What have I learned about Book Awards by being a judge?

Oscar Trimboli asked me this great question in here, and I thought I’d share as a separate post so it doesn’t get missed.  

(Oscar Trimboli and all, thanks for your patience while I gave this some thought)  

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On writing/publishing

1. Create a great book first - Look, I’m biased here, but everything you learn and apply in this community is designed to help you here. Listen to the experts here and apply the lessons and learnings - it’s often our experts here who are the judges!  

2. Include the little details - Include an About the Author, ISBN (Barcode) and a logo on the back and spine (even if self-published). I’ve seen judges get really picky about this stuff (although I don’t always agree). But it’s worth knowing.  

3. Write your book to a clear reader and audience - You will be judged on your writing style, structure, content, the way your content is displayed etc. These are all incredibly important, and I’d say different judges focus on different things or find different things more important. However, one thing that can’t be disputed is the mark given to “suitability for the audience”. I’ve judged pretty substandard books but couldn’t disagree that while the content was lacklustre it was totally suitable to the target market! I’d say most books get weighed heavily here.  

4. Make it look like a winner - OK, this one is debatable and something I often raise concerns over, but production value, how your book looks/feels, it’s weight and how thick or thin it is do matter, and often matter a lot more than you think. When we lay out books on the table, or pick them up and feel them, while the books may sound great, if compared to others they don’t quite match up in quality, then they may be discarded/not shortlisted or marked down when judged.

The question asked is: Does it look like a winner?

I think this is tricky when it comes to Print on Demand as these books generally look different to those printed with quality stock with a publisher.

However - here’s my big tip: Make sure you always print some books locally with high quality stock. Use these as the ones you send out to your clients, book awards, and anyone who purchases direct with you.

If your book is thinner than most, play with the internal formatting and paper stock to help - Ilona Vass did an excellent job of this and her book came out fab! I’ve spoken at length with other judges and Anna Featherstone about this and she made a good point that this book is the thing that represents YOU and your whole business! So if you’re not willing to invest in it, why would anyone else?

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On submitting/entering

1. Get the category right - I’ve seen some excellent books get discarded based purely on the fact, when shortlisting compared to the others in the category, it didn’t “quite feel like the right fit” however “would have done really well in X one”. If you’re not sure, get in touch with the Awards people direct and ask! Their category descriptions are not always that helpful and, as far as I’m aware, there isn’t usually a rule that says they can’t help you with this.  

2. Enter more than 1 category - Because of my point above.  

3. Ask for information on how they judge - I don’t think they can or will supply the exact judging criteria, but equally this should be transparent enough to give you an idea of what they are looking for. If you’re publishing now, then ask for the info now to help you while you’re still working on your book and can make some small changes that might help.  

4. Ask for information on the most popular categories - Every year this tends to change, One year Leadership got more entries, then the trend is Health & Wellbeing, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more Technology ones next year….It helps to know the popular categories if you’re debating which yours should go in. Obviously you’ve got more of a chance if there are less entries. Like writing your book, niche does matter. (Bit of a hack here, but worth sharing.)

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On leveraging after

1. Share as much as possible yourself - Don’t rely on the Awards people to do this for you. Once you’ve got your winning entry, you will obviously be mentioned by them at the Awards and shortly after, and should receive a sticker for the win BUT you probably won’t receive much information on how to use the sticker, what to say or where to share! So share when you’ve entered, when you’ve won on as many platforms as possible. Not just once, but multiple times.  

2. Add to your book cover and reprint - once you have some great winning stickers you can add these to your cover for reprints. It helps add credibility to your book for buyers  

3. Add to your website, LinkedIn, Amazon page listing, blurbs about yourself etc. - I think a lot of people forget these finer details and they all add up.  

4. Explore running ads - We haven’t explore this in too much detail as yet, but a memoir and multiple award-winner like Mark Berridge’s book could do quite well on Amazon ads.

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What else?

1. Be proud to enter! - if you don’t feel proud to share the sticker or your win, then what’s the point of entering? (An aside, but a good one to think about if you’re debating whether to go down the “Amazon bestseller route” What does it mean to you and why?  

2. Keep sharing and keep entering - Don’t share your win once, share it multiple times over the year. Remember your book gains traction the longer you’re invested in it. Likewise, keep entering other awards - don’t just rely on one. Look local and international. We have some great resources and directory of awards in here, particularly in the Expand course materials. Most awards are open and available to you the first year of your book being published, but there are some you can enter at any time. Remember, be in it to win it!  

3. Think of entering as an opportunity to something more - Mark Berridge has travelled all over the world to awards ceremonies and has gained so much value from the connections he has made from that.

That’s my 2 cents, but I’d love to hear from other judges Lou Johnson and Seri Renkin