Before The Secrets of Islay launched in January, a gentleman from Madrid, Spain, contacted me. Mr. Cointreau wanted to read my book, explaining that he found it on the Internet. I presumed he had a Google search engine seeking areas of interest. He also advised me to enter his book contest. Skeptical, I investigated.
Sure enough, as he explained, his company, The Gourmand Awards, closely associated with the Frankfurt Book Fair, was legitimate. I told him about the Amazon promotion in early January, which would give him a chance to read the e-Book. And, once again, he surprised me by posting a review on Amazon, detailing his interest in my descriptions of Islay’s distilleries and its single malt Scotch. I entered his contest. Winners will be announced in December.
Intrigued, I researched book contests and compared mine to books that had won awards last year. No, I couldn’t enter the big ones, which were geared for the big New York publishers and their authors. So I found a few that I thought would give my book a chance of winning. And then a few more. Total: four in the US, three in the UK, and one in Spain. The judges will give awards at various times from May of this year to May, 2016. I love competitions. Now for the waiting game.
Sure enough, as he explained, his company, The Gourmand Awards, closely associated with the Frankfurt Book Fair, was legitimate. I told him about the Amazon promotion in early January, which would give him a chance to read the e-Book. And, once again, he surprised me by posting a review on Amazon, detailing his interest in my descriptions of Islay’s distilleries and its single malt Scotch. I entered his contest. Winners will be announced in December.
Intrigued, I researched book contests and compared mine to books that had won awards last year. No, I couldn’t enter the big ones, which were geared for the big New York publishers and their authors. So I found a few that I thought would give my book a chance of winning. And then a few more. Total: four in the US, three in the UK, and one in Spain. The judges will give awards at various times from May of this year to May, 2016. I love competitions. Now for the waiting game.