What do you think of awards for books? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T14:51:21Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:9199?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A9501&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks, sweetie - of course,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-23:537324:Comment:114552007-03-23T23:50:04.073ZAlexandra Sokoloffhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AXSokoloff
Thanks, sweetie - of course, you don't REALLY care because horror is unrealistic... until of course, that closet door opens and what's in it wants YOU ;)<br />
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Chacun a son gout, etc. <br />
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X
Thanks, sweetie - of course, you don't REALLY care because horror is unrealistic... until of course, that closet door opens and what's in it wants YOU ;)<br />
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Chacun a son gout, etc. <br />
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X Congrats on the Stoker nom! I…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-21:537324:Comment:99932007-03-21T20:33:13.731ZDavid J. Montgomeryhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/davidjmontgomery
Congrats on the Stoker nom! I hadn't heard. That's great news.
Congrats on the Stoker nom! I hadn't heard. That's great news. I'm nominated for a Stoker fo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-21:537324:Comment:99032007-03-21T16:17:51.567ZAlexandra Sokoloffhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AXSokoloff
I'm nominated for a Stoker for my first novel and what I'd call it is a glow. Maybe I should have said a Shining, since it's the Horror Writers' award - but what it feels like is a glow. It definitely gets you more publicity, interviews, attention in the community. Bookstores put announcements about it in their mailing lists. You get listed on a ton of websites. You get more signing requests and more mail. People are suddenly just that much more aware of you, and there's no question it's a…
I'm nominated for a Stoker for my first novel and what I'd call it is a glow. Maybe I should have said a Shining, since it's the Horror Writers' award - but what it feels like is a glow. It definitely gets you more publicity, interviews, attention in the community. Bookstores put announcements about it in their mailing lists. You get listed on a ton of websites. You get more signing requests and more mail. People are suddenly just that much more aware of you, and there's no question it's a boost.<br />
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I think awards are a positive thing that genre communities can do for - especially newer - writers in terms of publicity and to bring attention to the genre. Nominations and wins are a bit random, but I have to think they're more randomly helpful than harmful. Though the figures alone woul…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:95012007-03-20T22:26:49.258ZSandra Ruttanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Sandramre
Though the figures alone wouldn't necessarily tell the story. What if a book won an award and it just happened that the author's follow-up was reviewed in the NY Times, or plugged by Richard and Judy? It could get hard to determine the influence of the award vs the influence of the review. Certainly we all know the Rankin story where the Gold Dagger (I mean DL Dagger or whatever it is now) made a huge impact. But did it really? It's certainly what's credited with the impact, but what if the…
Though the figures alone wouldn't necessarily tell the story. What if a book won an award and it just happened that the author's follow-up was reviewed in the NY Times, or plugged by Richard and Judy? It could get hard to determine the influence of the award vs the influence of the review. Certainly we all know the Rankin story where the Gold Dagger (I mean DL Dagger or whatever it is now) made a huge impact. But did it really? It's certainly what's credited with the impact, but what if the reviews alone were such that he would have broken out anyway? Black & Blue was released in January of the year and was automatically hailed in reviews as the best crime fiction read of the year.<br />
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And (of course) it's impossible to separate it all out. <a href="http://sandrablabber.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-woo-and-win-readers-love.html">As Ian said when I asked him about it,</a> there were probably a number of variables that contributed to his breakthrough and this may explain why other winners haven't seen the same dramatic change in their sales. I won an obscure award that c…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:94312007-03-20T20:12:14.402ZKaren E. Olsonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/keolson
I won an obscure award that ceased to exist after that first year. But it got me published. Only thing I ever won. And getting nominated last year for a Gumshoe for that same book was a thrill. I think we'd all be lying if we said there wasn't a small part of us that wishes to be recognized with either a nomination or an actual award. It's a validation of our work. That said, I have no illusions or expectations.<br />
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What I like seeing are the lists of nominees, and discovering books I hadn't been…
I won an obscure award that ceased to exist after that first year. But it got me published. Only thing I ever won. And getting nominated last year for a Gumshoe for that same book was a thrill. I think we'd all be lying if we said there wasn't a small part of us that wishes to be recognized with either a nomination or an actual award. It's a validation of our work. That said, I have no illusions or expectations. <br />
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What I like seeing are the lists of nominees, and discovering books I hadn't been aware of before. I discovered Jess Walter's Citizen Vince that way, and TJ Parker's California Girl and numerous others. The next "big" awards from th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93952007-03-20T19:32:23.972ZMike Stotterhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/shotsed
The next "big" awards from the UK are the Duncan Laurie Daggers - damn, I want to say the CWA Daggers. I'm on the judging panel for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and between the five of us judges, I think we come up with a fairly balanced 007 shortlist. There is always some heated discussion about the merits of each book. But as mentioned previously, judging is a very personal subjective thing, and that's why an odd number for the panel makes life easy at times.<br />
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How much the book buying…
The next "big" awards from the UK are the Duncan Laurie Daggers - damn, I want to say the CWA Daggers. I'm on the judging panel for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and between the five of us judges, I think we come up with a fairly balanced 007 shortlist. There is always some heated discussion about the merits of each book. But as mentioned previously, judging is a very personal subjective thing, and that's why an odd number for the panel makes life easy at times. <br />
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How much the book buying public takes notice of awards (if it isn't nominated by Richard & Judy) is another matter. And, of course, it depends on how much publicity it gets. It would be interesting to see the following year's PLR figures for a nominated author in any category. "I would suspect that most pe…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93502007-03-20T18:20:47.925ZDavid J. Montgomeryhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/davidjmontgomery
"I would suspect that most people outside the mystery community don't even know about most of them."<br />
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I'm sure that's true. On the other hand, there might be enough people in the community and enough fans -- the people who are supporting most crime authors anyway -- to make a difference.<br />
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One thing I've noticed is that the Gumshoe Award is often mentioned in newspaper profiles and other pieces on authors who've won. I wouldn't have thought it would matter enough to bother including it -- but…
"I would suspect that most people outside the mystery community don't even know about most of them."<br />
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I'm sure that's true. On the other hand, there might be enough people in the community and enough fans -- the people who are supporting most crime authors anyway -- to make a difference.<br />
<br />
One thing I've noticed is that the Gumshoe Award is often mentioned in newspaper profiles and other pieces on authors who've won. I wouldn't have thought it would matter enough to bother including it -- but apparently the fact that authors have won an award or two (whether this one or others) does merit mention.<br />
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I suppose that it's a way of conveying to the audience that the author being written about is someone of note, and thus worthy of the attention they're being given. (Accepting, of course, that the award might not mean that at all.) Anthony Ballots are already o…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93022007-03-20T16:31:05.811ZSandra Ruttanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Sandramre
Anthony Ballots are already out. This was mentioned weeks back on the 4MA Bouchercon discussion list.
Anthony Ballots are already out. This was mentioned weeks back on the 4MA Bouchercon discussion list. I would suspect that most peo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:92932007-03-20T16:13:09.244ZStephen Blackmoorehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sblackmoore
I would suspect that most people outside the mystery community don't even know about most of them. Fans might pay attention, but I dobt the bulk of readers care one way or another.
I would suspect that most people outside the mystery community don't even know about most of them. Fans might pay attention, but I dobt the bulk of readers care one way or another. "Being nominated was such a t…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:92872007-03-20T16:05:08.283ZDavid J. Montgomeryhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/davidjmontgomery
"Being nominated was such a thrill, I don't know if I could have remained continent had I won."<br />
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Then, David, please allow me to say... I'm damn glad you lost!<br />
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:)
"Being nominated was such a thrill, I don't know if I could have remained continent had I won."<br />
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Then, David, please allow me to say... I'm damn glad you lost!<br />
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:)