Category Archives: Book Contests
| Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with fantasy genres author Victoria Strauss about her research and reports on businesses that defraud writers. Victoria is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Victoria is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Writing Scams, and co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that provides information and warnings about the many scams and schemes that threaten writers. She maintains the popular Writer Beware website). She received the Service to SFWA Award in 2009 for her work with Writer Beware. Among the topics we ranged:
Alerts for Writers (misinformation, urban legends, bogus rumors)
Contests and Awards
Copyright
Electronic Publishing
Independent Editors and Manuscript Assessment Services
Literary Agents
Print-on-Demand Self-Publishing Services
Small Presses
Vanity and Subsidy Publishers
Vanity Anthologies
Writers’ Services
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 Victoria Strauss |
| Victoria Strauss is the author of seven fantasy novels for adults and young adults, including the Stone books (The Arm of the Stone and The Garden of the Stone) and the Way of Arata books (The Burning Land and The Awakened City). She has written hundreds of book reviews for magazines and ezines, including SF Site, and her articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, she served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards |
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In this special Roundtable episode, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman discuss book contests and how to make the most of your marketing dollars. Irene Watson is the managing editor of Reader Views, a book review and author publicity service located in Austin, Texas. Irene is well versed in today’s topic Choosing the Right Book Contest as this is her 5th year in running an awards program. Victor R. Volkman is the owner of Loving Healing Press, Modern History Press, and the newest imprint Marvelous Spirit Press. Together, these imprints have produced more than 100 titles in five years in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions of same. This evening we chatted about the how and why of book contests including:
- What’s the purpose of entering a contest?
- What kinds of contests are out there?
- How are contests judged?
- How do I enter a contest?
- What can I do with the awards?
- What about poetry and short-story contests?
- How do I choose a category that I can win in?
- Local, regional, vs. national contests: is bigger always better?
- What’s a reasonable fee for entering my book?
- What about contests where “everyone is a winner”?
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| Irene Watson started Reader Views in 2005 when she published her first book and realized a need wasn’t filled. Listening to authors she continues to create online sites to fulfill their needs. The latest being First Chapter Plus, an e-Catalog of self-published and small publisher books targeted at libraries and independent book stores. Ger first authored book won an IPPY Honorable Mention. She is the author of several books including The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers, and most recently co-author of Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families of Addicts |
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