Validation

I don’t know anyone who writes with the specific objective of winning an award. Nor do my author friends list best seller lists as their reason for creating.  It is still true that most of us long for those things, not so much for the sales and money those things bring but for their inner value.  Bestseller lists suggest love and respect from readers.  An Agatha award from Malice Domestic or a Lovey from Love is Murder is validation from fans of your genre.  An Edgar or Nebula award gives a writer validation from his or her peers.

I hadn’t thought about other possible sources of validation as a writer until I received an email from fellow mystery author Neil Plakcy.

I’ve known Neil for three years, since I reviewed his novel Mahu Blood for the International Thriller Writers’ newsletter The Big Thrill.  At the time it was the latest in his much-respected Mahu mystery series, set in Honolulu.  Neil also teaches at Broward College in Florida and recently contacted me because he was assembling materials for a new version of their mystery fiction course.

Neil had read my essay, “Black Ain’t Nothing But a Detective’s Color,” which was published in the summer 2007 issue of the Mystery Reader’s Journal.  In that piece I discuss how being Black makes a detective different.  I was pleasantly surprised when Neil asked permission to incorporate my essay in his mystery course. He explained that many of his students were coming from a multi-ethnic community and that my essay would be valuable to those students.  I could help them understand African-American characters in crime fiction. 

And more, it’s a Master Course which could be taught by multiple instructors over a period of years.  So going into the future it could be that hundreds of people who want to learn how to write mystery fiction will read my essay as part of their course of study.

Of course I still long for fan accolades, reader appreciation and peer endorsement.  But I never realized how much academic validation might mean to me.  It says something about my understanding of my genre that makes me glow with pride. 

And as I prepare to write the next Hannibal Jones novel I’m thinking that all I need to do now is live up to it.

Your Award Winning Novel

My company, Intrigue Publishing, was well represented at the Love is Murder Mystery Conference last weekend.  We took pitches from authors.  I sat on one panel and moderated another. We sponsored the newcomer’s breakfast and I moderated that too.  We worked the con the way I hope other small presses work our  Creatures, Crimes & Creativity con.  And our big win was that one of the books we published, “Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie” won the Lovey Award for best horror/sci-fi/fantasy novel of the year.  The Lovey, voted on by Love is Murder attendees, is given in several categories.

 

In today’s crowded marketplace winning an award is one way to distinguish a book and make it stand out.  Awards that are voted on by readers can carry a lot of weight with a specific audience. Like Love is Murder’s Lovey, the Agatha award is granted by the fans at the Malice Domestic conference. For authors and publishers who attend writers conferences, this can be a great extra benefit.

 

There are also plenty of awards available to authors and publishers who don’t love Cons, although there is usually a price.  For example, the annual International Beverly Hills Book Awards is open for submissions through Feb. 15.  They consider cover and interior design, promotional text, aesthetic components and other factors that demonstrate outstanding presentation, in addition to the writing. They accept fiction and non-fiction books in a wide range of topics and categories including mystery, romance, business, self-help, memoirs and inspiration.

USA Regional Excellence Book Awards recognizes books that take readers into the heart of a “place.” If your book delivers the distinctive character  of a locale, say the glitz of Hollywood or the hustle and bustle of New York City, it is a perfect candidate for a USA REBA award.  Again, Sept. 15 is this year’s deadline.

And while the International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America restrict their awards to well-established publishers, that doesn’t mean all others are shut  out.  The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) was created to help establish self-publishing as a legitimate side of the publishing industry. You’ve got until March 31 to submit to them.

 

You could question the promotional value of book awards, but  there’s no denying the joy of such bragging rights.  So go see if your book can become an award winning.