Today,
my guest is Helen Hollick, a bestselling historical fiction author who knows a
great deal about self-publishing.
I've known Helen for a few years online and I was lucky to meet her properly 'in real life' at the Historical Novel Society ("HNS") Conference in Oxford, September 2016, as we were both members of the committee. Helen has a huge hat selection, is wonderful company; and you can find out more in her bio at the end of this post. Recently, Helen set up her own review blog for historical fiction, Discovering Diamonds, and I invited her to write a guest post to explain more, so over to you, Helen...!
I've known Helen for a few years online and I was lucky to meet her properly 'in real life' at the Historical Novel Society ("HNS") Conference in Oxford, September 2016, as we were both members of the committee. Helen has a huge hat selection, is wonderful company; and you can find out more in her bio at the end of this post. Recently, Helen set up her own review blog for historical fiction, Discovering Diamonds, and I invited her to write a guest post to explain more, so over to you, Helen...!
DISCOVERING A FEW DIAMONDS BY HELEN HOLLICK
For
several years I was Managing Editor at the HNS for reviewing Indie historical fiction, but
times change and I decided to head off into a new direction and a new venture –
my own review blog for historical fiction. The ultimate aim, to review books
good enough to recommend to other readers regardless of the production process
or sub-genre. A good book is a good book, whether it is indie, self- or
traditional mainstream published.
Assembling
a good team to support me was the first step. As it turned out I had a host of
enthusiastic people who wanted to come on board: e-book editor Nicky Galliers, assistant editor
author Annie Whitehead, graphics designer Cathy Helms, and an eclectic
collection of eager reviewers, some who are writers, some just avid readers and
some with a foot in both camps.
The
intention was to post one review a day (except Sundays) but I wondered if
perhaps I was being a little ambitious? Would one a week be more practical?
When Discovering Diamonds was initially
announced in December 2016, and submissions for reviews were requested. The
response was enormous and immediate. Within days there were enough good quality
e-books pouring in to fill the entire month of January and most of February. We
launched on 1st January 2017 and attracted over 1500 page views in that first
week, along with a host of new submission requests. So the #DDRevs team is
certainly being kept busy!
We
only review historical fiction (and maybe the occasional non-fiction, by
invitation only). Our definition of ‘historical’ is any novel that has 75% of
the story set pre-1950 (this is because I was born in 1953 and I refuse to be
thought of as ‘historic’!) At our discretion we will review something
history-based set later than this time limit, but there has to be a strong
historical interest connection. I am thinking of novels such as Alison Morton’s
wonderful Alternative History Roma Nova
series, which are modern-day thrillers, but based on the presumption that the
Roman administration survived, a theme which readers of Roman-Age novels, especially
mystery/thrillers, would find intriguing and exciting.
From
the submissions we select which books to review which means just because we
receive a book it doesn’t mean it will automatically receive a review. Our Discovered Diamond status is the
equivalent to five stars, with a Diamond
Review being four stars. Occasionally, for debut authors showing great
potential we also include a 3+ star equivalent
rating, with the review containing some helpful constructive criticism –
maybe another edit will be suggested to pick up some missed typos, or perhaps a
note to watch a tendency to ‘head hop’. Let me stress that we are not a
critique service, but our view is that potential good authors (especially indie
authors) need encouragement and support to start the climb up that long, steep,
ladder, and the entire #DDRevs team take great pleasure in seeing these new
authors improve and grow as they write more books. But in order to do so they
often require that little bit of courage and confidence to keep going, a thing
that is so easy to destroy if enthusiastic encouragement is not given. We do
not, therefore, publish poor reviews. I am of the firm opinion that if you have
nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all. I wish more readers leaving
comments on Amazon would also adhere to this!
That
is not to say that if we do not select a book it must be poorly written – far
from it! (Although, I must add, a few novice writers should perhaps consider
finding a different hobby.) Most of our submissions are not selected because of
incorrect formatting or presentation. To be taken seriously as a professional
author a book must look and feel good – which means correct formatting of the
text, a well-designed cover, all the usual requirements of copyright etc on the
opening page. Type face not so small it can’t even be read with a magnifying
glass, so a suitable size and type of font is essential. And of course the
story must be a good read! We are looking for quality produced books that are
value for money to buy, and are suitable for recommending by ‘word of mouth’
(the best way for authors to sell books!) We also want authors to be proud of
their Discovered Diamond logo which
they can use how and where they like, and is presented when their book is
reviewed. Our hope is that this logo will become recognised as a standard for a
quality read, in the same way that Indie
BRAG and the Chill With a Book Award
operates.
We
primarily only accept e-books (mobi or e-pub) not paperbacks or hardbacks, this
is because we do not charge a fee, so there is no funding to cover forwarding
books to various reviewers. If there is no e-book version, or if there are
complications we can occasionally arrange to receive a paperback edition. We do
not accept gift vouchers as they are too complicated to use when other
reviewers are involved, and PDF versions, unless professionally produced as an
ARC edition, are not always suitable because our reviewers use a variety of
e-readers and PDFs can often become incorrectly formatted on certain devices.
But Discovering Diamonds is not just a place
to post reviews. On our Sunday pages we have a Book of the Month and Cover
of the Month slot (with also a Book and Cover of the Year award to follow!)
A Guest Spot, and our Reader’s Voice section where we hope to
draw readers into having their say about various issues. After all, what is the
point of writing a book if no one is going to read it?
That’s where we come in…
Anita: Thanks very much, Helen for taking the time to write this post! And best of luck with your new venture. Find out more about Helen in her bio, below.
Bio:
Bio:
Helen
Hollick moved from London in 2013 and now lives with her family in North Devon,
in an eighteenth century farmhouse surrounded by thirteen acres of fields and
woodland. A variety of pets include horses, three Exmoor ponies, dogs, cats,
chickens, ducks and geese.
First
published over twenty years ago, her main passion is her pirate character,
Captain Jesamiah Acorne of the nautical adventure series, The Sea Witch
Voyages.
Helen
became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A
Hollow Crown in the UK) – the story of Saxon Queen, Emma of Normandy. Her
novel Harold the King (titled I Am The Chosen King in the US) is a
re-telling of the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings. While her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy, set in the
fifth century, is widely acclaimed as a different telling of the Arthurian
Myth. Helen is published in various languages including Turkish, Italian and
German and as a supporter of indie writers, she co-wrote Discovering the Diamond with her editor, Jo Field, a short advice
guide for new and novice writers who are interested in self-publishing.
Her
latest book to be published is a non-fiction Pirates:
Truth and Tale, released in the UK in mid-February 2017 and is due for release in the US a
little later. myBook.to/PIRATESTruthTale
(Amazon Universal Link).
For
other members of the Discovering Diamonds
Team see About Us on the Discovering Diamonds Review Blog :
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DiscoveringDiamonds/
Helen
Hollick : www.helenhollick.net
Cathy
Helms : (Graphic Designer and Cover of the month judge)
Indie
BRAG:
Chill
With A Book:
