Finding Writers' Contests That Aren't Ripoffs--Win, Place or Show

Lately, I have been looking for contests that offer benefits to entrants even if they don’t win—benefits like critiques or ads or other exposure on a website. That search also includes contests that don’t require that a book be published.

The reason? When a book that hasn’t been published gets a nod from one of these contests, that honor can be used by an author or his or her agent to find a publisher. Or to find an agent. In other words, that win, place, show—or finalist—can lend some credibility to the one book you care about most, yours! Usually the one you are working on right now. Win, place, or show can make your book stand out in a query letter being sent to a publisher or an agent or it can be used as part of a prerelease marketing plan. In other words, it can give your book an edge over the hundreds of thousands other authors trying to get attention for their book.

Many of the contests at WriterAdvice.com run by B. Lynn Goodwin will do just that. My entry for my memoir Here’s How I Don’t Cook just placed finalist in Flash Memoir Contest. I excerpted 750 words from that book to meet the contest requirements and received a great critique to send to my agent, Terrie Wolfe at AKA Literary even before the finalist notification. Now I can add “Finalist” to the book proposal Terrie uses and I am—naturally—hoping for the “Winner” designation to add to that and the battery of critiques that come from the judges of the finalist entries. But if don’t win, I can use the critiques or take blurbs (excerpts) from one or more of them and use it in all kinds of marketing.

So now you know why I search for added benefits in the contests I enter. I also look at award benefits like subscriptions to the sponsoring journal, the size of the monetary award, and the amount of publicity they give their winners. Some even promise that your book will be recommended to an agent or publisher or that winners will be awarded a guaranteed review in a respected review journal like Midwest Book Review offers the winners of Writers' Digest's contests.

You can learn more about Lynn’s contests at WriterAdvice.com or you can reach her at Lgood67334@comcast.net. My next novel, This Land Divided, was a winner in that site’s Scintillating Starts Contest last year and my agent is working with it.  Isn’t it nice you could feasibly win that contest or some of her others in 2017—even if your book isn’t finished! And eve if you aren't a Number One, Top, Greatest Book of All winner!

 MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Loving IBPA and Things to Consider Before Publishing in China

I thought I'd share this tip from my SharingwithWriters newsletter. It started out being a tip about joining an organization but ended up being more than that-especially for those who have heard about the amazing printing costs when one publishes in China.  BTW, you can subscribe to my SharingwithWriters newsletter here and get a free booklet while you're at it. (-: And read some past newsletter. You'll love the tips.

 

Join at least one professional organization for authors/publishers so you get information that can make a difference in your writing/publishing career. I found this article on what you should consider before publishing in China in an article by Peter Goodman in IBPA’s Independent magazine (Independent Book Publishers Association) and I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been a member:

 

Things to consider before choosing to publish in China:

 
1. Fuel and freight costs have gone up and that may offset any savings you may get by publishing in China.
2. Many North American printers are more efficient than ever before.
3. Does the Chinese printer you are considering care about the environment (China is one of the most polluted countries on earth)?
4. Does the Chinese factory you are considering pay their workers well—and treat them well?
5. Do you want to be sending American dollars overseas?
6. Are you on a tight schedule? Printing in China takes considerably longer than printing near home.
7. Have you compared costs and benefits carefully? Goodman says there may indeed be times when printing in China is right for your book in the quantity you need. And he goes on to show you exactly how to assess that with charts and more.

I suspect that if you joined IBPA and told them you wanted a copy of their August, 2013, issue, they would send it to you. They have always been very responsive to my needs. Find them at www.ibpa-online.org. As you can see, their magazine (and organization) isn’t only for publishers; it’s for anyone who wants to know the whole publishing story. We’re writers. This is our industry, after all. 

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Q&A a La Ann Landers: Self-Pubbing a Picture Book

You probably already know I often use a question and answer format in my newsletter and that sometimes I recycle them here.  That doesn't mean you wouldn't benefit from the newsletter, but I sometimes worry if I think you might have missed something important.  So what's so important about this one? It's an example of how--without credible resources--new authors can waste a whole lot of time and money getting in over their heads.

 

QUESTION:

 

Dear Carolyn,

I have a project that the idea is still in the cradle not developed yet.  I want to publish a picture book and text about people taking public transportation in Los Angeles.  What kind of transportation is available.  Why people are using it.  Where they are going, etc. A photographer friend and I are taking the Metrolink to Oceanside. We want to interview people and take their pictures. Do you have tips for me?

 
Catherine

ANSWER:

Catherine, here is something to consider before you start on a project like this. Picture books are either very expensive to produce or very difficult to produce. So there is either a high cost of hiring the work done or a huge learning curve if you want to do it yourself. My advice: This is one time where it would pay to write a book proposal first--before you do a lot of work on the book itself--to get an agent and let him or her get a publisher for it. You want an agent who has contacts with publishers who have published excellent picture books in the past. You want a publisher with a catalog of books that attest to their expertise as well. 

Here are three advantages to approaching it this way:
1. You don't have to do ALL the work until you have a contract in hand. You'll only have to have the book proposal 
2. You end up with a book you can be proud of 

3. A good publisher will help you market it.

By the way, if you need a fast and easy guide to writing a great book proposal, consider my The Great First Impression Book Proposal. It's only 6.95 in paper (http://budurl.com/BookProposals) and 2.99 as an e-book.

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog: