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Today's guest post is by MULTI-published, best selling, and award winning author Nancy Sanders.
*****
Submitting for Awards by Nancy Sanders
I'm getting ready right now to prepare to submit my newest book for awards, Frederick Douglass for Kids (Release date June, 2012. Website: www.FrederickDouglass.wordpress.com)
Two years ago I spent time submitting my other book in the same series for awards, America's Black Founders (Website: www.AmericasBlackFounders.wordpress.com)
I worked with my publicist at my publishing house and basically, here's the plan we came up with:
1. Prepare a budget for awards submissions. Be sure to include the cost of your book, postage and envelope to mail it in, and the price for submissions. If working with a publisher, find out if they have a budget for awards, too. Many do.
2. Make a list of places to submit your book to for awards. Note the cost for submission and the qualifications for the award. (Some only award picture books, some only award novels, etc.)
3. Be sure to include places that don't necessarily offer an award, but honor your book by including it on their list of recommended reads. For instance the state reading lists. Here's a link to my blog to learn more about submitting your book to state reading lists:
4. Make a calendar. The calendar notes the deadlines for each place you're submitting your book.
5. Start submitting. Especially submit to award sites that are free.
The philosophy of the publicists I've worked with has been:
Don't worry about whether your book wins the award or not. Submit if it's within your budget for one main reason: EXPOSURE. When you submit your book for an award, it lands in the hands of judges, many who are important folks in their circle of literary influence. My publicists have even submitted my books for the Caldecott and Newbery awards and even for the Pulitzer Prize solely for exposure alone!
Some of the awards are free to submit to. Others carry a more hefty price tag such as the Mom's Choice Award which costs $300. However, they have an early bird special coupon to save $100 so try to get that if you can determine whether or not you think the exposure fits in your budget.
One other thought...rather than aim for expensive awards such as the Mom's Choice Award if it's too far above your budget, consider contacting several mombloggers who have a couple hundred of followers each. Offer to give them a free copy of your book if they'll review it on their site. I have one independent publisher who likes this approach and it has earned them thousands of dollars of sales of my books and great exposure...for a much more reasonable cost!
-Nancy I. Sanders (http://www.nancyisanders.com) is the bestselling and award-winning author of over 80 books with publishers big and small including her how-to book fo
4 Comments on Submitting for Awards by Nancy Sanders, last added: 1/25/2012
In this special Roundtable episode, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman discuss book contests and how to make the most of your marketing dollars. Irene Watson is the managing editor of Reader Views, a book review and author publicity service located in Austin, Texas. Irene is well versed in today’s topic Choosing the Right Book Contest as this is her 5th year in running an awards program. Victor R. Volkman is the owner of Loving Healing Press, Modern History Press, and the newest imprint Marvelous Spirit Press. Together, these imprints have produced more than 100 titles in five years in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions of same. This evening we chatted about the how and why of book contests including:
What’s the purpose of entering a contest?
What kinds of contests are out there?
How are contests judged?
How do I enter a contest?
What can I do with the awards?
What about poetry and short-story contests?
How do I choose a category that I can win in?
Local, regional, vs. national contests: is bigger always better?
What’s a reasonable fee for entering my book?
What about contests where “everyone is a winner”?
Irene Watson started Reader Views in 2005 when she published her first book and realized a need wasn’t filled. Listening to authors she continues to create online sites to fulfill their needs. The latest being First Chapter Plus, an e-Catalog of self-published and small publisher books targeted at libraries and independent book stores. Ger first authored book won an IPPY Honorable Mention. She is the author of several books including The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers, and most recently co-author of Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families of Addicts
I don't suppose that this sort of thing is limited to librarians, but certainly members of my profession would take an interest in the prizes. DK Publishing is riding the publicity machine via a contest. Whaddaya win?
GRAND PRIZE One grand prize winner will receive 100 Eyewitness books* of their choosing! (*based on availability)
RUNNERS-UP Five Runners-Up will receive a set of the four new Eyewitness titles, plus a set of the eight re-launched backlist titles!
THIRD PLACE 25 Third Place winners will receive a set of the four new Eyewitness titles!
Eyewitness has its charms. Nobody in their right mind would ever use it as a reliable reference text, but for those kids who bat their long lashes at you and plead for something ANYTHING on one topic or another, they tend to do very well. Go wild, pretty kitties.
3 Comments on I Spy With My Little Eye, Something That Rhymes with Vaughnfest, last added: 5/28/2007
What? Why wouldn't you ever use them as a reliable reference text? They always looked a nice combination of big-shiny-overview and small-detailed-insets to me. (Only disliked the one on human sexuality -- those white backgrounds and flat lighting made everyone look like boiled ham. Always suspected it was supposed to contribute to teenage celibacy.
fusenumber8 said, on 5/24/2007 12:07:00 PM
They haven't any source notes, bibliographies, or references anywhere in the text. The facts, as they stand, are always kind of jumbled and rambling too. I don't dislike the books personally, but there are far better sources to use for reports out there.
Saipan Writer said, on 5/28/2007 4:27:00 PM
Oh my. I'm not a librarian, just a mom. And I love them.
(Okay, so I'm also a writer. I still like them.)
(And I'm a lawyer--there ARE "better" references out there, but the EYEWITNESS books are still fun.)
Don't waste your artistic inclinations on poorly plotted Harry Potter slash fiction and online conspiracy theories. Let your true feelings flow. Poet it up, peoples. There's a Harry poetry contest in the works.
To enter the contest, we want you to compose a poem dedicated to Harry Potter. It can be anything from a limerick to a haiku to a love poem to an elegy to a sonnet. Be creative – the finest poem about the Boy Wizard will win and we’ll also publish the best ones on AbeBooks. There is no limitation on length. You can enter up to three times separately but each entry must contain just one poem. AbeBooks’ Jordan Gordon, an account manager, has started the ball rolling with his own poetic composition - read the poem here.
Yeah, I know. Could be lame. Then you see the prize.
Awwwwwwwwwww yeah! The artist creates furniture out of books like so:
This is a good example of a contest that could be legit or could be a gigantic swindle. I present to you the Peppermint Awards.
Do you write for children?
The mission of the Peppermint Awards is to reward and expose undiscovered writers, opening doors with recognition, endorsement and promotion.
If you are a children’s book writer or screenwriter in the business of making quality family entertainment, enter the 1st Annual Peppermint Awards!
Deadline for Submissions May 21, 2007 (Late Registration June 18, 2007)
Winners announced: September 24, 2007 It's not a big contest. If you win in the children's book category you get the following:
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE Prizes for each of the 7 Categories: 1st $100 2nd $75 3rd $50
* The Peppermint Awards Official Seal of Approval
# The first place winners of the children’s books category will also receive a full color cover art for their book created by a talented experienced illustrator.
If you explore the site you'll find very little saying exactly who is giving out these prizes and even who this "talented experienced illustrator" would be. Plus they're asking for fees on submissions. $20 for picture books. $40 on chapter books. Most peculiar. What think you? I could go either way.
5 Comments on Sketchy or On the Up-and-Up?, last added: 5/8/2007
Boy, that reminds me of the Hollywood Book Festival -- a pay entry fee thingee, too. At least on the Peppermint awards it states that the author maintains ownership and rights. I couldn't find anything that tells you what you really win by winning, though. "Industry professionals" review things. Uh...who? Why? And if you win, do they send your book on?
I agree there's nothing screaming "I'm a scam!" here at all, but if the upside of winning the screenplay competition is a full color poster... I'm just not feeling it myself. Would be interesting to know more.
Alkelda the Gleeful said, on 5/7/2007 10:50:00 PM
It's policy not to trust any writing contest that demands entry fees. Those entry fees are funding the prizes.
Jeremiah McNichols said, on 5/8/2007 6:42:00 AM
I think Gregory hit the nail on the head here. Speaking as the spouse of an artist who is constantly assessing similar opportunities in her own field, it is certainly permissible to charge a fee (which funds prize pools) but to not divulge who the readers/judges are is to defeat one of the key purposes of such events, which is to get your work in front of people you really, really, really want to see it. That way, even if you don't win, you have achieved something. Perhaps that editor/industry "insider" will take note of your work, be more receptive to your next work, mention you to someone else, etc. When names of reviewers aren't specified, to me that reeeeeeeeks of either scam artistry or institutional irrelevance, which both work out about equally badly for those who shelled out the entry fees.
Adam Rex said, on 5/8/2007 6:43:00 AM
Right. If they receive just 11 entries in picture books or 6 entries in chapter books they've already funded the entire prize spread. The cover art might be more valuable, but only if you're interested in self-publishing. Though inexperienced kidlit writers often think pairing up with an artist will improve their chances, any interested publisher will almost certainly want to commission their own cover. Still, this is better than a lot of contests one runs across in the illustration world, that tend to be of the "send us an illustration of the theme we provide and if you win yours gets published and we give you a cash prize that amounts to far less than we'd have to pay to hire a professional illustrator in the first place" variety.
Anonymous said, on 5/8/2007 9:05:00 AM
This smells like scamsville to me. Right off, it seems to promote one of the most persistent "getting published" myths: that getting art made for a ms would actually help someone get a publisher instead of being more likely to make them look unprofessional and ill informed. Add that to the entry fee and the pathetic prize money, and it seems tailored towards the hopeful and naive.
From author Mitali Perkins comes the following contest:
In honor of my birthday, I'm emulating Bilbo Baggins and giving away a bag of my favorite savory, nutty, spicy Hot Mix and a signed copy of Rickshaw Girl. To win, you must supply the best 9-syllable last line of advice in one of two limericks.
Smart people that you all are, I'm sure you'll come up with multiple answers to her samples. Me? Not so much. Rhyming is best done when you're playing a game of Balderdash at 2 a.m., have had a touch too much to drink, and you've started rhyming all your answers with a kind of way-hey gleeful abandon. Or is that just me?
Speaking of Bilbo Baggins though, check this out:
I got this from Saints and Spinners and I believe that what we may have here is the very first Hobbit home I've seen that I actually like. Especially if it was made for kids. I mean, when you compare it to this and this, there is no comparison.
6 Comments on Oh, There Once Was a Blog from Nantucket..., last added: 5/3/2007
Another Hobbit Hole, hooray! Yes, this is actually built into a pseudo-hill.
fusenumber8 said, on 5/2/2007 4:51:00 AM
Maybe that's why I like it. Hm.
elizabeth fama said, on 5/2/2007 9:04:00 AM
What a lucky kid. Forget tree houses.
Anonymous said, on 5/2/2007 9:56:00 AM
But it's a faux round door. Look at those hinges! Disqualified!
fusenumber8 said, on 5/2/2007 1:30:00 PM
*GASP*
You are correct, oh other anonymous person. Tarnation twice over! Nothing worse than a faux round door. Standards. How they fall.
Alkelda the Gleeful said, on 5/3/2007 12:22:00 PM
Maybe the hinges are just to throw off potential hobbit-hunters. "Is this is a hobbit hole? Nay, for the door is actually square, see." Then they go off, not knowing that the real hinges are hidden. O clever, clever architect.
While Scholastic was hopping the Al Roker train for big-time publicity fun, Harper Collins decided to go a different route. "Hey!," say they. "Let's pair with Johnson & Johnson and do one of those Win a Chance To Be an Author" things. And so they did. Thus was the Internet spotted with sentences like the one below:
"Every parent is a storyteller because as a parent, you possess the unique ability to see the world through a child’s eyes. Has your child inspired a story you wish to tell?"
Yes. My child that I do not have has inspired me to write a story about a blowfish named Larry. Free money please.
Here's what I find particularly amusing. Check out the description of the Grand Prize: "One Grand Prize Winner will have his or her story brought to life – printed and illustrated by HarperCollins. The winner will also receive a $1,000 Gift Card, a library of classic children’s books from HarperCollins and a JOHNSON’S®. Baby Gift Set, featuring JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME BATH® & BEDTIME LOTION®."
No mention of any book rights there, eh buddy? Just a gift card, some books, and lotion. Woo-boy! Check out the print run too. 5,000 books. Foof. Good luck with all that then.
5 Comments on Contesty-westy, last added: 5/1/2007
Oh, good gravy. Are we now encouraging the old "I made up this story for my kid so please publish it" thing? My inbox shudders at the thought.
fusenumber8 said, on 5/1/2007 6:17:00 AM
Though, honestly, it's not like some parents haven't done this before. Now they just have more impetus. My apologies to your in-box.
eluper said, on 5/1/2007 7:20:00 AM
The winner is going to need that lotion with both J&J and Harper Collins taking turns screwing them.
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Feel free to delete my comment.
Eric
fusenumber8 said, on 5/1/2007 10:08:00 AM
Eh. I watch Daily Show & Colbert Report with regularity. I've heard worse.
Anonymous said, on 5/1/2007 7:49:00 PM
My first picture book had one 10,000 print run. When they were sold out -- the publisher didn't publish any more hardbacks because the board books were going like crazy. Up to 55,000 by now and still growing.
My second picture book had a much smaller print run of 3,000, which ran out of stock within a month or two and they have had to go back to presses several more times. Again the board book version is outselling the hardback.
This is just to give you a general idea of print runs. 5,000 is actually reasonable for a first book. But if it gets good publicity ("buzz" as it were), I do hope they plan to reprint the winner's book.
This is a little confusing, but I think I've gotten the gist of it.
There is currently a book blogger office pool going on. In conjunction with the March 8th Tournament of Books sponsored by Powell's Books, a contest has begun that allows one lucky reader the chance to, "win every book jousting in the tournament."
"How so?," says you.
Simple. The Book Blogger Office Pool. A group of book bloggers looked at a list of books nominated for the Tournament, decided which ones people would love the most, and filled in the standard "brackets" to guess the final winner.
Where do you come in? Well, as the Powell's blog described it, ". . . you pick a blogger, email TMN with his/her name, and they'll randomly select one reader for each blogger — and the winning blogger's reader wins a copy of every single book in the tournament."
Cool, huh? The list of bloggers is here. More info:
To enter the 2007 ToB Book Bloggers’ Office Pool Contest, please select one of the book bloggers listed (Kate’s Book Blog, Book Nerd, The Millions, Condalmo, Brockman/Powells.com, or Shaken & Stirred), type it into an email’s subject line, put your full contact info into the email’s body, and then send it to[email protected] by 6 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 7, 2007; only one entry per person. We will then randomly select an entrant to be assigned to each of the office pool bloggers; the winning blogger’s entrant will receive all of this year’s tournament books after the end of the ToB, courtesy of Powells.com. Good luck!
And hey. I don't want to tell you how to vote. Maybe you're a fan of The Millions or something (too much information for me), but insofar as I can tell, Shaken & Stirred, is the closest thing we have to a kidlit representative. I say you lob her some support. Go, Gwenda Bond, Go!! WOO!
0 Comments on Fight! Fight! Fight! as of 3/13/2007 10:04:00 PM
Nancy, great book marketing advice. It really does matter if you can add that 'award winning author' in your signature!
Thanks for sharing.
Nancy:
Terrific article. I took Nancy's advice for The Golden Pathway and it placed in several contests. Thanks for your info Nancy!
All the best,
Donna
Donna, I did too!
Thanks for inviting me to visit your site today, Karen! It's a joy! And I'm so glad this information has been helpful to you and Donna, too.