It’s That Time Again! Time to Submit Your Book for an Indie Book Award!
Last year, around this time, I compiled an extensive list of indie book awards to submit your book to, and you can find that list right HERE. But, believe it or not, I did some searching and found some new ones, some I’d over looked, and some I may repeat simply because the deadline is rapidly approaching!
Is Submitting Your Indie Book for an Award Really Worth It?
In short, yes! Not only does receiving an indie book award give you some clout, it builds trust with potential readers. It also makes your book more appealing to booksellers and librarians, which means a wider reach. Receiving a book award can also mean free publicity, whether via the organization granting the award, or media attention.
Almost all book award submission require entry fees—some less than others, but I think most authors would agree it’s money well spent as part of your marketing budget.
Some Awards to Submit Your Book to, Now!
I’m listing the ones with the tightest deadlines first. These are the ones you’ll have to submit to by the end of September. Yes, that’s soon. But if you already have a published book, you just have to put in the time to fill out those submission forms and pay the fee.
American Book Fest “Best Book” Award
- Deadline: 9/30/20
- Entry Fee: $69
The deadline for this one is coming up very soon, but it’s totally worth submitting your book now! This award is accepting books published between 2018 and 2020. These awards are designed explicitly to garner promotion—meaning media attention and book sales, and to the publishing and entertainment world! That’s a big deal. Check out all the details and fabulous stuff you can get out of being a finalist or winner by clicking the link above. And hey, even by submitting you’ll be featured for five months on their book listings.
Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition
- Deadline:10/1/20
- Entry Fee:$75-$150
With a fairly hefty entry fee for those that didn’t get in their submissions early, you may want to carefully consider this one. But! It could potentially give a big boost to your books sales. The winners are given editorial coverage in the December/January in Shelf Unbound, and a year of full page ads in the publication. That alone may be worth it if more book sales are your immediate goal.
More Indie Book Awards with Upcoming Deadlines, First to Last
- Deadline:10/1/20-12/15/20
- Entry Fee: $229($95 for IBPA members)
I have a special love for the Ben Franklin Awards, the founder, and the IPBA in general, and you can read about that in my original post linked at the top. There are two submission periods for this indie book award and it is currently only open to books published this year, with a copyright date of 2020. These awards are one of the highest honors in Indie publishing and they come with a lot of perks. First, there’s an award ceremony and you get a trophy. So that’s pretty special. Winners also receive recognition on all IBPA social media and the website and, of course, get promoted to trade journals and libraries, among other great marketing perks.
- Deadline:12/1/20(encouraged to submit earlier)
- Entry Fee:$89-99
Reader Views started as a book review service and has since expanded to include awards, interviews, and publicity services. So this is a good one for reaching a larger audience, because kind of like Goodreads, readers trust other readers reviews and recommendations. All entries receive a review and promotion on Reader Views’ website, social media, the platforms your book is listed on (Goodreads,BookBub etc), and in their newsletter. And of course, entry for the Grand Prize.
- Deadline:12/31/20
- Fee: $115
The big thing the Book Excellence Award has going for it, besides the level and quality of media attention winners tend to receive, is that it’s open to indie and traditional publishers alike. The prize packages are some of the biggest out there and both winners and finalists get some level of these packages valued at up to $4,000! Oh, and just by entering you receive all access to their book marketing course, valued at $500. So, as far as return on investment goes, this one is a big winner.
- Deadline: 1/3/21
- Entry Fee: $89-$99
The Foreword Indie Awards are fairly prestigious, and come with a decent cash prize, which you can use towards your marketing budget or see it as a reimbursement for your marketing expenses. Either way, cash is always helpful, right? The Foreword Indies also come with promotion and marketing services like other awards. They also offer a marketing tool kit just for entering, which can be super helpful!
- Deadline:3/31/21
- Entry Fee:$75
It’s submission time at the National Indie Excellence Awards again! This is a big award and winners and finalists get all the promotion and industry exposure that comes with other book awards, and a little bit of extra prestige because they’re highly selective and only have one winner per category. The good news is they have an amazing array of categories!
- Deadline: 4/1/ 2021
- Fee: $99-$119
Reader’s Favorite also judge indie author books as well as books by publishing giants. This award can mean a lot because you’ll be going up against trusted competition. They have different tiers, such as gold and silver medals and get this—they have no publishing date restrictions and they accept everything form eBooks and comics to poetry and short stories. This is a perfect one for those of you who have an existing book and missed some publishing date deadlines the other awards stick by.
BONUS! They do FREE book reviews!
So, there’s the updated list of indie book awards you should be submitting to now or in the very near future. And time is moving fast right now, isn’t it?
Oh, and if you want a more comprehensive list, as I mentioned in the opening, go to the top and click that link.
Your book is bound(no pun intended) to be a good fit for at least one of these awards, so go for it! Of course, I suggest you do a bit of research yourself on past winners and general culture of the award to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
Happy Submitting!
