I recently moved my office and while sorting through files and boxes, I came across a little wall sign that once hung by my desk; it said: “Future award-winning author.” I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered back to the early days in my writing career when I hoped to not only finish my first book, but that it might someday earn an award.
Nine books later and several awards to my credit, I am grateful to know the satisfaction of having achieved that goal. Since we are launching a Nonfiction Book Awards program, I wanted to share some tips on what you should do after you win a book award.
1. Write a blog post announcing your award and include the award seal or picture of the award.
2. Share the blog post across your social media networks and invite others to celebrate with you.
3. Add “Award-Winning Author” to your title—everywhere!
4. Update all of your online bios and profiles letting people know which award you won.
5. Revise your bio on your website and in your Media page.
6. Update the description for your book’s sales page on your website, Amazon.com, Kindle, Smashwords, and any other place where you book is for sale.
7. Send an announcement via email to your mailing list, including family, friends, and clients.
8. Write a guest post for someone else’s blog about your experience winning a book award.
9. Add the award seal or badge to your website and your marketing materials including your business card, bookmarks, postcards, flyers, etc.
10. Leverage your award-winning author status for future opportunities. For example, you can mention it when pitching a new book to a publisher or when reaching out for a freelance writing assignment.
11. Display your award in your office for all to see.
12. Notify local media with a media announcement which can include a simple email or a press release.
13. Share the news with fellow group members of associations and groups that you belong to.
14. Notify online writing communities where you are involved, including sites like Goodreads and RedRoom.
15. If award seals are available, get yourself a roll of them and affix them to the covers of your books.
16. Treat yourself to a reward of some kind—an afternoon off, a weekend away, or even some bonus writing time. You deserve to celebrate the achievement!
Following are some other book awards programs to consider for the future:
Nonfiction Book Awards
Year-round awards program for nonfiction books, hosted by the Nonfiction Authors Association.
Nonfiction Book Awards
Ben Franklin Book Awards
Recognizing independently published books.
Ben Franklin Book Awards
Global Ebook Awards
The first awards program exclusively for ebooks, hosted by self-publishing godfather Dan Poynter.
Global Ebook Awards
Foreword Book of the Year
Hosted by Foreword magazine, this is an indie-friendly awards program.
Foreword Book of the Year Awards
Nautilus Book Awards
Recognizes books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living, and positive social change.
Nautilus Book Awards
National Indie Excellence Awards
Many categories to choose from and honoring independently published titles.
National Indie Excellence Awards
