Author Interview:  Jon Doolan

How would you describe the type of books/genre you write?

With a small family and a significant mortgage I don’t have the opportunity to go on massive adventures around the world but I’ve always wanted to be an Adventure Author. I love the genre as it is so inspiring and, usually, uplifting. So I started by writing and self-publishing books about my
own microadventures (small adventures over an evening or weekend). I soon found out just how easy the self-publishing process was and wanted to share this knowledge with as many adventurers as possible. Partly for selfish reasons so that I had more adventure books on my book shelf and partly to enable more people the chance to share their stories. So I recently wrote a 3 book series, Writing for Adventure Authors, Self-Publishing for Adventure Authors and Book Marketing for Adventure Authors. These books will help any aspiring Adventure Authors through the step-by-step process from having a tatty old travel journal to having an incredible book that is self-published on Amazon and beyond.

In terms of the style of my writing, I like to think that I don’t take myself too seriously and try to inject a little humour into my writing, which is a shame because that paragraph above is about as dry as a puddle in the Sahara!

What motivated you to start writing?

It’s the old cliché. I’ve always wanted to write since I was a kid. I have a vivid memory of this beautiful cottage that my Grandad rented out to a couple of old biddies in the Dorset countryside. Roses grew up the stone walls. Doves roosted in the dovecote. There was an old train carriage nestled in the vegetable garden. It was stunning! I imagined that when the pair of them popped their clogs, I could take early retirement and move into the cottage to life out the rest of my life as an author. Unfortunately Grandad sold the house and now I’m sat at my dining room table tapping on a laptop.

Tell us the journey you went on to get your books published (e.g. direct on your website, self-published, assisted-publishing, traditional publisher)

I wrote a book as a present for my best mate. It’s called Jon and Harry’s Year of Microadventure. I wanted to get it printed cheaply for Harry (and for the inspiration behind the Year of Microadventure challenge, Alastair Humphreys) so I followed the Amazon Createspace system. Harry and Alastair both loved it and said I should publish it. So I self-published it and have never looked back.

What publishing elements do you most enjoy and most like to avoid, and why? (e.g. design, marketing, formatting etc.)

I actually enjoy all the processes. My absolute favourite is receiving the ‘proof’ paperback copy through the post. It’s an incredible feeling holding the book in your hand for the first time and that feeling never grows old. I very much enjoy the design and formatting stages although when you’ve got to make a tiny change on 5 different formats of your book that can be a pain in the arse. I’m just getting to grips with the marketing side of things. This is the area that I really need to push more on, but I find the whole process fascinating.

With the hindsight of being a published author, anything you would have done differently?

I’m inherently a massive cheap skate. I’m the sort of guy who would rather throw on another jumper than turn up the heating. I haven’t bought an item of clothing since 2016. Actually, that’s a lie. I bought a raincoat the other day. It was in the sale. And I used £70 worth of gift vouchers to buy it. Does that count? Anyway, what this means is that I’m massively reluctant to spend any money on my books. I don’t mind so much on the contents as I have a really great team of editors and beta readers who help me create awesome books. However, my covers are all self-made and that shows. I wish I was more willing to part with cash to pay for professional cover designs. When I earn my millions I’ll go back and get the covers done (which is one of luxuries of self-publishing).

What tips or advice would you give an aspiring indie author who is looking to self-publish?

Get my book!! Just kidding (not kidding!) Seriously though, just write it. Set yourself a deadline and commit to writing the first draft as quickly as you can. It doesn’t have to be amazing. It just has to be written. You can’t edit something that hasn’t been written. My motto is ‘Done is better than perfect’.

What marketing or promotional tools or techniques do you use to reach your readers?

An email list is vital. Nick Stephenson has an excellent free eBook, Reader Magnets, about how to increase the number of emails you collect. For this current launch I also created a ‘launch team’, wrote guest posts on other people’s blogs (including this one!), I’m running a Facebook ‘share this post’ competition and I’m investing in some Amazon Ads. (I’m actually going to spend some money! It’s terrifying!)

What impact do you want your books to have on your readers?

I would love people to realise just how easy the self-publishing method is. I want more people to write up their own adventures so I can fill my shelves with wonderful, inspiring and original stories. I STRONGLY believe that everyone has a story to tell and I just want to help as many people tell their stories as possible.