog to be her companion, her company. And she had to figure out how to, even if she wanted to, regain some type of normalcy and continue on and figure out what her life would be after losing her partner.

Rhonda:

Right. And this book is, let's see, how would we describe it? Domestic Suspense?

Debra:

Yeah, that's funny because when I first wrote it, thought of it as just some person's my character's journey. um And then it was suggested to me there was suspense elements. So I said, aha, I think I need to learn more about that genre.

Rhonda:

Right. And so um talk to me about the changes that happened in the book from draft to revision to the final version that I'm holding.

Debra:

Well, first of all, my draft was, I developed the draft over many years and what I was really struggling with is I tried to revise it as I wrote it. And that was, as I learned, not a very effective way to move forward with the whole entire story.

So then once I learned that I should just go ahead and finish this story, I was very short. In fact, I was around like a novella length. And I needed to go into the revision process to really understand, to develop where I had holes in my plot and my character development so that I could then figure out what the rest of the story really was. So it changed somewhat from the draft to the final version, I think much for the better, especially based on the m feedback I received from my beta readers.

Rhonda:

So what's been your experience of publishing the book and getting it out into the world. What's changed for you in being uh a published author with a real book out to the world.

Debra:

Well, yes, that was my goal for the longest time was to be published, to have my name on the spine and to say, yes, I did it. That was really a big accomplishment for me. And then I realized that my next goal soon became getting it discovered.

Rhonda:

Right.

Debra:

And that's been, you know, that that is the challenge at the moment. I'm in my early launch season. And there's a lot of competition for people's attention. Many find books available at any moment. So I'm trying to learn how to become a better marketer.

Rhonda:

Right. Which is, you know, that's such a journey and a learning, learning phase, I guess. mean, nobody goes into writing a book thinking, you know what I want to do? I really want to become a marketing expert. So how are you approaching this new phase of your journey?

Debra:

Well, because I chose self-publishing, I am the marketing department. And so I am, I started out being very anxious about it, but frankly, I've started to settle into the role with checklists and realizing that there are many aspects to my marketing, some of which are more um organic, like just reaching out to people in my local uh vicinity, my local library, my local book stores, trying to find out who is in a book club.

And of course, things like this podcast and pitching podcasts at the moment. And I'm trying to keep my social media fresh. The social media piece is the most alien to me, I will say. But I know it's necessary to try to kind of wedge my foot in that door and keep it open.

I have a new Instagram account. have a newsletter that I find very gratifying and I have a website that I is absolutely necessary because every time I pitch my book anywhere, the people are asking for the website to make sure that I'm legit author.

Rhonda:

I love that. So, um, you're working on your second book now, right?

Debra:

I am.

Rhonda:

Yeah. And what's the difference between that book and this one?

Debra:

It's going to be more ambitious. It's not a serial. It's not, I'm not, I'm leaving these characters behind and I have a new cast of characters. It's going to be a heroine's journey. There's going to be an ensemble cast where there's some women who get together to kind of recreate or recapitulate an adolescent fantasy that they had of going on a road trip.

But now they're all approaching 50 years old and things have changed in their lives and they need to work some things out along the way.

Rhonda:

I love that. That sounds fun. I love a road trip, it kind of has like this built-in structure to it for a novel. Yeah, that's great. So, when did you decide that you were going to self publish and why did you finally make that decision instead of trying for, you know, a trad publishing deal?

Debra:

I decided that early on once I had my draft and my revision because I had already spent 25 years with this story and I need, I was not patient enough to do everything that is needed to go the traditional publishing route.

I needed to get my book out into the world sooner than it would take on the traditional publishing route. So self-publishing really seemed like a good fit for me on this first novel.

Rhonda:

Right. So are you thinking of changing that up for the second one?

Debra:

I am going to try to pitch, uh probably not agents, but I hope to pitch small presses for the second one.

Rhonda:

Okay. I love that. That's great. And can I ask, um you were in my First Book Finish program. Yeah. Can I ask what was the, what was the biggest insight or aha or takeaway from that program for you? just to put you on the spot. Y

Debra:

Yeah, well, gosh, there were so many, I mean, really joining the program was the biggest life changing event because up until that time I acted as if I had unlimited amount of time.

Rhonda:

Right.

Debra:

And I could just like sort of dabble and sort of do my work just a little bit at a time. And so really the structure of the program was the main thing that helped me the most was put yourself down aside and get in the chair and write this story. And then revise the story and that there would be steps along the way. And if I took those steps, I would be guaranteed to finish. And I feel like that was em what the program delivered for me.

Rhonda:

So that sense of like accountability really.

Debra:

Oh, absolutely right. Because there was going to be a coach and there were going to be colleagues saying to me, where are you in your process? And if you haven't made any progress, then what's holding you back?

Rhonda:

Right. And you were in the program with other people and I know you guys have collaborated on marketing. What kinds of things have you done collaborating with other authors on marketing? And yeah, I'd love to hear about that.

Debra:

One of my colleagues who was a beta reader for me and I for her, she and I have been doing some cross collaboration on newsletters.

Rhonda:

Okay.

Debra:

And she also had me on her. She did an interview on a blog. Yes. And also, we did a little street teamwork on social media. And that was very helpful to kind of expand my reach.

Rhonda:

And you created a street team. So can you talk to me about that? Why did you decide to do that? And how did you go about putting together, you know, a little team of people who would help you get some of the buzz going when you launched your book?

Debra:

Well, I realized that um it would be important to reach more of an audience than I personally had available to myself. And so I reached out to people that I knew were a little bit um savvy on social media, willing to post some things for me.

And it just seems like sort of exponentially a way to grow without doing a whole bunch of the work yourself.

Rhonda:

Right, right. Yeah. In the process of writing this book, so the drafting, the revision, you know, even maybe the publishing and marketing journey, what lessons have you learned that you're taking into writing the next book?

Debra:

Well, the first one would probably be consistency, right? I don't need to spend 25 years writing the second book. I can get it done much more quickly if I have a schedule and put those inner demons that self-critic aside. And I have techniques for doing that now that I didn't really have before.

Probably the biggest thing when I get to know them, be so happy is the revision because you you taught us a model 12 step model for revision that I feel like really helps you to hone a better product.

Rhonda:

So um is it fair to say that you're not as anxious about the second book as you were about the first?

Debra:

Correct. And then now I've actually found my voice and I've put a product out to the world and I've gotten feedback where people say, hey, this is entertaining, intriguing, fun, uh a good write, good read and a good write. So I feel happy that I have surpassed that barrier of not letting people look at what I'm writing to feeling like I'm out there in the world.

Rhonda:

Yeah, for sure. That's always it's a big thing, isn't it? That first like, that first act of putting your writing out into the world. It's a really big deal. Yeah. Did you have much anxiety about that?

Debra:

Oh, very much so. But I kind of got over it in the program when I had beta readers. Did they told you know, they gave me feedback, but it wasn't as harsh as my own self critic.

Rhonda:

Right. That's so true. Other people are often much kinder to us that we are to ourselves. So coming out with this book and going the self-publishing route with it. Is there anything that you would advise? So let's say someone listening to this, they're finishing their first book and they're thinking about self publishing. Do you have any advice for them based on your experience?

Debra:

I think my advice would be to make sure that you know what your own skill set is and what you're comfortable with. How much of that process can you do yourself and how much would you like to perhaps contract to have some of the services performed for you.

Because I did a package deal with a press, publishing services, let's say, and they took my manuscript and they made it into a book. I had less control over timing than if I had done a la carte editing, a la carte layout, and so forth. And so should I self-publish in the future? I would probably do more of an a la carte style of uh approach to that.

Rhonda:

Okay. All right. Just because you wanted more control over the timing.

Debra:

Yes. In the end, the timing of the launch was important for me to know so that I could prepare my street team and prepare for the launch in a more effective way. The publishing services that I use they did a beautiful job. I'm very happy with my product.

Rhonda:

Yeah it’s good looking book.

Debra:

Some communication around when it was going to be published was a little bit of a mystery to me the first time.

Rhonda:

Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it does take time. All of these steps take time.

Debra:

Oh, for sure. I wouldn't want to rush the process at all. In fact, my book was by the, from the time they had the manuscript to the time that it was actually published was only about five months.

Rhonda:

Oh, okay. I would have expected it to be a little bit longer, but that's not so bad.

Debra:

It all depends on your communication with the publishing service. They complete a step and they give it back to the author for review. And if you are on top of it, then you can go fairly quickly through that process.

Rhonda:

Right, yeah. And so what's made you decide that this time around you want to try traditional, like a small press and independent.

Debra:

I still have that little voice in my head that says it's a little bit more credibility.

Rhonda:

Okay.

Debra:

And there, it would be nice to have a team on my side that was uh part of the process and editor within the company, within the publishing sphere that would be interested in the success of my book. I think that would be important.

Rhonda:

Right. So it's both like something around like somebody else selecting the book and then having someone on your side instead of feeling like, okay, it's all on me. I've got to do all the marketing and I've got to submit for everything and I've, you know, it's me.

Debra:

That's right. But I do know that from speaking so, so many authors, they can, one could achieve all of the success by self publishing in this day and age.

Rhonda:

Absolutely.

Debra:

Even, you know, phenomenal sales, which I'm not worried about that. I mean, that isn't my definition of success. My definition of success is to say, I did this and you can do it too. There's a lot of people have this dream.

Rhonda:

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Is there anything coming out of this whole experience of the draft, the revision, publishing that you wish you'd done differently, that you would do differently next time if you self-published again? Just the going a la carte or is there anything else?

Debra:

I fiddled with the book a lot even after I sent it to the publishing service. I think I would never be able to put it down without a deadline. So many like going back and revising, revising, revising some more.

If I had a dedicated line editor, that would have been more helpful than what I did, which was I continued to go back and maybe change a phrase or change a word or change a verb. And I actually introduced a couple of errors into the final product by doing that.

Rhonda:

Right. Yeah, that's hard, isn't it? It's so hard to release the work into the world we’re always trying to make it better and better. I have a reading copy of my book. This is like after it's been published and after things in it have been published and I still have like words crossed out and new words written in it just it doesn't change.

Debra:

I'm glad to hear that and I think many people struggle with that.

Rhonda:

Yeah. What were the biggest sort of I would say mindset challenges for you? Like where did you find yourself tripping up in your own thought processes as you were finishing the book?

Debra:

Well, I had a great idea of the beginning and the end, but I was more challenged by making the pacing flow very well throughout the book. And my mindset was always telling me that I was a fraud, that I was really not a good enough writer, that I hadn't written enough fiction that I needed to go back and read more craft books, probably take another workshop. You know, those kinds of things, which really amount to procrastination.

Rhonda:

Yeah, yeah, they really do in the end. And what helped you to bust through those things, you know, because I think that a lot of people just get stuck in the same place over and over again, like I'm I'm not good enough. The book isn't good enough but you finished it and put it out into the world and got feedback from readers that it's a good read. what helped you kind of, you know, stay in that place of I can do this?

Debra:

Well, a little bit. Two things, probably knowing that time is actually finite. I don't have many hundreds or tens of years or anything like that to play with or hear. And the program, being accountable to a program and actually for me having paid money for a program is very important. I had to my money where I put my mouth where my money was, so to speak, and come up with a book in one year.

Rhonda:

Yeah, for sure. I think there's something about, I mean, I've done this in other areas of my life. I've certainly done it for my book. I've used a book coach and now I'm sending it to a developmental editor and that's in addition to getting beta readers like there's just something about deciding to invest in your own dream that really lights a fire on your butt.

Debra:

And also telling people that I'm writing a book and no one said no one was no one said you are or you can't. They just said when can I read it?

Rhonda:

That's so great.

Debra:

And so I had to actually come up with a book. Yeah.

Rhonda:

When did you start telling people that?

Debra:

Um, probably around the time that I enrolled in the program, I already had my first draft. Okay. So was safe. Yeah. But I rolled in enrolled in the program and I was spending time dedicated time on the process. And so then I started telling people and then everybody was encouraging.

Rhonda:

Right. And so this book took you a long time because you is it correct to say that you kind of would stop and start. Like you work on the book for a while and then you wouldn't work on it for a long time.

Debra:

Yeah. My first notes were from 2002 and then I would have little periods where I would work on it a bit and then put it aside for years.

Debra:

Right. Yeah. Must be really satisfying to see it out in the, in the world after spending so you know, often like it's not that we're spending years on the book. It's that the book is is with us for years, right? And even when we're not spending time on it, we're we have this idea that we should be spending time on it.

Debra:

Right. And it began to represent kind of a personal failure for me because I said to myself, I had an idea I wanted to write a book. I'd wanted to write a book my whole life. But where was my book? Yeah. So I needed it like set that demon to rest finally and that's what it kind of represents to me.

Rhonda:

Yeah, I mean I've read the whole book and and I think you know, I really enjoyed Jesse as a character. I really enjoyed the um, I mean, I love the bits with the dog training Uh, I think you you got, you know the next-door neighbor. I won't no spoilers, but like I really enjoyed um that character and then her friends and just you know, I think the characters themselves are really well articulated. You can really invest in them, you know? So I think you've done a great job. Congratulations, Debra.

Debra:

I appreciate that very much, especially coming from you, Rhonda.

Rhonda:

Well, thanks for being with me today. And I'm really excited that the book is out into the world. It's kind of a magical moment. So congratulations.

Debra:

Thank you very much. really appreciate you and I appreciate your program.

Outro:

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today and for listening all the way to the end. I hope you enjoyed today's episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show. While you're here, I would really appreciate it if you'd consider leaving a rating and review of the show. You can do that in whatever app you're using to listen to the show right now, and it just takes a few minutes. 

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