Book Sales Slump? Writing Career Speed Bump? Enter The Maggie Award for Excellence!

 

Has Your Writing Career Hit a Speed Bump? Have Your Book Sales Slowed to a Crawl?

I’ve got a solution: Enter the Georgia Romance Writers’ Published Maggie Award for Excellence!

Who can enter: Traditional and independent published authors are welcome. Your book must have a publication date of 2015. You don’t have to be a member of the Georgia Romance Writers or the Romance Writers of America to enter. How cool is that?

How to enter: So many categories to choose from! Here is what you need to do to enter the Maggies:

*Go to: http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/the-maggies/maggie-awards-for-published-romance-novelists-rules/2016 Published Maggie Award for Excellence

*Sign up! It’s that easy! You sign up online by filling out a form and submitting a small fee via PayPal. Then you submit three professionally bound, print copies (no PDF or manuscript format allowed). eBooks are accepted, but they must be readable using Amazon eReader App (*.mobi preferred or three Amazon eBook gift certificates that can be downloaded by the judges).

Why enter: Ever take a philosophy class? If so, then you already know the answer is “Why not?” But, for those of you who still have lingering doubts, here is the low-down.

*Have your book judged by three acquiring booksellers and/or librarians. Tons of books pass through their hands and they know their stuff!

*The purpose of the Maggie Award is to encourage, recognize, and reward the mastery of writing romantic fiction.

*The Maggie Award is a symbol of achievement given by the Georgia Romance Writers to bring special attention to these writers, and the Maggie, a silver medallion commissioned by GRW, receives national attention.

*The names and categories of Maggie recipients and finalists will appear in the Romance Writers Report. That’s free advertising folks! 🙂

When to enter: The Maggies are now open! Entries must be received by April 2, 2016.

What to enter: The Maggies has a category for your book!

*In fact, in addition to romance, the Maggies even have a category for those fiction books that are: commercial fiction, literary fiction, suspense/mystery/thriller fiction, or novels with thematic or emotional elements, including women’s self-discovery or emotional life journey where romance is present in the story but not the central focus…

*A work of fiction is defined as a novel that is made commercially available to the public.

*Projected minimum entry length is 40,000 words – except for Romantic Novella, which must be between 20,000 and 40,000 words, and each entry must fit into one of the following categories:

And now . . .  without further ado . . . THE MAGGIE CATEGORIES . . .

Contemporary Single Title Romance – A longer novel (traditionally 70,000 + words) that focuses on the romantic relationship and is targeted for release as a standalone title. The romance should be central to the story development. Plots may include suspense, thriller or mystery elements as an integral part of the love story.

Category/Short Romance – A novel where the primary focus highlights the romantic relationship as the central part of the story and the novel length is between 40,000 and 70,000 words in length. Plots may include suspense, thriller or mystery elements as an integral part of the love story.

Inspirational Romance – A novel where spiritual or religious beliefs blend with the plot to form a significant part of the love story. The character’s journey should include not only inward and outward character growth,  but also spiritual growth. The romance should be central to the story development and can include historical, suspense/mystery, or contemporary elements.

Historical Romance – A novel set in any time period and any location prior to 1945. The romance should be central to the story development. Suspense or mystery elements can be included within the plot as long as the historical setting remains uncompromised and the love story remains the central focus of the plot.

Paranormal/Fantasy Romance*– A novel in which paranormal/fantasy elements are integral parts of the plot. The paranormal/fantasy elements should blend with the love story. Urban Fantasy Romances also fit into this category. Urban Fantasies might not have a Happily-Ever-After at the end but must elude to a potential one at the end of the series. Examples of such Urban Fantasies: Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series, Jeanine Frost’s Night Huntress series.

*Paranormal/Fantasy elements could include, but are not limited to, new worlds or universes, mysticism, angels and demons, ghosts/goblins/ghouls, vampires and zombies, or shapeshifters. Also, any story where science and its application or experimentation leads the story into fantastical and extraordinary events can be classified as having paranormal elements.

Young Adult Romance – A novel with romantic themes interwoven with young adult issues and concerns to form the central part of the story. Young adults between the ages of 12-19 should be the targeted audience. Plots can include, but are not limited to, elements such as paranormal, suspense/thriller, or mystery.

Novel with Strong Romantic Elements – A novel that doesn’t fit into any of the other categories. While there is a romance – or multiple romances, it is not a driving force to the plotline or central to the storyline. Novels written in varying tone, styles, and time periods can be considered eligible for this category. Commercial fiction, literary fiction, suspense/mystery/thriller fiction, or novels with thematic or emotional elements, including women’s self-discovery or emotional life journey where romance is present in the story but not the central focus, can be considered in this category. Must include an HEA or happy for now ending.

Romantic Novella – A Novella is a completed work of fiction of 20,000 to 40,000 words. Any genre of romance may be submitted into this category so long as it meets with the requirements of that category. For example, a Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Novella must meet the word count requirements but also the requirements of the Paranormal/Fantasy Romance category as listed above.

And finally…

If you already entered . . . why . . . THANK YOU! 😉 I’m the Maggie Chair this year. I have been a coordinator of both the published and unpublished Maggies for a few years. I promise . . . this contest is amazeballs!

Please enter today . . . you’ll be glad you did! http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/the-maggies/maggie-awards-for-published-romance-novelists-rules/