Critters Readers' Poll results for 4RV

 

 

    Several people and publications from 4RV Publishing were nominated in Critters Readers' Poll, and voting finished January 14. The final results gave our nominees some room to brag a bit.

    First place book editor went to Cheryl Malandrios, an editor much in demand at 4RV and other places. She shares her time with being a top realtor and helping authors make their books the best possible.

 

    The other first place went to 4RV for having the best online bookstore, thanks to webmaster Aidana WillowRaven and her assistant Elizabeth Morgan.

      Cheryl Malandrios also took a second place in Children's Books with her book A Christmas Kindness, illustrated by Caroline Mabey.

  

    The hosts didn't change the year on the digital seals for those that placed in the top 10 without taking first place, but we will share them anyway. Jeanne Conway placed 2nd in the Best Artist category. She has illustrated several children's books for 4RV including Merry Tilda, Wild, Wild Wind, and the Louie the Duck books.

    

     Borrowed Time by Rita Durrett placed 2nd in Young Adult Book. Rita's book is one of the newer releases from 4RV.

                                                   

     For Best Other Novel, novels not covered by genre, Dust of Lies by G. K. Davenport took 2nd. The book also took 2nd place in Best Book Cover Artwork. Steve Daniels created the art for the cover.

 

 

     Another second place, Vivian Zabel came in 2nd in the Best Author division. Her books can be found on 4rvpublishing.com, as can books by other authors.

    Shawn Simon, a step-mother herself, received 2nd place in Best Nonfiction Book with her book Stepping into a New Role: Stories from Step Moms. For those already step-parents or who are about to become one, this book provides a handy guide.

    Finally, the lowest rank any 4RV received was in the Book Publisher category. The company received a 6th place, but still finished in the top 10. 

    For more information about 4RV, about submissions, about books and authors, about writing style, visit the 4RV website.

Readers' Favorite 5-STAR Review for WHERE DID PANTHER GO? by Vivian Zabel and 4RV Publishing

I don't post often, but I knew Vivian wasn't going to brag-up her book, Where Did Panther Go? and it's recent 5-Star Review from Readers' Favorite, so I decided I would.

Where Did Panther Go? is an adorable book based on a real-life circumstance (I was actually the one who encouraged Vivian to turn it into a story). Panther is such a character, himself, soon his antics led to other story ideas. So expect to see more of Panther's adventures soon. Carrie Salazar has already started work on the illustrations for book 2: Panther's Snowy Christmas - A Panther Adventure.

To give you a glimpse of the back cover blurb for Where Did Panther Go? ...

Available in paperback and hardcover

Review Rating: 5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review!

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers’ Favorite

Katie and Panther are good friends. Uncle Chris gave her a kitten for her to feel better, and Katie named him Panther. She knows he will become a big cat. Panther grew and Katie petted him, fed him, and gave him treats. She plays hide and seek with him. Panther never goes outside unless Katie is with him. One day Panther slips outside when Katie’s mother opens the door. Hours pass and there is no sign of Panther. Katie waits and waits for Panther to come back. She is scared that something might happen to him and decides to search for him. Will Katie be able to find Panther?

Where Did Panther Go? by Vivian Zabel is an adorable story of unconditional love and friendship, and is a story that all animal and cat lovers will enjoy reading. Carrie Salazer’s illustrations are delightful and charming and capture the camaraderie between the cat and the girl beautifully. The Fun Cat Facts at the end of the book are interesting, and the Panther’s Song can be sung or played. That makes the book interactive and fun to read out in classrooms. All children who have cats at home will be able to relate to Katie and her love for Panther. It is a good story for parents to read out to their children at night, especially if there are cats because, like the Panther song, children can come up with their own musical creations for their pets.

As far as reviews go, and from such a reputable source, that's as good as it gets.

Be sure to follow Vivian Zabel, Carrie Salazar, and 4RV Publishing online to keep track of special sales, dates, and events:

4RV Publishing

Author Links: ​Website Facebook Twitter Illustrator Links: ​Website Facebook Twitter

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations

4RV Publishing

A FAMILY FOR LEONA takes the Gold in the 2017 Literary Classics Book Awards

I just got the exciting news and had to talk about it and show off the book and cover, again.  A Family for Leona is a middle-grade historical fiction novel all ages will love. And it's taken the GOLD!!!

Excerpt from the awards site:

The 2017 Literary Classics International Book Award recipients have been announced. Selected from submissions by entrants around the globe, these distinguished honorees are recognized for their contributions to the craft of writing, illustrating, and publishing exceptional literature for a youth audience. In this highly competitive industry these books represent the foremost in literature in their respective categories.

The competition this year was tremendous and we congratulate all honorees for their outstanding and inspiring work.  All Silver, Gold and Top Honors award recipients will be invited to attend a writers’ conference, awards ceremony, formal gala, and other related events in Rapid City, South Dakota, to be held in conjunction with the Great American Book Festival, Labor Day Weekend, 2017.

PRETEEN

HISTORICAL FICTION - GOLD

A Family for Leona  

Beverly Stowe McClure

4RV Publishing LLC

The Literary Classics judging committee is comprised of experts with backgrounds in publishing, writing, editing, design, illustration, and book reviewing.

Available in both paperback and hardcover, A Family for Leona is a true Beverly Stowe McClure tale, it runs the gamut of emotions while exploring an amazing story.

Blurb for A Family for Leona ...

Ten-year-old Leona Chapter doesn’t understand why her papa left his six children at the Brooklyn Home for Homeless Children after their mother’s death in 1921. Each day she prays he’ll return and take his children home. God, however, isn’t listening. Her brothers and sisters are either adopted or run away, leaving only Leona and Baby Mildred in the orphanage. Leona promises she and Mildred will be together for always. A promise she cannot keep, for Leona, along with her friend Noah, who she defends from the bullies Hiram and Jehu, and several other orphans, are soon on a train headed to Texas, while her sister stays at the orphanage. Leona vows she’ll go back to Brooklyn, the first chance she gets.

A couple other 4RV books Beverly has written have won Children's Literary Classics Awards, too: Life on Hold (Silver in 2013) and Star of the Team (Gold in 2015).

Needless to say, I love working with Beverly and her characters. I can't wait to see what we are doing next. 

Be sure to visit the 4RV Publishing website and bookstore (in the tweens & teens section) for your discounted copy today. Also available on Amazon at a slightly higher retail price. (Bulk and wholesale orders must be made through 4RV directly.) The full collection of Beverly Stowe McClures works with 4RV Publishing ...

4RV books Aidana WillowRaven created the covers for.

To connect online with Beverly:
Twitter       Website       Google+       Facebook       Blogger

Until next time ...
Aidana WillowRaven http://WillowRaven.weebly.com

What is the etiquette when approaching an artist for your book?

by Aidana WillowRaven

At one time, the only authors who would approach an artist to illustrate their book or cover art were indie authors, but more and more small publishers are permitting authors more creative control by allowing them to hire qualified artists on their own, as long as the work meets their standards. Of course, the majority of traditional publishers still choose the artist for your book without much say from the author, but that is not what this post is about. So let's pretend, for this post, that you are on a quest to find an artist for your book.

First, you need to determine what you can afford. If you can not afford to pay a professional standard rates, don't seek professional artists. It is not only a waste of time for both parties, but it's insulting to the publishing professional, and word like that gets around, especially with today's addiction to the internet.

You especially do not want to approach a professional artist via email with a lengthy description about your book, the characters, and an exhausting description of your mission, only to conclude with a requirement for free samples as well as a vague royalty-only arrangement for compensation with a publisher that they've likely never heard of and has an unknown track  record (at least as far as the artist is concerned). Even worse, upon looking up said publisher, all that can be found is an incomplete website/splash page announcing "Website coming soon" and "New independent publisher." This will not instill confidence  that the artist will ever see a penny of compensation for their work and experience.

If you are guilty of the above, than you more than likely got either a smug response or no response at all ... lol.

If you are on a limited budget, or no budget at all, then target artists that are new to the industry and need to build a professional portfolio, like students or hobbyists. They need the validation and exposure of published work as much as you need a good image. They also need to learn the ropes. College, no matter the degree, does not provide good ole experience. Rarely will you find an experienced artist willing or able to work for royalties with an unknown publisher.

If you can afford to hire the artist you want, then by all means do so. Make sure you ask a lot of questions: if they are knowledgeable of the field in general and their particular industry; if their rates are fair (meaning do research first as to what professionals of your particular genre charge); and if they have the experience to give you what you seek. Also make sure that the publisher approves their work or style before investing your money. Artists don't usually have a return policy. The cover artist and illustration industry has taken a huge hit in the last few years, just like every other industry, so hire when you can. Too many skilled artists are forced to work for beans (and not magic ones, either) or give in and get 'real jobs' outside their true field.

And no matter whether you are approaching a professional artist or a newbie, the first contact is not where you overload them with details about your marketing plans or certainties of a successful book. Just like in a cover letter to a publisher you want to read your manuscript, first contact should be simple and to the point. Let the artist tell you what he or she wants or needs to know before they make a decision. Some will want all of the details, many won't.

Good luck on your search finding the right artist, both for your book and your budget. :D

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations

4RV Publishing

*All books featured in this post are available through the 4RV Publishing Bookstore. In addition, all of the covers were created by Aidana WillowRaven. 

4RV Preditors & Editors results

     Critters Workshop sponsors the  Preditors & Editors Readers Poll each year. This year several nominations were from 4RV Publishing: Children's books, Young Adult books, Artwork from books, Book Covers, Publisher, Author, Artist, and Bookstore. Of those, we had seven (7) that placed in the top 10, the only places that actually count.

 

        The first on the list, Children's books with two nominations from 4RV, had one place. First Flag of New Hampshire by Stephanie Burkhart, illustrated by Ginger Nielson took 8th place.

       Nominated in Young Adult books were two from 4RV, but only one placed - A Shadow in the Past 3rd. The novel, written by Melanie Robertson-King, also helped Aidana WillowRaven, who designed the cover art, earn 9th place in the Artist category and tie for 6th place in Artwork.

  

 

    Ginger Nielson, tying with Aidana WillowRaven for 6th place in the Artwork category, wrote and illustrated Willow, an Elephant's Tale.  

     In the Author category, Vivian Zabel placed 6th.

    4RV Bookstore took 3rd in the bookstore category.  

    Congratulations to everyone who placed.           

         

Author beware: 'Custom Cover Design' does not mean 'Original Cover Art'.

by Aidana WillowRaven

So, you've decided you want an unique book cover for your book. You don't want it to look like every other book on the shelf or web browser.

You hop on Twitter or Facebook and put some feelers out, searching for a cover artist or designer. You get dozens and dozens of responses, from both amateurs and professionals. How do you know you are going to get what you want and that it's unique?

 First you must learn a few key terms.

1- cover designer

A designer is typically trained in typesetting and photo-manipulation. Rarely are they traditional artists. Technically, it is an accepted concept that once an image is altered it is a new work, and by law, that is true. All it takes are three distinct changes to make it a new work. If you are looking for something more original than manipulated parts of stock photos that could potentially be used on another book cover, be sure to tell the cover designer you are not interested in using stock imagery. A cover designer may or may not be trained for what you are looking for.

2- cover artist

In years past, publishers hired a cover artist to do the visual art work and a cover designer to do the typesetting and layout. In today's tough job market, more and more designers are doing both the cover art (again, most likely photo-manipulation) and the design under one job. On that same note, more and more illustrators or cover artists are tackling the job of design as well. It is prudent to verify, before trusting your book to anyone, that the people putting your book together are trained and skilled to do what needs done to give you a quality cover. After all, your cover is the first impression.

3- custom vs original

Many designers and websites that boast cheap 'custom' cover designs or art can really be misleading. Again, let's look at the laws regarding art. By law, if an image, including a design, is altered in three ways, it is a new work. If an artists manipulates just two images by combining a figure from one and changing the color of something from another, then all you have to do is add text, then by law that is a custom cover. If that is acceptable to you, by all means save money and use a cover like this. However, some authors want a more detailed, more story-relevant cover, that does not include mixing existing stock imagery. If you are in that group, be sure to hire someone who insures the art is original, not simply custom. You'll pay a lot more, but like the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

If anybody has questions as to what is considered original vs custom, or the difference between cover design & cover art, please leave comment or contact me at my signature links.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations

4RV Publishing

Yea! Another Book Honor for Walking Through Walls

posted by Vivian Zabel



      The winners of the Children's Literary Classics Awards were announced. 4RV book Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi and illustrated by Aidana WillowRaven received a Silver seal in Preteen Fiction.  

       First, Literary Classics awarded Walking Through Walls with a Seal of Approval. Then the book reached the finals. Finally, it received the Silver seal.

       Congratulations, ladies, for a job well done.

Poster created by Aidana WillowRaven

        Walking Through Walls can be found on most online bookstores, brick and mortar stores, and 4RV Publishing Bookstore.

Help your designer finish that layout faster.

by Aidana WillowRaven

Some of the biggest reasons a designer seemingly takes forever to design the interior pages of your book:

Using the space bar rather than 'Tab':

When the designer imports your edited, ready for layout, Word document into InDesign, one of the first things he/she does is reset the paragraph settings and margins to fit print parameters. Next, overall font is changed and line spacing is decided. These steps are rather simple and can be done to to entire document for all of its pages, whether there be 30 or 300. The following step usually involves details. Like how far down from the top of the page will the text start and the size of the paragraph indents. 

If the manuscript was set up properly by the author, the tab already embedded and adjusting the tab setting in ID is a matter of one click. If the document wasn't typed correctly, and the space bar was used to indent paragraphs, vs the tab key, then the designer will have to go from paragraph to paragraph removing each individual space. The designer can't use the find/change tool, because spaces are supposed to occur throughout the story between words and sentences. The computer can't recognize a space that is supposed to be there as opposed to one that isn't, so it must be done manually.

Not a issue for a picture book. A big issue for a novel. The 300 page book, one-two day project just turned into a week long project.

Double spacing after punctuation:

Not a huge problem, but still an added step and easily missed by the designer, is double spacing after punctuation. This little flaw, left over from the days of typing class and electric type writers, can create unnecessary gaps and orphans. Keep in mind, every step that can be avoided helps get the book done much faster.

Altering how time lapses are shown:

Like the chapter heading isuue, changing how you represent gaps in time can be frustratuing for a designer. Are you using extra blank lines? Maybe a blank line, and asterisk or five, pound signs? However you do it, be consistent throughout. Odds are the house has a set format they use, but the designer needs to be able to determine the extra lines are deliberate and not an error. Remember, the designer doesn't have time to read the book, he/she is roboticly arranging text. A line here or there may be read, but don't rely on the designer to understand your blank line represents anything other than you accidentally hitting enter twice.

Not making format oddities noticeable:

Does your manuscript have a note described in the text, or a sign, or a song sung, or a poem? The designer needs to somehow see a change in format is needed. Again, he/she is not reading, so the designer will not know to treat this text special unless you alert he/she to it.

Changing chapter heading format:

Another troublesome habit that authors often don't realize they do is change how they introduce a new chapter. For example: Ch 1, Chapter 1, Chapter One, CHAPTER I, etc. Again, it may seem trivial, but each heading would need to be re-formatted and or typed. Sometimes, authors even bounce from bold, to regular, to italicized. If you wish to make the designer's job faster/simpler, try to be aware of how you want your chapters to look, make note of it somewhere, and be sure to repeat it as you go. Remember, every step helps.

Trying to re-write your manuscript:

The biggest, most distressing thing you can do to a designer is re-write more than a paragraph or two during copy edit. Whether the house has a separate copy editor or the designer does it with the help of the author and editors, the designer ultimately has to make the corrections. By the time a manuscript makes it to layout and copy edit, there should only be minor changes needed. A misspelled word here and there, orphans created by the altered margins, hyphenated proper nouns, etc.

If the manuscript needs re-written and re-edited, correcting the layout is no longer an option. The designer will have to re-design from the start, setting the project back by potentially weeks.

Your best bet as an author is to be aware of the house's requirements, to follow them, and do what you can to save time for the designer. He/She wants a great book, too.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations

4RV Publishing

More honors for 4RV books

by Vivian Zabel  

          A short time ago, we heard that Porcupine's Seeds, by Viji K Chary and illustrated by Bridget McKenna, received the Mom's Choice Award. Now we discover that two other 4RV books received honors this week.

          Aldric & Anneliese,  Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.'s  action-adventure novel published by 4RV in 2011, won a First Runner Up Award in the Historical Fiction category for 2012. The winners for the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) 2012 book awards were announced at the MWSA conference the last week in September. Aidana WillowRaven created the cover art and designed Harry's novel.

          Monday, Literary Classics International Book Awards and Reviews announced the finalists for the 2012 awards (final places will be announced October 15), and on the list was Karen Cioffi's Walking Through Walls. Aidana WillowRaven illustrated the young adult novella.

 
          Congratulations to the authors, illustrators, and designers who produced these award winning books.
 




        All awards winning items can be found online through the 4RV Bookstore, and can be included in the Christmas Sale going through December 15.


4RV Publishing 

Sometimes less is so much more when it comes to your book's cover.

by Aidana WillowRaven

In both my freelance experience and experience as art director for 4RV Publishing, I've noticed a disturbing trend. For some reason, authors try to cram as much visual stimuli as possible in their cover, every last detail based on the words they so carefully orchestrated.

When it came to creating the cover for Journey of the Cheyenne Warrior, I had several visually full scenes to work with. So why did I choose to go with such a seemingly simple composition?

The simple answer ... Invoking a feeling and a mood can often have a stronger impact than over stimulating the eyes with loads and loads of details.

Having said that, it took a lot more work to make it look simple than one would think ... lol.

Of course, a certain amount of artistic license was used. For example, in the book, the MCs hair was braided most of the time. I left my interpretation free flowing. Why? Two reasons: One, I think long hair on men is sexy as do most female readers. Does the name Fabio mean anything to you? Even non-romance novel readers should recognize him as the male model used most on book covers of the genre ... him and his famous locks. So I think you can guess that strategic marketing visual was the second part.

Also, as far as I know, there is no multicolored mist described at anytime. But there is a vision quest. How do you represent a dream or vision pictorially? I went with layers and layers of mist ... lol.

Lastly, I have not read the novel, it's still in editing, but I still wanted to give our warrior a warrior's weapon. I chose a bow.

Even the pose was part of the story. A strong stance, contemplative and at the ready. So 'simple' wasn't really simple ... lol. But I do think it's a more powerful cover, embodying the overall mood of the story, than if I had chosen to recreate a scene from the book.

In closing, I thought you might like to read the blurb ...

Brave Eagle grows to manhood amid the constant changes and turmoil on the Plains. Now, in a world full of choices, Brave Eagle must make many decisions, some for his very survival. This was a time of exploration, discovery, and settlement in the West, intervention and treaties with the U. S. Government, leadership issues between the peace chief Black Kettle and the war leader Roman Nose, the Dog Soldiers, the Sand Creek Massacre, the Massacre at Washita. Was Brave Eagle to be a man of war or a man of peace? Was he to be a fierce frightening warrior or a wise peacemaker?  Could he learn to adapt to the white man’s world, or would he be able to hold on to the rich traditions of the grandfathers?             

In the middle 1800’s, the white man’s world collides with the world of the Native Americans. How would this affect the people of the Plains? Where would this life journey take Brave Eagle?

Do you fell less is more when it comes to cover art or do you prefer complex cover scenes?
	simplistic cover art
	complex cover scenes
	depends on the genre or story
pollcode.com free polls

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations

4RV Publishing

Promotion for new YA Novel - Victoria and the Ghost

     

posted by Vivian Zabel

     Struggling and working all hours of the day and night for two weeks, Victoria and the Ghost left for the printer last night just a few minutes before midnight. The cover, another Aidana WillowRaven creation, shows a favorite scene from the book. Written by Janet K. Brown with readers 15 - 18 in mind, I found the book enjoyable. Of course I'm well above 18, well, at least a few years above.

     From the back cover of the novel: At fifteen, Victoria, a city girl. loses her mother's love and tries to cope with country isolation, no friends, and no one who cares, until she meets a ghost.


     Victoria and the Ghost is the premiere novel from Janet K. Brown, who lives in Wichita Falls, Texas. The book may be pre-ordered from the 4RV Bookstore now. It should be available through brick 'n mortar bookstores and online within three weeks.

Promotion: Book Trailer for Trockle

posted by Vivian Zabel  

            Once upon a time, about four and a half years ago, a young boy named Stephen and a little monster named Trockle became the first to join the 4RV family of children's books. Written by Holly Jahangiri for her son who "knew" a monster was under his bed, the story hid in a drawer for a few years before I begged the author to allow me to have it for the company. Jordan Vinyard agreed to illustrate the story, and a book to delight children from two to one hundred two was born. After all, not everyone knew that not only was the boy on the bed afraid of the monster under the bed, but the little monster under the bed was afraid of the big monster on the bed.

          Aidana WillowRaven added her "magic" to the promotional illustrations and created a trailer to show off this story that makes us all feel safer about going to bed in the dark.


         



          Trockle can be found through the 4RV Bookstore.

          

Promotion: Stolen review on The Midwest Book Review

      From the April issue of The Midwest Book Review 

Stolen
Vivian Gilbert Zabel
4RV Publishing LLC
P O Box 6482, Edmond OK 73083
9780982588642, $16.99, www.amazon.com

Stolen crafted by Vivian Gilbert Zabel is the proverbial page turner done with sensitivity and emotions that will keep you wanting more. The emotions are garnered from her own life as two of her grandchildren were taken by their father.

Torri Adamson and her children go to live with her family, after she learns that her husband has married another woman. She has spent her whole married life forgiving him his predilection for other women. This bigamous marriage is the last straw. He lets her have a divorce and does not want to have anything to do with the children. He even talks the other woman into marrying him legally.

As Torri picks up her life, she loses her best friend to cancer; she develops a new relationship with Jason, her best friend's widower who provides the father role in the children's lives. Then, her ex-husband makes a move that she cannot believe. He takes the children from her - stolen!

Mrs. Zabel has captured the tension that is always connected to a crime like this. You must read it if for no other reason than to see how Torri and her family deal with the ordeal.

"Abruptly halting in mid-step, she whirled to face Jason, her expression slightly out of focus with terror and tears. 'He wouldn't, would he? He couldn't, hurt, really hurt them, could he?'"

Vivian Gilbert Zabel has written several books and poems over the years. She always knew she would be a writer and she was right. She taught high school English and writing for twenty-

seven years. She lives with her husband of 50 years, Robert, in Oklahoma and periodically surrounds herself with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as she writes her books and poetry.

Katherine Boyer - reviewer

Aidana WillowRaven, who designed the cover and interior of the novel, created a trailer for Stolen. The novel can be purchased from the 4RV Bookstore, other online bookstores, and brick 'n mortar stores.

     Let's watch Aidana's trailer:

Walking Through Walls Honored with the Children's Literary Classics Seal of Approval

As a 4RV Publishing author, I'm thrilled and honored to announce that Walking Through Walls has been awarded the Children's Literary Classics Seal of Approval!

This is the second award for my fantasy adventure based on and set in ancient China: In January 2012, Walking Through Walls won 1st Place in the Editors and Predators Readers Poll, in the Children's Novel category!

I want to thank Vivian for taking a chance on my MG/YA fantasy adventure book.

To check out the amazing illustrations done by Aidana WillowRaven, reviews and more information on Walking Through Walls go to: http://walkingthroughwalls.blogspot.com

If you'd like to get your own copy for your children at home or in the classroom, click the link:

4RV Publishing Book Store

You can view the Children's Literary Classics Review of Walking Through Walls at:
http://clcreviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/walking-through-walls-by-karen-cioffi.html

Contests and Exposure

I recently had a guest post on my site by award-winning and multi-published (80+) author Nancy Sanders. Working with her publicists and publishers, she learned a thing or two about generating exposure for her books, and one great way to do this is through contests.

Obviously, each author will need to determine their individual marketing budget and see if contests can have an allotted amount, but even if you’re on a tight budget, there are things you can do to generate visibility.

Nancy suggests first making a list of those award sites you’d like to submit to, keeping the free ones up first. Then, follow the guidelines of each and enter you book.

Try to keep in mind that it’s not necessarily about winning. Nancy advises that just getting your book “in the hands of judges” is important in itself. Many of the judges are important people in their own literary circles.

To find out more of what Nancy has to say on entering contests go to:
http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/2012/01/submitting-for-awards-by-nancy-sanders_25.html

You can also check out Nancy’s site for even more information:
http://nancyisanders.wordpress.com/awards/

Since, I think contests are an important promotional and visibility tool, I allotted as much as I could to enter those contests I thought would make a difference. Contests I entered the end of last year include:

Boston Globe Horn Books Award (No fee, 3 books)

SCBWI Golden Kite Awards (No fee, 4 books)

Newbery Medal (No fee, 2 books)

IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Awards (No fee, 1 book)
International Reading Association

The Eric Hoffer Award ($50, 1 book)

USA 2012 Book Awards ($69, 1 book)

Children’s Literary Classics ($95, 3 books)

Notice that the first four award contests have NO fee. You can definitely be a cost-conscious marketer. And, again, whether you win no awards, or one, two, or three awards, it’s the exposure and having the book seen by influential people that’s as important as winning.

Just a side note: one librarian I spoke with mentioned that the Newbery is one of the 'biggie' awards. After that comes the state awards. So, check these contest areas out!

~~~~~~~~~
Learn about writing and marketing with Karen Cioffi at http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com. Sign up for her free newsletter, A Writer’s World, and get TWO free site-related e-books for subscribing. For professional and affordable writing services check out http://dkvwriting4u.com

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