Last year I blew my book marketing budget on entering writing contests, a total of $305 including entry fees, books and postage.

Two good things came out of that experience. One was a positive and insightful review by Judge Number 54 of my novel Abandoned Dreams that I entered in The 26th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. The other was the understanding the entire contest thing was a waste of money, or, to put it another way, it was a lot of money to spend for one review.

Though I have no evidence to prove it, I am convinced most, if not all contests are nothing more than revenue generating opportunities for writing platforms, groups and publications. 

Aside from the monthly stipend I receive for facilitating creative writing circles, I am determined this year to make more on my writing than I spend. That brings us to my latest novel, The Bird Whisperer, the Mattie Saunders Series Book 3, launched on May 6 of this year.

The book was published simultaneously on Draft to Digital, Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing.

After five weeks that included giveaways on BookLikes and LibraryThing, an email campaign with a free coupon code sent to 276 people on my email list, and numerous tweets and Facebook postings of a similar nature all I had to show was nineteen free downloads and one four-star review.

I changed my strategy, What did I have to lose?

I decided to promote The Rocker and the Bird Girl, the first book in the Mattie Saunders series in hopes it might create sales for The Bird Whisperer. I decided to enroll The Rocker and the Bird Girl in KDP Select and coordinate two of the five free days this exclusive listing affords you, and free email blasts with Awesome Gang, PrettyHot and MyBookPlace.

June 22 was the day and I assume the free email blasts went out, but nothing happened on Amazon.

Since research indicates fiction sales almost always peak within the first two to six weeks of the release the window for The Bird Whisperer was running out. I decided to take a chance and spend some money. I booked The Rocker and the Bird Girl on Freebooksy and coordinated it with the three free days I had left on Kindle Select.

The genre I chose was literary, the email would be sent to 123,660 Freebooksy subscribers, and the cost was $60 USD.

I held my breath.

The day the Freebooksy promotion broke 1,033 free books were downloaded and my author ranking went from 715,187 to 85,209 for All Books; 41,906 for Kindle eBooks; 56,679 for Kindle eBooks Romance; and, 24,882 for Kindle eBooks Romance Contemporary. The following day there were 131 downloads, and 31 on the third day.

Giving away books is one thing, but my benchmark for success is, and always will be, sales. As of July 20, 2019, twenty days after the Freebooksy promotion, two copies of The Bird Whisperer had been sold. However, The Rocker and the Bird Girl had picked up one text review and seven ratings with a 4-star average. There may be a few more sales and reviews trickle in over the course of this month but beyond that I wouldn’t attribute them to Freebooksy.

With the Freebooksy promotion and expenses such as proof books, books for beta readers and postage I’m in the red $152.15 so far this year. So much for my 2019 goal to make more on my writing than I spend.

But then there are still five months to go.

Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs

30

Author’s Amazon Book Page https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

This year I decided to spend some of my paltry marketing budget entering my novels in a few of the many contests offered on the internet.

I may as well have flushed the funds down the toilet for all the good it did. Most contests hastily cashed my cheque and then didn’t even bother spamming me to advise that I didn't win, place or show.

These for sure are cash grabs for financially beleaguered writing sites, festivals, literary publications or outright scam artists.

The exception so far has been the Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards that provided a brief commentary from an anonymous judge.

So here are Judge Number 54 comments regarding my submission to The 26th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Not a bad review, but then it did cost $116.45 ($99.49 entry fee + $10.30 postage + $6.66 for the price of the book and shipping)

Entry Title: Abandoned Dreams

Author: Rod Raglin

Judge Number: 54

Entry Category: Mainstream/Literary Fiction

 * Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”.

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 4

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 4

Production Quality and Cover Design: 4

Plot and Story Appeal: 4

Character Appeal and Development: 4

Voice and Writing Style: 4

Judge’s Commentary

   This novel uses a distinctive succession of first-person sections that combine to offer an incisive perspective on the loves and fortunes of several characters whose lives intersect in tortured relationships. Musings and actions by the characters as the story progresses create a running succession of candid revelations. Along the way, readers get intimate understandings of what motivates the characters, who cross a wide age range, as they seek to reach their social and artistic goals. Literary and artistic matters including the drive for fame and creativity, as well as cutting criticism, are refreshingly realistic and provide illuminating insights into the minds of writers and artists. How the past and present link up and influence their current lives and activities is skillfully portrayed. Generational aspects, including a visit to an ashram in the U.S., are woven into the multiple relationships and ambitions that stir the narrative.

       Overall, the dreams of the past blend into the aspirations of the present as the force of character persists.

         More suspense in what will happen, especially as the past is recalled, would enhance the book’s drive. More chapters should end on a suspenseful note to make readers wonder what will happen next. The dialogue is snappy with good use of interior monologue while showing the mind-sets of the characters.

     The title is intriguing and spurs interest. The first two lines of the subtitle work, but the third one raises the question of who the “they” is. Perhaps “life” could be used instead. The cover image is interesting, but consider placing an easel between the chairs and a manuscript on one chair to better reflect the contents and themes of the novel.

You can purchase Abandoned Dreams from my Amazon Author's Page at

https:www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Stay Calm, Be Brave, Watch for the Signs

The Desi Writers Lounge (DWL) is holding a short story contest. I submitted an entry that is almost 2k words long. The results will be announced in October, so I will wait until then to share it on the blog.

Until then, I will be sharing the shortest of shorts that I wrote for the Booksy subscription. It was included in the boxes with the other goodies. Here it is:

“Not into a bulb! Anything but that…”, the Ifrit begged but it was to no avail. What her hellions wanted, they almost always got. Fawj smiled as her daughter, Sid, morphed into a golem as big as a house. She looked down at the trembling Ifrit and lifted her behemoth foot, threatening to squash him. The Ifrit shook his head and vowed to murder his boss who had sent him into this madhouse in the first place. “It will be easy, they had said. They’re just a bunch of kids and their mother. You will be out of the house before they even realize you were in”, the Ifrit muttered as he transformed into a bulb in a room full of an octet of kids and their mom.

Ifrit

The golem bent down and picked up the bulb with surprisingly nimble bamboo-sized fingers. She hung him on an overhead beam and clapped like a little girl. She was a little girl, no older than five, realized the Ifrit as it gave her the evil eye, even as a bulb.

Girl Golem

The Thief of Thieves, he had been apprehended by a five-year-old as he sneaked inside her house to rob her! It did not matter that she had morphed into his personal nightmare at that time. Which was why, his guise had slipped, and the girl had snared him with a tentacle of an arm. It was too painful for him to remember what happened afterwards. He had been forced to turn into everything, from a cat’s chew toy to this last humiliation, a light bulb.

My Kinda Ifrit

“Brighter!” Sid growled now and he shined as bright as he could.  “Is that bright enough, mommy?” The girl asked, snuggling against her mother. Fawj nodded, watching her other children get started on their homework.

As if!

(reblogged from Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity)

There are loads of free literary contests in April, some with substantial prizes. All genres and forms are included, from humorous poetry, to short fiction, to full length-works, both published and unpublished.

Some of these contests have age and regional restrictions, so be sure to read the full guidelines before submitting.

Good luck!

_______________________________


Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. Now in its 15th year, this contest seeks today's best humor poems, published and unpublished. Please enter one poem only, 250 lines max. Prize: $2,250 in prizes, including a top prize of $1,000, and publication on Winning Writers. Deadline: April 1, 2016. Submission form HERE.

Harold U. Ribalow Prize. Genre: Fiction on a Jewish theme, published books only. Prize: $3,000.  Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

Bop Dead City. Genres: Prose, poetry. Prize: $20. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. Restrictions: The writer must be Canadian, and an entry must be the writer's first or second published book of any type or genre and must have a Canadian locale and/or significance. Genre: Print books and ebooks of creative non-fiction published in the previous calendar year. Prize: C$10,000.00. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers. Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians awards fellowships for writers to spend time in McCullers' childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. The fellowships are intended to afford the writers in residence uninterrupted time to dedicate to their work, free from the distractions of daily life and other professional responsibilities. Award: Stipend of $5000 to cover costs of transportation, food and other incidentals. Fellowship recipients will be required to introduce or advance their work through reading or workshop/forum presentations. The Fellow will work with the McCullers Center Director to plan a presentation near the end of the residency. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Carbon Culture Review's Poetry Film Prize. Genre: Film: make a film of your poem. Prize: $1000.  Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

The Great American Think-Off. Genre: Essay on the theme: “Income Inequality Threatens Democracy.” Entrants should take a strong stand agreeing or disagreeing with this topic, basing their arguments on personal experience and observations rather than philosophical abstraction. Essay should be no more than 750 words. Prize: One of four $500 cash prizes. Deadline: April 1, 2016. Submission details are HERE.

Paterson Fiction Prize. Genre: Published novel or collection of short fiction.  Prize: $1,000. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards. Genre: Poetry, up to five poems per person. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Washington State Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Washington State writers. Genre: Published book, all genres. Prize: $500. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

The Waterston Desert Writing Prize. Genre: Literary nonfiction, desert theme. Prize: $1,500. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Fall Lines: Saluda River Prize for Poetry / Broad River Prize for Prose. Genres: Poetry, flash fiction, essays, short fiction. Prizes: Two $250 cash prizes, and publication. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Graybeal-Gowen Prize for Virginia Poets. Restrictions: Open to Virginia poets. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: April 1, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize. Genre: Book-length translation of Asian poetry into English. Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles. Book must have been published in previous year. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: April 8, 2016. See details HERE.

 

American Literary Translators Association Italian Prose in Translation Award. Genre: Translation of a recent work of Italian prose (fiction or literary non-fiction). Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles. Book must have been published in previous year. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: April 8, 2016. See details HERE.

 

William Saroyan Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to students in 1st grade through college. Genre: Short story, 2 pages. Prize: $50 - $100. Deadline: April 11, 2016. More details are HERE.

 

Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Only undergraduates enrolled full time in United States and Canadian universities and colleges for the academic year 2015-16 are eligible. Genre: Fiction of no more than 7,500 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: April 15, 2016. See submission details HERE.

 

Common Good Books Poetry Contest is sponsored by Common Good Books, proprietor Garrison Keillor. Genre: Poetry. The poem must be a declaration of gratitude. Prize: Grand prizes of $1000 each, and four poets will receive $500 for poems of particular merit. Deadline: April 15, 2016. See submission details HERE.

 

Scotiabank Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English. Books must be published in Canada in English between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016 to be eligible for the 2016 Prize. Must  be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: April 15, 2016. See details HERE.

 

Rhyme On!Genre: Poetry, one poem only. Prize: 1st prize -  $200, 2nd prize - $100, 3rd prize - $50. Deadline: April 15, 2016. See submission details HERE.

 

Chautauqua Editors Prize. Awards will recognize the writing that best captures both the issue’s theme and the spirit of Chautauqua Institution. Prizes: $500, $250, and $100 for each issue. Deadline: April 15, 2016. Submission form is HERE.