About Us
The SilverWood Story
SilverWood Books is owned and managed by founder and publishing director Helen Hart, who set up the company in 2007. Modern self-publishing was still in its infancy then and, with many writer friends self-publishing and not seeing good results, Helen recognised that there was a need for professional assistance with book production and marketing. So, SilverWood was born...
A SilverWood book aims to match the production values of the large traditional publishing houses. This means that a SilverWood author self-publishes a well-designed and marketable book, which can be rare in an industry that is often criticised for low production values.
Helen explains: "The perception was once that if a book was self-published it wasn’t as good as those published conventionally, but that’s completely out-dated now. Ambitious authors are keen to educate themselves, do their research, and engage professional help. I work closely with writers to ensure that their books are edited and professionally designed, typeset and printed. Authors now want to work with companies that will put care and attention into their books."
From modest beginnings in early 2007, SilverWood's reputation and publishing list quickly grew. By 2019, SilverWood employed an expert team of well-trained and friendly publishing assistants, and had helped to produce more than 500 titles. Many authors return again and again, with some publishing six, seven and in one case twelve books with Helen and her team.
Navigating a pandemic, lockdowns, and home-working was a challenge, but the company thrived, taking pride in the fabulous books it was helping authors to publish. However, Helen has always seen SilverWood as a personal passion and recently decided to focus on what she enjoys: working one-to-one with authors.
The future is bright, as Helen says: "The services and values at SilverWood are of the same high standard as they've always been, but writers now work with me personally rather than a publishing assistant. Working directly with authors has always been the part of the job that I enjoy most, but I haven't been able to do for the past few years because I'd become a manager rather than a publisher. Re-evaluating, as so many of us have in the wake of a pandemic, 2023 seemed a good time to change that."
SilverWood continues to flourish, and has added to its services. While still offering supported self-publishing, SilverWood now also works with authors who want high quality publishing services up to the point of print - with the ability to then take print-ready files for upload to their own Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark dashboards, using their own ISBNs and publishing name. This has many advantages for authors, including oversight of their own sales dashboards (thus more easily monitoring the effect of book marketing) and receiving royalty payments directly from print-on-demand book sales.
About Helen
As publishing director, Helen oversees all aspects of SilverWood’s publishing projects, ensuring you have a high quality book to make you proud. She now works one-to-one with authors.
Committed to SilverWood’s standards of excellence, Helen is a long-standing Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). She has taken CIEP courses in proofreading and copy-editing so you can be confident she’ll cross your 't’s, dot your 'i’s, and more besides. She’s been a published author since 1999 (Scholastic, Virgin Books, Oxford University Press and HarperCollins) so she understands the varied life of a writer and cares about what matters to you on a creative level.
If your manuscript is selected through SilverWood's careful submission process, Helen will support you throughout the writing and publishing process, from copy-editing, proofreading and book cover design, through to your decisions on printing, distribution and sales. To discuss your next book with Helen, please click here.
Sue Gunton
Bookkeeper
Sue supports Helen and the company as SilverWood's bookkeeper. With her manual and computerised bookkeeping diplomas, she has more than 15 years experience of bookkeeping and financial administration within small to medium sized businesses. At SilverWood, Sue takes meticulous care of the bookkeeping and accounting side that goes along with books before and after publication.
Debra Penrice
Marketing Consultant
Debra manages all our Book Marketing Consultations and Personalised Marketing Plans. With a strong background in marketing and copy-writing, Debra is here to support SilverWood authors with their book promotion.
People we like to work with
Redwing Design Communication Ltd
With over 30 years experience in graphic design and design for print, our sister company Redwing works closely with us to ensure high standards of book cover design.
This collaboration means our covers are produced by experts to the same level as those designed and artworked by the mainstream trade publishing industry. E-commerce specialists Redwing Interactive build and maintain our website.
The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)
SilverWood's founder and publishing director, Helen Hart, is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, a non-profit body promoting excellence in English language editing. She places great importance on the upholding of high editorial standards, and works closely with writers to polish their manuscripts to a high standard before publication.
“If you’re thinking of self-publishing, I hope you don't go at it alone. With a team like SilverWood behind you, you have the support you need to publish the best work you believe in.”
