Welcome to the first in a short series turning the spotlight on authors who help other authors.
There are many ways that writers can support each other and offering reviews is one of them.
Discovering Diamonds (#DDRevs) was the brainchild of Helen Hollick, a prolific and successful author in her own right, who set up Discovering Diamonds a few years ago to provide a platform for reviews of historical novels.
To kick off the series, I chatted to Helen and asked her to explain what it's all about.
AW: Welcome to the blog Helen. Can I start by asking what inspired you to set up Discovering Diamonds and how does it work?
HH: I had been the Managing Editor for Indie Reviews for the Historical Novel Association for over five years, but in 2016 I felt it time to establish something a little more independent that had a major focus on indie and self-published authors, rather than traditional mainstream. Most of my previous review team came with me – a super group of people made up of dedicated readers, authors and editors – and so Discovering Diamonds came into being on January 1st 2017.
I had no intention of getting involved with any finances, nor with receiving or posting out physical copies of novels – technology has advanced enough with e-editions to eliminate costly sending of actual books. Plus, the majority of readers prefer a Kindle (or similar device) where reviewing is concerned, so I request mobi (preferably) or correctly formatted PDF ARC files. (These only go out to selected reviewers and are deleted after being read.)
Our aim is to promote good books worth reading regardless of whether it is written by an indie author or someone established with a well-known publishing company. I do not even ask for, or include, a publisher’s details as a good book is a good book no matter who published it or how! We publish three reviews a week, and these are all four or five-star standard.
AW: To have one's book declared a Diamond is a badge of honour, I know, but why do you think independent reviews are so important for Indie Authors especially?
HH: Even after all this time, indie and self-published novels are still (erroneously!) regarded as ‘vanity’ and of little worth. Indie writers are, all too often, not taken seriously as authors – alas literary snobbishness is still rife. With better technology, ease of access to professional editors, cover designers and formatters etc there is no reason why a good writer cannot produce a good book. The disadvantage is that most indie writers have a small budget and no access to nation- or even world-wide marketing. No book, no matter how superb it is, will sell if no one knows about it.
Social Media platforms are an indie author’s shop window, but even then word of mouth about good books worth reading is essential. This is where honest, constructive, reviews come into play.
Yes, at Discovering Diamonds we will say if we felt a book was a brilliant story, but could do with another edit, or that there were a few too many typos. We also like to encourage new authors – maybe this first novel could do with some more polishing but the author has potential, so watch this space for Book Two!
I post a link on Twitter and Facebook to each review, and where I can, copy the entire review on Amazon.co.uk and Goodreads. (Alas I can no longer do so on .com as well.)
AW: It's a great and generous way to help authors feel that they're not alone out there in the Indie publishing world. I happen to know however that reviews aren't the only way #DDRevs helps authors. Can you tell us a little about some of the other features of the site?)
HH: Every December I like to take a break from posting reviews, so I invite authors to submit a short story. The first year the theme was to be ‘diamonds’ (for obvious reasons) but then I hit on the idea of stories connected to a song... why is Daniel leaving on a plane? Who is dreaming of a white Christmas? Who is making a telephone call to say ‘Hello?’ These stories were not to be about the song, but inspired by it. An added twist was that the reader would read the story and guess which song inspired it... the authors involved have grown quite adept at hiding the clues!
I also have Guest Spots on Sundays, featuring authors and their books, a cover and book selection of the month (and then of the year) – and anything else I can think of to help promote authors.
AW: I'm delighted to say that I've read an advance review copy of A Mirror Murder and it's an excellent book!
For anyone wishing to connect with Helen or buy her books, here are all her links:
A Mirror Murder getbook.at/MirrorMurder
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Newsletter Subscription: http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick
Twitter: @HelenHollick
Discovering Diamonds Historical Fiction Review Blog (submissions welcome) : https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you Annie, I'm honoured to be your first guest! We've just entered our fourth year at Discovering Diamonds and have some terrific authors to spotlight in our Sunday Guest Spot which at the moment has posts scheduled right through to August! Plus we've reviews scheduled for the rest of January and February - and I've now started preparing for March.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone knows how to extend a day into 36 hours I'd be very grateful to hear from them!
May I add that our senior reviewer, Richard Tearle, is quite poorly at the moment, on behalf of the Discovering Diamonds review team, and all the authors he has energetically supported over the years, I wish him get well soon.
Thanks so much for being my guest today Helen and congratulations on the continued success of Discovering Diamonds. I assumed you'd already found the secret of adding an extra 12 hours at least to every day!
DeleteYes, I echo your comments about Richard, who has been a tower of support to me in my writing over the years and wish him well.