Book or Business V
Wow – it looks like your book is doing so well. Who submitted the manuscript for all of those awards?
Short answer: I did. And I did it for three reasons:
I was an unknown author whose book was published through an independent publisher (not a traditional publishing house). Most of the major awards (like the Nobel, Pulitzer, or Booker Awards, or Hugo and Nebula awards for Science Fiction typically go to incredibly talented authors with agents whose network is with the larger, more established publishing houses.
I wanted my book to be judged / evaluated against other fellow authors who, like me, were just starting their writing careers and who wanted honest feedback (and not folks who had been writing and publishing for decades). There is nothing wrong with starting with the minor league, and the feedback I received was both direct and kind.
I knew Midgard wasn’t perfect, but I also knew it wasn’t terrible. I wanted validation for how good it actually was from people who spend a lot of time judging books (in addition to my readers, of course). And I got it…in spades. Midgard did far better in most contests than I thought it would, which was a fantastic confidence boost.
Based on advice from a wonderful fellow author in the Book Creator program, I started the process by setting up a profile for Midgard on BookAwardPro. Through trial and error, I learned to focus my efforts on book contests that:
Came with the option for an editorial review AND / OR;
Were not scams or just away to get money from eager new authors (simple online searches AI tools like Bard and ChatCPT are good reference points) AND /OR;
Had reasonable application fees (e.g. under $100 for most contests) AND / OR;
Specifically targeted independent and self-published authors; AND /OR;
Were attached to a literary conferences (a recent discovery)*
*(I plan to post on literary conferences once I have more experience with them. In the short term, I’m proud to announce that I will be attending my first writer’s conference in two weeks– Midgard is a finalist in the science fiction category for the Silver Falchion award sponsored by the Killer Nashville international writers’ conference, and I decided to go and check it out).
One of the many values of BookAwardPro offers is the ability to help its customers understand which categories / genres for which one’s book might be a good fit. Most books today fit at least two-three different genres, and additional research into individual contests helped me identify which category would give me the best chance of placing in a competition. Although most contests allow for multiple entries (for multiple categories), the cost adds up – best to find the right fit through research than shell out extra $$$.
And, while we’re on the topic of book awards, Midgard was also just long-listed for the Cygnus Award for science fiction, sponsored by the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs). I’m thrilled it made the initial cut there, too.
If you would like more details about my book award experience, please reach out to me at jeanne@be-stirred.com
