By: Gregory Stone
The CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Historical Fiction Company, Dee Marley, explores the struggles and rewards of managing a popular platform for historical fiction writers. She discusses how to navigate the myths of hybrid publishing and how she intends to get over similar challenges with the opening of Xanadu Press. Dee also talks about the rigorous Xanadu Book Awards judging procedure and the dedication to diversity and justice in choosing winners. Dee, who is passionate about history and committed to helping writers, provides insightful guidance for young authors as well as an outlook on the expansion of her expanding literary empire.
What are some of the biggest challenges and rewards you’ve encountered in running The Historical Fiction Company, and how do you plan to approach similar challenges with Xanadu?
Oh, the challenges are too many to convey, but I have to say that the rewards far outweigh the challenges. I’ve met some incredible people within the historical fiction community, both readers and authors, especially those authors who have signed under the Historium Press imprint. I’ve learned that the historical fiction community worldwide is quite a close-knit and supportive family, and I do feel that, as a whole, the entire writing community is the same way.
I think the biggest challenge so far is the misconception of Historium Press’s hybrid model for publishing. So many authors view this as a form of vanity publishing, but it is far from that. The simple way of explaining this to someone is this: if you form any company, if you are passionate about your product, then you must invest in your product or company to see it succeed. You, as an author, must believe in yourself and in your story, and the passion behind writing the story must translate into the business side of it as well.
Some of the big-named traditional publishers are now venturing into hybrid publishing for that very reason. Trends are changing in the publishing world, and thanks to other hybrid publishers who paved the way, we are seeing a shift towards authors understanding this. Even if an author signs with a traditional publisher, they may find the need to hire a public relations or marketing firm to brand themselves as an author. With hybrid publishing, we do all of that in one package. The difference with a vanity press is that any fee for publishing is just that, a fee for publishing and printing your book, with no marketing or PR involved. But as is the case, there are doubters out there who leave negative comments, so the challenge to change the mindset of years and years of ‘traditional is the way to go’ is an uphill climb… but one we at Historium Press and Xanadu Press are ready and able to defeat.
Can you discuss the judging process for the Xanadu Book Awards and how you ensure fairness and diversity in the selection of winners?
With the book awards at The Historical Fiction Company Book of the Year contest and with the Xanadu Book Awards, we look for the best of all the manuscripts that are submitted. With this being a worldwide contest, we are not partial in themes and topics with one caveat – we do not accept any erotica or any books promoting violence against children. As the CEO of both book contests, our reviewers send their top five books rated from 1-5 out of the ones they have read over the past year. Then, I personally read each one to determine the winner. So far, in the first year, a book about Australian doctors won; in the second year, a Tudor novel; and this past year, a very diverse book about the Low Country and Gullah in South Carolina. We are always looking for the next diverse novel!
With Historium Press and Xanadu Press, are there any specific themes or eras in history that you’re particularly excited to highlight through the books you plan to publish?
What we are looking for currently: With Historium Press, we are looking to fill gaps in our catalog in the eras of Tudor, Regency, Historical Literary, and Historical Time Travel. With Xanadu, we are looking for Literary fiction, Fantasy fiction, Science fiction, Women’s fiction, Poetry Collections, and Children’s books.
What advice do you have for aspiring historical fiction writers who are looking to break into the industry and get their work noticed?
The best advice is to never give up. Next, you must commit yourself to this being a business. Yes, many writers have other jobs, but if you want to become a full-time writer/author, then you must treat your passion as a business, not a side hustle. And be open to investing in a hybrid press to take the marketing aspect off your shoulders. With Historium Press and Xanadu Press, our motto is to ‘let us do what we do best – publishing and marketing – so you can keep doing what you do best – writing.’ The prospect of marketing a book often overwhelms authors, so we provide the relief needed to see your book succeed. As a hybrid publisher, we have the same access to marketing opportunities that the Big Five companies have, and we pass on those opportunities to the author, whereas a self-published author has no access and waits for a Big Five contract to come.
Last, edit, edit, edit until your story shines.
Looking ahead, how do you see the future of The Historical Fiction Company and Xanadu evolving, and what are your hopes for the next few years?
We are looking ahead to bigger and better distributors, such as possible distribution through Simon & Schuster. The process of a hybrid publisher distributing through S&S is viable as other hybrid presses, such as SheWrites, just acquired distribution through them, so we do have that in our sights. The process is lengthy, but we are fully committed to applying and, hopefully, gaining distribution.
Our biggest hope for the next year for both contests is to start offering an even greater payout for the cash prize, as well as a full marketing package to the winner. With HFC, we’ve grown from offering $500 the first year to $2000 for this year’s winner, plus marketing. We want to see that grow exponentially.
As always, we are constantly seeking ways to expand, with ideas of an author mentorship program or subscription-based video workshops in the works, as well as expansion of our retail shops on the websites.
All of this to support the writing community at the core of why we do what we do, and to pay homage to a dear daughter lost too soon.
Visit www.xanadubookawards.com
www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com
Published By: Aize Perez
