It’s an honor to be a nominee for the Outstanding Creator Award. The Outstanding Creator Award is a literary and creative arts contest that recognizes talented, passionate, and imaginative people. I share this honor with my illustrator, Danielle Masssironi, and my narrator, May Webster. I am grateful to Story Monsters for submitting an application on my behalf.
Why is this a big deal?
Authors write books for many different reasons: money, recognition, to teach, and sharing our stories. Winning a book award is one way to get validation and recognition for your book. Book awards can also be a great marketing tool. Award programs are a form of advertising. Whether you’re a finalist/honorable mention or the first place winner, any good awards program will share their winners with their network. Your book will be listed on their website, newsletters, social media, and more. That gets your book in front of a whole new audience you might not have access to otherwise.
Book awards can also attract readers. This is particularly helpful for authors who self-publish or publish with hybrid publishers. A reputable award is like a stamp of quality. Plus, the stickers make your book attract attention.
Visibility
Winning a book award will allow you to gain exposure and media attention, both locally and nationally. The award I received from Gertie Saves the Day caught the attention of my local newspaper. The editor contacted me and we had a great interview. From the interview he wrote a full page article on my journey as a newly published award winning author. The award I received for Two Wins for Wiley caught the attention of another reporter who posted the interview online.
Credibility
Credibility comes with winning a book award. As a newly published author credibility was and still is very important to me. Awards play an important part in a reader’s decision to select your book. I know when I see a children’s book with an award seal I will take it off the shelf to look closely at the seal. The seal helps me to learn more about the book, and why this book won an award. Winning an award serves as a neutral third-party endorsement for you and your book. When looking at a group of books on a topic, an award will give your book an advantage and help your book stand out from your competition.
Book Sales
Ultimately, all authors want to increase book sales. A book award encourages readers to pay attention to your book and provides a reason for them to buy it. A book award tells readers that the book is of high quality. This is particularly true when buyers are purchasing children’s books to give as a gift. If the book has an award seal, they will choose it over one that does not. Placing an award on all your marketing materials and on the book cover itself in subsequent print runs can boost sales and lengthen the life of a book.
Opens Doors to New Opportunities
Book awards can open doors to new opportunities such as speaking engagements, book signings, and author visits to schools. Local author events, radio shows and podcasts are a few events that I have been invited to attend. I would like to think the awards have helped increase my visibility. I hope this Outstanding Creator nomination leads to even more opportunities.
With gratitude …
I am so glad you’re here. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I am grateful that I can share my writing journey with you. It is an endless journey of learning and growing. A journey that I am enjoying.
I am now booking author visits for the spring, 2025 school year. If you are a classroom teacher, teacher assistant, Parent Teacher Association President, or After school Director I can work with you to create a visit that will meet the needs of your students. Please contact me to book your visit.
My website has been updates and it is now interactive. There are surprises everywhere. Click on the balloons and see where they take you. Can you find two writing videos? Freebies? A chocolate chip recipe? There’s even a special freebie to anyone who subscribes to my newsletter. Check out the resources for children, parents and teachers, librarians and homeschooling families.
Please consider purchasing a copy of Two Wins for Wiley or Gertie Saves the Day for gifts. The holidays are quickly approaching and books make great gifts. Books can be read over and over again. It is my wish to get as many books as I can into the hands of children. Children need to hear all kinds of stories. A book is the best gift for both children and adults!
Call to Action …
You can really help this author by leaving a book review on Amazon or Goodreads. You can leave a review for Gertie Saves the Day here or here. Two Wins for Wiley here or here. Reviews can be as easy as 2-3 sentences. It should take about 30 seconds to leave and would make a huge difference for this author.
