That’s right folks, I could very well be a winner in not one, but two contests. A couple of months ago, I entered my book On Common Ground in the Willa Contest. What is the Willa Contest you ask? I’ve never heard of it, you say. Well, neither had I. Here’s the blurb from the Women Writing the West (WWW) website:
“The WILLA Literary Awards honors the best in literature, featuring women’s or girls’ stories set in the West that are published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the Women’s West, underwrites and presents the nationally recognized award annually at the WWW Fall Conference.”
Women Writing the West is an organization that supports authors and other professionals in promoting the contributions made by women to the history, culture and growth of the American West. Now you know.
The winners won’t be announced until the annual conference in October, so I’ll have to wait a bit still to see if I’m a winner!! If I’m a finalist, I just may have to haul my butt over to the conference in San Antonio and accept my award in person. Stay tuned.
The second contest was not even a contest I entered, it was a contest I EARNED!! That’s right, because my debut novel, On Common Ground, received a 5-star rating by InD’tale Magazine, it automatically qualifies to move on to the reader voting phase of the 2019 RONE Awards. The RONE award is considered one of the very highest of honors bestowed on a novel in the publishing industry. I am super honored (and shocked) to be included among the list of qualifiers.
What is the RONE aware you ask? (I didn’t know either.) Here’s the write-up from the website:
“All books in each given year (January 1st – December 31st) must have been read and reviewed by our professional staff of reviewers and be given a four star rating or higher to qualify as a nominee. All nominees must then be voted on by the reading public. The finalists will then be read by a group of industry professionals consisting of editors, writers, professors etc. and be judged on a one to five scale from a specific list of requirements such as characterization, overall arc, editing etc. Those scores will then be tallied by a professional company unrelated to InD’tale or its employees to determine the winner of the coveted RONE award, along with the honorable mentions.”
So, unlike the Willa, this contest is initially judged by readers rather than “professionals” in the industry. That means you guys get to vote! If I get enough reader votes, I move on to the final round where industry “professionals” will judge the entries.
So here’s where you come in. Can you spare a couple of minutes to help a girl out?
It would please me immensely if you would please take a moment to cast your vote for On Common Ground in the “mystery” category. You MUST be registered on the InD’tale website (www.indtale.com) in order to vote. (From the home page, click on the blue subscribe button at the top right corner.) Once you register, you will be required to click the verification link sent to you via email. If you do not verify your registration with that email link, you won’t be able to vote.
Voting for my category (mystery) is only open from April 29 – May 5. That means, you can go over there right now, sign up and cast your vote. Once the winners are announced (please wait until the winners are announced), you can go back to the website and unsubscribe if you no longer wish to be on the mailing list.
After you get your e-mail confirmation, go back to the site (InD-tale.com) and type 2019 RONE in the tiny search box at the very top right of the screen. From there, scroll to Week 3, click on that link and scroll down until you find me.
That’s it. Easy peasy. I sure appreciate my fans! Here’s the best part, even if I don’t win – in either contest – I may still receive a runner-up award! So, all votes matter.
Thanks in advance.
And, that’s a wrap for this week. Sorry to be all business and begging this week, but I’m pretty excited about all of this stuff. Not every new author makes it to second or third base right off the bat with their debut novel, so I’m feeling pretty dang good about myself right now. I will return the favor in any way possible. Just ask.
How about your readers, have you ever found yourself a finalist in a contest? Have you ever won a contest? Have you ever asked someone to vote for you? (It’s hard to do that. It really is.) Inquiring minds want to know. Come on, share your brag stories.
Word of the day: Jaialai
Fun fact about me: This book, On Common Ground, was already a “winner.” I was a finalist in the Great Beginnings Contest sponsored by the Utah Chapter of Romance Writers of America.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, April 2019. Images by Unsplash and Google Images.
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On Common Ground is available at fine retailers everywhere:
BookBaby: http://bit.ly/2yKH3t
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NPqohX
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2QmC60i
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2RfA0kf
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2QfmUlA
Ooh, congrats on the nominations (which were definitely well-earned)! And I voted for you – good luck!
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Thank you my friend. I’m so excited that my very first book was met with such great success. I appreciate every single one of you readers!
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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Congrats on the nomination, and good luck in both contests!
Since I am one of the least coordinated people I know, no Jai alai for me.
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Well, at least you know your limitations. Jai alai is not for everyone! (tee hee).
And, thanks for the congrats. I feel honored to be on the list of finalists.
Have a great week.
Patricia
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