You may or may not have heard of Taran Matharu, but if you read YA Fantasy or use Wattpad at all, you’ve probably heard his story or about his stories. He found an audience via the social networking/writing website and used it as a platform to become a NY Times and Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller! I thought he would be a great voice to hear from on this blog since he started with such independent, obscure roots and rose up to write a bestseller.
Tell me a little about your publishing journey. I know you had something of a unique path to publishing, and most of my blog readers are either book fans independent writers.
I started writing on Wattpad while doing NaNoWriMo, and the sample I shared was read 3 Million times in less than six months. When it hit the million mark I started receiving unsolicited offers from publishers. I contacted 6 agents and received offers from almost all of them within 24 hours. I chose one and went on to sell rights in 15 languages, became a NYT bestselling author and now write full-time.
I know your path to getting discovered was more of an exception than the rule… how do you feel about that and what advice do you give to undiscovered writers?
I would say that everyone’s first book should be as commercial as possible. Save experimenting with an unusual, niche concept for your follow up, when you have a following. If there isn’t a comparison title or two you can use to describe your book (e.g. Summoner = Harry Potter meets LOTR meets Pokemon), and not tangentially, you’ve probably written a book that publishers are less likely to pick up.
One of my friends has requested I ask why your main character uses kophesh instead of the standard European sword?
I wanted my character to stand out from the many other warrior MCs, and stand out on the cover. Also it’s a cool weapon.
What are your plans for the future of the series?
It’s done for now! A trilogy, a prequel and a companion guide should be enough, I think, haha.
Tell me about your publishing company, Portal Books.
Everything you need to know is on the website – www.portal-books.com. It’s a publishing house that specialises in LitRPG and DungeonCore novels.
Anything else you want to share?
My new book, The Chosen (Contender #1) is coming in May, 2019!
Inside the Inkwell 