Book Marketing Tips and Author Success Podcast
Ready to supercharge your author journey? Join bestselling author and book marketing maven Penny Sansevieri and savvy publishing insider Amy Cornell for lively, no-nonsense conversations filled with smart strategies, creative inspiration, and publishing know-how you can actually use.
Whether you’re self-published, traditionally published, or somewhere in between, this podcast delivers real-world advice to help you sell more books, build your platform, and thrive in the ever-evolving publishing landscape. From clever promo hacks to critical industry insights, each episode is designed to move the needle on your success.
Fresh ideas. Actionable tips. Unfiltered talk.
If you’re serious about your author career, hit subscribe and tune in—your next big breakthrough could be one episode away.
Book Marketing Tips and Author Success Podcast
Trophy Hunting for Authors: The World of Book Awards
Book awards can transform your author platform, yet they remain one of the most overlooked marketing opportunities for writers at every stage of their journey. Whether you're traditionally published or self-published, these accolades are more accessible than you might think—and they pack a powerful promotional punch.
When your book displays an award seal or mention, readers take notice. Our research shows that award recognition can boost Amazon click-through rates by up to 25%, with an average increase of 5%. In a marketplace where standing out is increasingly difficult, that gold seal or award mention signals quality and credibility to potential readers who may be unfamiliar with your work. As we often say, people like what other people like, and awards provide that crucial social proof.
In this episode, Penny and Amy unpack what it takes to successfully select and submit books for awards. The duo offers guidance on picking the right book award genre/placement (because this matters!) and finally, how to find the best book awards for your book as well as guidlines for successful book award submissions!
Book awards aren't just about prestige; they're about connecting with readers who value curated recommendations in an overwhelming sea of publishing options.
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Hello and welcome back to the Book Marketing Tips and Author Success Podcast. This is Penny Sansevierie and Amy Cornell, and this is a show we've been wanting to do for a while. We love book awards. We get authors that ask us all the time like what about book awards? What about book awards? I think book awards are fabulous, so that's going to be the focus of this show, and we've had I mean, you get that all the time too, don't you, amy where they're asking about book awards and stuff.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, and I think I'm glad we're doing this show, because a lot of times I think authors get overwhelmed and think it's something that they don't have access to when they actually do yeah. So we actually get authors asking us a lot, lot like do you guys do that? And I'm like you know we can always talk about that, depending on your campaign. Like you know, we try to help authors out and customize what kind of admin support they need and things like that. But these are actually very accessible.
Speaker 2:It's just a matter of figuring out and we're going to talk about that figuring out what works and making smart decisions about which ones to apply to and things like that. So we make sure that our clients have I think we include a couple different, really great lists that they can bet that will that they can decide, like, what matches up with their books and their qualifications and all the different parameters and things like that. But it really is something that you know for all of you out there that are actually actively looking for homework and things to do to kind of take your book, your brand, your exposure, to the next level submitting yourself to book awards put it on your list, because I empower you all. You are very capable of this. Again, it's just about knowing how to go about it, and that's why we wanted to cover that on this show, because this is absolutely something an author can do to support their own success, whether they have a team supporting them in other ways or not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly. And the other thing, though, too, is that you know I mean a book award to a consumer. Even if a consumer doesn't know, and let's say, you got an honorable mention or you got first, second or third place, whichever Mentioning that in your marketing materials and on your Amazon retail page can sometimes boost click-through rates up to 25 percent, with an average bump, according to some research that we did prior to the show of 5 percent. We did prior to the show of 5%. So the visibility of book awards, as I said, even if the consumer doesn't know the particular award and the majority of consumers don't like consumers know the Grammys, the Oscars, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like we know, like Emmys, like we know those, but in terms of book awards, it's a great way, it's a great boost to your marketing. It's a great way. It's a great boost to your marketing, it's a great boost to the visibility of your book, and people like what other people like. So it's another piece, you know. It's another great way to get in front of more readers and potentially even more reviewers. So I think the Sorry, I cut you off, I was going to say, because we harp on the Amazon stuff all the time.
Speaker 2:it's also something that really makes you stand out on Amazon. Yeah, because, it's true, so few authors take advantage of these, you know, and it's one of those. So I, honestly, every time there I visit a book page and there's a mention of an award, I absolutely perk up and take notice, because you just don't see it a lot. So this is an amazing opportunity for those of you listening to really get in and be one of those authors that, like I, do have an award and I you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and I think the first piece of this is so. I've judged for both IBPAs what they used to call them, ben Franklin's they renamed them recently, I don't know, I think they're just called the IBPA Awards now and also Writers Digest, and one of the things that I can say one of the biggest first piece of this is is that you may find an award that you think is super prestigious and you want to submit your book. Choose wisely, so not just. I mean, the majority of award programs are universal, so you can fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, whatever they take them all, but they have different categories. Some awards, though, are very focused on specific genres, so you want to. That's the first piece of this is you want to look out for this. But the second piece and I can tell you this as someone who has judged awards if you are submitting to an award, for an award, be sure to pick the right genre. Be sure to pick the right genre.
Speaker 1:I cannot tell you. So I had for IBPAs I think I did it two years ago for their book awards. I got a lot of books. I picked the business category because it's something that I, you know, it's a genre that I read a lot of anyway and I cannot tell you I got memoirs, I got, actually I got a poetry book in the, which was poetry about work, life, but I know, but it was, but but you know I couldn't. So you can't just give it. Like, not everybody gets a trophy. Sorry, but it's the truth. If you're sitting in the wrong genre, if you submitted your book to the wrong genre, then you're basically just going to get disqualified.
Speaker 2:I know, and you want to be really careful about that, because some of these do have submission fees, right, penny? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's another thing, do you want to talk about that? Well, yeah, I mean, it's just another. And again, that's why choosing wisely and I mean I would say not to tell y'all how to run your lives, but, you know, go through and start with a list, maybe your top 10 or whatever, and then kind of whittle it down from there. You know, based on what your budget is, things like that what makes the most sense?
Speaker 2:You can see books that have won previously. Almost always, that information is public. Usually, these sites are proud to show books that have won before, so I think that's also something to keep in mind. You know, check out books that have won before. So I think that's also something to keep in mind. You know, check out books that have won before, look at their covers. You know, consider all those things and try to figure out what makes the most sense for where. How your book is placed in the market and your current branding and all those kinds of things really should come into play.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's yeah, that's absolutely true, and a lot of times, so many of these contests. The other thing that I really liked about judging is it's not you're not just looking at the book and saying, oh, this is good or this is not good. The majority of these contests also invite judges to give feedback to the author, so it's also another really great way to get some potentially really good feedback. I mean, some of it obviously is going to be subjective, right, but it's another great way to get some really good feedback, along with the opportunity to potentially you know, to potentially win an award. So genre match. The other piece is going to be the publishing route, so traditional versus self-publishing.
Speaker 1:Some award companies are very particular about like. No, I mean, a lot of this has kind of fallen by the wayside because so many people are independently publishing, but sometimes just make sure to read the rules. That's the. That's just the other piece of it. You know, if you're submitting to award companies for awards rather not necessarily award companies there's a. So the Alliance of Independent Authors has.
Speaker 1:We're not going to go through all the awards that we like or don't like, and I always send authors Right Because you know, amy and I have strong feelings about just about everything but the Alliance of Independent Authors and if you search this on Google and we can also put it in the show notes for sure.
Speaker 1:But if you want to, you know if you've hopped off, you're like, oh, I'm ready to do this. The Alliance of Independent Authors actually have a page that they keep updated. It's super helpful and I send this to authors all the time and it lists awards particulars like do they take, you know, only traditionally published. Are they genre specific? It's a really, really great way to figure out where you might want to. You know, you might want to submit to. The other thing is going to be the date. So many awards are date sensitive so they don't want. You know, if your book is five years old, you may be kind of out of the running for that, but for any new-ish books, even a year old, there's probably a ton of award companies that you can submit to.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, absolutely, and I think it's worth making sure and I'm sure the list that you mentioned, penny, is updated regularly but I think it's definitely worth also doing a little research to see if there are any awards that are very specific to your, because there are awards for inclusivity for emerging authors too, so specifically for debut authors.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, there are awards for that specifically.
Speaker 2:There are awards for authors in different demographics, different markets, things like that that are always opening up, and so it is definitely worth seeing, because what I love about those options is that sometimes you end up being a fish in a smaller pond versus some of these really, really big ones where absolutely go after that if it fits, you know, if all the parameters work for you, there's nothing wrong with that by any means, but there's also no reason not to take advantage of being a part of a potential award for very specific writing communities as well, because those can be really great for your brand, especially if those are also your readers, you know, because that makes a difference too. As Penny said, a lot of readers don't necessarily know all the big name awards, you know and what they mean, but there are certain awards that are going to stand out to certain reading demographics as well, and that could be really great for again for your brand and just making that added, creating that added connection and resonating with those particular reading communities as well. So absolutely look for those.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's also potentially because you know a lot of these awards well, many of these awards, I should say not. They also have events where they give out the awards and so you know if you've won or you're on the honorable—and, by the way, honorable mentions. Don't discount honorable mentions, because I will tell you that when I have judged for contests, sometimes it's really really hard to say these are my top three because the books that get sent are so good. It's a high-quality problem to have. So in those cases, some of these books, like I, get the first tier of them and then they go to somebody else. A lot of times the honorable mentions are just because the book was fantastic, but maybe there was one thing that somebody thought oh, this one is just slightly better than the other. So honorable mentions are also terrific, but they have events a lot of times that you can go to. It's great for networking, great for meeting people, great for getting out of your comfort zone, right, just be aware that you know. And the thing is, do your research on the Ali website. So it's really funny because I went on to so prior to the show, I just I went on chat, just chat, tpt. Just curious. I'm like, hey, tell me about some book awards. I'm super curious about book awards and chat TPT threw out like the Nobel Peace Prize, right, and I'm like, uh, yeah, we're not. So the Alliance of Independent Authors is a great, trusted resource where they do the vetting.
Speaker 1:So just make sure, like I said, just make sure that you're, that you're finding you know, awards that are, that are actually going to be actionable, that you can actually, you know that you can actually submit to, and then I guess the final piece of this Amy, unless you thought of something else but the final piece is going to be your packet. So every award, every award that you submit to, is going to have you submit some kind of a packet, right, and sometimes it's just like, in some cases it's just, you know, write a description about your book. Sometimes they'll ask for the elevator pitch about your book, which that's actually another show that we need to do is on elevator pitches, because I think we've alluded to the fact that we were gonna do a show on elevator pitches and we are adding that to the list, so that'll probably be coming up in the next couple of weeks, but the materials are really important. So don't just you know, if you're in a rush to submit your award, don't rush through the materials. So if they allow you to include a press kit, make sure that it looks professional.
Speaker 1:Your book description again, we have tons of shows on book descriptions. Cycle back through those and find those super important. They may ask you, for you know, one to two sentence description about your book. Make that super good. You're going to want to tune into our elevator pitch show coming up in the next few weeks to you know to refine that. But the materials generally are. They aren't extensive but they are very, very important. So I've actually gotten submissions that I've, you know, been ferreting through and the submission information is basically blank, like the author name and the book title, and there's nothing else about the book, which is a little discouraging, you know, especially if you're spending your time judging, and it kind of sends a message to the judge and I can speak to this firsthand that you're really not interested, that you just sort of willingly sent this out. And then it's interesting because sometimes, like I'll go onto the Amazon retail page and the book description on the Amazon retail page is like three sentences Right.
Speaker 2:They clearly don't listen to the show Right.
Speaker 1:They're not a listener of the show. Amy, did we cover everything?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we did. I mean, I think the main points, like we said, this is very, this is very accessible to all of you listening. So add this to your list. I know there's a lot out there that's like where do I start? What can I do? I feel like I'm spinning my wheels trying to support my book and figuring out how to get my footing and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:The awards are actually very straightforward and for those of you that thrive on rules and parameters and checklists, this is where you are going to shine. You know, just get a hold of these lists and start pulling out the ones that seem the most promising. Whittle it down based on what really makes sense. Again, I think you know quality over quantity here, penny, you know I would say, do a mix of some of the big ones and some of the genre-specific ones. You know they do children's book awards specifically.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's just so many different ways to go about this and give yourself an opportunity to to you for a while. You know what I mean. So this is not something that, if your book's already out, you're going oh, I probably missed the boat. Not at all. So you could also do these in phases. I would think, if you don't want to take it all on at once, do it in phases, submit to some now or as soon as you're able to get around to it, and then do some additional research and see where you might want to submit for phase two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And then, like I said, check the show notes. We'll include the link so that you can find book awards and really excited for you if you are going to take this journey of submitting to book awards. And let us know, send us an email, let us know. Our contact details are always in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Oh, and here's one really exciting thing that we are going to be doing in the coming weeks. I don't have an exact date for it, but we're going to start doing call-ins, not necessarily on the show, but we're going to give you the opportunity to leave a voicemail with your questions that we are then going to address on the air. So sometimes it's just easy, like you're listening to the show, you're listening to the show, you're like, oh, I really want to know about such and such. Boom, you could dial the number and we'll pick a question for every show and maybe a couple who knows how many calls we get that we can answer on the show. And I'm really excited that we're going to be bringing that to you as we approach, quickly approach our sixth year of doing this show, which is amazing. So I know I can't believe that.
Speaker 1:I know right, six year, what that's so crazy, but anyway, listen, and we've gotten so many great reviews recently and we have so many new listeners and people emailing us. In fact, we just got an email this morning from somebody who just found the show and is going back through the episode. So if you are new, welcome, welcome. We love that you're here. Be sure, we have five years worth of show shows, um, to listen to. So be sure to go back to the archive and, you know, find a show that really inspires you and then get caught up and and we will see you next next friday. Bye-bye, bye.
