Medal winner…

What a week it has been in writing!

Not only have I reached the 10,000 word mark with Tobias, but Gisborne: Book of Pawns was awarded a gold medallion from the Book Readers’ Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G) in the USA.

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And today, that same book received an Honourable Mention medallion from the prestigious Readers’ Favorite Book Awards 2014, for Historical Fiction. That the book received an award in the historical fiction category is extremely affirming for me because the genre, whilst spreading from soft hist. fict to literary fiction, is a very serious and difficult nut to crack.

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So what, you might say? It’s not a Pulitzer or New York Times award, so why does it matter?

It matters because these are prizes offering recognition from readers initially and that must surely be what matters, as what is a book without its readers?

Further on in the Readers’ Favorite competition, books are judged by professionals within the field of publishing – publishers, agents, university lecturers in creative writing and so on, so the process is gruelling and definitive.

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With the B.R.A.G medallion, ‘all e-books brought to the attention of indieBRAG, LLC are subjected to a rigorous selection process. This entails an initial screening to ensure that the author’s work meets certain minimum standards of quality and content. If it passes this preliminary assessment, it is then read by members drawn from our global reader group. They judge the merits of the book based on a comprehensive list of criteria, including plot, writing style, characters, copy editing, dialogue, cover/interior.

One final factor our readers use to judge a book is whether or not they would recommend it to their best friend.

On average, 50% of the books submitted to us fail to pass the initial screen and another 40% are subsequently rejected by our readers. Thus, only 10% of the books we consider are awarded our B.R.A.G. Medallion and are presented on our website.’

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These awards give legitimacy to independent writing. They prove that indie writers are quite capable of taking their place alongside those mainstream books on shelves in online and bricks and mortar stores. The proof is in the fact that book readers across the globe initially screened these titles.

So I am thrilled.

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It is a form of legitimacy, of verifying what I am doing as I write my stories.

Thank you readers, thank you B.R.A.G and thank you, Readers’ Favorites.

And if I could just say – it really is worth having a look at the catalogue of medal winners at B.R.A.G and at Readers’ Favorites because you will truly get value for your money and will be sure that you are purchasing books on a par with mainstream published titles.