 B.R.A.G. Medallion® – what’s that?
In the large sea of self/independently published work, there is a lot of flotsam and jetsam and not all of it is worth picking up. How to tell? Well, IndieBRAG, a privately held organization has brought together a large group of readers, both individuals and members of book clubs, located throughout the United States, Canada, and the European Union to address this.
Their mission is to recognise quality on the part of authors who self-publish both print and digital books, principally fiction. Staying with the nautical image, they provide a rudder, possibly now becoming a compass.
 So how do they do it?
First, they select titles from the large and rapidly growing pool of indie books available, then members drawn from their reader group evaluate and judge the merits of each book based on their list of criteria. The single most important criterion they ask their readers to use in judging a book is whether or not they would recommend it to their best friend. Once a book meets this standard of quality, they award it the B.R.A.G. Medallion®.
When INCEPTIO was awarded a Medallion, I was delighted; my writing had passed one of the highest bars around. Rapidly becoming recognised in the world of self-publishing as an impeccable seal of excellence, IndieBRAG‘s selection process is rigorous, rejecting 90% of applicants. If a book carries a B.R.A.G. Medallion® sticker, it will be a quality assured read, whatever its genre. I was proud to explain what the sticker meant and people were impressed. More importantly, I’m sure it helped clinch purchasing decisions.
So having my second book accepted has been a high honour indeed.
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.
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 I’m a simple soul who likes writing. I quite like people and know agents, publishers, editors, writers from big publishers, small publishers, independent and small presses, aspiring writers, independent and self-published writers, not to mention commentators, bloggers, tutors and booksellers.
As a recent arrival on the scene (2009), I’ve striven to learn as much as I can about the writing and publishing world in an effort to catch up. and I learn something new every day.
But it’s a weird time in this world; changing landscape, wobbling goalposts, revolution – pick your own metaphor (or cliché). The traditional/mainstream/standard publishing route is no longer the only choice. Whether a local memoir published as a DIY ebook or a high quality paperback with a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, a story can now get to market by a choice of paths – see the Internet for more information.
Of course, each path has its own pros and cons, costs and rewards which makes it even more important for aspiring authors to do their research and weigh all the factors before deciding. And each author will find a path that will fit them individually.
I’m not going into the arguments about criteria, quality, production values, editing and covers – there are plenty of sites and blogs dealing very well with those issues, including my own earlier post. My wish, and plea, is this: that the adversarial attitude is dropped.
Writing is hard enough, and often confidence-sapping and sleep-preventing producing hollow-eyed pale beings who blink in daylight. None of us, whether published by the ‘big beasts’ or ourselves, needs to be fighting with, or sneering at, each other. There are enough problems out there – closing libraries and bookshops, exploitative ‘tutors’, services ready to rip authors off, a public reading fewer than six books a year on average – without turning on ourselves.
Information and education to protect and encourage new writers should be our remit, not vitriol and disdain in both directions. There is now no single ‘right’ way to publish a book. It may be a tad Pollyanna-ish, but can we please dump the versus and have mainstream/traditional and independent/self-publishing?
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.
If you enjoyed this post, do share it with your friends!
Unusually, it’s photos only today, but they are celebratory…
 The SilverWood Books authors and publishing team at the Writing and Publishing Open Day in Bristol on 25 January 2015 We happy bunch – the ‘class photo’ from the Open Day at Foyles, Bristol that I wrote about here. I’m at the back in the centre.
 PERFIDITAS first appearance with BRAG Medallion sticker The day after I heard PERFIDITAS had been awarded a B.R.A.G.Medallion®, I shared the news with Jan Smith our local paperback vendor. Here we are in the Bar de la Paix where our local book club meets.
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.
If you enjoyed this post, do share it with your friends!
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