Indie Book Club discussion

Not for those who have been indie published, but for those in the group who have self published, the early bird deadline for the Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards is April 1! Everyone probably already knows this, but maybe there's someone who could benefit from the information. :)

http://www.writersdigest.com/competit...

I'm curious what you think the difference is between indie published and self published. By indie published do you mean by a small press? I always thought indie writer meant self published writer, or independent writer :)

No, indie published means small press, self published means you footed the whole bill yourself. :)

Mona, must admit that was my understanding (ie they're synonymous) as well.

Also, cheers for the info, AK.

I don't believe it is a set in stone definition. Indie has become colloquially synonymous with self-published, particularly in the self-published community, but is also used to define authors with small presses. :)

It's pretty standard to assume that if you were "self published" then you paid for the publishing yourself. Indie publishing assumes someone else paid for it. :)

I have to say, that contest looks suspect. Sure, it's Writer's Digest, but a $100 entry fee to win $3000 first place prize? The rest of that prize is nothing special. Looks to me like an attempt to pluck our pockets.

That's a pretty standard entry fee and a higher than average prize...what seems suspect about it?

Writer's Digest is going to make quite a profit off their entries, after prizes are paid. I am suspect of any contest that makes a profit.

Why?

I mean, I understand being wary of contests, but Writer's Digest isn't some random organization.

I entered, and placed 87th in '78. Been a writer ever since. Even better I got $800 for the article that I entered.

Out of how many?

A.K. I understood what you were saying, but what I'm saying is that it's only "standard" depending on the community you're coming out of. Many self published authors refer to themselves as "indie" writers and many readers of self published authors interpret it that way.

Eric - I don't find it suspect, but I agree with you that I don't like it. Many contests charge similar fees while being totally legit. But as there are always contests that don't charge, I tend to avoid them. ^_^

Tim - prolly 800 entries. But who cares? If you want other people to tell you you're good, enter contests. I'd rather spend my money sending out 100 FREE copies of the book. #1 reason people buy your book. A FRIEND needs help coming out from under their bed after reading it. I've run contests. My readers and judges were NOT making minimum wage. So start a grass fire with your book and market like the wind. Huzzah Indies Everywhere!

I confess that I may just be a bit paranoid. I feel like there are a lot of dubious businesses out there trying to take advantage of self-published authors.

There are. I just don't think Writer's Digest is one of them. Anyway, I posted the thread for information, I can delete it if it's inappropriate.

I don't think it's inappropriate. I'm aware there are lots of "competitions" out there that charge quite a hefty fee to enter. That could be $100 down the drain, which might be better spent on setting up a print run or a better cover or, attending a workshop, or... Or it could net you $800, as in Peter's case.

I think ultimately it's up to the individual author whether they decide entering these competitions is a good investment or not.

Thoroughly reasonable, if you ask me, considering that some indie awards things charge entry fees upwards of $300-$500. I put my entry in.

Most contests have some kind of entry fee. Plus they probably have to read a lot of garbage that they wouldn't normally read unless they were getting paid. I'm fine with it.

Is the price going down after the early bird period is over or will it go higher?

Tyler wrote: "Is the price going down after the early bird period is over or will it go higher?"

I believe it goes up to $110. I'm a little sad that they don't seem to accept ebooks... guess I'll look into killing some trees.

Sky wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Is the price going down after the early bird period is over or will it go higher?"

I believe it goes up to $110. I'm a little sad that they don't seem to accept ebooks... guess I'll ..."

Thanks. Not sure if I'll enter but maybe.

"No handwritten books are accepted."

Lol. What on earth made them include that? Who sent them a handwritten book in a previous year? Hahaha!

Probably written on napkins and tissue paper.

Eric wrote: "Probably written on napkins and tissue paper."

...like all my best work!!!

Mona wrote: ""No handwritten books are accepted."

Lol. What on earth made them include that? Who sent them a handwritten book in a previous year? Hahaha!"

That makes me want to write and publish a handwritten masterpiece just so they have to reconsider their submission guidelines.

I was sent information about this during the early bird and decided not to enter. I don't want to spend the $100; legit or not. Yes, I understand the reasons given here; but it was just not something I personally wanted to invest in. I invested a lot of money into my GoodReads book giveaways. I think that makes much more sense.

Eh, I think I'll pass on this one. I did enter the Amazon Breakthrough, but I'm already getting a Midwest book review and the rest of it just doesn't sound that exciting since it's only for the top two winners.

Yes, there are other contests out there that have fees, and I may enter some. It depends on the prizes.

So…I entered ABNA with an unpublished YA title, but I have another self-pub that’s here on goodreads that I’ve done a giveaway with and a friend suggested I look at the Writer’s Digest contest. I’ve found a couple blogs interviewing the winners and I followed this thread and can’t quite decide if it’s worth it. I’m just looking for more exposure. Not sure if it would lead to book sales though because the magazine targets mostly writers. Although…writers are readers…anyone care to weigh in?

Rachael,
I don't know the answer but I am asking the same question. To answer it for myself I am looking to see how the contest winners fair in the long run. So far, I have yet to find anyone who achieved great success and credits a contest as the turning point in the struggle. Many prize winning books are out of print very quickly. While the money would be nice , and the rush of winning would be great, I am beginning to believe there are more reliable ways to get the books sold.

Thanks for sharing your info. That’s the sticking point. Don’t mind spending the entry fee, but I’m not sure it’s the best exposure for your money.

Amazon basically buries your work until the contest is over. I didn't mind that but Feb til July is a long time to have control of the 80 percent who lose in the first round of eliminations. It doesn't appear that Amazon or Penguin do as much as I would hope AFTER the contest even for the winners, but for relatively little money(90,000 dollars in total prize money paid as "advances") they locked up 10,000 manuscripts for five months. They have a huge chance of getting their prize money back. It was fun once but I can't imagine doing it again.

Amazon offered 110,000 in total prize money( 4 times 15,000 for first prizes in each category and one 50,000 grandprize) For that they lock down 10,000 manuscripts for 5 months. The contracts are not likely to bring much if any past the prize money, so Amazon hopes and plans to recoups quite a bit. It's a fair deal for people who don't need to shop their book for a few months. I lost in the first round but had a great time entering and writing, but I think it would be better to play the lottery and find other ways to market a book. The odds are similar and it costs a dollar. I think the bigger the contest is the more chance there is that early elimination rounds are close to random selections.

I had no idea that Writers Digest charged to enter their contest. I think $100 would be my limit.