John Richardson

John Richardson worked for more than fifteen years in the coffee-bar and restaurant industry, at one time running the largest sandwich business in Ireland. He used his experience to write Wake Up and Smell the Profit: 52 Guaranteed Ways to Make Money in Your Coffee Business and The Coffee Boys Step-by-step Guide to Setting Up and Managing Your Own Coffee Bar. A keen golfer, he lives with his wife and daughter in Bangor, Northern Ireland.

Featured Author: John Richardson

Ten Questions for . . . John Richardson

1. Who is your favourite author?

On the Road by Jack Kerouac floored me when I went to university and I subsequently worked through pretty much everything else he wrote.

2. Name your three favourite books.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Dead Babies by Martin Amis and Mastery by George Leonard. I read Mastery three times during the challenge and it helped enormously with my attitude towards practice.

3. If you had fifteen words in which to persuade someone to buy your book, Dream On, what would they be?

If you’ve ever had a dream that you put off … this book is for you.

4. What was your favourite part of the publishing process?

Without a shadow of a doubt seeing the first book arrive in the post. That’s a pretty magical moment.

5. And your least favourite part?

Editing, editing, editing – a brutal, demoralising but absolutely essential process.

6. When the film of your book is made, who will play you?

It’s absolutely traditional for a male of my age to say Brad Pitt – I see no reason to deviate from that. Stuart Kennedy, my main playing partner in the book, insists he wants to play himself in the film. He also would like some creative control of the script.

7. What’s the most memorable comment you’ve had about your book so far?

Jon Ashworth left the following review on Amazon for me:

‘It nearly had me in tears at the end and left me so motivated I started writing lists of all the things I wanted to achieve in my life.’

All the years of hard work were suddenly worthwhile when I read that.


8. What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Don’t give up. The journey towards getting a book published is a relatively lengthy one. You just need to keep plugging away and accept that there’ll be a few knocks along the way.

9. You’ve seen great success with online marketing/publicity – what do you think makes it so effective?

I think the secret behind online marketing is that it allows readers to interact with writers in a way that has never been possible before. It removes the whole concept of the elitist writer and I think this is very appealing. It helps to build up trust and that’s a huge factor with a book purchase in my opinion.

The risk of a book purchase is never really the money (since books are so cheap) but it’s about wasted time. By actively engaging with readers and providing lots of additional content (written, audio and video) the reader can make a more rational judgement on this risk.

Additionally internet publishers, in all their various forms, are generally crying out for good content and stories. If you can provide something unique and tailored for them it’s relatively easy to get coverage. The days of a standard press release sent out to the papers and traditional media are largely over in my view.

10. Any plans for future books?

Lots! I have a second coffee shop book being edited at the moment and it will be published in November. There is also a further business book, essentially a parable, which will hopefully be out at some stage next year.

In terms of follow up to Dream On I have two or three ideas. I will be undertaking a trip round Ireland soon with my golfing buddy Andy Brown. The plan is to seek out the best 18 holes in the country in a short period of time. We’ll video blog this as we go around and hopefully create a strong following for a book before it is published.