The Ink Tree Report Publishing Newsletter

Distribution and Publicity (October 2004)

The Ink Tree Report September, 2004

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Marketing, Marketing, Marketing

Self-Publishing Contests – On the Rise
By C. Hope Clark

Self-publishing slowly but surely climbs higher each year on the credibility ladder. Authors now have awards for their self-published babies that rank high in terms of prize money. Writer’s Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com) sponsors the International Self-Published Book Awards. First prize is $2500, but what pays more than the cash is the publicity the author receives from the traditional book world.

More and more authors utilize self-publishing now to step into the book world. Using their own ingenuity and promotional tools, they catapult themselves up in sales ranking until traditional publishers notice. Quality publish-on-demand companies continually feed their best sellers to traditional publishers, and miracles do happen as those publishing houses make offers to self-published authors.

Other competitions available to self-published writers are:

The Florida Freelance Writers Association Annual Fiction Competition – http://www.writers-editors.com/Writers/Contests/Contest_Guidelines/contest_guidelines.htm 

Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards – This award was established particularly to increase attention from librarians and booksellers to the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors. http://www.forewordmagazine.net/awards.asp 

Writer’s Notes Annual Book Awards – Small prize money, but recognition all the same. Awards are open to academic, independent, small press, and self-published books that were released or copyrighted in the last 2 years, including unique small print run books. http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/awards.html

Cat Writer’s Association Awards – An annual writing competition for published writers, photographers and editors in print, online and broadcast media. http://www.catwriters.org/rules.html 

The Missouri Writer’s Guild – An annual competition provided for Missouri state writers. It’s definitions go out of the way to accept self-published books calling eligible books those in which compensation was paid between a publisher and an author. http://mwg.missouri.org/ 

While these competitions are hard to find, just two years ago they did not exist! Slowly but surely, self-publishing is gaining a foothold in the literary world. Keep focused on delivering your message and opportunities will happen. Perseverance is key. After all, a decade ago, self-publishing was not even an option, and time does fly!

© 2004 C. Hope Clark

C. Hope Clark is editor-in-chief of FundsforWriters.com. She publishes four newsletters on funding information for writers as well as several ebooks on her website. She has self-published FundsforWriters: The Book, Oct. 2000, 1stBooks.com and has a new release, The Shy Writer, due out Fall 2004. www.fundsforwriters.com 



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Tips You Can Use

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Have You Heard?

Firstwriter.com holds a regular writing competition where you can win cash and/or publication. Check it out:

Click Here

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Interesting Stuff

http://www.writers-publish.com/ is a site where you can find advice and links to writing contests, freelance job listings and news from the publishing industry.


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Inspiration

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

Dale Carnegie

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Affiliate Program

Increase your revenue by helping other authors get published and achieve success. Sign up for our affiliate program and get paid to help others here: http://www.inktreemarketing.com/affiliates.htm 

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Please submit your own tips, articles and experiences to us for possible inclusion in future newsletters. We’d love to hear your stories and share your advice.

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For more information on Ink Tree and our services for authors and publishers, visit us at:

www.inktreemarketing.com  

Member of SPAN and PMA

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