The Awards Deadline is Coming!
I can’t believe another year has gone by from the last deadline already. Here at Reader Views, the excitement has taken over as all reviewers and judges are busy reading and scoring away! Many great books have come our way, and as we get buried by the late entries we welcome the Holidays to enjoy them as well! It is not too late to send in submissions, so hurry up and make sure you postmark them by December 1, 2016! Below are some tips on submitting to any Literary Awards program:
· Read the Guidelines! All Awards programs post submission guidelines on their websites and/or submission forms. These guidelines and rules exist for a reason. No Awards program will make exceptions, and the result of most of them is disqualification – sometimes even without notification. So make sure you understand guidelines and follow them. After all, if you don’t compete, you went through the trouble for nothing!
· Send the final version of your book! This is just common sense, and yet it happens all the time, with submissions of either galleys or advance review copies. Whether it's due to time limitations or budget constraints, submitting anything less than the final version is a big mistake, and judges will penalize for it even if they liked the story! As well, it could be counter-productive if the contest provides for and posts a review of the book. It is best not to enter a contest at all if you can’t submit a final product.
· Listen to your audience! If your book reviews are not favorable or they are good but mention editing issues, it might not be a good idea to enter it into a contest. The best thing to do in these scenarios would be to publish a revised edition and submit that version. Alternatively, it may be best to cut your losses and do a better job with the next one before submitting to literary contests. Chances are if your audience found many flaws in your book, or didn’t find the book interesting, the judges will have the same experience, so let your audience be your guide when considering whether to invest time and money into Awards contests.
It is never too late to become an Award winner. It doesn’t need to happen with your first publication, so don’t push it, and strategize instead. This will allow you to submit with a better chance to win in future contests! For more information on how we help authors, visit www.readerviews.com.