Publishing these days

Spotted this article today and saved it here so I can pop back and re-read at my leisure. It may be that other writers missed it, too! and I'm sure they will be interested. It seems author Jane Holland has a blog called 52 ways to write a novel (which I did not know but will now follow) and back in March this year an argument about indie/self publishing sprang up there.

http://52waystowrite.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/on-self-publishing-bad-advice-and-being.html

Something I noted this morning - the Historical Novel Society has redefined the way it reviews books. Evidently there are to be no distinctions between traditionally published and self published, but in order to climb out from beneath the piles of submissions, the criteria for earning a review are to be tighter, higher or just more rigorous, depending which word you prefer. I saw this on Facebook this morning, and now - typically - I cannot find the piece! I believe it was Alison Morton who placed the article, which may make it easier to find, but if not then I'm sorry Alison.

Ten minutes later, again in typical Facebook fashion, I fell across Alison's post and hastily copied the link. Here it is:

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/our-reviews/indie-reviews/

Thoughts from a reviewer

Till the Day Go Down
Jen Black Quaestor2000. 2009. £9.99, pb, 203pp, 9781906836177 also LP
9781906836184

"The border country between England and Scotland is a lawless and dangerous place in the mid-sixteenth century, so when Harry Wharton, travelling through Northumberland on a secret mission to Edinburgh in the summer of 1543, encounters the alluring Alina Carnaby of Aydon Hall at Corbridge market, he gives a false name. The alias could not be worse chosen, for as Alina casually informs him, “my father hates every Scot ever born.”
Thus begins a lively adventure and a passionate romance, for who is to doubt that Harry and Alina are made for each other, if they can only overcome the plentiful obstacles thrown in their way.
I was slightly distracted by the odd quirky simile (our heroine’s thoughts bobbing about like rabbits in a field) and a couple of encounters between characters that seemed far too convenient. Alina’s tendency to “squawk” or “bleat” in moments of stress did no justice at all to this strong-willed, independent–minded young lady.
That said, Jen Black writes with great verve and gives us a vivid sense of time and place, with a hero and a heroine to cheer for and a grand cast of supporting characters, especially the loyal village lad Matho, Alina’s childhood friend.
(Aydon is a real village, and there is an Aydon Castle, which appears much as it does in this book – it dates from the 13th century and was renovated in the mid-16th century.)

Mary Seeley.
Historical Novels Review Issue 52, May 2010, p 26

I was pleased with this review but don't know how or where to reach Ms Seeley, so must tender my thanks here.

Last night I tried using the Options function in Blogger and entered this post to be "posted" at a little past midnight ready for the following day. I opened up my computer this morning, and see it hasn't appeared, so being of an impatient disposition, immediately did it the normal way. Sod's law suggests that at some point today, Blogger will swing into action and post it for a second time. If that happens, I can only apologise, and grit my teeth.

Reviews come in twos

A friend on my critique group told me of another review for Till the Day Go Down in HNR Reviews Issue 52, May 2010.


Mary Seeley concludes "Jen Black writes with great verve and gives us a vivid sense of time and place, with a hero and heroine to cheer for and a grand cast of supporting characters, especially the loyal village lad Matho, Alina's childhood friend."



I cannot give you a link to read the whole thing, as the May issue is not online as yet, but I will.



I'm especially glad Ms Seeley liked Matho, as I've made him the protagonist of my current wip. He gets caught up in the politics of the Scottish court of Mary of Guise in Stirling and only just escapes with his life - he's a much wiser man at the end of his adventures. I'm half-way through a third edit, and soon it will be done, completed, finito, edited and finished. Then it will be on to the next project, which will probably coincide with my holiday in France this year. We missed our holiday last year, except for skiing in January (Yes, I know! 10,000 thousand feet, extreme cold, extreme exertion - it's a wonder I'm still here!) because of my surgery, so I'm really looking forward to it. And being away from my history books and without an internet connection, I can write happily without stopping to check facts.