Have you ever considered whether self-published authors could truly win prestigious book awards? Many assume this assumption to be false – as self-publishing has transformed significantly in recent years, self-published authors are winning major literary prizes!

In this blog post, we’ll examine strategies self-published authors can implement to increase their chances of winning book awards and discuss key components of self publishing services that help authors polish and submit their books for award submissions.

Let’s discuss ways literary awards could provide you with a competitive edge.

The Different Types of Book Awards

To increase your odds of success when entering book awards contests, you must realize there are different kinds of awards with specific rules, criteria, and focus. Therefore, knowing which awards pertain directly to your book’s subject matter and entering those that suit will allow you to target contests more successfully while not spending unnecessary time or money entering contests that don’t suit.

National and International Awards

These prestigious competitions often attract hundreds of entries from authors worldwide, such as the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards) or Indie Book Awards. Success can significantly boost a book’s profile if it is even shortlisted or wins, which can increase awareness for it.

Genre-Specific Awards

Genre awards offer writers of any genre an excellent platform. These contests aim to recognize excellence within specific genres, such as romance writing (RITA Awards) or horror (Bram Stoker Awards). Entering these contests allows your book to compete directly against similar ones, increasing its chance of attracting readers’ interest.

Regional and Local Awards

Some awards recognize authors residing within specific regions or states, offering less competitive contests that provide great chances to build local recognition. Winning regional awards is also an invaluable way to build reader loyalty within that local reader base and receive invitations to community events such as book signings.

Awards specifically for Authors

There are awards designed solely to recognize self-published books. Such contests recognize the special challenges self-publishing authors face and aim to draw attention to them and highlight their work. 

However, two such contests include the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Independent Author Network’s awards, which often offer genre-specific categories and sometimes discounted entry fees.

Why Book Awards Matter for Self-Published Authors

Some writers ask themselves the question, “Do book awards really matter?” For self-published authors, book awards offer more than just recognition: they bring trust, opportunity, and opportunities that help build their careers.

Establish Professional Credibility: Being nominated or shortlisted for a book award shows your work has been reviewed by industry experts and found worthy. This can build professional credibility as new readers discover you through reviews.

Get More Eyes on Your Book: Award competitions often provide additional visibility for authors’ works by listing winners on websites, issuing press releases, and including you in newsletters. Therefore, some awards even host interviews or feature you as guest bloggers/podcasters!

Open the Door to Bigger Opportunities: Book awards can help open doors to greater opportunities: speaking events, literary agents, or publishing deals may all follow after winning one! They show that your writing deserves a broader readership and that its creation deserves further discussion and acknowledgment by other creators.

Increase Book Sales: Displaying award seals can draw readers’ interest. They tend to trust award-winning books more, leading them to buy, review, and recommend them further.

How to Prepare My Book for an Award Competition?

Winning a book award begins long before filling out a submission form. Success lies at its core in how well-prepared your book is. Think of this step as getting ready for an important event. Aim to look and feel your best, leaving lasting impressions behind you.

Write an Engaging and Original Manuscript

Your book serves as your voice and your story to the world. Award judges read hundreds or even thousands of books annually; to stand out amongst these, your book needs something distinctive that sets it apart, such as an inspiring idea, emotional journey, or engaging story arc.

Take time to rewrite and revise your manuscript multiple times; each round of editing brings you closer to creating the perfect version of your work. Ask yourself: Is my story original? Does it flow from start to finish? Are my characters believable or relatable? Is my message clear and meaningful?

Professional Editing

Even highly talented authors require professional editors. An experienced editor doesn’t simply check grammar and fix spelling mistakes – they offer advice about sentence structure, pacing, plot clarity, character development, and tone in their writing analysis. By skipping this step, you risk producing something unfinished that won’t do its job on submission!

Judges immediately notice sloppy editing, making your book seem unprofessional even with a strong story. If you plan on entering multiple award competitions with your book, investing in an intensive editing process is one of your best decisions.

Attractive Book Cover Design

A great book cover design does more than look pretty: it immediately conveys to readers what kind of book they will soon open, such as romance novels versus science fiction adventures. Your cover should reflect genre, tone, and theme clearly to readers. Ideally, you should hire a professional designer with publishing trends and reader psychology knowledge to do this job properly!

Format Your Book

Formatting is often underestimated as an author’s task; an unformatted book with strange margins, inconsistent fonts, or awkward paragraph spacing may alienate readers while appearing unprofessional to publishers and agents alike.

Use industry-standard formatting tools or seek self-publishing services that offer formatting and layout design to achieve an attractive book layout that keeps readers’ focus on your story instead of technical complexities.

Craft a Strong Author Bio and Book Synopsis

Most book award submissions require two components besides your book: an author bio and a book synopsis. Both serve an essential function: helping judges understand your background, purpose, and what value this work adds.

Your synopsis should be succinct and engaging and clearly describe the contents of your book without giving away spoilers, key themes, or conflicts. Your author bio should detail your writing journey as a writer, any achievements (if applicable), motivation for creating this work of literature (if any), or inspiration behind creating the text itself.

In Nutshell

Winning book awards as a self-published author takes hard work, time, and strategy – but it is achievable if you follow the proven paths outlined here. From professionally formatting your manuscript through selecting appropriate contests to carefully submitting submissions and developing an author platform – every step counts toward success!

Keep this in mind when applying for book awards: they should honor your passion and hard work as authors, opening doors to new opportunities that help you get your book into people’s hands and find its intended readership.

Are you looking to advance your writing journey and seek expert advice for self publishing? Reaching out to a reputable publishing company will definitely benefit you! They provide valuable support in creating high-quality books, aiding readers in easily navigating gate books, and providing help when applying.