Jon Watt is Country Manager of Type & Tell, a self-publishing services provider and author resource centre.
A former journalist and writer, Jon spent five years as Associate Publisher at Heron Books, an imprint of Quercus, before joining Type & Tell in August 2016.
Launched first in Sweden, Type & Tell offers a complete self-publishing service from editorial help and cover design through to high-quality printing and global distribution.
Run by publishers, writers and passionate book lovers, Type & Tell is dedicated to pioneering a new model in self-publishing with professional standards, free typesetting, targeted marketing and 100% author royalties.
Find out more at typeandtell.com
Twitter handle @typeandtelluk
1. What was the last book you read? The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder
2. What did you read it on? A very ancient paperback (in a tiny format I’ve not seen before!)
3. What’s next on your reading list? Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell.
4. Which writer would you have loved to have met and why? Arthur Conan-Doyle – I’d love to ask him how on earth he could create such a brilliant, logical character and at the same time believe in fairies!
5. Go on, let us know your musical guilty pleasure. 80s pop – they were just so happy and optimistic back then!
6. And your one from the world of fiction? The Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser. The quality of the writing – his narratives, characters and history – are addictive.
7. What would be the title of your autobiography? ‘What a moment, I’ve got an idea…’
8. What was your first job? Barman at Clapham Picture House. I was fired for falling asleep during a quiet spell. Life lesson: when falling asleep at work, don’t get caught.
9. What is the silliest thing you have on your desk? Paper – Surely we’re done with it?
10. Tell us about a passion you have outside the business. Thames archaeology – you can see the whole history of London from the foreshore and find roman pottery rubbing shoulders with Victorian china.
11. What was the first book that made you cry? Cry laughing – The Falcon’s Malteser by Anthony Horowitz
12. What are the most common traps for aspiring writers? Getting too embedded in detail or prose and forgetting about the narrative.
13. If you could tell your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? You’ll get there. Don’t be in such a hurry.
14. What was your favourite childhood book? Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
15. What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Just do it. Don’t aspire to be a writer – start typing and become one. Like self-publishing, it’s a career open to anyone and everyone.
Secure your place at The Writer’s Summit this November: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/writerssummit