Archive for the ‘Author Tips’ Category

Top 15 Children’s Book Contests to Enter This Year

Contests can be another great way to market, promote and bring attention to your book. Awards provide instant credibility which can influence purchasing decisions. For children’s book authors, here is a compiled list of upcoming and annual book contests either devoted to or containing categories for children’s and young adult literature. Feel free to browse the list and find contests your book will qualify for.

The Golden Kite Award

More than 1,000 books compete for the Golden Kite Award Each year. To qualify for the award you must be a current member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, but signing up is fairly simple.

Deadline: December 1, but not prior to July 1

Fee: $95, the cost of a 1 year membership with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustrations

Special Notes: Only English books are accepted and gallies are not permitted.

Purple Dragonfly Book Award

Not only does the winner of the Purple Dragonfly Book Award get some bragging rights, the grand prize winner receives $300, 100 foil award seals, one hour of marketing consultation and lots of other publicity perks.

Deadline: May 1, 2015

Fee: $60

Categories: This award includes 38 categories.

Special Notes: Only books published in English are considered for this award and if you’re an employee of Five Star Publications, an author affiliated with the company or a close acquaintances and relatives of any of the judges you’re not eligible.

The National Indie Excellence Award

Winners and Finalists of the NIEA get wonderful publicity for their books including: mention on the Indie Excellence official website, news release, and the option to highlight their award on their websites, book covers, book proposals, and marketing materials.

Deadline: March 31, 2015

Fee: $69 per entry/per category

Categories: Children’s Non Fiction and Fiction, Children Religious, Children Inspirational, Picture Books, YA, Animals/Pets, Parenting/Family, Juvenile Fiction and Non Fiction

Special Notes: Only English books accepted. Not accepting ebooks at this time.

Next Generation Indie Book Award

Not only do the winners of these awards get cash rewards ranging from $100-$1,500, they also receive a trophy and an invitation to attend the Gala Awards Ceremony at a world famous landmark in New York City. (Finalists included).

Deadline: February 13, 2015

Fee: $75

Categories: Children’s/Juvenile Non Fiction and Fiction, YA, Animals/Pets, Parenting/Family, Picture Books

Special Notes: Only English books will be accepted.

USA Best Book Award

Ambassador International’s children’s book Each the Same was honored with the 2013 USA Best Book Award. With this award you will get to promote your book as award winning, plus receive a ten-month book listing which includes your color book cover, a brief paragraph about your title and a hyperlink to your website (valued at $2,500.00!)

Deadline: September 30, 2014

Fee: $69

Categories: Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit, Children’s Educational, Children’s Fiction and Non-Fiction, Children’s Picture Book Fiction and Non-Fiction, Children’s Religious, Children’s Novelty and Gift Book, YA Fiction and Non-Fiction

Special Notes: Open to all books with an ISBN and published in 2014 (galley copies welcome). 2012 and 2013 titles are also eligible.

Readers Favorite 2015

Readers Favorite International host an awards ceremony in Miami every year with over 300 guests. Winners enjoy a meal and are presented with their awards with lots of media coverage present.

Deadline: June 1, 2015

Fee: $89

Categories: Children, Animals, Concept, Educational, Fable, Fantasy/Sci-Fi, General, Grade K-3rd, Grade 4th-6th, Non-Fiction, Picture/Pop Up, Preschool, Preteen. YA: Coming of Age, Fantasy, General, Horror, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi

Special Notes: There is no publication date requirement for your book.

Randolph Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott is a prestigious medal awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The 3 ounce bronze medal is engraved with the winner’s name and the date.

Deadline: December 31 of the publication year

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: Picture Books

Special Notes: Must be a citizen or resident of the U.S. Only English books accepted.

John Newberry Medal

A very distinguished award given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Deadline: December 31 of the publication year

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: YA Literature

Special Notes: Book must have been published during the preceding year, and author must be a citizen or resident of the U.S. Only English books accepted.

International Book Award Contest

Designed to promote authors and publications, the International Book Award Contest plans an extensive public relations campaign to announce the results of the contest. In addition, to releasing results on their network of social media pages and news release during the Week of Book Expo America.

Deadline: April 30, 2015

Fee: $59 through June 30, 2014 and $79 after

Categories: Children’s: Educational, Fiction, Mind/Body/Spirit, Non-Fiction, Novelty & Gift Book, Picture Book – Hardcover Fiction, Picture Book – Hardcover Non-Fiction, Picture Book – Softcover Fiction, Picture Book – Softcover Non-Fiction, Children’s Religious, YA Non-Fiction

Special Notes: Gallies are welcome. A past Press Release or Marketing Material for each title is requested. (If Available)

Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award

This special award, only given once every three years, includes a handsome plaque and a $1000 honorarium. This award honors the author who has written the “most outstanding” book of children’s poetry.

Deadline: Submission will open 5/1/2015

Fee: Details will be given once submission opens

Categories: Children’s Poetry

Special Notes: Book must be published in the previous calendar year.

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

This award seeks to “encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and the graphic arts, including biographical, historical and social history treatments by African American authors and illustrators.” Both the Author and Illustrator Winner recipients receive a plaque and $1,000.

Deadline: December 1, 2014

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: 3 Grade Categories

Special Notes: Book must “demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.” Book must have been published during the preceding year, and author must be a citizen or resident of the U.S. No gallies permitted.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

In honor of the brilliant Dr. Seuss, beloved by so many generations, this bronze medal is awarded to the most distinguished author of an American book for beginner readers.

Deadline: December 31

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: Illustrated Children’s Books

Special Notes: The book must be directed at readers from pre-K through Grade 2. The book must also contain illustrations, which function as keys or clues to the text. It must have been published during the preceding year, and author must be a citizen or resident of the U.S.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

In addition to the huge honor of winning this award, the recipient of this bronze medal award is invited to attend the ALSC Award Presentation Program during the ALA Annual Conference and deliver an acceptance speech.

Deadline: December 31, 2014

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: Informational Books for Children

Special Notes: The book must have been published during the preceding year, and author must be a citizen or resident of the U.S. Only English books permitted.

Children’s and Young Adults Book Awards

Along with a cash prize and trophy, this award comes with publicity and exposure to ensure your book reaches a broader audience. The Children’s and Young Adults Book Awards will be presented and publicized at the 2015 IRA Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, and will be published in Reading Today and Reading Today Online.

Deadline: October 31

Fee: $75

Categories: Children’s Fiction and Non Fiction

Special Notes: Submission must be author’s first or second book. Must be submitted during the year of first copyright in English.

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production

This award given jointly by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) to honor the best audiobook in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The award is named after the poem “The Odyssey” by Homer about Ulysses, a war hero who traveled for many years, and whose stories were told orally before being put in written form.

Deadline: October 30, 2014

Fee: No Entry Fee

Categories: Children’s Audiobooks

Special Notes: Only English audiobook are permitted.

Getting the Most Out of Goodreads: Creating Book Buzz

More than 25 million people are members of the social reading platform Goodreads. According to the site, every second four books were found on the site. For authors working to promote their books, Goodreads should not be ignored! In our last post, we discussed the benefits of becoming a Goodreads Author. Today’s hot topic: using Goodreads to get readers excited about your book.

How Can You Create Reader Interest?

All authors want people to read and love their books, but if readers don’t know a book exists, they won’t read it. So authors need to spread the word, marketing their own books. Using the Goodreads Author Program, authors have plenty of options to spread the word and express their creativity.

Reviews

The best way to promote any book is to get reviews. There are already more than 29 million book reviews on Goodreads. Reviews and ratings provide the standard from which browsers judge your book. Most people choose books based on the recommendation of someone else—even if that person is a complete stranger. Every giveaway, promotion, and update should all be aimed at getting readers to talk about your book and to generate reviews.

Review and Rate Other Books Besides Your Own

Readers love to know what their favorite author thinks about other books. Some authors have large “recommended reading” lists, but Goodreads makes recommending books a bit easier. As a Goodreads Author, you are also a Goodreads user. So rate away! Review books and tell your readers why or why not you would recommend this book. Readers will begin to trust your judgment and, by extension, your books.

Giveaways

Listing ARCs (advanced reader’s copies) as giveaways on Goodreads is a great way to generate pre-launch buzz. Readers who have never heard of you before may receive your book and become a fan for a lifetime. Okay, that’s a best case scenario, but you get the idea—the more people that know about your book, the better. Check out the giveaway Ambassador is currently running on Goodreads and enter to win one of five copies of Willing to Die by John Muntean:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Willing to Die

by John Muntean

Giveaway ends July 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

According to Goodreads, “an average of 825 people enter to win any given giveaway.” That’s a lot of traffic for your book! Even if most of the readers don’t win your book, they are still exposed to your work. Either way, giveaways can be a very effective tool.

Other Ways to Promote your Books include:

Posting videos, such as an interview or video blog
Creating Quizzes
Updating events, such as book signing or appearances
Participating in book groups

Now that you know how to reel readers in, next week, we’ll discuss author and reader interaction. Interacting with readers can be both fun and a bit tricky. What should you do if you get a bad review or a bad rating? Want to ask a question about Goodreads? Comment below or ask Ambassador on Twitter @AmbassadorIntl.

Getting the Most Out of Goodreads: Aiding Authors in Shameless Self-promotion

Since its launch in 2007, Goodreads has grown to over 25 million users discussing, sharing, and reading over 750 million books. That’s a lot of people who could be buying your book. But where to start?

Why Goodreads?

Free Marketing. Two magical words that every author loves to hear. In the world of shameless self-promotion, authors have a steep job ahead of them, so a little free marketing can go a long way. Social media websites, like Twitter and Facebook, make promoting more simple, but Goodreads specifically focuses on making an author’s life easier.

The Author Program

Goodreads created a program just for you, the author. Besides being a popular information hub for obsessive bibliophiles and casual readers alike, Goodreads treats authors like a VIPs, giving them special tools geared towards helping them sell their books. These tools and features are part of the Goodreads Author Program.

The Author Program allows you to

Hold giveaways
Blog and let your readers the latest news
Start a featured author group for yourself so readers can discuss your books
Upload videos
Edit your books’ information and upload covers etc.

These special privileges, and a few others, help you communicate with your readers and create a following. The more people that know about your books, the better your books will sell.

How to join:

Sign up or Sign in. If you don’t already have an account, you can sign up through Facebook , or you can sign up with just your email. If you already have an account, make sure you’re signed in.
Search for your book. The author program is for authors who have already been published or are currently being published. Once you have found your book, click on the author name (yours), and you should be taken to the author page.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on the “is this you?” link and join as a Goodreads Author.

Over the next few weeks, we will discuss:

How to better promote your books using the Goodreads Author Program
How to use Goodreads with Twitter and Facebook
Author and Reader Interaction: The Do’s and Don’t’s

In the mean time, look around on Goodreads, become friends with Ambassador International and enjoy your new VIP status–you’re a Goodreads Author.

Publishing FAQs | Week 6: What Does The Amazon Ranking Mean in Terms of Sales?

Frequently asked questions. Every industry has them and publishing is no different. Ambassador International has the pleasure of working with many new and upcoming authors as well as already-established authors who still need our assistance. Many of these authors come to us with lots of questions. Publishing your first book (or your 10th!) is exciting! There are many details to work out and decisions to make. This Publishing FAQ series covers questions Ambassador International receives regularly. Previously covered questions are:

What Does The Amazon Ranking Mean in Terms of Sales?

This is probably the question most frequently asked question. Perhaps you’ve found yourself looking at the ranking of your title or other titles and wondering how many books must be selling to see that ranking? Amazon presently has over 8 million titles listed. This is a lot of competition but at the same time this is what is known as the long tail, many of these title may not even sell one copy in a year.

Making Sense of Your Amazon Ranking

The Amazon ranking is made up of the number of books on Amazon and shows your place on the sales list. If you’re book is in the 2 million+ range and holding there consistently you’re likely only selling a couple copies per year. For titles ranked this high it is said that Amazon’s algorithm reviews ranking every 30 days unless of course you have a spike in sales. For a title ranked this high, five books sold in a day can mean a drop in hundreds of thousands of points.

As you get to the low hundred thousands Amazon monitors daily sales traffic then as you move to the tens of thousands and below your ranking can move several times throughout the day.

Deciphering Your Sales Figures

It is difficult to put exact figures to ranking bands as there are many variables so daily sales listed below are based on a title holding steadily in a ranking for a number of days/weeks.

Top 100 books are selling 1000+ copies
100-10,000 selling in in the hundreds
10,000 – 50,000 selling in the tens
50,000 – 250,000 selling in singles

As you climb higher you’re likely no longer seeing constant daily sales. Amazon’s algorithm is complex so again this is just a based on our experience watching rankings and how they correlate to sales.

Tracking Sales with Amazon Author Central

The best way to keep track of your sales is by setting up an Amazon Author Central account. This will track your print sales. With an Amazon Author Central account in place you can see how effective your social media and marketing promotions are. Did your blog post turn into sales? As with all marketing, if it does not work the first time, tweak it and try again until you see the results you’re hoping for.

Publishing FAQs | How Does a Distributor Work?

How Does a Distributor Work?

For many authors the behind the scenes logistics of a book are an unknown, at times the process seems unusual or it is wondered why books cannot simply be shipped to a store direct. The logistics behind a book are huge, there are many moving parts and numerous hands that touch your product to take it from an idea or a manuscript to a book on store shelves. You can break the logistics into four main categories:

Publishers
Printers
Distributors
Retailers

Within each of these categories there are many departments that are involved in making your book happen.

A Distributor’s Role

A distributor is the key middle man between a publisher and a retailer. Distributors receive higher discounts from the publisher giving them the margin to sell to retailers at their needed price.

Retailers typically favor buying from distributors as they can consolidate titles from many publishers and have it shipped as a single order, they also have pre-established discounts and terms. Distributors also allow for easy returns which is sadly a major part of doing business in the book industry. If a title is not returnable retailers are less likely to pick it up.

A traditional publisher with good distribution is not to be undervalued. When it comes to self publishing distribution is a weak point — distribution is typically at its best when working with a traditional publisher with the right partners in place.

Making it Easy for Retailers

When a title is first set up the title metadata goes to distributors and retailers allowing them to populate their systems. As a title comes out it ships into the publisher and distributor. When a retailer searches the title they’ll see that it is with the distributor, how many units they have on hand and what warehouses it is available from.

We have seen stock shipped from our South Carolina warehouse to a distribution base in Tennessee only to see it shipped back to a store here in the Carolinas. It seems a little backwards but the ease of ordering through a distributor and the logistics make this a much simpler process for retailers.

Publishing FAQs | What Else Do You Expect Me To Do?

I’ve written the book, what else do you expect me to do?

If you’re hoping the answer is relax, step aside and let the publisher run with it you’re going to be disappointed. New York Times bestseller Jon Acuff said it well in his blog post Don’t Write A Book saying, “OK, next time don’t write a book. Write a diary. It’s a lot easier and you don’t have to promote it at all.”

This post as Jon shared can sound harsh but it really is true, author involvement in the marketing is crucial — do not write a book to set on your nightstand.

Easy Ways to Build a Platform

There are so many easy ways you can work to build your platform and spread word about your book:

Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ {with many more} are free tools to build your fan base and promote your title. Keep your fans posted of how, when, and where to buy your title. Share about events, keep them posted on your progress. Make them feel like they are part of your journey.
Talking about your title: Can you work your content into a presentation? Can you teach your skills in a workshop?
Create a presence online: Besides just social media do you have an online home base? This is a website or a blog that fans can visit. You will want it to point them to everything related to you and your book. If have a website or a blog are you keeping it updated?
Connect with local stores: Talk with bookstore managers in your immediate area — this is your home market. Introduce yourself and your book, let them know why they need to have it in stock, point traffic and sales to that store. Make yourself available to them for signings and local author days.

Publishers expect their authors to be passionate about their books and doing all they can to help make it a success. If you cannot get excited about your book, why would you expect anyone else to?

If you want to work on your platform check out our author bootcamp videos.

Publishing FAQs | Will I Experience Success If I Get My Book Into Stores?

Will I Experience Success If I Get My Book Into Stores?

For many authors that is it, you have made it! Your book is on shelves at Barnes and Noble, everyone will see it and and big sales will happen. Getting in stores like Barnes and Noble is a great achievement, however, will your book take off just because it is Barnes and Noble? Sadly, just being in the bookstore and on shelves does not mean your book is sold or that it is going to sell.

Consignment Orders

The majority of retailers order on consignment or a sale/return bases, this eliminates the majority of risk for them on taking in a title and allows easy stock turnover. A Barnes and Noble contact shared with me that BN stores only carry around 2% of any given titles published in a year. This makes retail shelf space highly competitive and for many chain store corporate offices they need to see a product generate a certain level of revenue per spot or they’ll box it up and return it to the publisher.

Marketing and Retail

As an author you need to think about your marketing and retail. Amazon.com is the largest book seller in the world. If you struggle to push contacts and sales through online retail then you need to figure physical retail is going to be harder as it requires a greater level of commitment for someone to respond to your call to action. You need to have the platform, market recognition, title demand and ability to push the sales along with the publisher or it may hurt the title more than help it.

The benefit of a traditional publisher is that they can help you scale retail in the appropriate way.

Publishing FAQs | Week 2: Do I Need An Agent?

Do I Need An Agent?

As an author you’ve worked through your manuscript, you’ve written, rewritten, edited, fine tuned and you’re now ready to hand it over to a publisher but before you do you start thinking things over and asking “Do I Need An Agent?”

If your plan is to self-publish the answer is simple — no!

Deciding to Hire an Agent

For many traditional publishers an agent is not required however some traditional publishing houses will only take submissions from agents and to narrow it further some will only work with specific agents, this means you need to do your homework. Look for the publisher’s submission guidelines.

Should you decide you want to work with an agent think of it in the same way as pitching to a publisher. You will want to have a formal, comprehensive proposal that shows the agent you’ve got the writing skills, manuscript and platform that will make them want to go to bat for you.

Once you’re with an agent they’ll help you in fine tuning your manuscript and getting it prepared for them to present to their publisher list.

Researching Agents

When researching agents there are somethings to keep in mind:

Do they represent to the houses where you want to have your work presented?
Which authors and titles have they represented before?
What is their fee?
Will they take a percentage of your royalty and if they do what percentage?

There are many great agents/agencies out there.

Ambassador International works direct with authors and with agents — we’d love to see your manuscript!

Publishing FAQs | What is the Best Publishing Option For Me?

What is the best publishing option for me?

As an author this is a great questions to ask. It is an important question as it sets the tone and expectations for you and your book going forward. Before you decide what is best for you it is good to know what options are available to you and what they mean for you. To keep things simple lets look at the two most common routes to publication: Self Publishing and Traditional Publishing.

Self Publishing

Self publishing means the author takes the lead on all aspects of the project. Self publishing companies typically offer packages and services to help you along the way. I’ve seen packages range from a few hundred dollars to almost $25,000.

Packages can start with supplying the basics like an ISBN, cover design, interior layout and a few copies of the work through to robust editorial packages, promotional materials, websites and marketing. Very few of the self publishing houses are selling into national chains. Stores such as Barnes and Noble do not typically accept self-published titles except for special events or local author days.

Most of the big self-publishing houses will offer just about anything you can think for your book but when it is all said and done the success of your book when self published is 100% on you. I have talked to many self published authors and this is where they find the greatest challenge when they self publish — knowing what to do once they have the book.

I’ve found there are three common reasons why an author chooses to self publish:

The author has tried to go the traditional publishing route but with no response or the process taking too long they decide to go ahead and self publish.
It’s fast, can be easy and the price can be right.
The author wants to maintain full control of every aspect of the process.

Traditional Publishing

For most authors working with a traditional publishing house is their first choice. A traditional publisher uses a royalty-based contract arrangement put in place between the author and the publisher. The publisher handles all aspects of the book from editorial through to print and marketing. However, a traditional publisher is selective in what they publish. They weigh out projects before they take them on — they access the demand and risk. If an author does not have an established platform or the makings of a platform it is usually pretty unlikely that a traditional publisher will offer an advance royalty contract.

Traditional publishers can have varying contracts in place so do not be discouraged to approach them even if you’re a first time author. The benefit of being with a traditional publisher is that you get their expertise and professionalism behind you and your book.

Now that we’ve looked at the two most popular options you can ask: How do I know what is best for me?

Really there is no wrong or right answer to this. But the decision you make may determine your future success as an author. To know what is best for you, you can ask yourself some questions and the answers should help guide you:

What is your goal as an author?
What type of book are you hoping to have published?
Who is your target audience and how do you plan to reach them?
How are you with marketing yourself and your book?
Do you have an established platform?

If after answering these questions you come to the conclusion that your goal is to publish a memoir in the hopes that your kids are going to read it and you’re not overly into the idea of having to promote yourself or your book than a basic self publishing package would be the clear choice.

On the other hand if your goal is to grow as a writer, you have a plan for your books, a target audience in mind and a plan of how you’re going to make it work then you should seriously consider the traditional route. This does not mean that you’re guaranteed a traditional contract. You may find yourself self publishing or some other method to scale your fan base but I’d strongly encourage you to keep pursuing traditional publishing as you do this.

If you’re not sure and would like to talk to Ambassador International please make a submission and we’d be happy to connect with you.

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Archive for the ‘Author Tips’ Category

Top 15 Children’s Book Contests to Enter This Year

The Golden Kite Award

Purple Dragonfly Book Award

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Getting the Most Out of Goodreads: Creating Book Buzz

How Can You Create Reader Interest?

Reviews

Review and Rate Other Books Besides Your Own

Giveaways

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Willing to Die

by John Muntean

Other Ways to Promote your Books include:

Getting the Most Out of Goodreads: Aiding Authors in Shameless Self-promotion

Why Goodreads?

The Author Program

How to join:

Publishing FAQs | Week 6: What Does The Amazon Ranking Mean in Terms of Sales?

What Does The Amazon Ranking Mean in Terms of Sales?

Making Sense of Your Amazon Ranking

Deciphering Your Sales Figures

Tracking Sales with Amazon Author Central

Publishing FAQs | How Does a Distributor Work?

How Does a Distributor Work?

A Distributor’s Role

Making it Easy for Retailers

Publishing FAQs | Will I Experience Success If I Get My Book Into Stores?

Will I Experience Success If I Get My Book Into Stores?

Publishing FAQs | Week 2: Do I Need An Agent?

Do I Need An Agent?

Publishing FAQs | What is the Best Publishing Option For Me?

What is the best publishing option for me?