Virtual Book Tour: Publishing Secrets of Historical Fiction Author J.A. Hunsinger

This is the worst time in publishing history for a new author to get published. I spent a solid year sending submission packets to literary agents because you cannot approach publishers directly, only through an agent. Agents have their very own criteria for submissions, so do your homework, otherwise forget it. The effort was futile, heart-wrenching, and a waste of my time. Unless you have a controversial topic that is certain to cause a flap, or are already famous, you can forget the agent/publisher route.

I formed a publishing company and I work with BookMasters, Inc. and copy editors to publish, print, warehouse, and distribute my works. At this point, it is virtually the only avenue to publication. Be warned, it is expensive and that is why the road to publication is fraught with obstacles.

J. A. Hunsinger lives in Colorado, USA, with his wife Phyllis. The first novel of his character-driven, historical fiction series, Axe of Iron: The Settlers, represents his first serious effort to craft the story of a lifelong interest in the Viking Age—especially as it pertains to Norse exploration west of Iceland—and extensive research and archaeological site visitations as an amateur historian. He has tied the discovery of many of the Norse artifacts found on this continent to places and events portrayed in his novels. Much of his adult life has been associated with commercial aviation, both in and out of the cockpit. As an Engineering Technical Writer for Honeywell Commercial Flight Systems Group, Phoenix, AZ, he authored two comprehensive pilots’ manuals on aircraft computer guidance systems and several supplemental aircraft radar manuals. His manuals were published and distributed worldwide to airline operators by Honeywell Engineering, Phoenix, AZ. He also published an article, Flight Into Danger, in Flying Magazine, (August 2002). Historical Novel Society, American Institute of Archaeology, Canadian Archaeology Association, and IBPA-Independent Book Publishers Association, are among the fraternal and trade organizations in which he holds membership. You can visit his website at www.vinlandpublishing.com.









J.A. Hunsinger will be on virtual book tour in March and April '09. Please visit his official tour page here to find out more about his new book, Axe of Iron: The Settlers!

Virtual Book Tour: Publishing Secrets of Heroic Fantasy Author R. Scot Johns

Do you have a novel that you’ve written but have struggled to get published? Have you spent endless hours crafting a work no editor will ever read? If your answer is “yes,” then you’re not alone. In fact, you are only one among a vast majority of authors whose long labor goes unrewarded. Certainly many of these have neither the skill nor talent it requires to rise above the others in the highly competitive world of commercial fiction. But then, many of them never intended to do so. Most books simply don’t fall into that category, and so have little chance. Trade publishers run a multi-billion dollar business, and they just can’t take the chance on very many manuscripts of esoteric interest.

This is the predicament I found myself in upon completing an epic seven-hundred page historical fantasy novel. On agent that I queried replied with the brief, but pointed question: “364,000 words, are you kidding?” This from an agent who purportedly represented fantasy fiction. I responded in kind with: “Have you never heard of Robert Jordan?”

So it is that many of us with valid works are stranded outside the standard commercial channels (I feel justified in calling my work “valid” as it has since received rave reviews). But the face of publishing is changing. Today’s technology has made it possible to publish your own work, not through marginal vanity presses of ill repute, but rather by taking matters into our own hands, much as authors such as Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin did before us. Print-on-demand technology and internet marketing bridges the gap between the authors and their audience, bringing the writer and the reader together. Today there is no need for high-priced middlemen who do little to promote your work, and pass on less when it comes to profits for the author.

Rather than waiting idly by for more replies like the one above, I started my own publishing house to produce my own books, and I did it for little more than a few hundred bucks. Today I own and operate Fantasy Castle Books, have complete artistic control and ownership of my work, and gain 100% of the profits from my novel. It’s been a long road with a steep learning curve, but I can tell you there is nothing better than success that comes from one’s own efforts. For an ongoing and in-depth discussion of the process, visit my blog at http://authoradventures.blogspot.com.

R. Scot Johns is a life-long student of ancient and medieval literature, with an enduring fascination for Norse mythology and epic fantasy. He first came to Beowulf through his love of J. R. R. Tolkien, a leading scholar on the subject. As an Honors Medieval Literature major he has given lectures on such topics as the historical King Arthur and the construction of Stonehenge. He owns and operates Fantasy Castle Books, his own publishing imprint, and writes the blog Adventures of an Independent Author, where you can follow his progress as he writes The Jester’s Quest, his second novel. You can visit his website at www.fantasycastlebooks.com.








R. Scot Johns will be on virtual book tour in March '09. Please visit his official tour page here to find out more about his new book, The Saga of Beowulf!