Book Award Submissions

Going for Gold: Navigating the Hurdles of Book Award Submissions

Brought to you from the BookSurge monthly "Surge Newsletter" for self-published authors

When considering next steps for your title, book awards and literary competitions become a stepping stone for any marketing and sales efforts to increase credibility. The first step in the process is actually choosing which awards to apply for, and like any competition, book-related or not, you wouldn't attempt it without doing some homework. A search engine on the internet is prepared to bombard you with results, but how do you determine which is the best fit for your book?

Identifying this starts with you. Book awards are based on genre categories and usually delimited by the age range of your readers, so you will need to critically assess your title and determine if your historical fiction romance novel belongs in the historical, fiction, or romance category. Because many awards are also determined by the length of the work, be sure to observe the award's guidelines. The more specific you are, the better your chances are of being recognized by the judges. There can be a great temptation to apply for as many book awards as you can, but bear in mind that each requires copies of your book for which you are financially liable, and spreading your efforts too thinly can take away from your overall marketing strategy.

One of the best indicators of an award's credibility is its age. If you identify a competition with a certain longevity that you and others trust, you are less likely to spend time applying for awards that charge exorbitant reading fees or require excessive quantities of your book. However, that's not to say 'younger' awards or competitions aren't worth looking into. When considering a competition that is new, research the background of the company or institution giving the award. Is this a business or resource that you or someone you know use? An online database, such as BookWire or Award Annals, is a great place to start, offering details on awards in many specific categories that may be appropriate for your book.

The most important thing to remember when submitting your book for any award is to follow the instructions exactly. Carefully read through the rules and application forms, and then, read through them again. Because judges will receive thousands of submissions, it is not in their best interest to waste time on authors who haven't observed the rules of the competition. When you successfully complete your application and submit all proper materials and documentation, you are showing the judges that you take your application seriously, and you, therefore, must be taken seriously as well.

Once you have dotted your 'I's and crossed your 't's, waiting is your only recourse. Recent winner of an Honorable Mention in the 2007 DIY Book Festival, Robert Ransom Odom, said "I thought it would be a good way to promote my book, but I didn't think any more about it until I was notified that Autobiography of a Redneck Hindu had been honored!" Make a note of any deadlines for the competition, but at the end of the day, book awards are intended to augment a pre-established marketing strategy.