Take a Dip Into the World of Chocolate

It's that time of year again where we get to eat hollow lumps of over-packaged chocolate.

Today, I'm going to introduce you to a writer friend of mine who is to Easter what elves are to Santa.

John Bradley is a master of chocolate. He was the man behind the Cadbury's Creme Egg.

I met him at Bristol Festival of Literature a few years back where he was talking about his latest book on the history of Fry's Chocolate:




In the spirit of Easter and all things chocolate, I interviewed John about his writing:

Q1) Tell us about your journey into writing?

My first venture into writing was after I left the corporate world and was setting myself up as a marketing consultant. I talked my way into writing a regular column in an industry magazine on various matters marketing to build some awareness of myself. Over time, I realised that I enjoyed writing this 700-word column more than I did doing any consulting that resulted from it. So the next logical step was write more, consult less, which led to the desire to see if I could write a book

Q2) What motivated you to write about chocolate?

Every agent and publisher of non-fiction asks you, "What is your platform of credibility? Why would a prospective reader think you have anything interesting or novel to say on the subject?" 

Having spent 24 years working for Cadbury's, it was clear the only platform of credibility I could possibly have was to write about either chocolate or Cadbury's. As Cadbury's had last had a decent book written about them in 1931 to celebrate their centenary, I decided there was a clear gap in the market.  

I then had to sell the idea to the Cadbury Chairman and some of the Cadbury family, plus get a bulk order for books from the company, before a publisher would even see me. The result was "Cadbury'sPurple Reign" which I reread for the first time recently and was pretty pleased with it given the constraints of having to get it approved by said chairman and family, there's not much I would change about it.

My second chocolate book, a history of Fry's ("Fry's Chocolate Dream" - geddit??) came directly from the Cadbury project. 

I'd accumulated a lot of research material on Fry's because the two companies were intertwined, and there hadn't ever been a decent book on Fry's. 

This one I self-published so didn't have to get all the approvals and bulk sales. I think it's a better story than Purple Reign even though it ends in ultimate failure, plus I was able to adopt a jauntier style more fitting to the category.

Q3) What advice would you offer to other writers trying to sell their books?

Writing and getting published are the easy parts, selling is a grind that never ends. 

No WI meeting is too small or too far away for you not to load a box of books in your car and go do a talk. Social media can be helpful, but its big drawback is you have to be social, which is not my forte!

Q4)  If you could give one piece of advice to your 16 year old self, what would it be?

Work harder. I got through life until I was diagnosed in my mid-20s with Crohn's disease assuming that being bright was a substitute for working hard, so I under-performed my potential in school and uni, and in my first couple of years in Cadbury. 

My diagnosis made me grow up and become much more focused. I tell this story, along with many others, in my humorous self-help book on being ill,  "The Foul Bowel: 101 Ways toSurvive and Thrive with Crohn's Disease", a book I didn't enjoy writing in the slightest, having to dredge up too many memories I'd rather put behind me.




Find out more about John Bradley and his writing on Amazon 

Another writer friend of mine, Ali Bacon, also interviewed John on her blog when he first published Fry's Chocolate Dream. Read it HERE

Happy Easter, and try not to eat too much chocolate!  

Amy Morse is an Author + Entrepreneur = Authorpreneur

Find out more about her books and how she works with small businesses to help them grow through writing HERE

http://amymorse.co.uk/