It’s been almost a year, and I keep forgetting to tell people: I’ve been, and will continue to be, a book awards judge.
Not that it comes up in conversation on a regular basis. And, to be honest, I always viewed it as voluntary service — a way to further support self-publishing authors in their careers by reading their works and providing solid, constructive feedback.
Are book awards worth it? Absolutely! The immense value you’ll receive from the experience, including the excellent insights and feedback from publishing and writing professionals, is worth every penny of the registration fees.
And here’s the real guarantee: you’ll never have a chance to win any book awards if you don’t submit.
Do: Send in a physical copy whenever possible
Most programs allow for electronic submissions, which is fine if you’re wanting the ebook format specifically evaluated and ranked. But if you want your novel, as a whole, assessed and ranked to the fullest capability, you want the judges to hold it, feel it, flip through it for the genuine reading experience.
Cover design typically weighs 10% into the overall score, but that seemingly small percentage can tip the scales between “pretty neat novel” and “Book of the Year”. As a judge, I can’t see the full extent of the book cover if it’s just a flat image in an electronic file — which means I can’t tell if the images accurately wrap around the spine, or appreciate the beauty and creativity of the artistic details embedded in the blurb, wrapped around the ISBN, etc.
Don’t: Submit anything unless it’s been professionally edited
I cannot stress this enough — and no, I’m not just saying that because I’m an editor trying to pay my rent.
Book awards panels evaluate, score, and refine choices to whittle down selections from thousands to hundreds, hundreds to tens, tens down to The One. The moment it becomes clear a novel was not professionally edited (and yes, it is very obvious), not only is the text difficult to read, it immediately ranks at the bottom level below other novels that did undergo professional editing and revision.
The actual content of a submission weighs an average of 60% towards the final score, so you want to make sure the story is enjoyable enough to get through.
Among the last round of books I evaluated for a panel, there was one that didn’t have the greatest cover and the font, blurb, etc of the design were mismatched to the actual story and its theme. I had to knock points.
However, it stood apart from the other submissions because the content was structured well, free of typographical errors, the characters well-developed, and even though I would have made some suggestions in various places as a developmental editor, it wasn’t because anything was wrong. For all the indications that this was a very low-budget production, I could see very clearly that the author invested in a professional editor.
Even though I had to dock points for the cover, I gave points for the content and applauded the author in my notes for the brilliant concepts conveyed through the narrative.
I still have it on my shelf at home as a recommendation to anyone interested in a hidden gem of a book.
Do: Submit the first book in a planned or completed series
This is allowed, encouraged even, because the first in a series typically stands alone. At least, it should (*cough*cough*)!
If you’re still working on the rest of the series, getting the rubric/evaluation sheet back on Book 1 may provide significant inspiration and guidance to help push through the rest. Did a character fight against your intended narrative? Were you stuck trying to move a relationship along? Debating on who to reference moving forward? The thorough notes written by an awards judge may be just the list of answers you need!
There also exists the possibility of creating hype and gaining exposure — not because the judge will suddenly go on their social media accounts and rave about this book in particular (ethically, we can’t/shouldn’t), but because they’ll want to read more. Eventually, they’ll have independently read the whole series just because they want to, and that’s when it’s completely fine to share this personal pick of a book series with others.
Don’t: Submit a book in the middle of a series
Unless it stands 100% on its own and does not require any prior knowledge of any sort in order for the reader to enjoy it.
An example of a series in which any of the books stand alone and would make great individual submissions is Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot novels. While technically a “series”, each novel is independent of the other, with the only shared commonality being the detective, Hercule Poirot. This is why almost everyone knows about Murder on the Orient Express but not as many know about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, despite them both being in the same series. (Side note: Ackroyd is a Must-Read for anyone who wants to write mysteries!)
Examples of no-no’s: virtually every book sent to me for evaluation.
I was honestly quite surprised — not just because people thought this was a good idea, but because this issue existed with literally, and I do mean literally, every submitted novel I received for the panel. Even the one book I ended up liking!
Let’s take the Harry Potter series into an example: is each book great on its own? Absolutely! But what happens when Chamber of Secrets is the only book you have, and will ever have, access to? You’re more likely to focus on figuring out all the missing information that is contained within the previous text than what’s actually going on within this one resting in your hands. Who is this “Harry Potter”? Why is he attending this school for witchcraft and wizardry instead of a normal school like other kids? Who’s Ron Weasley?
Again, it also goes back to the Whittling Principle: the awards panel exists to nominate The Book of the Year by process of elimination, and the winner will always, always be a stand-alone novel.
Pro Tip: Book 1 should also always, always be a stand-alone novel not only to earn awards and accolades, but as a safeguard. You might have everything outlined and scheduled, but life is unpredictable!
Do: Showcase your hidden talents!
Maybe you’re actually pretty skilled with graphic design so you’re able to create your own stunning book covers (that’s how our own Cover Designer, Benjamin Richard, started!) and save on that cost. That’s fantastic! Go for it!
Maybe you don’t want to be a professional typographer, but you enjoy formatting your own books with artistic elements and custom fonts. Maybe you’ve sketched out different scenes and want to embed these within the text to enhance the immersive reading experience. Judges want to see these details and doodles!
As long as the end result can be mistaken for a traditionally published novel, you can DIY within your comfort zone and see what kind of feedback you get for these areas you may not be marketing and just do for fun.
Don’t: DIY just to cut costs and corners
This is true for publishing, by the way, but holds especially true when submitting to an awards panel.
We can tell. We can always, always tell.
One book I evaluated had wonderful illustrations the author drew by hand embedded throughout the novel, and they genuinely added to the experience and earned points in the rubric. But then the author took the same style, and the same DIY approach, to the book cover —and it did not translate well.
Hire a professional for the areas that need to look professional (read: traditionally-published quality). A cover designer can, and should, match your own artistic style so the cover artistry flows organically with the interior sketches. A typographer will enhance your text from the standard and boring old Times New Roman into something unique yet easily readable, accented with artistic elements and scrollwork, to make the reading experience memorable in the best of ways.
An editor goes without saying. Self-editing is never enough. Hire the dang editor, even if that’s the only outsourcing expense you can afford. Whoever you do hire might be able to do you a solid and talk with a friend who knows a friend who can help you out with the other things.