Saturday, April 22, 2006

Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards


writersdigest.com

Open to entries until May 1st. I would like to hear from anyone who decided to enter, or has entered in the past. Or even if you looked it over and choose not to enter? Is the chance to win worth the $100 entry fee? What is more appealling, the cash prizes or the potential publicity?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've thought about this for the past few years (ever since I self-pubbed my first book), and while the potential publicity and exposure from Writer's Digest is tempting, the $100 entry fee is too much. I keep myself on a strict budget with my books, because a self-pubbed writer than quickly and easily get into debt.

ObilonKenobi said...

I thought about it but the $100 entry fee scared me off. Too steep for my blood. Especially as Lucinda said, we can get into debt quickly looking for any avenue to gain publicity. Just seems entirely too much money for a contest especially knowing how poor us POD writers are.

veinglory said...

I did think the fee was a bit steep.

Anonymous said...
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SerenityWriter said...

I've thought about this for weeks and now, almost at the deadline, I am going to submit. Yes, the fee is steep with no guarantee of getting anything, but it is cheaper than advertising. I have good reviews from regional newspapers and endorsements from two well-published, traditional authors. Both endorsers have 8 or more books to their credit with national houses and one has sold well in excess of two million copies. I had hoped the names would help in my marketing, but it has been slow so far. Both books are out for review at Midwest Book Review now, although I have no idea how long that process takes. I need to keep the marketing process moving toward an eventual goal of a contract with a big publishing house. The $175 I will pay for submitting two books is high, but just something I will have to accept. It's a gamble, especially since I don't know how many books they receive (thousands, maybe). I've tried other marketing methods which did not always work, so why not try this?

Frank Comstock
Charlie's Gift
When Past and Future Meet