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SFPBO 10 Contest
- Thread starter pmmg
- Start date
Finchbearer
Istar
300 manuscripts will be randomly selected? Seems fair…
Rexenm
Archmage
It doesn’t tell you what it stands for. Scum, probly. Hat off to that.
- Thread starter
- #4
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Self published fantasy blog off… says right on top of the page.
No worries though. You dont have to enter.
No worries though. You dont have to enter.
Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
No book for me this year... maybe next year.
Finchbearer
Istar
Is this the one you you won previously?
Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
Nope, two of the ones I won were "pro" indie book awards and the other was an Epic Fantasy Only (loosely defined) Reader's Choice award that since went defunct. The latter was trying to do what Mark Lawrence did except with Epic only. SPFBO is wide open to all fantasy and the winners have been all over the place. Plus, get the wrong judges who hate your genre and... Splat! LOL.
If I had the time and money to do it right, I'd start an Epic only contest because it just makes sense to break the contest into subgenres. I would do Epic, Urban, Sci-Fantasy, at least. There is also Sci-Fi version of this contest.
If I had the time and money to do it right, I'd start an Epic only contest because it just makes sense to break the contest into subgenres. I would do Epic, Urban, Sci-Fantasy, at least. There is also Sci-Fi version of this contest.
Jackarandajam
Maester
Something to shoot for in '25 for sure. I bet the chances get tough though, I can only imagine the number of submissions just go up every year, that random 300 isn't too bad outta 525, but outta 3k...
It would be fun to make this a goal though.
A ticking clock is as good for the plotter as it is for the plot, after all.
It would be fun to make this a goal though.
A ticking clock is as good for the plotter as it is for the plot, after all.
Prince of Spires
Istar
There were about 600 entries last year. Must be said that they limited it to 600 then and simply closed the submissions after they received those. Now they kept them open for 24hrs to give everyone a fair chance of entering.
Might be that there are fewer entries now because of the controversy surrounding the (only slightly related) cover contest last edition.
If you can get in (with a good book) and get a bit lucky with reaching the right blogger, then it's great exposure. There's also a chance of connecting with other authors and having some promo opportunities with them. I know an author who made semi-finals last edition, and she organized a few events with a couple of like-minded authors. Looked like great fun.
Malik
Auror
Never. The f***. Again.
- Thread starter
- #11
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Why never again?
- Thread starter
- #12
pmmg
Myth Weaver
I don't really follow this. Has a new contest opened? It seems they have already run for 2025? I would do this, if they were taking entries.
Malik
Auror
SPFBO, unless it has changed radically, gives the reviewers no control over what books they receive. I was in an early SPFBO; the person who reviewed Dragon's Trail likes MG fantasy about teenage girls and talking teddy bears and flying unicorns. She hated my book, said it was awful, "nothing but battles and war." Which, to be fair, it is.
The book that won was about an Orc motorcycle gang. I read it after I learned it won; I had to put it down because of a gratuitous gang rape scene. If his reviewer had received my book, and vice versa, I would have won handily. In the end, it doesn't matter, because even though he landed a trad deal, I've still outsold him and made a crap-ton more money. Skip SPFBO.
The book that won was about an Orc motorcycle gang. I read it after I learned it won; I had to put it down because of a gratuitous gang rape scene. If his reviewer had received my book, and vice versa, I would have won handily. In the end, it doesn't matter, because even though he landed a trad deal, I've still outsold him and made a crap-ton more money. Skip SPFBO.
- Thread starter
- #14
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Well...all contests are subjective to a large degree, and many are wrapped up in their own politics, making up for last years mistake by making another in the current year. While you cannot account for a random draw, I would hope it would be several who read to book to decide if it moves on or not.
It could be your experience is quite common, but it still would be a feather in ones cap to claim a victory or a placing in this. I would enter it if I knew when to submit an entry.
Your experience of outselling him is not typical for most authors. You have said earlier that you are a type of extrovert and you carry yourself very well in the convention circuit. I am definitely not that, and I suspect I would be terrible working a booth or table. In the end, every book has its audience out there somewhere. But I suspect your comfort at promoting it has been your biggest asset towards its success. We cannot all walk in the same shoes you wore.
Anyway...the contest is not taking entries, so... there is nothing to see here.
I will say, I have been reading Sword of Kaigen, which was a first place winner there, and it may become a DNF for me. I just cant get into it.
It could be your experience is quite common, but it still would be a feather in ones cap to claim a victory or a placing in this. I would enter it if I knew when to submit an entry.
Your experience of outselling him is not typical for most authors. You have said earlier that you are a type of extrovert and you carry yourself very well in the convention circuit. I am definitely not that, and I suspect I would be terrible working a booth or table. In the end, every book has its audience out there somewhere. But I suspect your comfort at promoting it has been your biggest asset towards its success. We cannot all walk in the same shoes you wore.
Anyway...the contest is not taking entries, so... there is nothing to see here.
I will say, I have been reading Sword of Kaigen, which was a first place winner there, and it may become a DNF for me. I just cant get into it.
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Prince of Spires
Istar
It's still this. You're still very much rolling the dice. Now first to get in, and then who receives your book for a first read. Still, entry is free, it's a chance for exposure. And you can use it to connect to other authors or as part of a marketing push. It's also well known enough to give you some exposure.
I do agree that it's one of the shortcomings of the SPFBO. You're very much at the mercy of whoever first receives your book, and you have no control over getting in or getting the right person.
From what I've seen though, it's not a magic bullet. The authors who make the most out of it aren't so much the winners as the ones who build a marketing campaign around it. Who take the time to team up with other authors to shout about their books.
Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
Yeah, Eve of Snows landed in front of the right judge, I think, but she had 5 reviewers beneath her to whittle down the number she would read. This first reviewer liked Eve of Snows and she said it might be the one to move on, but picked a Romantasy that had no shot in hell of getting past the main reviewer. If it had landed in front of another guy, judging by his tastes, he would've moved it along.
I know everyone wants reviews, but honestly, SPFBO SHOULD NOT force reviews from reviewers who have zero interest in the genre sent to them.
All contests are crap shoots, and I say that having won a few.
I know everyone wants reviews, but honestly, SPFBO SHOULD NOT force reviews from reviewers who have zero interest in the genre sent to them.
All contests are crap shoots, and I say that having won a few.
- Thread starter
- #17
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Did you win both SPFBO and NGIBA?
Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
NGIBA fantasy category and second place Grand pirze in fiction, IPPA (Bronze), and the grand champ EFFY awards. The EFFY awards were cool, all "epic" fantasy judged by readers, but the guy who organized it (IMO) got way too ambitious with a multitude of projects and the awards no longer exist.
SPFBO: Eve got knocked out from reaching the Main Reviewer in the first round. I was thrilled by who I got, she was an epic girl, until... No names, but instead of reading all 25 of the books assigned to her, she had 5 bloggers to send her one each. The moment I saw the draw from there I got nervous. One, maybe, was my kinda reader. The reviewer I landed was not a dark or epic fantasy fan, but then the review came in and she really enjoyed it... but then she read some romantasy and I knew I was toast. I also knew the romantasy was doomed to go no further because of the tastes of the Main Reviewer. Eve of Snows was setup well until the others reviewers were announced, and had another one of her slush pile readers gotten it instead? Most likely it would've made it to the Main Reviewer with a great chance to move on. Instead? Splat. LMAO. Having won a couple major Indie awards already may or may not have hindered SPFBO. When I entered the Contessa into SPFBO I knew the book was doomed the moment I saw the judge. Will I enter another book down the road? Sure! I find it entertaining and even if I got a bad review, I don't really care about reviews any more.
Luck of the draw is a fickle friend.
The EFFYs were cool because books were judged by 2-3 judges right off the bat, and presumably, they were all epic fantasy readers. That was the contest where I had the top 5 pegged just by reading the first page or two of the books.
SPFBO: Eve got knocked out from reaching the Main Reviewer in the first round. I was thrilled by who I got, she was an epic girl, until... No names, but instead of reading all 25 of the books assigned to her, she had 5 bloggers to send her one each. The moment I saw the draw from there I got nervous. One, maybe, was my kinda reader. The reviewer I landed was not a dark or epic fantasy fan, but then the review came in and she really enjoyed it... but then she read some romantasy and I knew I was toast. I also knew the romantasy was doomed to go no further because of the tastes of the Main Reviewer. Eve of Snows was setup well until the others reviewers were announced, and had another one of her slush pile readers gotten it instead? Most likely it would've made it to the Main Reviewer with a great chance to move on. Instead? Splat. LMAO. Having won a couple major Indie awards already may or may not have hindered SPFBO. When I entered the Contessa into SPFBO I knew the book was doomed the moment I saw the judge. Will I enter another book down the road? Sure! I find it entertaining and even if I got a bad review, I don't really care about reviews any more.
Luck of the draw is a fickle friend.
The EFFYs were cool because books were judged by 2-3 judges right off the bat, and presumably, they were all epic fantasy readers. That was the contest where I had the top 5 pegged just by reading the first page or two of the books.
