There are a LOT of fishy deals aimed at authors. Awards, book club features, fake publishers. It takes so much time and energy to sort through the noise.
A few months ago, I entered Beyond the Mirage to the Christlit awards. I’d seen authors touting the Christlit awards, and it was free to enter, so I thought I’d try.
When I got the email saying it’d been selected, I was estatic.
But there were warning signs…
The first was that you had to pay to use the award seal on your book cover.
They said the payment is to cover processing, but if that’s the case, why not charge everyone an entrance fee instead of hundreds of dollars to only the winners?
I’m assuming it takes more time and man power to read a 50k novel than it does to email a png file.
They specifically said on their website that it wasn’t a pay-to-win service, and that it was a prestigious award. But I had my doubts.
I almost fell for it…
Most reputable book awards are only open for a limited time, and then present the awards many months later. I was willing to let that slide because the company claimed to be on the mission of awarding books for excellence in Christian publishing.
To be honest, I think Beyond the Mirage stands out. It’s gripping, it’s got beautiful prose, and it’s refreshingly authentic. That’s not what I’m saying, that’s what readers and bestselling authors have said.
At this point, I was on the fence.
Writers I’d looked up to had claimed the Christlit award. Maybe if I didn’t look into it, I could call myself an award-winning author.
I shared my excitement on my IG stories, careful not to claim it was genuine. I felt so confused. I’ve been around the publishing industry for almost 7 years and I still had no clue.
Most writing experts talk about how to write a good book and connect with agents and publishers. They hardly ever mention awards!
The plot thickens…
Today they sent me a follow-up email, claiming they will “keep my winning outcome active for six months.”
After that time, I’m welcome to apply again.
If someone read my book and decided that it deserved an award…why would they have to reread it six months later to decide if the book still deserves an award?
Is winning a “status” that can be toggled on and off?
The email was Blind Carbon Copy and weirdly formatted. And that was the deciding factor for me.
Here’s the thing that stuck with me…
Winning an award could open doors for ministry and book sales that are closed to me right now.
I could’ve paid for the seal, slapped it on the cover, and probably sold more books. Most readers don’t research book award submission requirements before they buy.
I could’ve called myself an award-winning author in the bio that’s used to introduce me at speaking gigs.
But I’m not going to settle for something that’s not real.
I owe it to Jesus and you guys to walk with integrity.
Have you ever fallen for a bad deal? What do you think about book awards? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Fascinating! Yeah, most of the affordable book awards out there are scams. And many of the prestigious ones appear to be rigged.
It’s unfortunate!
Proud of you! Scammers have gotten so diverse and good at being sneaky these days! They’re literally everywhere!
Recently I fell for one on some quality linen sheets to give as a gifts. They’ve even replied back a few times with “they’ve shipped and I should recieve them soon”. I, too, researched before I clicked “submit order”. Others were so pleased! Although a few did comment on having issues with the company or that it may be a scam. So I worried, but researched some more and decided to go for it because it was 3 AM and well, who makes wise decisions at 3AM?? It’s been over 2 months now and I’m wondering if maybe the “pleased” comments were even real. I’m hoping one day they’ll turn up and actually be what they claimed, but I may have also paid supremely to learn a lesson. ugh. It’s just $. (Praying against it being anything more than that!)
I’m praying you miraculously get those sheets. 😉 Also…good point about 3 a.m. decisions. So true!
Good choice Vella,
Depends upon what you want. If you seek recognition, others may find you because you are on the list. However, they know it’s a paid honor.
If you look at my email, I have the stick for being selected as Marquis Who’s who of 2025. I turned down the payment for being in their press release and full bio in their book. But I got the sticker!
People crave recognition. However I was considering the impact upon a career and whether it would help obtain speaking opportunities so evaluated the cost versus what I thought I could get. Still wasn’t worth it.
This is helpful to know that there are other ‘awards’ like the one I experienced.
That’s so interesting! I’d never thought about this type of thing for other industries.
Here’s praying you win a legit award someday soon!
Thank you!! I’d be honored.
I’ve seen those awards, and looked it up once, but as soon as I saw that you had to pay to accept the award, I was like no way. I want an award that I won honestly and freely, not something I have to pay to win. Also, I’ve never heard of paying to receive an award.
Smart thinking, Hannah!
Good for you, Vella!
That took a lot of processing and absolute integrity. You book is a standout!
Yes, I’ve been scammed and lost a lot of money, but not in the writers world. My take away is, if it brings me anxiety, don’t believe it!
Thanks, Pam! It took so much processing, haha, my husband got an earful.