Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Award

A wife, mother, and grandma, Yvonne Anderson lives in rural Ohio. She's a former legal secretary, currently a professional Virtual Assistant, and writes a daily Bible study blog. She creates fiction just for fun, but sometimes entertains fantasies about real remuneration.






Okay, so you've been reading these posts about writing contests. You know your novel is at least as good as some of the winners. You stick out your lip in a pout and tell your long-suffering sweetie, "I can't enter any of those because I self published. Discrimination! Think the ACLU will take my case?"

Put down the phone and quit your whining. You're not being discriminated against -- you're just baying up the wrong elm. The raccoon's up the Writer's Digest tree, you flop-eared hound!

You smack your furry forehead – duh! I knew that! Every wannabe writer subscribes to the magazine, so you've seen the announcements. Sure, the Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Award is no Nobel, but it ain't chopped liver, either. Wait, maybe that's a bad analogy. If you're a hound dog, you'd gobble up chopped liver in a big, slurpy flash.

Let me rephrase. Sure, it's not Nobel, but you can buy a lot of chopped liver with the $3000 Grand Prize. While you're licking your chops, you can see your name in Writer's Digest and Publishers Weekly; ten copies of your prize-winning book will be submitted to major review houses; you'll receive marketing advice from self-publishing expert Dan Poynter; and you'll get a box of these mouth-watering treats:

one-year membership in Publishers Marketing Association, guaranteed distribution of your book to bookstores and libraries through Baker & Taylor, a review in Midwest Book Review, six hours of coaching from a Poynter Book Shepherd, a customized Book MarketMap Directory, and an all-day PublishingGame.com workshop.

Sound good? Keep your tail wagging, because there's more kibble where that came from. Nine first-place winners receive $1000 and promotion in Writer's Digest, a review in Midwest Book Review, and book-jacket seals announcing the award-winning status of their book, among other things. The best part is, every entrant gets tossed a bone or two in the form of a brief judge's commentary and a listing with a link to his or her book on the Writer's Digest website.

Wanna know how to enter? Quit running around in circles and pay attention. The contest is open to all English-language self-published books in the following categories: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, Nonfiction, Inspirational, Life Stories (biographies, memoirs, etc.), Children's Picture Books, Middle-Grade/Young Adult, Reference, or Poetry. (Sorry, no category for art books such as self-published collections of paw prints.)

By the way, "self-published" is defined as a book for which the author has paid the full cost of publication or the cost of printing has been paid for by a grant or as part of a prize.

You must submit a bound and printed copy of the book. Preferably one you haven't chewed, because although entrants are judged primarily for content and writing quality, appearance counts too. They don't require that your book have an ISBN number, but they do demand an Official Entry Form, along with a fee of $100. If you're a prolific puppy, you can enter multiple books in multiple categories, but each needs its own entry form. The fee for each additional book is $50.

Oh, yeah. If your book has already won any sort of award from Writer's Digest, you can't enter it. Go publish something else.

Only old dogs need apply – 112 years or more, in dog years. (If you're a people, you only have to be sixteen.)

I sniffed around a little and found that the folks at Writer's Digest have had over two thousand entrants some years, so there is some competition. The judges are all humans who are involved in the publishing industry. Usually agents or editors. But none from the self-publishing world, to avoid problems with personal bias. It doesn't matter what category you enter, because all are equally eligible to win. A recent grand prize winner was a nonfiction entry on travel photography (PhotoSecrets San Diego, by Andrew Hudson), and a Young Adult book (Peace I Ask of Thee, O River, by Lyda Phillips) took a First Place.

This year's contest is already over, but if you run off a copy of your latest poodle romance, you might be able to get it in for next year.

So now we've thrown you the Frisbee – go fetch!