Alle responds to: "How did you decide which contests to submit to?"
"You won sixteen honors!"
I read that six prizes for your novel were prior to publication. Do you have a particular competition you recommend? Any that are especially good for literary fiction? Is it worth the time and money?
Alle sez:
Im’na answer straight-uply, here. Keep that in mind when we get to the “smaller awards” as “self-publishing” sections.
1. Is entering worth the time and money?
I took a workshop on the novel with a much-lauded writer who had been an award-winning fellow since the publication of his first book. Asked the same question as yours, he said, “Well, I won, so: yes.”
If your only barometer of success is winning, you stand a huge chance of coming away from the experience feeling bitter and having learned nothing.
My situation just over three years ago: as an unknown author publishing a first novel with a lesser-known press — a literary novel in the 1st-person; marketing says: Oi — I knew that even pre-publication, I would need to distinguish myself. Pre-pub, I went for a lot of smaller contests, as well as a few of the big ‘uns: National Book Award, Washington State Book Award, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Annual Book Award, Pen Faulkner. (These are what you might call the more literary.)
I submitted to each contest confident in the quality of my writing yet clear-eyed about my chances. As a result, I don’t regret the time or money spent applying. I would have forever been plagued by the coulda-shoulda’s. That feeling is the only failure.
Herein begins the blunt:
Of the smaller awards, there are a slew of what I see as, “Everybody seems to win something”: tens of categories, unlimited entries.
Some of these are considered good awards (I’m looking at you, Eric Hoffer). In choosing which of the less-lauded I would take spend money on, I went by well-known and highly thought-of, or which name would look best on a media release or in an article on me.
Eventually, the issue came to— well; backstory needed:
Given the number of years it took to finish As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, and the even longer time it was taking to find a publisher, plus that fact that it was the afore-mentioned first-book/unknown-author/small-press; let us not forget was about incest: should I total the number of hours put into the novel against the amount I stood to earn from sales, I’d owe myself about a zillion dollars.
Adjusting the dial of my expectations to “realistic,” I zeroed in on my goals for this first novel to be:
prizes and honors
set myself up for novel #2 by establishing myself as an expert on demonstrating the joy and successes that come from harnessing the creativity that heals trauma
After happily succeeding in a few “Everybody seems to win something,” I decided I was no longer going to submit to contests that took self-published books.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH SELF-PUBLISHING.
I don’t hold the following attitude: self-publishing is a lesser industry than traditional. Many of those working in traditional publishing do: agents, editors, media, prizes; quite a few traditionally-published authors.
Yep, it’s a prejudice.
To meet my goals, however, I needed to take the traditional industry’s bias into account.
I wasn’t going to impress the industry people my next book needed me to impress with any more “Everybody wins something” prizes. I remain grateful for each win, remembering the joy and — peace? Yes, peace —I felt opening those emails.
2. Do you recommend any particular competition? Any that are especially good for literary fiction?
A newer contest is the International Firebird Award. Prior to publication, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back won two first places and a second place. All looked nice and shiny on my pre-pub PR materials, and on the emails I was sending out in hopes of blurbs from famous authors in my genre.
Also, first-place winners are given an interview, which is always great to use for self-promo.
BONUS: Standard Operating Procedure for entering a contest
Some awards need your publisher to nominate your book. I gave to my publisher a list of the prizes I was interested in, asking if he would nominate As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back. He went so far as to nominate my novel for The National Book Award. I will always treasure him for that generosity.
Many prizes allow you to submit your book via PDF or ebook, but there are usually entrance forms. I volunteered to fill out the forms that I was allowed to. (Some contest require the publisher or PR agent to submit the paperwork.)
It is quite common for the author to pay the submission fee and the publisher to mail the copies of the book needed for the judges.
How do you find the contests?
Google is your friend: “Top (insert genre) literary contests.”
Ok, y’all: go get ‘em!! Keep me posted on your progress. I really would like to celebrate your wins.