[Skate]

I've just heard that I'm a Nominee for the Global eBook Awards. Basically that means that they've accepted my entry and I'm in the group to be judged for the finals. It gives me a website page on Dan Poynter's Global eBooks website and a fancy little GIF saying "Global eBooks Nominee 2011" that I can put on my websites.

http://awardsforebooks.com/book-writing-contest/fiction-sci-fi-fantasy-paranormal/treespeaker/

Has anyone else entered?

 

[mikelewis]

No, I would never enter an award that cost me money to be a nominee....

Mike

 

[Skate]

You make it sound sordid, Mike. Don't most competitions have entry fees? I've entered local art competitions that have charged the same to enter. Admittedly the word 'nominee' is a bit over the top, but I don't feel that I've done anything wrong.

 

[MegHarris]

No, I would never enter an award that cost me money to be a nominee....

I don't know anything about these awards, but the EPIC awards always had an entry fee. There's a fee associated with the RITA awards (which is the big romance award given out by the RWA), too. I think caution is advised when approaching awards, but just because it costs money to enter doesn't mean a contest is somehow invalid.

 

[Guest]

You make it sound sordid, Mike. Don't most competitions have entry fees? I've entered local art competitions that have charged the same to enter. Admittedly the word 'nominee' is a bit over the top, but I don't feel that I've done anything wrong.

YOU have not done anything wrong. Don Poynter, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed "marketing guru" whose entire income is derived from convincing unsuspecting people he is brilliant at marketing.

As a general rule of thumb, ANY CONTEST that exists solely for the existence of the contest is a scam. Always look at the source of the contest and ask what they get out of the deal. Who benefits from the contest, and how? In regards to a local arts competition, these are usually tied to local cultural institutions. They are promoting your community or the local art gallery or something. If you look at things like the Stoker or RITA, these awards exist to promote the organizations that run them, and those organizations exist to advance the popularity and acceptance of their respective genres. In short, they have real cultural benefits to their respective industries.

Now, who benefits from running the Global eBook Awards? Poynter doesn't speak for the industry. He doesn't lobby for ebook authors. What greater good does this award serve?

 

[balaspa]

I was not aware that such a thing existed.  Congratulations!

 

[mikelewis]

You make it sound sordid, Mike. Don't most competitions have entry fees? I've entered local art competitions that have charged the same to enter. Admittedly the word 'nominee' is a bit over the top, but I don't feel that I've done anything wrong.

Sorry I didn't mean to imply you had done anything wrong. I personally would not enter any award that required me to pay to be nominated. I think that a writing contest is perhaps different, such as a short story contest, Writers of the Future, etc that has some value and some prestige.

I looked at the award details and thought it just looked like a way of making money...

Mike

 

[Skate]

YOU have not done anything wrong. Don Poynter, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed "marketing guru" whose entire income is derived from convincing unsuspecting people he is brilliant at marketing.

As a general rule of thumb, ANY CONTEST that exists solely for the existence of the contest is a scam. Always look at the source of the contest and ask what they get out of the deal. Who benefits from the contest, and how? In regards to a local arts competition, these are usually tied to local cultural institutions. They are promoting your community or the local art gallery or something. If you look at things like the Stoker or RITA, these awards exist to promote the organizations that run them, and those organizations exist to advance the popularity and acceptance of their respective genres. In short, they have real cultural benefits to their respective industries.

Now, who benefits from running the Global eBook Awards? Poynter doesn't speak for the industry. He doesn't lobby for ebook authors. What greater good does this award serve?

I did look up the man and his site on Editors and Preditors before I started and didn't find anything. If it's a scam, then I'll put it down to experience, I guess. All I know is that I need to get my book more visible if it's going to sell and I saw this as an opportunity to do that.

We live and learn. I'll see how it goes.