The Story Behind the publication of Fate of the Flawed (Vol. 1) | Floppi Pages

Jenn
3 days ago
7 min read

The Story Behind the publication of Fate of the Flawed (Vol. 1) | Floppi Pages

Background:

Writing Buddies (WB) is a close-knit community of writers and readers, coming together to pursue a fun and engaging writing journey. Writing doesn't have to be a lonely career.

Last May 2025, WB released their very first publication called Fate of the Flawed. It is a compilation of short stories with the central theme of fatal flaws. Four brave authors took the risk, the chance, the opportunity to have their manuscript see the light of day.

It isn't easy to write and release a manuscript out to the public. Not when there are voices saying "there's revisions still to be done", "you can do better" or "it's not ready". Once it's out there, there is no taking it back. No editing it. Nope. It's now onto the readers' hands to devour. But four of WB's self-published authors took a stand and now the anthology is circulating in the indie community.

If you're a new writer, an novelist aiming to self-publish or an author who needs a push to publish, this is for you.

The Story Behind the publication of Fate of the Flawed (Vol. 1) | Floppi Pages

Meet the Authors

Each author has different motivations and inspirations and today they will share with you how they overcame their fears.

D.Z. Thorne

author of Bound by Mercy (Story #1)

Is this the first time you will publish your work? How does it feel?
- Yes, this is my first time being published, and it’s hard to put into words. I’ve been writing dark fantasy stories for almost two decades, but fear, perfectionism, and life always got in the way of sharing them. Seeing this story finally out in the world is surreal. I still have moments where I question whether I deserve to call myself “published,” but there’s also a quiet kind of pride. I pushed through something that used to paralyze me.

Is this your first time publishing as a group/with a group? How does it feel?
- It is my first time, and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Writing can feel like such an isolating journey, but working with this group reminded me that we’re not meant to do everything alone. There’s something incredibly powerful about walking beside others who are also pushing through fear and doubt to create something meaningful. And this group was very welcoming, and genuinely excited to work together. It was a great feeling.

What were the obstacles or delays that you went through upon publishing the anthology?
- For me, the biggest obstacles were internal; doubts about whether my story was good enough, if I’d chosen the right one, if anyone would get it. There were also external pressures like time, deadlines, and life pulling in a dozen directions, but the emotional weight of publishing something personal was the real challenge. It’s not uncommon to admit that every published story has a little bit of you shared in a vulnerable light to the world.

Now that it's out there, do you have this itch to revise it still or are you satisfied with it?
- Oh, absolutely. I think I’ll always want to revise it. I could probably edit forever if I let myself. Even now, I think of a million ways to edit and improve my short story. But I’ve come to see stories as snapshots of where we are in our journey as writers. This version of the story represents where I was emotionally and creatively at the time–it’s okay that it’s not perfect, it allows me to follow my growth. I’m learning to be okay with letting it stand–which isn’t easy.

Do you believe that this anthology came out a success? Why or why not?
- Yes, because success isn’t just about sales or reach (though those are nice!). To me, it’s a success because we created something together, we finished what we started, and we all showed up with our authentic voices. That’s powerful. That’s rare.

Can you give us a brief teaser as to what your short story is about?
- Absolutely. In a dying land soaked with war and silence, a healer defies the warnings of their village and shelters a nameless, wounded stranger. But something ancient stirs beneath the skin—and compassion may be the very thing that dooms them all.

Del Hargraves

author of Don't Rescue Me (Story #2)

Is this the first time you will publish your work? How does it feel?
- It is my first time publishing! All the advice online says it’s a lot of work–and it’s more. Having followed through with writing, editing, and publishing my first short story with this group feels incredibly rewarding and quite the accomplishment. I’m so proud of all of us!
Is this your first time publishing as a group/with a group? How does it feel?
- Again, I’m so proud of us! Everyone was lovely to work with and I was amazed with the stories that we ended up with.
What were the obstacles or delays that you went through upon publishing the anthology?
- I work full time, have a significant other and three high energy dogs. Time is definitely the biggest obstacle. Time to write, to edit, communicate, and follow up on deadlines is a lot. Along with that, there’s a wealth of information out there about self-publishing, but even then it seemed like there were aspects which took us by surprise when it came to actually doing the thing, as a result of being spread out internationally and simply doing something for the first time.
Now that it's out there, do you have this itch to revise it still or are you satisfied with it?
- I absolutely would tweak it until it bleeds ‘perfect’ if I had the option. There’s things I realized I would change, given the chance, when we were doing final proofs. It’s good enough, and I’m proud of what I wrote. I keep reminding myself that firsts are usually not perfect, and it’s out there–which is more than I can say for anything else I’ve written. Finalizing something to that degree is a massive step, and makes doing it again seem realistic.
Do you believe that this anthology came out a success? Why or why not?
- Yes it’s a success! The idea behind this first anthology was to allow Writing Buddy members to garner experience with publishing–check!--and allow us to have something to show, ‘Hey, this is me! This is what I have to offer. Check it out!’. And I think we accomplished both of those things.
Can you give us a brief teaser as to what your short story is about?
- Don’t Rescue Me is a supernatural horror following Rowan, a widowed father who just can’t catch a break. He and his young daughter, Larissa, are swept off a river ferry in mid-winter and rescued by a fisherman who takes them back to his village. Except the village doesn’t seem to be any kind of safe haven at all.

Jessi Tayylor

author of No Money (Story #3)

Is this the first time you will publish your work? How does it feel?
- It's not my first time to publish a work in general, but it's my first time to publish one with a group. While our stories aren't connected in universe or plot, the authors behind it has developed a bond and it made this journey all the more fun.
What were the obstacles or delays that you went through upon publishing the anthology?
- Obstacles came left and right actually. From the beginning when we planned to do this, I struggled writing a relative idea that fit the theme of the anthology, to keeping it within word count limit, to actually publishing it. If I were to have worked on this alone, maybe I'd given up. Thankfully, the four of us sorted through the troubles and made it just as we scheduled to release the book.
Now that it's out there, do you have this itch to revise it still or are you satisfied with it?
- When I self-published my first and second book, I had this constant urge to rewrite this scene, edit this part or revise that chapter. It's like this nagging voice in my head telling me it's not perfect. And that same voice is still speaking to me when we released the anthology. There will always be something to change on the page, and it's up to me to decide to put a period on it and move on to the next story.
Do you believe that this anthology came out a success? Why or why not?
- Yes! Since I chose the self-publishing path, I believe that success is not based on the number of orders or how many people has seen it since its release. To have accomplished this is already one big feat, especially to four full-time workers with side jobs and hobbies and families. And I'm ready to do this again with them next year!
Can you give us a brief teaser as to what your short story is about?
- My entry is an introduction to a prequel idea for the Morning Light universe (a new adult, SFF zombie mystery--my debut novel) but instead of a zombie survival story, No Money is focused on a dystopian world with a romantic subplot (which is new territory for me, as most of my works are fantasy/sci-fi related).

Sarah Eberhardt

author of Red (Story #4)

Is this the first time you will publish your work? How does it feel?
- This isn’t the first time; my first book Hellhound Hunt is available on Amazon. It’s an urban fantasy with hellhounds and demons and vampires galore. Well, one vampire. The experience of publishing Red for the anthology was much more collaborative.
Is this your first time publishing as a group/with a group? How does it feel?
- This is my first time publishing as a group. I’m a fan of multiple genres, so having several stories based on the same theme was really fun to see.
What were the obstacles or delays that you went through upon publishing the anthology?
- It was the first time since college that I had a set deadline for a creative work. When life is stressful - which it decided to be - I find it much harder to get into a creative headspace for writing than it is to concentrate on my job. I hadn’t remembered that.
Now that it's out there, do you have this itch to revise it still or are you satisfied with it?
- I often have the desire to revise my work, but I’m satisfied with Red.
Do you believe that this anthology came out a success? Why or why not?
- I think it was a success, yes. It was something we built together, and we all learned a little more about the practical aspects of self-publishing, whether first-hand or through our fearless leaders.
Can you give us a brief teaser as to what your short story is about?
- Just because you can change the rules of a fairytale doesn’t mean you should.