Do book awards mean anything?
Book Award Pro
The value of book awards is widely accepted in the industry. For publishing and literary experts, awards are persuasive signifiers of a book’s potential. But what about authors? Do book awards mean anything in terms of author success? The answer is yes, but the extent of the professional significance of book awards may surprise you.
Read on to learn what book awards mean and how you can use them to validate the quality of your book, entice more readers, and achieve author acclaim.
Do book awards mean anything?
Book awards are influential tools that, when used strategically, can seriously enhance author success. What book awards mean to you depends on your unique author goals and motivations for pursuing accolades. Here are a few of the key things book awards can mean for authors:
They mean endorsement
Equal parts professional recognition and personal satisfaction, awards are incredible endorsers of your book. They tell the world that your book is worthy of critical praise and public celebration. For readers, this is an attractive incentive to add your book to their cart. For literary experts, it’s an attractive incentive to extend a professional opportunity.
This type of validation is called social proof, and it’s an important step in establishing yourself as an esteemed, notable author. Social proof helps you build credibility within your author brand, form trusting relationships with readers, and persuade literary experts to work with you.
They mean more book sales
Award-winning books sell more than books without accolades. However, you might be surprised to hear us admit that an increase in profits isn’t an automatic guarantee for award-winning authors. While it’s true that book awards can impress and attract readers, their real profit-boosting potential lies in what you do with your book award.
Showcasing your award on the cover of your book is a great first step. To maximize an increase in sales, using your accolades to enhance your marketing strategy is essential (which brings us to our next point!).
They mean better book marketing
Most authors aren’t marketers, and many don’t have the resources to execute full-scale marketing strategies. This is the magic and simplicity of story marketing; you don’t need a marketing degree, prior knowledge, or a renowned publicist to promote your book to a massive audience. All you need is a social media presence and to be actively pursuing book awards.
Story marketing is a simple, effective strategy that combines modern tools with awards to generate interest in your book. With story marketing, you can share each step of the award journey with millions of readers on social media, stirring continued interest in your book. Researching awards, submitting your book for consideration, winning, and even not winning, are all buzz-worthy award milestones to share with your readers.
Story marketing is so approachable, any author can begin right now. For authors looking for an even easier way to start story marketing, Book Award Pro created the Story Marketing feature. Available on the Essentials plan and up, Story Marketing allows you to share engaging, customized book award and review news with your social media following in just a few clicks.
They mean bonus benefits
Many book award contests offer bonus benefits: resources for entering or winning the award, apart from the grand prize itself. Depending on the award, bonus benefits could range from a meeting with an editor, to the promotion of your book on a website or newsletter, and more opportunities to get your book discovered.
The bonus benefits that are most valuable to you depend on the stage of your author journey, your professional objectives, and the resources currently available to you. For example, authors looking to reach a new audience may strategically pursue awards that offer marketing-focused bonus benefits. Self-published authors with dreams of professional growth might focus on bonus benefits that include a publishing deal.
They mean author acclaim
Perhaps more than anything, book awards add acclaim to your author brand. As an award-winning author, your name carries notability among readers and industry experts alike. Writing, publishing, and launching a book is a feat worthy of praise. Book awards honor your efforts and celebrate your success with the world.
Are you ready to add the significance of book awards to your author journey? Book Award Pro is here to match you with curated awards and reviews in moments. To start on the path to author acclaim, simply sign up, tell us a bit about your book, and unlock your book’s award-winning potential.
