Book Publishing Secrets: A Conversation with Richard Blunt

We’re talking to authors from all walks of life about their experiences in publishing their books.  Some have smooth paths, some rocky, but they all share a common goal – to see their name on the cover of their creation.   

It’s interesting to read what path they decided to take to get there and my guest today is here to tell everyone what he/she did in order to make it all happen so that other writers will learn a little something from the experience. 

Today we are talking to Richard Blunt, author of the fantasy novel, Lucas Trent 3 – Grand Theft Magic.

Thank you for your time in answering our questions, Rick.  Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to write a book?

I do a lot of storytelling, roleplaying and stuff like that. At some point people started asking me to write those things down, so they could read it in case they missed a session… Well, and that led to people who never attended my sessions in the first place to read the stories. Voila, you got a book..

Is this your first book?

It’s the first series, but it’s the third part of it. So no, it’s not.

Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey?

What word should I use? Bumpy? Horrible? They would both fit… It’s not easy for an unknown author to publish these days, unless you self-publish (which I did.) but that’s not exactly easy as well. Takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money if you want to do it right…

What lessons do you feel you learned about the publishing industry?

There are some really good people in the industry, but you have to look hard to find them. Between those there are a lot of leeches that do not do you any good, but cost you a lot of money.

If you had the chance to change something regarding how you got published, what would you change?

For this book? Nothing. But that comes with experience. For the two before that there is a lot that I would like to have changed… But that is over now…

Did you credit any person or organization with helping you get published?

There is one person without whom this book would not be the way it is now: Duncan Long. He designed the cover for it, and I think he did a really amazing job with it.

What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?

If you think you can make easy money with a book… Think again…

ABOUT RICHARD BLUNT

Publishing under a pen name to keep his personal life separate from his writing life, Richard Blunt was raised in the heart of Europe, in a nation where English is not the native language. Like his heroes, Richard blunt is nothing more than a shadow – a specter that whispers a story for everyone to hear.

His latest book is Lucas Trent 3: Grand Theft Magic.

You can visit his website at http://www.lucastrent.com/ and his blog at http://richardblunt.blogspot.com/.