Book awards: what’s right for your author brand?

‘I’ve won an award!’

…Says the person who’s humbly received a gong for the East/West/North/South/global/local category of whatever they do.

I should clarify, that isn’t me!

Awards can be a thorny issue in writing, because there’s one for pretty much everything these days – and unfortunately, many of them are little more than paid promo.

It isn’t hard to win some awards. You just self-nominate, pay for entry, pay for a nice trophy for the obligatory office shelfie, and pay for a profile in associated event publicity.

There’s an awful lot of paying going on there! It all looks impressive on paper and the socials – and that, of course, is the desired effect.

But what’s it actually worth?

A while back, an author client’s book was a genuine candidate for an award. We’d worked long and hard together on it – high-quality content and product, excellent value, glowing reviews, 2x international bestseller.

I believed in this book 100%, and recommended he submit. He replied, circumspect, that he wanted to be sure of sending it to a good organisation. And he wasn’t wrong.

You have to vet awards and prizes carefully because if you’re shortlisted or win, that status can work for you. Or not, if people are in the know that it’s basically bought PR puff.

If you’re considering entering your book for an award, here’s what to look out for:

• Nomination – is the award organisation contacting you with a random, flattering offer to submit? It’s likely paid promo, possibly a scam.
• Organisation – who runs the awards, are they openly identified, is it legit?
• Judges – who are they, how senior and established in the field?
• Submission fee – is there one, and how much: cheap enough for any Tom, Dickon or Harriet to stump up, or raising rip-off alarm bells?
• Take – is it just a prize/award, or selling a linked PR package?
• Prestige – is it an established. well-known award and respected in your industry? What do others say about it?
• Previous winners – what is their content, it it good quality? Check out samples and reviews.

Several books I’ve worked on for both self-publishers and publishing houses have been shortlisted and finalists for the Business Book Awards.

My client submitted to the Axiom Business Book Awards, and won a medal. It’s a similarly known and respected outfit.

These are the kinds of awards you can be confident of talking about and working for you as an author, when it comes to your book.

Otherwise, do be wary.

And just as a side note – if you’re impressed by editors trumpeting awards all over their own socials, do take a moment to check out exactly what they are… and who bestowed them.

Do the same as you would for any other award-winners’ output.

Look at what they’ve actually worked on, and download samples.

• • Are the publications good quality?
  • Are the reviews positive?
  • What do their client testimonials say?

Those awards might be real and good – but they might just be a bit less shiny than they appear, too.