Interview: Tom Blubaugh, Author

Typically, I interview mothers who homeschool and work from home. Today, I’m making an exception since I believe our guest has several things of value to share with us. Our guest today is a man with grown children, but he has been a great help to me in establishing and marketing my business ideas.

Tom Blubaugh is an entrepreneur and author, working as a literary strategist and book marketing consultant. He was one of the people God brought across our path right after the job loss to mentor us. I’m deeply thankful he reached out and connected with us. He has brought great value to our lives and business. Here’s the e-mail conversation we had:

 I’m so glad to be able to introduce you to my readers. Tell us a little bit more about you and your family.

I was raised in a small town in southeast Kansas where the wind never stopped blowing. I am the oldest of six children. After graduation in 1960, I joined the Navy. I am a Vietnam veteran and married to my best friend Barbara; we have six children and fourteen grandchildren.

 You are an author who has published several books. What did your road to publishing look like?

I began writing poetry at age fourteen, but have written nonfiction most of my adult life. I self-published my first book, Behind the Scenes of the Bus Ministry, in 1974; wrote articles for denominational and business magazines from 1975 through 1995; co-wrote The Great Adventure for Barbour Publishing Co. in 2009; Bound by Faith Publishers published my novel, Night of the Cossack, in April, 2011 at age of 69; and I self-published a children’s book, The Legend of the Tickle Bugs, which I wrote for my children and grandchildren in 2015. I have co-written or guest written six other books.

 Tell us more about the books you have written and why their message is important to homeschooling mothers.

The two books that are important to homeschooling mothers are Night of the Cossack and Legend of the Tickle Bugs. Theresa Franklin, a retired English teacher, wrote a 10 Day Study Guide based on what my novel contains on the topics of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Moral Dilemmas. The Legend of the Tickle Bugs is designed to be interactive between children and parents with an opportunity to discuss deeply God’s creation of man.

 You are not only an author yourself, but you help other authors find the resources they need to become published. How does that aspect of your business work?

I am a coach with a large circle of resources needed by authors to be published. I work one-on-one with the author and then bring in other resources necessary to the publishing/marketing process. I have been a self-employed entrepreneur since 1973. I am developing an author community with a low monthly membership fee where authors can obtain unlimited consulting and training in book marketing and publishing. This community will also include resources we use and have found to be excellent in their abilities, products, trust, and competitive prices.

 It has been exciting to be a part of this latest project of yours! Tell my readers more about the Author Community. 

I started working with authors in book marketing in 2011. Since then I have met hundreds of authors who are spinning their wheels, reinventing the wheel,trying to find honest vendors for editing, formatting, graphic design, website design, and all things related to publishing. Many have spent thousands of dollars in exchange for services that fell way short of what was promised with little or no recourse.

During this same time period, I have met many talented authors and vendors who do what they promise at competitive rates. I have taken the latter half of 2016 to assemble these people in my Authors Community to assist authors/writers in a myriad of ways—one-on-one mentoring, video interviews and training, webinars, and all services related to the publishing industry including a traditional publisher.

 What would you tell a mom who was interested in writing a book?

Producing a book is like having a baby in the sense that the family and home have to be prepared for its arrival. You have to know who your family of readers is–in other words, who you are writing to and where they are located. Getting your book into the hands of readers is a complex task and it takes a team to get the job done. You must start the process well before your book is published. Waiting until the baby is born before doing the preparatory/planning work is not conducive to success.

 Where can my readers find out more about you, your books and your work?

My website is TomBlubaugh.net; email is Tom@TomBlubaugh.net; phone is 417-812-6110. Google me at Tom Blubaugh Literary Strategist. If you are interested in learning more about the Author Community, visit Common Sense Marketing Strategies.