JD KIRK has been very busy. The multi-award-winning bestselling author, based in the Highlands, has written over 200 books, including more than 20 selfpublished crime thrillers. As his latest, The One That Got Away, hits the shelves, I caught up with the author to find out about his incredible career and the secret to his self-publishing success.
"I started self-publishing by accident really," JD tells me. "I was originally a children's author writing under my real name of Barry Hutchison. I'd been writing full-time for 10 years, but most children's authors don't make a huge amount of money from their books. One day I was asked to go into a high school and talk about ways in which kids could publish their own work. At the time, I had no idea how - so I decided to find out.
"I'd had this idea for a while for a comedy science fiction novel for adults called Space Team. I'd never done anything with it, because I'd been so busy with the kids' books, so I decided to write it and self-publish it as an experiment." JD wrote the book within three weeks and put it up on Kindle.
"I went away on holiday and by the time I came back two weeks later, the book was outselling all of my children's books. I went, 'OK, this is interesting!' By the time I'd written the third book in the series, I was making more in one day from those three books than I was making from 170 kids' books from multiple different publishers in six months."
Self-publishing also gave him the freedom to write anything he wanted.
"When you're traditionally published, you've got editors and sales and marketing departments who want a say in what you're writing about. Maybe they want you to include a unicorn because they're big at the moment or they'd like you to shove a talking cat into your story! They want you to create something that they think they can sell, which makes sense; they are a business.
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Bliss Of A Bothy
After a strenuous walk, a mountain shelter can offer all you need
The Long Way Round
When you can only just see the stepping stones under a river in spate, it's time to re-think the route, as two Highland adventurers found out
The New Oyster Cult
A community is helping to restore the once rich biodiversity of Loch Craignish, one species at a time
A Poet's Sanctuary
Hidden on a hilltop, writer Dominic Cooper is inspired by the wild, stormy winters of the Ardnamurchan peninsula
A Rural Housing Crisis
Across Scotland, locals are being priced out and crowded out - but communities are now working hard to address the issue
A Historic Centre
Glasgow's Mercat Cross may not be as old as it appears but it's still seen many changes, along with an ebb and flow in prosperity
A Bird With A Brain
Jim's encounters with the raven in several northern countries have only increased his respect for its intellect and ingenuity
The Warrior King
On the 750th anniversary of his birth, Robert The Bruce's legacy as cultural keystone and historical enigma continues to fascinate
All Going Swimmingly
From Tutti Frutti to Shetland, Monarch Of The Glen to Granite Harbour, Dawn Steele's heart will always be in Scotland - and the sea
Following The Coos
The latest charity art trail aims to a-moos-e and delight visitors to Perth and Kinross this summer
