Young Writers Society

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Kai Un'kari is a young man from a backwater fishing village. All his life he has dreamed of travelling the world like his late father. In an unfortunate turn of events, he gets his wish when war breaks out between Horagothien and Austranvia, forcing him to leave his home. Upon meeting a man named Lukan, Kai finds out that he is destined to become a great warrior and the next wielder of the holy sword, Tenjin. He sets out on a journey to find the Tenjin so he can use it to bring peace to all the warring nations of Pangaea, and in turn prevent the second coming of Krazatan, the Chaos Dragon. Will he succeed in his quest to find the holy sword, or will he fall victim to the vast dangers of the wilds that have claimed the lives of thousands before him?

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1.) How were you sure that you'd want to write and publish a novel?
I've been writing ever since 2004, so I have had nearly a decade of personal writing experience. I figured I'd might as well put it to good use and try to make a career out of doing something I loved.

2.) What pushed you to continue writing your novel?
It was fun and I wanted to keep writing it.

3.) What are the different problems that blocked you from your writing path and how did you overcome them?
I didn't really have many obstacles when it came to my writing path. I have a very supporting family who encouraged me to keep doing what I loved, so long as I at least had a part-time job to help support myself. The only real problems I came across were writer's blocks, and I overcame them through sheer brute force. When you get writer's block the worst thing you can do is sit and stare at your blank piece of paper, or screen if you do most of your writing on the computer. The best way to get through a writer's block is to write something, anything. Even if it's just one sentence at a time your writer's momentum will slowly build up until the words are pouring out of your head.


4.) How did you publish your work? How did you find a good publisher? If you've self-published, how did you do it?
When I finished writing Legacy of Krazatan: A Hero's Birth I first started out looking for traditional publishers. I tried quite a few places, but had no luck. In fact, the only place that did respond to my emails did so only to inform me they didn't think publishing my book would be in their best interest. Around that time one of my friends informed me of a friend of theirs who recently started getting her own book published through a company called the Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, or SBPRA for short. It was more of a publishing service rather than a traditional publisher, so I did have to front some of the costs myself. Before anyone says anything, I'm well aware of the dangers of using publishing services like this. After all, they don't have the greatest reputation in the writing world when it comes to moral practices. I researched them inside and out to make sure they were on the level, and looked at as many author testimonials as I could find. I even asked my friend's friend about it to see what her experience with them was like. For a writer who's just starting out, a publishing service like this is a good way to at least get my name out there. Most traditional publishers won't even look at a person's manuscript unless they've already had something published. I sent SBPRA my manuscript, within a few days they sent me a contract, and the rest is history.

5.) How do you think you'd market your novel?
I'm exploring as many marketing channels and methods as I can. I'm first selling my book to immediate friends and family, then I'm hoping to spread the word further through them. I've also sent in an application to FanExpo to reserve a table at this year's show in Toronto so I can sell copies of my book, along with various art works I've created of creatures in my story. I still have more work to come, and I'm still in the process of touching everything up, but you can see some of the work I've done on my personal website, along with a few projects I did while I was at college for 3D animation: http://www.tylorkranyak.com . I've also signed up for a few international book fairs to help increase the number of copies I can sell through international sales. In fact, my book was shown at the London Book Fair this last week from the 15th to the 17th. I haven't heard back on whether or not any foreign publishers expressed interest in my book, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've also got it signed up for the Tokyo International Book Fair and San Diego Comic-Con International, which are both taking place in June. I won't be there personally, but SBPRA will be representing my book for me. I could go on and on about my plans for my book, but if I did then this interview would be as long as the book I wrote itself.

6.) What are the different things a young novelist should check before publishing his/her novel?
Always read the fine print. No matter what you think or do, if you ever get a publishing contract print it out and have a lawyer look through it. You want to know every little thing of whatever it is you're getting yourself into. I was fortunate enough to have a contract that was straightforward and easy to understand, but I had it checked out by a lawyer first just to be safe. You don't want to get hit by some sort of loop hole in the future that could completely jeopardize the future of your writing career. To my understanding, most contracts for traditional publishing houses are very one-sided toward the publisher, giving little or nothing back to the writer. If you just want to publish a book for the sake of having it and giving it to friends and family, then that might be fine. But, if you plan to make a career out of it like I am then you want to know every little detail of what your're getting into. If there's any problems with the contract you need to find out right away before you sign anything. Also, if you've finished a book and you know you're going to write another one, start writing it as soon as possible even if you haven't found a publisher for your first book yet. To my understanding there's a very popular saying among published authors, "In the time it takes to get one book published, you can write another book." I signed the contract for my first book on June 6th, 2012, and only now has it finally hit printers. Publishing is a long and arduous process, so be prepared to have other projects lined up while you wait.


7.) Got any tips for novel writing and publishing/marketing?
Just do it. If you think you'll never be good enough to write a good book or get one that you've already written published, well guess what? You won't. If you never put yourself out there you'll never get anywhere, and that applies to anything you do in your life. If you try and fail, then you'll just have to fight even harder. Keep fighting until you get what you want. Nothing in this world that's worth having ever comes easy, but if you're willing to fight for that one thing you want more than anything else, like getting your book published, you will get it eventually. I myself still have a long road ahead of me. Getting my book published is just the first step in my career. I still have to get it sold to as many people as I can, and I already have many more books planned for the series. I'm already well into writing the second book, about halfway through the first draft in fact. It may sound cheesy, but if you keep pushing yourself forward then your dreams will come true. That's a promise.

Final Note
A quick note to those of you who live in the states. You can buy my book off of amazon through the link Nate put on the front page, but if you want to really help me out you can order by clicking the "Buy Now" button on my author's site here: http://sbpra.com/tylorkranyak/ You'll be ordering it directly from me, so I will earn more royalties off of it instead of from other distributors who already get a discount off my books. Every little bit helps toward getting my next book published sooner. For those of you who live outside of the states, you're better off ordering it from online distributors to avoid being hit by high shipping costs.