Anthony Ryan

Your early breakthrough came after you decided to self-publish Blood Song. What led you to take that route?

Mainly because every agent I sent the Blood Song manuscript to returned it with a rejection letter. This was in 2010–11, and I’d been hearing about some people having success with self-publishing ebooks, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

Within four months of the book’s launch on the Kindle store, I had an offer for a three-book deal from Ace. Within a year, the UK rights had been sold to Orbit and six other countries. So, all in all, I’d say any expectations I had were greatly exceeded.

“Books are still one of the most inexpensive forms of entertainment available.”

As an author, why do you feel reading remains so important?

It’s a bit like asking why people should talk more, or do more of anything else that makes us human. Books are still one of the most inexpensive forms of entertainment available and, unlike movies or TV, they don’t suffer from budgetary constraints.

Is there one book that stands above the rest for you?

It’s really impossible to pick just one book above all others when you’ve read as many as I have. Gun to my head, I’d say the best fantasy novel I’ve ever read was Wolf in Shadow by David Gemmell due to its mix of action, pace and heart-rending pathos.

“Within four months of putting the book on Kindle, I had a three-book deal.”

What tends to be on your reading pile these days?

I just finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, which more than lived up to the hype. I’m also a committed history buff, so alongside fiction I often read history books such as Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914 by Max Hastings.

What first made you want to become a writer?

If I can misquote Goodfellas: “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a writer.” More accurately, ever since I realised there were such people as writers, I wanted to be one. I had a compulsion to tell stories as a child, often scaring the other kids at playtime with ghost stories. The impulse to actually write didn’t really take hold until my mid-teens, though, whereupon I commenced ten years of writing some of the most awful prose ever set down on a stolen school exercise book. Thankfully, they didn’t have the Kindle store back then, so none of my early work exists to embarrass me now.

“Ever since I realised there were such people as writers, I wanted to be one.”

For anyone hoping to become a writer themselves, what advice would you offer?

If you’re going to self-publish, learn from my mistakes. My two principal errors were not having my manuscript proofread and not hiring a professional to design a good cover. I got away with it because enough people liked the book to forgive the many typos and my less-than-stellar homemade cover image.

If you’re going the traditional route, be prepared for rejection — it’s a writer’s lot, I’m afraid — and make sure you research submission criteria before sending manuscripts to agents or publishers. Other than that, read a lot and keep writing. Not giving up is a skill you have to learn along with everything else.

Oh, and buy Scrivener. It’s brilliant.

Looking back, what moments stand out most in your writing career so far?

It’s hard to settle on one thing. Looking back, the whole experience has been pretty incredible. Getting a five-star review for Blood Song on Goodreads from Felicia Day was terrific, as was getting another one from Mark Lawrence.

However, I think Tower Lord reaching number one on the Kindle epic fantasy chart in both the US and UK was a very special moment — even though it only lasted for a day and a half.

“Not giving up is a skill you have to learn along with everything else.”

Any regrets along the way?

Yes… I wish I’d done this sooner.

Anthony Ryan is the bestselling British fantasy author behind the Raven’s Shadow series, which began with Blood Song and established him as one of the leading voices in modern epic fantasy.

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Interview by Carl Marsh