Neither Garett Wilson or I set out to become an author, it just kind of unfolded in front of us. This is a familiar pattern among indie authors, but when you love to write it’s an obvious path.
When you self-publish you soon discover what elements you enjoy, and which one’s you’d rather avoid. All too often it’s book marketing that gets the short end of the stick, and that’s why I’m avidly working on Book Four of my How to Write and Self-Publish a Travel Guide, which covers the difference between marketing and promotion and provides tips and advice for getting your travel guide into the hands of more readers.
Let’s look at how Garett approach the different self-publishing steps, and what advice he has for first-time travel memoir authors. ~~ Jay
Author Interview: <<>>
How would you describe the type of books/genre you write?
I must admit that I never regarded myself as having a ‘style’ because my writing came very much from simply wanting to get my personal feelings onto the page – and it just so happens that I live in a place and had some experiences that a lot of people find interesting.
It’s only since publishing and getting feedback from readers that I’ve come to realise that my conversational approach to writing is a style, and people have been kind enough to say that it fits into the Bill Bryson/Will Ferguson mode of travel writing – chatty, easy-to-read, and occasionally funny. I hope that people who are interested in Japan can learn a lot from my books, but I also hope that they can be entertaining in their own right.
What motivated you to start writing?
I’ve loved all forms of writing since I was a kid, so it has been a constant in my life. Since living in Japan, I’ve contributed to magazines and websites with short articles, as well as keeping a very haphazard journal for myself (ever since I can remember, I just have to write!) but Lost in Tokyo really began with the very tragic event that occurred in my first year working at the junior high school.
Writing was a form of therapy, and I found myself typing thousands of words at a time, just in order to try and make sense of a terrible time. From there, I just continued, and it was some time later before I even realised that I was writing a book.
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’m probably the poster boy for what not to do in publishing. As I said, the book really happened quite organically, and I had no firm plan about what to do next. Then a friend of mine, who is an accountant, happened to mention a client who self-published romance novels through Amazon and was doing quite well. This led me to investigate (not nearly as deeply as I should have), then publish through KDP a few days later.
I had absolutely no idea about marketing, but thankfully a few people liked the book, and it has been very exciting to receive so many positive comments from around the world.
What publishing elements do you most enjoy and most like to avoid, and why? (e.g. design, marketing, formatting etc.)
Formatting the final manuscript was a real slog at first – especially as the formatting of eBook and paperback are quite different beasts. However, I came to really enjoy the process of getting the manuscript to look ‘right’, particularly for the paperback version of the book. It felt very satisfying to see my writing transform from a messy Word document into a cohesive and ‘real’ book. I’m sure that’s a thrilling experience for any writer, however experienced they are.
The least exciting part for me is still marketing. It can be time consuming, and it’s very difficult to judge what works and what doesn’t. I guess many people would say I don’t spend enough time on that side of things, but I hold by the view that if you write something good, people will find it… somehow. Like most writers out there, I simply want to write!
With the hindsight of being a published author, anything you would have done differently?
As I never had a plan when I started writing, I can’t really complain with how things turned out! But as I work on my second book, there are a few things that I’m doing differently from the first. For a start, I’m formatting for eBook as I go, which will save me time when it’s time to publish. I’m also keeping better notes – just a one- or two-line description of each chapter with a few key words – in order to save me from having to check through the manuscript every time I need to double check if I’ve already mentioned something. Again, I hope this will save time in the editing stage.
What tips or advice would you give an aspiring indie author who is looking to self-publish?
Most importantly… write! I constantly hear people talk about the book they’re thinking of writing; or I hear others talk about building a mailing list or making a business plan – before they’ve even written their first draft! All of the ‘other’ stuff is important, but only if you’ve written something good in the first place.
The great thing about self-publishing is that it is flexible, so even after you’ve published, you can always tweak and change things, which means there is no excuse for holding back – just write and get things out there. If it seems that you’re on to something, then you can worry about ads and mailing lists and all the rest.
What marketing or promotional tools or techniques do you use to reach your readers?
I use ‘Sponsored Products’ ads on Amazon, which have been very effective, and I have my Twitter and Facebook pages. Otherwise, I rely on word-of-mouth to gain more readers. I know that there are more things I ought to do, but so far I’ve been very lucky that the book is selling well, so I’m more focused on writing the next one.
What impact do you want your books to have on your readers?
Most of all, I want to give readers the same feeling I get when I’m engrossed in a good travel memoir – an escape to another place for a few hours. I’ve been really pleased, too, when readers have commented that they’ve learned something new about Japan. It’s one of those places that everybody thinks they know, but I hope that my books can give some insight into what it is really like – warts and all. It’s also lovely when reviewers say that it has inspired them to make a visit and see the country for themselves.
Like every country, Japan is a complex place, and so much more fascinating than the stereotypes suggest, so to have some small influence in someone changing their mind and questioning those stereotypes is very gratifying.
What’s next on your writing journey?
I’m currently working on the sequel to Lost in Tokyo – which I hope to finish later this year. I hope this will give even more insight and entertainment, as well as resolving the big cliffhanger at the end of the first book!
#AuthorInterview with @garettwilson3 who shares writing and #selfpublishing tips and insights for his Lost in Japan Memoir. Inspiration for writing your own travel memoir. Click To Tweet
About the Author
Garett Wilson was born in England, before living in five countries on three continents and travelling to more places than he can count. He finally settled in Japan, and he has worked as a translator and English teacher for the past seven years – with students ranging in age from one to ninety-two.
He contributes regularly to magazines and websites about Japan, travel, and literature, and he recently completed his first book, ‘Lost in Tokyo: A Year of Sex, Sushi, and Suicide in the Real Japan’. It tells the story of his most tumultuous year in Japan, when he first began working at a junior high school in downtown Tokyo, and experienced a series of life-changing events.
Garett continues to write and blog about Japan, and he is now working on his second book about the people, food, culture and foibles that make his adopted home so unique.
- Twitter: @garettwilson3
- Facebook: @lostintokyojapan
- Interview: www.ivoox.com/28104094
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