Yours Truly is a 2018 CIPA EVVY Double Award Winner in Editing
When my authors do a great job on their books, I always recommend they consider submitting them for relevant book awards contests. Winning an award:
- Is a sweet, sweet public recognition of your work
- Makes for great marketing and promotion, which leads to more readers and sales
My lesson from this year? As an editor, I should consider the same for myself.
Courtesy of a few of my lovely authors, several of my books from this past year entered the 24th annual CIPA EVVY Book Awards not only for their genre and category…but in the Editing category as well.
I’m over the moon. I took home second and first place in Editing, for Adventures with Durango Pete by Stephen Hinman, and To the Sound of the Guns by Grady Birdsong, respectively.
Both books were labors of love for the authors…who also did a lot of hard work. I’m incredibly proud of both books.
I’ve worked with other authors on books that have gone on to win awards, and I’m thrilled to be part of their team. Still, receiving awards of my “very own” has given me a unique joy. I am grateful to every reader who read and considered these books.
What about prizes for the authors?
Funny you should ask. “My” authors did pretty well this year in this same contest:
- Cristal L. McGill, Ph.D., Engaging Practices: How to Activate Student Learning—1st place NonFiction Academic/Educational (among other awards)
- Adventures with Durango Pete—1st place NonFiction Animals & Pets (among others)
- To the Sound of the Guns—3rd place NonFiction History (among others)
- Catherine Spader, Return of the Wulfhedinn—2nd place Fiction Fairytale/Folklore/Mythology (among others)
Several of this year’s winners have won awards for their previous books, and all swear by the marketing and sales benefit they get from this recognition. I myself can attest that in the less than a week since my awards were announced, I’ve received lots of inquiries through my website and recognition on social media. For someone who toils quietly away behind a computer monitor most of the time, I admit it’s wild.
The bottom line
Think about what you want to achieve with your book—would more eyeballs on your story help? I call that a no-brainer. You’re best to submit your books in the year they are published, so keep an eye on that contest calendar! And if we’ve worked on a book together that’s won other prizes, I want to hear about it.
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Need help getting clear on your book? Want to get out of your own head? Let’s chat. I do one-on-one coaching (subject to availability), or you might benefit from outline development or a manuscript evaluation. As of this post, I’m booking editing clients for November 2018.
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