Novel Neighbor: The Writing Gunsmith
Matt Donovan
Truth be told, I never set out to write a book; it just happened naturally as an extension of my passion for gunsmithing. About a year and a half ago, I retired from my career with Nevada Gold Mines and went full-time into gunsmithing, which I had been doing in my free time for quite a while. I have always been a voracious reader and admired the great gunwriters of the early 1900s. Writing is a hobby of mine, and I decided that writing about my gunsmithing projects would not only let me live out my dream of being a gunwriter but also serve as an advertisement for my business, giving my customers something more than just a slick sales pitch. I began posting regularly on thewritinggunsmith.substack.com and was shocked by how popular it became. My articles now average 2,500 readers a month, and I have gained customers from across the nation. Some of their projects you will find on my Substack as well as printed in the book. After a year of writing, I started adding up my word count and realized I had enough material to self-publish a book. We truly live in a fantastic time, especially for authors. The bar for publishing your own work is set very low, thanks to outlets like Amazon that will print a single book and ship it to a customer for you. If you have written a book, there is no excuse not to publish it.
My book, The Writing Gunsmith: Year One, compiles my articles previously posted on Substack. I write about many of my personal gunsmithing projects, as well as those of my customers. I have a passion for revolvers, and many of my articles focus on them, but I also love building wacky guns that serve niche purposes for shooters. I like to think that my designs are outside of the box when it comes to firearms innovations. You will also find articles on the recreation of famous guns from firearms history, as well as material on how to perform some of your own gunsmithing at home with simple tools. I am an avid hunter, and have included articles that reflect that, with a strong focus on the firearms I use on my hunts and the modifications I have made to suit my needs. I also strive to include high-quality photography in my work. Photography is a quality that has been lacking in the gunwriting world for a long time. Hopefully, my work can help change that.
If you are interested in giving my book a try, you can find print copies locally at the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, Gunworld and Archery, and my own gunsmithing shop, Donovan Family Firearms (775-397-1386). If you prefer to read digitally, then you can read The Writing Gunsmith: Year One at the above-mentioned Substack page, or a Kindle version is available on Amazon. I hope you enjoy reading about my work as much as I have enjoyed creating it. It is truly a labor of love.