There's...
Yes, HR = Hist Romance.
I feel for you, Viking, my 'great literary'
historical novel, told from multiple view points, is now being edited yet again. My editor/assessors are firm that editing it to the MC's 1st POV makes it much more marketable.
That's something too, euclid. It's not the American way and I'm sure the Americans will jump in to tut tut, but in the UK there are several reputable novel assessors. They are editors, retired editors and have worked in and are still connected to the publishing industry. The readers are published writers. Mine spots for a couple of agencies and can recommend editors to approach! You have to pay, (reasonable fees) unlike the American system of using Beta Readers, but they do know the markets and are without fear or favour when it comes to crits. Beta readers can fail there.
Books.
Rosemary Sutcliff is dead. But her books which were published in the 1950s/60s/70s/80s are still in print. She was, like Dorothy Dunnet, one of the writers who made the historical novel what it is.
Also I've just discovered John Biggins (brilliant Austro-Hungarian Empire) and C.J. Sansom - one of Thomas Cromwell's men (Tudor) They are both highly individual writers but have large followings. Worth reading to find out why!
Join the Historical Novel Society and get the quarterly Review which gives you news of the latest historicals. Their Journal is full of interest and often has editors and publishers talking about their wants and interests historical.
Subscribe to 'The Writer's News' and 'Writing' magazine. They are UK Based but do deal with Irish publishers and journals. W's News deals in markets and publishers and is so useful. 'Writing' is full of good advice for writers. Check out the website:
www.writersnews.co.uk
Often it's simply knowledge of the publishing system, as well as luck, and, of course, a well written novel, that gets you published.