Erika M Szabo: Author, Artist, Publisher
  • HOME
    • ART
    • PUBLISHING
    • NATURAL HEALING >
      • ASTHMA
      • BIZARRE SYMPTOMS
      • Natural Skin Care
      • Healing crystals
      • Aromatherapy
      • Pets and Fleas
      • Detox Your Body Naturally
      • HIGH CHOLESTEROL
      • Természetgyógyászat
    • Photos
    • Privacy policy
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT ME
  • BLOG
    • My Thinking Board
    • JUST FOR FUN
    • Magyar Könyvek
  • CHILDREN'S BOOKS
    • Be Careful What You Wish For
    • Pico, the Pesky Parrot
    • The Chunky, Dumpy, Spunky Monkey
    • Look, I Can Talk With My Fingers
    • A Basketful of Kittens
    • Who Stole Terry's Music Box?
    • Terry and the Number Fairy
    • My Book-My Stories
    • Me Too
    • Creepy Hollow Adventures
    • Mira, ¡puedo hablar con los dedos!
  • FICTION NOVELS
    • 7 COZY SHORTS
    • Evil Will Out
    • The Ancestors' Secrets
    • Restless Heart
    • The Ghost of Prince Akhmose
    • Messenger
    • The Potion
    • Bittersweet Memories
    • The Worthless Painting
    • Alone
    • Unbroken Curse
    • Fake It
    • OMEN
    • Rainbows and Couds
    • The Curse
  • Libros ​españoles
  • MAGAZINES
    • VIDEOS-POSTS
  • AUDIOBOOKS
  • MAGYAR OLDAL
  • STORYTIME

My Thinking Board

Thoughts about this & that...

I would Love To Have a Shiny Sticker on My Resume!

3/8/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Yup, I would love to display a sticker like that! Who wouldn't?
There are so many books out there proudly displaying their literary award winner stickers. Of course, I would love to have a shiny sticker on all of my books and have a chance to brag about being an award winner author, but... here is always a but.  Which contest should I enter? Are these award contest legitimate? Will it help my writing career if I would win one of these contests? Is it worth entering any literary contests just because they have an attractive website and promise recognition? . I wouldn't do that without a very thorough research on the prestige of the contest.

Many writers enter literary contests hoping to be noticed by agents and publishers, a way to add writing credits, or promote a self-published book. This can definitely worth adding to your writing resume if the contest is sponsored by an organization with high standing in the publishing industry.

I id some research to get a general idea about the real and fake award contests. I know that there must be a lot of fake contests out there, so I started my research with the scams.

Here is what I found so far:
There are very few of the hundreds of award contests out there has prestige that would make entering their contests worthwhile. Winning a contest run by an internet contest mill probably don't carry any weight with agents and readers because they may be aware that small contests are much less likely to have professional judging standards.

However, we can't really label literary CONTEST MILLS scams with high entry fees and dozens of entry categories, since there usually are winners, who generally do receive the promise prize. But keep in mind that they conduct the contests with their high entry fees (anywhere from $60 to $80) with the sole purpose, to make money. However, because of the probable lack of rigorous judging standards (judges are rarely identified, and in some cases we can suspect that they may not exist at all), are unlikely to carry much weight and professional prestige. They promise much of the benefits that prestigious awards can bring to your career, and there’s even a nice trophy or a shiny sticker. Some of them advertise enormous prizes up to $15,000 for the winners, but if you read the fine print (usually hard to find on their website), you’ll see that the contest owner reserves the right to award prizes on a pro-rated basis. It means that the prize amounts are determined by the number of entrants, thus guaranteeing their profit no matter what. 

Similar to the contest mills are the AWARD MILLS that mostly focus on a small press or self-published authors, who face major challenges in getting their work noticed. Although there may be a real prize (money, gift certificates, consults with literary agents), winners are most likely receive little more than a shiny sticker and an announcement on the organization’s website.

Contests by fee-charging publishers. Often the prize is a book contract, but winners don’t find out until afterward that the contract terms are restrictive, or that they must pay a fee for publication, or agree to pre-purchase large numbers of books.

The most common of the fake contests I've found are those conducted by the vanity anthology companies. They publish anthologies of poems or short stories, which are NOT sold to the public, only to the contributors, so the writers are pressured to buy multiple copies.

After about three hours of searching for the perfect award contest for my books, I gave up for now.

I decided that I need to do a lot more research before I consider entering my books in any contest.
2 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Erika M Szabo, author of epic fantasy, romantic suspense, cozy mystery novels, YA and children’s books

    Categories

    All
    10 Self-publishing Tips
    About Free Books
    A Dear Friend Wrote A Poem For Me
    Alone
    Anger Addiction
    Animals Always Find Me
    A Or B?
    A Sweet Christmas Tradition
    Audiobook Recorded By Children
    Best Books For Toddlers
    Blood In The Syringe. Is It Dangerous?
    Book Promo Fees Gone Too High
    Book Review Craziness
    Can You Recognize Narcissistic People?
    Cats Love Stories Too!
    CHILDREN LEARN HATE AND INTOLERANCE FROM US
    Children's Books
    Children's Books For Halloween
    Critique Or Criticism?
    Decades Late Apology
    Did She Deserve It?
    Discrimination
    Dude
    Emotional Stages Of Becoming A Writer
    Empty Promises
    Every Life Is Precious
    Favorite Internet Pastime
    Garage Sale Surprise
    Genderless Characters In Books?
    Good Old Fashioned Romance
    Got Money? Buy Votes!
    Halloween Stories #1
    Have I Been Really Granted A Blessing?
    Hearing Loss
    Hidden Messages
    High Hopes And Deep Disappointments Of A Writer
    How Did I End Up Here?
    I'm A Better Person Today Because...
    I'm Better Than You!
    Inferior Or Equal?
    Is The Lovely Shade Of Romance Turning Dark?
    It's Easier Than You Thought
    It's Monday!
    I Would Love To Have A Shiny Sticker On My Resume!
    I Write Children's Books Because...
    Just 16 Minutes A Day
    Listen!
    Little Tree Walking
    Lucy's Baby
    Makes Sense Or Batshit Crazy?
    Mask Or Muzzle?
    MBR Bookwatch Review
    Message From A Pissed Off Reader
    #metoo
    Mommy
    Mom's Scary Dolls
    My Green Thumb
    MY SHORTS
    Nightmares And Witching Hour
    Oh No!
    Picture This!
    Prejudice
    PRESS RELEASE: AUTHOR ERIKA M SZABO
    Rainbows And Clouds
    READING IS GOOD
    Re-blogged: 5 Reasons Why Authors Should:
    Re-blogged: Full Moon Dare
    Sign Language
    Sneak Peek Into The Ancestors' Secrets
    Social Site Animals
    SPOOKY
    Stuck At Home?
    The Birth Of An Audiobook
    The Danger Of A Quiet Simile
    The Joy Of Getting Old
    The New Kind Of Book Hoarder
    The Quiet Smile Of A Wise Woman!
    There Is So Much More To Communication Than Just Speaking
    The Scammer Swallows His Own Medicine
    The Warning Signs Of Vanity Publishers
    Those Dreaded Negative Reviews
    Uncle Frank Looks At Me Funny
    Uncle Frank Looks At Me Funny 
    Unusual Signs And Symptoms
    What Is Happening To Prince Harry?
    When The Raven Calls
    Why Does Chocolate Make You Happy?
    Why Do I Tell Stories?
    Why Do People Lash Out In Anger At Others?
    Why Should I Write Book Reviews?
    Women Are Not Smart Enough
    Write A Book They Said
    You Make A Hungarian Flinch When...

    Picture
    Picture
    Historical fantasy series, book 1
    Picture
    Historical fantasy series, book 2
    Picture
    Romantic historical fiction
    Picture
    Humorous, heartwarming short story collection
    Picture
    7 novelettes in one
    Picture
    Sweet romance
    Picture
    Historical ghost story
    Picture
    Cozy supernatural mystery
    Picture
    Cozy mystery
    Picture
    Supernatural thriller
    Picture
    Futuristic romance short story
    Picture
    Unconventional family short story

    Children's books

    Picture
    Heroic fantasy for kids 6-14
    Picture
    Bilingual storybook for kids 4-12. Friendship, compassion, acceptance
    Picture
    Storybook for kids 4-10
    Picture
    Spooky adventure for kids 5-12
    Picture
    Storybook for kids 4-12. Kitten rescue, dealing with bullies
    Picture
    Storybook for kids 4-12. Compassion toward others with disability
    Picture
    Spanish edition
    Picture
    Fantasy storybook for kids 4-12. Bad elf turns good
    Picture
    Picture book for kids 2-8. Learning numbers
    Picture
    Picture book for kids 2-6. Sibling rivalry and love

    Spanish books

    Picture
    Spanish fantasy
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

Copyright author Erika M Szabo, 2012 Read the privacy policy and disclaimer HERE If you find a picture and you recognize it as your own and not a public domain photo, please let us know ​CONTACT
  • HOME
    • ART
    • PUBLISHING
    • NATURAL HEALING >
      • ASTHMA
      • BIZARRE SYMPTOMS
      • Natural Skin Care
      • Healing crystals
      • Aromatherapy
      • Pets and Fleas
      • Detox Your Body Naturally
      • HIGH CHOLESTEROL
      • Természetgyógyászat
    • Photos
    • Privacy policy
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT ME
  • BLOG
    • My Thinking Board
    • JUST FOR FUN
    • Magyar Könyvek
  • CHILDREN'S BOOKS
    • Be Careful What You Wish For
    • Pico, the Pesky Parrot
    • The Chunky, Dumpy, Spunky Monkey
    • Look, I Can Talk With My Fingers
    • A Basketful of Kittens
    • Who Stole Terry's Music Box?
    • Terry and the Number Fairy
    • My Book-My Stories
    • Me Too
    • Creepy Hollow Adventures
    • Mira, ¡puedo hablar con los dedos!
  • FICTION NOVELS
    • 7 COZY SHORTS
    • Evil Will Out
    • The Ancestors' Secrets
    • Restless Heart
    • The Ghost of Prince Akhmose
    • Messenger
    • The Potion
    • Bittersweet Memories
    • The Worthless Painting
    • Alone
    • Unbroken Curse
    • Fake It
    • OMEN
    • Rainbows and Couds
    • The Curse
  • Libros ​españoles
  • MAGAZINES
    • VIDEOS-POSTS
  • AUDIOBOOKS
  • MAGYAR OLDAL
  • STORYTIME